Work + Career – Page 5

W. O. R. K. (It’s not a dirty word!): Ten good things about work

Posted on November 28, 2010 by Sarah K Peck

Well, it’s back to the grind – and unfortunately, I won’t be able to post as often as I’d like over the next few weeks as I wrap up some exciting research and writing projects elsewhere (more on that to come, soon!). Here’s a post I wrote about the grind of work from late last year, before I started this website. When the days get long and the work is intense, here are 10 reasons why we do it. Stay motivated and keep up the hard work, everyone!

___

W. O. R. K. (It’s not a dirty word!) Ten Good Things about WORK.

First of all, we all say it: work sucks sometimes. So many of the common complaints are about work. Work is hard. Almost everyone utters the phrase “I hate work” at some point or another. It’s easy to sit down and list the bad things about your job – but often it’s hard to remember the positive aspects of working. Believe it or not, there are positive aspects to having a job and doing work for someone else. Perhaps it’s time you changed the mantra from “I hate work,” to something like, “work wasn’t so bad today,” or, “Man, I’m tired but I certainly did work hard.” Here is a list of things that are good about having a job – and ways to stay positive when you’re having a rough week. Ten valuable things about work

1. A steady paycheck. Let’s be honest. Money is nice, and receiving a regular paycheck is an excellent way to be rewarded for what you do. Money gives you flexibility, power of decision making, the ability to consume, and it sets you on the path towards financial security. Of course, if you’re spending all of your money, or haven’t learned how to invest wisely yet – you probably owe it to yourself to learn a bit more about what to do with the money you have once you earn it. Still, having an income is a nice perk.

2. Meeting new people and making contacts. Throughout the course of your job, you will meet people inside and outside of your profession. Depending on the type of job you do, you may connect with the three people in your adjacent cubicles, you may be out giving client presentations on a daily basis, or you might be traveling and handing out your business cards left and right. These people are the foundation of your work life, and they are the network that you will establish yourself in. Enjoy meeting new people, finding out what they do, and staying open to the possibility of future interactions.

3. Learning new skills and professional development. Most careers today offer some form of continuing education, professional development, or on-site learning. Just by working – that is, showing up every day to do a task – you are probably accruing a valuable skill set. Keep your mind open for new opportunities to learn and ways to stay fresh in your field. Your investment now will pay off later – perhaps in a new task, a new set of responsibilities, or even a new job opportunity in the future.

4. Benefits, bonuses and perks. Your office comes equipped with many little perks that we quickly take for granted. Even the morning coffee is a perk. If it’s an especially rough day, remember that the papertowels, the kleenex and the hand lotion in the bathroom are all small joys in today’s world – you just saved $15.79 at Walgreens because your work provided these small tidbits. Maybe it’s time to smile because your boss bought you lunch again! And beyond the little items, your employer may be contributing to your 401K, stock shares or other investments, yearly bonuses, paid days off, holidays, and sick days. Take a peek in your employee manual and review all the perks that you take for granted in your day-to-day work life. These are things you’d be missing if you were without your corporate job – even that morning coffee.

5. A sense of accomplishment and pride. Work gives you something to do, and no matter how long or arduous the day, you’ll get to the end of it with a sense of accomplishment, frustration, happiness, or exhaustion. Congratulations, you have just done something, and you’ve probably done it fairly well.

6. It’s what you do – a sense of identity. How do you describe to someone who you are? By telling them what you do. For better or worse, work is something that helps shape who you are – both for yourself and to other people around you.

7. Being part of something bigger than yourself. Work is about being a part of a larger group (or company) that together accomplishes something individuals probably cannot do alone. Being part of a business involves teamwork, collaboration, and communication. It may take as long as 2 to 3 years into your job before you see the payoff from your daily grind. At one point you will have a day where the project or task you’re working on gets done and you can look back and reflect on all of your hard work and contributions. New employees often jump right into the middle of a project and don’t have the long-range view of what it takes for a project to reach completion. Achieving that first milestone – and begining to see your work have an impact – can help get you out of the “I hate work” rut. If you’re still in the early months at your job, look around at your peers. Take a look at the work that’s being done in your office or with your company, and realize that no matter how small or trivial the day-to-day tasks, you are a part of a larger office that’s accomplishing a great deal of work.

8. Providing a valuable service to someone. When you walk into the office today, remember that you are doing something that somebody wants. As a lifeguard, for example, you’re protecting and potentially saving lives. As a waitress, you’re catering to someone’s pleasant experience and evening out. As a green services consultant, you’re helping “Mr. Smith” contribute to a greener, more sustainable world. Every time you perform your service – no matter what service it is that you do – you are doing something that someone else wants.

9. Helping capitalism – and the economy – go ’round. If it’s macroeconomics that really gets you going, perhaps you can stay motivated by knowing your work efforts – your daily spending, the tax dollars the government takes out of your paycheck, the miles you drive in your car, and the work you do for others – puts money back into our economy and funds government services such as infrastructure, education and unemployment insurance. So, congrats! You just helped build a road.

10. Work gives you something to talk about. If nothing else, work gives you something to talk about. When you leave at the end of the day, whether you hit up a bar, head home, or meet up with up with folks, you will eventually talk about the things you did during the day. “What did you do today?” is one of the most popular questions in our country, probably right after the famous “what do you do?” question used between people who are being introduced for the first time. Whether you talk about a boss you hate, a silly co-worker, or the dreadfully boring task you’re assigned to, you’ll probably spend a lot of your time talking about your job. The good news? At least you have something to talk about.

Happy working everyone! and 10 cheers for work.

What are your favorite things about your job? What are your least favorite? If you’re new to water falling upwards, and liked this post, you can subscribe to receive new posts here.

—

Like what you read? Like this on facebook or subscribe to new posts. Got a question or a comment? Leave it in the comments below. This blog is a work in progress and I appreciate any and all feedback.

Also, you can find me on twitter.

Give Yourself A Chance To Get Good

Posted on August 4, 2010August 12, 2015 by Sarah K Peck

For the most part, I don’t like doing things that I’m not good at.

I prefer doing things I’m good at. Especially as I get older, I find I dislike being “bad” at something. The more expertise I gain in my respective fields, the more I find I enjoy — and gravitate towards — things that I’m already good at.

When we were children, we spent ample amounts of time being frustrated, learning and figuring out new things. We did it every day, a hundred times a day, sometimes even a hundred times a minute.

On a single day in Kindergarden, we learned how to tie our shoes, comb our hair, dress ourselves, how to share and play with others (sometimes not so well), what splinters were, whether landing from a big jump was painful or thrilling, how to make daisy chains, what paint is, what happens when put stuff in our noses, and how to stand in a line to get lunch. The teacher had activities for us planned every fifteen minutes and our brains were always expanding, never saturated.

As a result, we were tired — we conked out for nap time twice a day and consumed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and goldfish and apple juice. We were constantly running around, wondering why on earth adults were so tediously repeating to us that we ought to “slow down!” (Of course, as every five-year-old knows, why slow down if I can get there rightnow?)

And then, somehow, we became adults. We made it through the awkward-bobbly teenage angst years and even through college and asserted our independence, autonomy, and maturation through increased levels of responsibility, decision making, and ability. I have a general understanding of what a 401K is and why I need it; I believe in the time value of money through compounded interest; I hope to make informed decisions when voting in a democracy; I show up to work on time; I’ve made a life list and learned how to say no; I understand the value of saving for a rainy day, and I am, to every five-year-old, a boring adult.

Now what? Am I done learning? I like to think that somewhere inside of every adult still lies our inner five-year-old, the monkey-ish person who bounces in meetings and runs in the halls instead of walks, who says what they think, and asks the most obvious (and the most interesting) questions about how the world works, and why it works the way it does.

I like to look back at my 5-year-old self and take a cue from the crazy girl running around on the playground and try to remember what it felt like to be at that pace of learning, growing, exploring, and being frustrated. When I get frustrated with learning new things, especially if I shy away because it’s hard or difficult — or i’m not yet any good at it — I think about how i would measure up to my 5-year-old self.

Quite frankly, she would probably kick my ass at her skill-acquiring ability. Granted, the complexity of the skills we learn as adults may not be comparable to our abilities as a kindergardener. But there are still lessons:

The first time trying something new is usually filled with effort, struggle, energy, and a low satisfaction-to-energy ratio. Why fall on your face 20 times trying to do handstands if you’ve already perfected sitting in a chair comfortably? If, however, you only did what you were good at, then you would be done learning. Imagine, then: nope, I’m not going to try that because it’s something new. Can’t do it, sorry.

In work, it can take slow, dedicated, frustratingly long amounts of time to get good at something. At times, I’ve contemplated leaving my job because of the day in and day out exhaustion-frustration of tasks being difficult and new. But what holds me to my desk is the fact that I’m learning, no matter how discouraging it can be — and that staying at home, or doing something I already know how to do will not yield the same satisfaction or sense of accomplishment when I tackle, acquire and absorb new skills, techniques and knowledge.

The downside is that you can’t always tell how long it will take to “get good” at something. You don’t remember how long it took you to learn how to tie your shoes — now you just know how to do it. And you do it automatically. And you’re probably pretty glad you practiced every day of that month in kindergarten, because the more you practiced, the more quickly you learned the skill. You won’t be good at something for a while — not until you put in effort, energy and perseverance.

It’s inherently humbling to be in an entry-level job: the tasks vary from ridiculously easy to frustrating, over your head, and complicated. Sometimes the most difficult challenge of new tasks is figuring out how to figure them out: learning how to learn. Each day I walk into the office prepared to be surprised, to learn, to explore, research and discover. I’m never “done learning.”

And sometimes, it takes a long time to get good at something. It’s been said that it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert at something. Given that a year is (roughly) 2000 work hours, then figure it takes a least five years to become good at something. That’s five full-time years — it will take longer if it’s a hobby or a part time endeavor. Get grinding … see you in 5 years. So if you’re struggling in the first 1, 2, or 3 years of a new job, first, breathe a sigh of relief: you’re right where you should be.

Give yourself the chance to learn. Leaving because learning is hard is never a reason to quit. The lesson in not giving up?

Give yourself a chance to get good at something.

Do something useful

Posted on August 1, 2010 by Sarah K Peck

In Time’s 10 questions interview with Elon Musk (co-founder of electric car maker Tesla), Musk talks about his experience building the Tesla electric car company, his belief that most people can become entrepreneurs, and his strategies for successful start-up companies. In a word, Musk says that companies will be successful when they are doing something useful for other people. Become an entrepreneur, he encourages.

And “do something useful.”

I love this. My seeming obsession with the question “what do you do?” (as evidenced through the Professional Focus interviews throughout this blog) stems from my unending curiosity about what, exactly, it is that people “do” every day – whether it’s behind their desks, in swanky offices, out and about in the field, at home, or spending long hours behind a computer (like I often do). I’m still not convinced that the nine-to-five model (or, as it’s becoming more common, the eight-to-eight workday) is truly the most effective way to work. I’m also baffled when I hear stories about long, tedious workdays that seem to have no end and no conclusive purpose. And thus I ask: What do you do?

I’ll admit, this has often led to a series of bad-date-esque scenarios where I’m hounding a person with questions about their daily existence.

Me: “What do you do?”
Them: “I’m a __________ ”
Me: “Nifty. So what do you do each day?”
Them: “I check my email, go to meetings, respond to questions.”
Me: “What kind of questions?”
Them: “You know, client emails and such.”
Me: “How do you know when you’re done with your work?”
Them: “Well, I just go home when I finish tasks.”
Me: “Who defines these tasks?”

… and it goes on. My apologies to those who I’ve already badgered with questions: I’m not trying to be a nuisance, I promise. I’d like to better understand the work day and how we define our tasks within our organizations. Often, it seems we spend a lot of time doing things that seem to just fill up our time. And with time becoming more and more valuable, especially if you find yourself busier, in demand, or beginning to take on the role of project management within your firm, I find myself constantly asking: who is it for? why are we doing it? And what processes do we use to get these tasks done? The big question “what do you do” is inherently linked to my further curiosity about why people do what they do.

Beyond the immediate functionality of my work habits, I also reflect on the type of work that I am producing in the long term: Am I doing something useful for our clients? Is the work we produce something I am proud of? Is there a tangible goal or product that I have worked on? How can I do better next time? Does my work have meaning? There is no “right” answer to the questions I’ve posed. Fundamentally, I want to understand what we do, why we do what we do, and how it is that we get our work done. Much of my research and reading centers around these questions, and I’m a big fan of The four hour work week by Timothy Ferriss, the 80/20 rule, What color is your parachute, and recent writing by Martha Beck. It is through this exploration and reflection that I can be critical and reflective of my own habits and productivity. Tomorrow morning, as I head back into the office, it will be refreshing to focus my thoughts on one question this week:

Am I doing something useful? Because Musk nails it, in his advice on entrepreneurship and starting a company. This advice translates to everyday tasks as well as larger questions about our work habits and company goals. During my down time between projects (a rare occurrence it seems), I reflect and ask myself: am I doing something useful with this time? Am I doing something useful for my organization? How am I setting up tomorrow’s tasks to run more efficiently? Do something useful: do it for yourself, in your own time, and for your time working on projects or in the office.

Work life balance: do you fill up all of your tanks?

Posted on July 12, 2010March 23, 2012 by Sarah K Peck

What is work-life balance, anyways? Jenny Blake (author of Life After College) and Lindsey Pollak discuss work-life balance and ask whether or not you are happy in your job, and what that means. During the conversation, my favorite tidbit was the idea that your work may only fill up some of your tank and that it’s okay if your job doesn’t satisfy all of your needs as a person. Perhaps your job gives you roughly 50% of the satisfaction that you’re looking for in work and your career. This can be distressing – you’re probably asking, ‘is this the right job for me if I’m not always happy with it?” Instead of viewing your job and your work as “half empty,” perhaps it’s time to start looking at our jobs as filling us up to to half full.

Perhaps your current job only fills up one of your “tanks.” This does not mean that your job is something that won’t work for you – it just means you have to recognize that you are multifaceted and complex, and you may need to seek work or activities outside of your day job to really “fill up your tank.” It’s a hard sell to find a job that is everything you want it to be – a creative engine, an artistic place, filled with challenging problems, a place where you have oodles of responsibility, something that balances your athletic needs, a place of rest and relaxation. Often, we’re afflicted with a “grass is greener” approach (also known as job envy) when we think that other jobs are more fulfilling. In reality, they probably offer certain areas of satisfaction – but may leave you craving other outlets.

For me, I find my day job fills me up about 50% – more or less during any given week, depending on the projects and the level of responsibility I have. After struggling with a corporate job for the first year, I realized that I can’t expect my job to fulfill all of my needs as a person – and more importantly, that it’s up to me to find other activities and tasks that satisfy my irks and quirks. I love the creativity, challenge, and artistic components of being a landscape architect. However, I also crave person-to-person interaction, thoughtful reflective writing, and (to others) inordinate amounts of athletic exercise. Sitting at a desk all day long, for example, does not give me the active, athletic outlet that I’m looking for. (not to worry: I’m already campaigning for a walking workstation at my office). Making my job something I love requires some extra effort – and for me, a strategy. My main strategy for making my job something that I love is to fill up my other tanks so that I can go back to my job each day fulfilled. (Suffice it to say, writing is also one of my favorite extracurricular activities).

The good news about having a 50% job? You’re already at 50%! Also, looking critically at what your job IS (here’s to looking at the positives!) and identifying what your job is NOT – can help you figure out what type of jobs and work make you happy. Discovering what you don’t like about your job reveals a lot about you as a person: it tells you what else you need to be satisfied. It teaches you the direction to take your current job, whether or not you should leave your job for something more fulfilling, and how to add activities to your life that help balance out your needs. It’s our task to look elsewhere for the rest of our “life fuel.”

(Don’t) work until you drop

Posted on April 18, 2010 by Sarah K Peck

A colleague of mine just sent me a quick email. She said, “I skipped lunch and now it’s 2pm and I’m just going to keep on crunching until 7 to just get this thing done and get home.” I asked her what she was planning on doing once she arrived home. She replied – “Nothing – I can never get anything done after work because I’m too tired.”

Do you recognize this pattern of “work until you drop”? Most recent grads and a lot of young employees forget to stretch, take breaks, and refresh. You work insanely hard for 7 or 8 hours or longer, and find yourself burned out by the end of the workday. Fried to a crisp. Employees walk in on Thursday morning with double-tall lattes and bags under their eyes and barely make it until Friday. Saturday is shot because you sleep in until noon, trying to recover from the work week. Is this the right way to make it through the work week?

Research shows that for every hour we spend working (especially in front of the computer), we need a 5 minute lull or rest. Checking your email once every hour? You’re giving your brain that creative break, the light rest it needs to recharge and start up again. Taking a break away from the computer (or whatever task you are working on) is a better idea, but if you”re chained to your desk, even that email break can be crucial. (Of course, if you spending more than 5 minutes per hour procrastinating or relaxing, you’re not living up to your full work potential, and perhaps boredom or burnout are the issues at hand.)

Another colleague of mine is a firm believer in the 2-hour stretch break. Every two hours – and on the more stressful days, sometimes as much as once every hour – he gets up, walks out of the building, and takes 2 laps around the building. He says by the end of the day, he’s done 15-20 laps and he’s getting his walking miles in. On the days when he has to stay late, 7pm doesn’t hit him like a brick on his shoulders, and when he gets home, he’s happy and refreshed.

NPR published a report that corroborates this idea, demonstrating that workers who take 10 minute exercise breaks end up being more productive for the company than their peers. The article suggests that employees should get up out of their chairs for 10 minutes at least 2-3 times a day to move around, take a break from work, and increase the blood flow through your body.

Our bodies and our minds need rest, fuel, and recuperation. The 5 minute brain break (that’s required by our bodies each hour, whether we acknowledge it or not), the 2 hour stretch break, and the 8 hour workday are all part of the system that keeps employees recharged enough to make it through the work week. What are your work habits? And what are you like at the end of the day? If you’re exhausted, tired, and it’s hard to get anything else done in the week, perhaps it’s time to re-evaluate your work habits. It might even make you a better worker, too.

Knowing when to take a break: how to recover from a hard day at work

Posted on April 12, 2010 by Sarah K Peck

Your boss just yelled at you for the third time, you missed a deadline, and you barely got any sleep for three days in a row. Lurking questions you’ve had about your career choice come rushing to the forefront of your mind, and your thoughts are inundated with yearnings to snap out at your boss, storm out of the office, and quit your job.

Don’t quit just yet. Why not? Quitting is rash, and despite how it might feel good in the moment, you’ll regret it if you haven’t thought it through. If you’re thinking about quitting your job, read ten good things about your job before you make the decision to jump ship. Jobs are good things, especially in this economy.

First, take a walk. Get up and leave the office for a few minutes. Get up from your desk – yes that’s right, get up right now and walk outside of the office. Open the door and leave. It’s more than likely that no one will miss you. If you need an alibi, pick up your cell phone, look apologetic, and mutter something about the doctor calling or a phone call you need to take. Regardless of how you do it, just get out of your office. When was the last time you took a stroll? Thoughtfully contemplated the world below your footprints? Many people suffer from “over sitting” – spending an agonizing amount of time sitting still behind a desk, only moving their wrists to click the mouse to the computer.

After work or during lunch, get outside and take a walk. Even take laps around your office if you must. Walking is therapeutic, rejuvenating, and basically just very good for you. Some of the best philosophers have professed to doing their best thinking while walking. The motion of the footsteps is rhythmical, repetitive, and meditative. Each step is a gentle massage to the ligaments and joints in our creaky bodies, reminding us that our ankles, thighs, calves (cankles anyone?), hip joints, bellies and shoulders have probably been held tightly up against that computer monitor for far too long.

Now, rest your eyes – or use them in a new way. Another reason to take a walk is to give your eyes a rest from the battery of stimulation assaulting your eyes. Walking is good for your eyes as well as your legs. In many work environments, people spend most of their days looking at things 12″ to 26″ away from them – for upwards of 10 hours per day. Research has shown that reducing the use of our eyes for long-distance horizons (looking at things far away) can weaken our eyes. In addition, too much close-up use or “screen time” can cause eye strain. In the landscape around us, broad panoramas, details in a mid-range (such as crowds, streets, and retail shopping), and in-person social interactions add variety to your eye movements and affect your health tremendously. Why is it that downtown streets are so exciting and popular? Streets provide a density and variety of activity that activate a multiplicity of our senses – visual, physical, aromatic, tactile. Get outside and start participating.

Get some sunshine and fresh air. If it”s possible, make sure you get outside at least once a day. If you’re in a job where you’re already outside, make sure to take some time away from whatever stimuli you’re surrounded by – whether it’s machinery, noise, loud crowds of people, or blank walls. Once you’re out of your office or work space, point your face towards the sunshine, lift up your arms, and stretch out your body. Maybe even bend over and touch your toes. If it’s a particularly stressful day, hang yourself in a body fold for a few minutes. If you can’t bring yourself to do some public stretching (I still laugh at the elderly ladies who do coordinating line dancing in Golden Gate park at 6 AM in the mornings, even though I secretly believe it’s unbelievably awesome!) – then point your feet in a new direction and start walking. Walk it out.

After work: do something different. Part of your rut – or frustration – may be non-work related. Seeking a stress-reducing outlet? Try out a new social group, join a class, or find a gym in your neighborhood. San Francisco is full of activity – finding your niche takes some exploration, but it’s worth it, especially if you’re in a work rut. Ultimately, having a lineup of stress-reducing activities can help boost your focus and enjoyment while at work.

Go back to work refreshed. So now that you’ve taken a break – and reading this article online, sitting in your chair, procrastinating from work DOES NOT count as taking a break (if you’re reading this, put your pencil down, step away from the computer, and go outside and get some fresh air). Now that you’ve actually done yourself the service of taking a midday break, come back, drink a large glass of water, and start at it again.

Taking a break from something is the best way to recover from the stress associated with it. Athletes rest between major workouts, writers rest and revisit (it’s called editing), and employees take paid or unpaid time off of work (also known as vacation). If you’ve been at work for several months without a vacation, look into setting one up – maybe you need a week’s rest from work. But first, try taking a 20 minute “midday vacation.” Go outside, daydream, wander, and return. Perhaps all you needed was to give yourself a few minutes.

Choosing and switching a college major

Posted on April 10, 2010January 8, 2012 by Sarah K Peck

Hi Sarah,

I’m a junior in college, and that essentially means that I’m supposed to have my life figured out, but I feel like that’s not true at all! I am still undeclared in my major, although I’ve been focusing on economics and international studies during my first two years. I’ve been looking for jobs this summer and each time I interview with a consulting firm or a bank I find myself sitting there thinking about how I don’t want that to be my life. Last summer I was working at the American Embassy in Paris, and looking back I realize that what I love so much about it was being exposed to all of the contemporary art galleries and exhibits which really solidified my passion for art.

I feel like it’s too late to switch my major, and I feel like it’s not a good idea to pursue something new because I’ll be so behind and I’ll be at a disadvantage. The fact is, I don’t know what’s out there. As youthful and naive as this may sound, I’d really like to use this summer to explore the design field and be able to know at the end of that experience whether it is something I’d still want to do after college. Is it too late to switch my major? How do I know what field is the right field for me? Why am I having such a hard time choosing?

Thanks,
Having a hard time choosing my major

Dear HARD TIME CHOOSING:

I’m going to offer you a few random pearls of wisdom that I’ve heard from friends and learned along the way. Tuck these in your back pocket for the extra-stressful days.

It’s never too late for ANYTHING. If you want to start singing, dancing, running a business, publishing, investing – it’s never too late. Don’t feel like you missed the boat because you haven’t started yet. Instead, celebrate all that you have learned so far, what you’ve been exposed to, and how that has helped you understand yourself better. Have you ever met someone who started something in their 50’s, and thought, I want to be like you? The most amazing people in our lives are those who try everything and never give up on their dreams. Don’t be held back by your own doubts and thoughts – too often what holds us back is some mental story we’ve created about why we’re “too late” or not qualified. Just do it, no matter how hard or scary it is.

Failures are not failures, they are successes. If you spent five years learning about something and trying it out and realizing that it’s not for you, it is NOT A FAILURE. You’ve learned/analyzed/grown/deliberated/decided – and chances are you have acquired some useful skills along the way. A failure means that you’ve tried. Appreciate the opportunities you have to explore, learn, and practice. Even if you change your mind again in five years, you’ll still have learned about how to communicate, practiced business, budgeting, managed projects, made friends and new contacts, etc. The list never ends.

Take baby steps. You are not alone if you get really overwhelmed with the feeling of “I don’t know what I want to do with my life, ACK, why can’t I decide and why does it seem like everyone else knows what they want and I’m the only confused/depressed/scared/anxious one?!” When this happens to you, remember to break down your life plan into tiny, concrete pieces. You sound like you are a planner – and I am one, too. When I get obsessed with making a plan I have to remember to slow down, chew my “food,” and take it one bite at a time.

Full disclosure: In my mind, my life plan sometimes gets on a high speed train and sounds something like this: “Okay, first I’m going to work for 3 years, then I’m going to take my license exams, after 4 years, I’ll start my own business, when I’m 35, I want to be running my own firm, and when I’m 43, I’ll have 3 kids, a husband, and I’ll be the dean of a school, and be wealthy and comfortable, and …” [Yes, my life plans are that ambitious. It’s exhausting.] Unfortunately, I have to remember the next nugget:

Life doesn’t always go according to plan. The flipside to being so motivated, inspired and planful is that it can stress you out and make you really anxious in the present moment. The best advice I heard was recently was a gentle reminder that sometimes life doesn’t go according to plan. That’s part of the fun of it! It’s unexpected, scary, hard, overwhelming, and wonderful – beyond what you can even guess. Can you imagine if your life did go exactly to plan? How boring would it be to know every detail in advance, and never be able to stray from your plan!

Be grateful for choices – and don’t be afraid of making a decision. Make a decision, based on the information you have, and follow through. Indecisiveness can be a true wall that holds us back. When I get a case of the “what should I do” anxieties, I am reminded of a good friend of mine from college. She told me of the extreme lengths her family took to get her to the United States to be able to study, and how she was the first woman in her family to get a degree. I agonized over “picking a major” and after a few months of indecision she finally looked at me and said, “For crying out loud, make a decision already!” It was funny at the time but it was also a reality check: No one decision will ever be a “perfect” decision. We may move forward with doubt, but in the end, we should be grateful that we had the choice to make the decision in the first place.

On those notes, good luck choosing your major! Enjoy learning, enjoy your time at the University, and don’t be afraid to try anything you want to try.

Jenni Crowley, PhD: On Consulting, Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals

Posted on March 8, 2010 by Sarah K Peck

Dr. Jenni Crowley is a Management Consultant with Campbell Alliance Group, Inc. Jenni has a PhD in Immunology from the University of Pennsylvania and undergraduate degrees in Biology and Chemistry. A self-professed “science geek,” she does business consulting for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, helping them work through business issues related to marketing, sales, and managed care.

Did you do any advanced training or graduate work to prepare yourself for this field?

My job requires a mixture of scientific and business knowledge, so I prepared myself in grad school through PhD research and business classes. In addition, I worked as a consultant with several small biotech start-up companies while I was in school to get “real world” experience understanding the business side of science.

How did you decide to get into this field? Is there a pivotal moment during school (undergraduate or graduate studies), during an internship, or during a conversation with someone that led you to this area of work?

I discovered early in my PhD work that I didn’t want to be a “traditional” academic scientist and professor. I didn’t feel that my personality and interests were aligned with what it took to be successful as an academic. I knew that if I didn’t truly enjoy what I was doing, I would never be successful or, most importantly, happy. I started looking around for other career possibilities and stumbled across management consulting as an alternative career option for PhDs. I have to thank my business school friends for providing me with the support and coaching I needed to dive into this non-traditional PhD career path.

When did you start thinking about your post-education career? How did that influence your academic choices?

I started thinking about my career early in grad school because I wanted to find another option from the traditional academic route. I was able to adapt my grad school studies to include work for a biotech company and picked up business classes to help prepare for my transition to consulting.

Describe your experience searching for your job – how early did you start looking, and how long did it take to land your job?

I began actively job searching the summer before my PhD graduation. I was fortunate in that many consulting firms visited my graduate institution in search of good candidates. I was able to meet representatives from prospective consulting firms at career fairs and landed many interviews with top firms.

What is your typical daily schedule?

I don’t have a “typical” day per se, but it normally consists of a flurry of e-mail activity first thing in the morning, followed by meetings with clients regarding work I’ve already done for them or plan to do. The rest of my day is spent delivering on the promises I’ve made to clients and juggling a constant flow of e-mails and phone calls. My days are long—typically around 12 hours. I report to a manager, but mostly, I work independently and manage my own time. I’m now starting to mentor new junior staff members, which I really enjoy.

With regards to travel, I go where my clients are, so if I’m staffed on a Bay Area client project, I can sleep in my own bed. If my client is based in NYC, I’m in NYC. Thankfully, my firm has many clients in the Bay Area, so I don’t travel nearly as much as my colleagues in other consulting firms.

What are the top 3 things you like or enjoy about your job?

First – Career options. The great thing about consulting is that you get a taste of many different types of jobs and functions. For example, I may be working in a marketing role one week, and a sales role the next. No other job gives you such great exposure into these career options. What’s more, as a consultant, you work very closely with and advise the leadership of these teams, so it’s basically a ‘no-brainer’ for a future organization to hire you into a management role when you leave consulting.

Second – The money. Yes, it’s not a myth. Consulting pays well, especially when compared to my grad school stipend or a post-doc salary.

Third – The people. I work with brilliant leaders of top biotech and pharma companies. These people are extraordinarily talented and truly amazing to watch and learn from. I’ve learned a tremendous amount about effective leadership.

What are the 3 “lows” of your job – what do you like the least about what you do?

First – The hours. An ‘easy’ week for me is 60 hours and a ‘rough’ week is 100+ hours. I’d hate to know how many additional hours are spent thinking about work. It’s very difficult to keep a good work/life balance when so many of your waking hours are spent working.

Second – The intensity. Working for top-notch professional requires top-notch energy and mental stamina. It’s very exhausting to always be ‘on’ and poised for action.

Third – The unpredictability. Consulting is a service-based industry. You are at the service of your clients and at the mercy of your management staff. You never know what the next client meeting may bring or where your next project may be located. You have to learn to adapt to change very quickly.

When thinking about the transition from college to professional/work life, what took the most getting used to? What strategies did you use to adjust to the differences?

The constant need to be ‘on’ and mentally poised for action was the biggest transition for me. I remember taking naps between college classes or going for a long walk during an experiment in grad school. I don’t have those options anymore!

How do you define success in the workplace?

Success for me at my current job will be establishing my own client base, selling project work, training a staff of junior team members, and executing successful project work that pleases clients and helps contribute to the success of their business. In addition, I want to be seen as a thought leader in the healthcare business world.

What does “work-life balance” mean to you, and how do you maintain a work-life balance?

Haha! Don’t ask me! See “lows” above.

What advice do you have for recent college grads and new employees? Any words of encouragement or advice to offer?

Consulting is really hard, but very rewarding. Don’t dwell on the lows or the highs. My PhD advisor always told us that we had “24 hours to get over an extreme low or high.” As a consultant, I’ve reduced that time to 24 minutes.