April 23, 2011

The usual debate

Apparently I've hit my year mark.
I've realized that after a year, I become bored of whatever I'm doing, start crawling out of my skin with boredom, and want a change.
Part of this is personality.  Maybe even genetics.
I like to be out and about.  I need a constant change of scene.  I don't like to sit still.  I like to always be Doing Something.
And I think part of it is generational.  The quarterlife crisis is alive and well, and a whole slew of my peers seem to be afflicted with the very same career and life dilemma.  
It boils down to the thought that our jobs should make us happy - or at the very least, we should really gain some sort of fulfillment from whatever we're spending 40+ hours a week doing.
Our parents generation sucked it up and did it.
A job's a job. 
You'll never like it once it becomes work.
So just do something and make a living.
For us 20-somethings, that's not enough.
We want to be fulfilled and happy and also have a lot of money, right away, without really paying dues.
It's kind of a problem.

So here I am.  A bit over a year since starting this job full time.
It's a great company.  
There's a good work/life balance (for corporate America at least).
Awesome coworkers. 
Nice to have responsibilities and be praised for good work.
But is it what I want long term?
Do I enjoy being imprisoned in a cubicle 9 hours a day?
No.

And as usual, the problem is, I don't know what I DO want.
I would like to live in a city.  I'd like to give Hoboken or NYC a try. 
And since my husband works in Manhattan, it's totally feasible.

I'm 100% torn.
50% - I have a good job at a good company. I have great coworkers. It's steady and secure. I'm close to family and friends. It's a corporate cubicle and I feel like I'm not really doing any of the things I most enjoy. But a job's a job.
50% - We're 26. If there was ever a time to up and move to a new city and try something new, that'd be now. No kids. No mortgage. Less responsibility.  It's a risk, but worth it?

How do you choose?

4 comments:

Rebecca said...

People only ask questions like this usually because they have already chosen but want validation for their answer. And it sounds like to me you've already chosen too. So trust yourself :)

Anonymous said...

I think you have to feel,more than choose

Brandi said...

I've been where you are before. Some days I'm still there. You know in your heart what the right decision is. You know what will make you happy.

jenny d said...

From someone who's been there and let that chance go by, I'm telling you - get out. Go now. The longer you stay, the more comfortable you get in the "security" of the job and the harder it becomes to convince yourself to take a risk. Even though sitting in a cubicle nine hours a day is literally killing me (and I'm now going to physical therapy, acupuncture, numerous specialists and a therapist), I no longer have the *ganas* to do anything else. The job quite literally wears you down.

I used to dream of going back to Spain, or Boston or grad school, and now I can't see how I would make any of it happen. I'm too worn out, and I'm not even 30. So, I say go.

(If it helps, you know it's very likely they'd keep you on freelance and that if you ever wanted to come back, nobody would protest.:)