One month of full-time job
Today two days ago marks one month since I started working full-time. Since it was such a pivotal point for me, I’ve decided to share my experience so far.
Searching
The job I’ve started is not my first job per se. Apart from small gigs, I’ve had actual software development part-time positions. Due to this, I’ve always thought I had both good practical knowledge and a satisfactory amount of résumé filler.
Well, the job search proved me wrong. The absence of ‘real’ full-time positions did paint me as an inexperienced new boy. I was rejected a lot (which is fine), and I was ghosted even more (which I find quite rude). And those who were fine with me on board offered underwhelming salaries, especially considering how much of it would get taxed.
At the end, I’ve found a job that I thought suited me. Young team, good product, cool office; I was thrilled. There was one catch, though: The office I would have to work at was located in a different city, so my daily commute would take, on average, three hours. I would not ever accept this position, but the amount of remote work I was allowed to do after my trial period ends convinced me.
Anticipation
The two-plus months that took place between the signing of my contract and my first work day felt like an eternity. My mind was alternating between two polar opposite states. On one hand, I was bored and empty, and I couldn’t wait until I would finally start working. On the other hand, I was afraid of quickly losing interest, burning out, and of the eternal commute.
Before I even finished writing my bachelor’s thesis, I imagined doing a lot of work on myself in the free period until I would start working. Alas, I didn’t achieve even a tiny bit of it. Most days I was just relaxing — I guess, almost 6 years of university education left their weight on me. And I am very happy to have spent these days so ‘unproductively’.
A new beginning
These months were over very quickly. I didn’t even notice how October came along, and with it my new routine. For a night owl like me, waking up at 6 and leaving the house at 6:30 was inconceivable. I expected this to be the hardest thing for me to adopt.
And yet, it wasn’t.
Actually, nothing was, really. One month later, I am surprised by how smoothly this transition was. Every day, I wake up at six without too big of a problem. One hour later, I am on a train, feeling awake and excited for what’s to come. One more hour, and I’m finally at my desk. Ten hours later, I’ll be exiting the train station and looking for a bus home. And I am happy to do this; I am excited to go home as much as I’m excited to go to work the morning afterwards. The trains aren’t that bad after all, and my initially 70-hours-long podcast queue is now finally getting shorter :)
The source of my happiness
I guess I knew this all along, but this new job has once again reminded me of one thing: How tired and unsatisfied I was with university and its endless mix of classes, exams, and homework assignments. I couldn’t even imagine how I needed the monotony that a job brings with it. Instead of 5–10 different topics/technologies I had to think about at all times, it’s just one or two — the ones I work with.
But the best thing so far is the stable schedule. I can’t stress enough how great it is: going home and not having to think about anything job-related (or about my studies, for that matter). I love lying in my bed watching YouTube or working on my side project and not having to feel I would be wasting my time. It is so refreshing!
To conclude this post, there is one thing I used to tell myself and my peers while we were studying, and one I want to tell anyone who struggles with their university classes right now:
“When you get a job, it’ll be better.”
As for me, I couldn’t be more right.
This is post 009 of #100DaysToOffload.