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Miscellaneous Monday - The best part of my job is _____

Meg Holbrook

Happy Monday my friends!

Last week we had a great discussion about your first job and the lessons you learned from it. Did you know that our resident Trello expert @Jodi LeBlanc used to masquerade as a Hostess character during the summer? Maybe you'd be interested to hear @LarryBrock , @Jack Brickey , or @Scott Theus give you their thoughts on lessons learned from these jobs and how they use those lessons today?

This week, I want to take the conversation into the present and ask:

What is the best thing about your job?

If you've worked anywhere more than a couple of years, you might be a little comfortable in your role and used to the daily grind. The glimmer associated with the shiny new job fades and you may not have a deep level of gratitude for the work being done.

Do you get to design new products to fill a product niche? Do you travel the world helping others develop their skills (here's looking at you @Rachel Wright)? Share below and...

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Comments

Matt Doar_tzgiej

Three things I tell high schoolers you need in a job:

1. Getting paid enough

2. Being able to do it, or learn how to do it

3. Want to get out of bed each morning and do the job

For me and number 3, it's helping people use tools such as Jira better, and solving interesting technical problems. Then teaching people about the problems

And good coffee

Meg Holbrook

@Matt Doar - yes! Find a place that feeds you decent coffee and then do all the good things there.

We're lucky you're so darn awesome at your job, I wouldn't be half as smart if you and Rachel hadn't made some pretty awesome reference materials.

Jack Brickey

The people, flexibility, variety

People - I have worked w/ my CEO, CFO, COO, and a bunch of others for many years in different companies. Great people make coming to work meaningful and fun.

Flexibility - My CEO appreciates the work I do and realizes I can do it remotely. This is now allowing me to move to where I want. Being able to work from a location you love or to be mobile is awesome!

Variety - I get to wear a lot of different hats allowing me to continually learn and contribute at different levels.

Meg Holbrook

@Jack Brickey I think the variety you outlined is one of the most important aspects of my job. If I had to come to work every day and make a widget, I wouldn't be there for very long.

Fortunately, I can largely drive the direction of projects, scheduling, priority, etc in what I'm doing.

I feel like I can use my knowledge and creativity in ways I wouldn't if I were just a small part in a big machine.

Now if only I could talk the exec team into letting me manage from the Bahamas...

Matt Doar_tzgiej

Good to hear!

Jack Brickey

here is my near term goal ...

Brant Schroeder

Excellent Goal!

unknown

Problem Solving

Within my current role I'm able to support others to find solutions that will help them and reduce their workload. I love it when someone asks me to look at a problem they are having, I cannot help but seek out an answer with them.

Brant Schroeder

Initiating, planning, executing, monitoring, controlling and closing large and complex projects and doing it on-time, on-budget and successfully. I get to do something new constantly, deal with new issues, meet new people and have a great time doing all of it. The people I work with are great which makes it even better.

Meg Holbrook

@[deleted] - and this is why you're such a wonderful contributor to the community! Doing what you love comes natural!

Tanya C

I've been at the same company for 28 years but the company is not my 'job'. I've been lucky enough to work on some great projects doing some great things.

What I like best about my current contract:

The team I work with

Without them getting out of bed would be difficult. If you aren't working with people you like and can share both work issues and life issues with then it can be difficult.

I'm respected

Not just because I've been around a long time but because I speak with knowledge and if I don't know the answer I don't blow smoke, I tell you and then go research it and get back to you. This should be true at any level if you're not brave enough to say you don't know the answer you'll get caught one day and it won't be good for you, your team or your management.

There is never a dull moment

I'm in a Service team that serves 150,000 users. They are all skill levels and can present you with the most interesting questions and problems. With hundreds of service requests a month there is no rest, the plate is never clean and that's just fine with me. If there were dead times I'm not sure what I'd do... oh... write user knowledge articles.

Signed Happy in my current position at work and in life!

Scott Theus

I've been a project manager for over 15 years, and I absolutely love it, but my current job is the best I've every had. Why? First I get to bring together some of the smartest people in manufacturing into high performing teams to work on cutting edge technology. It is amazingly satisfying to pull "resources" from very siloed groups and form them into a team of people working towards a common goal. Second, I am working with a VP here to design and implement a new IT PMO, using project management methodologies I wrote and implemented on my project teams as a base.

I have a great deal of pride and respect for the people I work with, and love being able to say I am creating an IT PMO from the ground up for a $12 billion dollar Fortune 250 company.

Bonus: I am encouraged by management to continue working with the community and I have all the support I could ask for to continue learning as much as I can.

Rachel Wright

Thanks for tagging me @Meg Holbrook Here's my answer:

The best part of my job is combining my two favorite things: travel and Jira.

When I was growing up, the message was: work hard in school, get a degree, get married, buy a house, have kids, accumulate a garage/basement/attic full of "stuff", work your way up the corporate ladder, and retire rich. That seemed to be the definition of "success" and the path that everyone around me was following.

I went down that path for a while, but ultimately, decided it wasn't what I actually wanted. And doing things because it's "what you should do" or because others wanted me to wouldn't lead to happiness. I'm so glad I got off the "living my life to meet the expectations of others" train!

So many people wait until they are retired to live the life they really want. I decided to do it now instead.

My partner @Chris Lutz and I have been traveling the US in an RV since May 2015. We've simplified and systematized everything in our lives. While we travel, we help companies set up, clean up, and maintain Atlassian products. I get to create books, materials like worksheets and templates, and online courses. I deliver workshops, training sessions, and speak at events. I truly love doing this! I never get sick of talking about Jira or finding new and better ways to use Atlassian products.

I've found the perfect lifestyle, subject matter, and travel partner. Every life and career has its challenges and every decision has its pros and cons. But I believe that focusing on the things you love, and simplifying your life as much as possible, makes work feel less like "work" and fuels happiness. I challenge you to find small (or big) ways to do the same in your life, career, or both!

Best of luck,

Rachel Wright

Matt Doar_tzgiej

Good points. Most of my "work" is "play for money"

Jodi LeBlanc

OMG that mention of my hostess munchie days made me roll on the floor laughing Love this post! There are so many things I love about my job.

I am a Free Agent for the Government of Canada so I get to work where my passions and skills align. I love the variety or work, collaborating with colleagues, learning, tackling unique initiatives and and sharing my skills and experiences. Playing a part everyday in making a difference for our clients: Canadians

Community Manager

@Meg Holbrook "Humans like Meg" seems too obvious, so I'll go with the second best thing, which is that I am challenged in my role on a daily basis. While that can sometimes lead to frustration, there is truly never a dull moment. 😄

unknown

I get to make people's jobs easier and still get to do web design (to an extent).

There's not much I don't thoroughly love about my job. The people are great, I get to do design work still, I get to participate in in-house Add-On development, and I get to test all the cool new functions when upgrades roll around. I've been doing web design since I was 12 and have always adored it. My parents used to own a company and I taught myself while helping them. Confluence lets me still play around with web design.

The BEST thing though is when I get to develop solutions to make other peoples lives so much easier. When someone has a need within Confluence and they don't know how to achieve it, they come to me. I love puzzles and problem-solving games, so when people come to me it's like a giant puzzle game.

Sadly, I've been doing this for so long it's gotten to the point that when someone comes to me with an ask, I probably already have templates they can choose from and use. I've been getting less and less of the problem solving tasks...

Which means next quarter I get to revamp all the training! Big plan: Advanced Confluence and Jira Workshops. I need to learn how to do automation now too. I hope I never run out of things to learn and pass on to others!

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