Some exciting things are happening for me at work, finally. I have a new assignment, one that I really won with my vision of what this project should be. It’s an amazing oppotunity, and I’m hiring a team of five people for what will be my first real management experience. Though my boss continues to be located lots of states south of here, my clients are located in an office 25 minutes from here, and they’re not the types that like to do business over the phone. It’s going to be more hours, 2-3 days/week in the office, and my Fridays off may be in jeopardy. I will not be paid more, but I will be getting the management experience that I need to make myself more marketable, not to mention to feel like I’m finally making some progress in my career.
It occurs to me that this is one of those crossroads. I suppose another option would be to tell my boss that I don’t want the responsibility and to ask her to hire another team lead, while I continue in my role as individual contributor and continue to have time to spend with Gatito. But I feel like, if I have to work, don’t I deserve the satisfaction of a successful career? Don’t I even have a responsibility to be successful, to make sure I’m marketable if I ever lose this job, so that I can help to ensure our family’s financial security, so that we can pay for things like preschool, piano lessons, and college?
Life’s full of tough choices, isn’t it?* And so I plow ahead, making the best choices I can. I’m going to try to hire some really kick ass people who will be able to run with their own projects after a few months of training; I’m going to fight really hard to keep my Fridays clear, or at the very least my Friday afternoons; and I am going to be religious about leaving my desk at 5:00 to hang out with Gatito until bedtime, even if I have to go back to my computer after that. Wish me luck.
*Two points to anyone who can identify the character who says that in a certain recently re-released film.
