Working Women

Do you know what your friends do for work? Like, actually know what they do?

I don't, not really. In fact, one of my BFF's, Rachel, was a speech-language pathologist for a few years before it dawned on me to inquire further about her education and work, and here I am, several years later, following in her professional footsteps. I have a pretty decent understanding of what my friends do who are in health professions or in education, but I still don't know their day's play-by-play, what or who they are responsible for, or the stresses they either leave behind or bring home. And then there are those friends with jobs that I really don't get, like people in "marketing," "PR,"  or "sales," or people who "own a small business" or "work in the tech industry."

In another life, I would have thrived as a college or career counselor. I love thinking about and planning for the future - there are so many doors that open at points of transition, such as embarking on education, or changing jobs. I know some people view this as a time of great stress, but all I see is a time of tremendous opportunity, and I'm inspired. My husband would accuse me of being a "novelty whore," which is true even on the professional front. I could be a student forever, working toward these professions without ever having to actually work in them. I love to look for new jobs, and even start new jobs. Keeping said jobs? Not my strong suit. Which is why endurance and longevity is my challenge. I'm a sucker for those personality and job compatibility tests, asking me whether I want to work with people or on my own; whether I'd like to be outside or inside; if I'd rather use my hands or my brain. In fact, there is a Buzzfeed quiz that is practically viral on Facebook right now, and I might have succumbed to the Magic 8 Ball-like lure of the "What career should you actually have?" personality quiz, with the following results:

"You got: Writer.

You are a maker. Creative from the day you were born, you spend most of your time thinking about the world you live in. You are open to new ideas and value beauty and originality more than most. We both know you’re not really the office type, so give yourself some room to create. Other occupations: director, producer, advertiser."

Surprise, surprise. "Writer." Haven't quite figured out how people make a career out of writing, but at least I can claim to have been a paid writer at one point in my life, even if I hit the ceiling at 12 bucks an hour. Anyway, back to the topic at hand.

The thing is, I've never been one who can really imagine, like, truly understand, what other people do for work if they aren't a Doctor, Lawyer, Teacher, or Indian Chief. Sure, I understand the basic components, but I'm still curious about what people do all day. There are so many jobs in the world, and the fact we are ever expected to "know what we want to be when we grow up" is sort of beyond me. When I was really little, I wanted to be a gymnast, mother, or firefighter. Then sometime in grade school, I was all about going to the Air Force Academy and being a pilot or an astronaut. Sometime in high school I think I wanted to be a lawyer or judge, or maybe be Oprah or Dr. Phil, if those can be considered occupations. And then in college I loved social sciences, studied Psychology, and thought I'd make a badass prison psych, rehabbing those serial rapists and turning them into gentle kitten lovers. After college I wanted to be a writer, or a professional traveler. Neither of which really panned out for the long haul. And since then, while I mostly love my profession, I've entertained fantasies of being a buyer for a store like Paper Source, a writer for the Huffington Post, a grief counselor, a nurse anesthetist, a YA novelist, or a documentary filmmaker. And sometimes, when I want less responsibility or to be out of an office-like setting, I think about being a school bus driver or mail carrier.

Did you know the average American spends 90,000 hours at work in a lifetime? If you work about 40 hours/week for 49ish weeks a year, that's 1,960 hours right there. If you're 32, and have been working straight since college, you've already racked up 19,600 hours of work. That's a lot. That's 816 days. Or nearly 117 weeks. Or more than 2 solid non-stop years of work. And even someone like me, with a spotty resume and mostly schooling or part-time work, I've already clocked in some serious time on the job.

Let it be said, work is definitely not my everything. Nor should it be. Work is, well, work. I resent the idea that our jobs define us, as though we have to have paid employment to be something, that the only socially acceptable question at a cocktail party is "What do you do?", as if that's the only thing that makes us who we are. But let's be real, whatever it is that we "do" - whether in an office, in the field, or at home, whether paid, voluntary, or homemaking/child-rearing - how we spend our time is who we are, hobbies and extra-curriculars included. Work does indeed consume a good portion of my week. And I'm only half-time. I take pride in my profession; I spent (owe) tens of thousands of dollars and countless hours studying to get where I am today, after all. And I like talking about what I do for a living, because it most definitely is interesting to me, it's a part of who I am and what I stand for. So while I know work is not everything, it definitely is something.

Seriously, there are, like, a million jobs. And I want to know more about all of them. So that's where ya'll come in, telling me and the rest of the Interweb just what it is you do for work.

I was inspired by a fellow mommy blogger, Julia at My Life in Transition, who recently started a feature called Moms Make It Work, where fellow mommy bloggers share their "secrets" of motherhood. I really enjoy reading about other people's lives, learning their stories, both the exciting and the mundane. And while I love reading about moms and kids, I've been left wondering, "these women talk about their kids so much, when half of them spend just as much time on the job - I can tell you what size clothes their youngest is wearing, but I don't have a clue what they do for 8+ hours each day. Come to think of it, I barely know what my real-life friends do."

So here's where I'm headed - weekly guest posts from my Friends Who Blog Occasionally and non-blogger friends alike, answering prompts about what they actually do for work. Here's who I'm thinking might be interested/interesting ...

Liz - she's earning her PhD in English
Mari - I know she works something "legal"
Anna - she gets to travel internationally, as an HR-type, hiring employees for other companies
Amy - a PT and manager of a clinic, this one I know and understand
Libba - something about selling medical insurance to companies
Julia, who's not technically my friend, but whom I feel like I know, and she also works as a PT

And there's those who don't necessarily blog, but might be interested in writing me a little (or a lot) about their professional lives ...

Rach - fellow SLP
Katie - some kind of admin position with law firm, who thrives on organization and routine
Erika - a PT, but also an editor of sorts for an ultra-running magazine
Gretch - a PA, formerly in derm, and now I don't even know her specialty
Stac - a nurse practitioner on a stroke team
Anna PM - an MSW/licensed counselor
Laura - my cousin and an aspiring small business owner and dabbler in marketing/PR/sales/tech stuff
Lisa - our next door neighbor and an artist who runs her own company
Jenn - another neighbor and someone who does something for Apple from home
Steph - an acupuncturist and Burncycle instructor

See how little I know? These are my friends and family. It's embarassing. And I'm actually someone who asks questions about work and listens to the answers, but never get a good chance to downright interview my friends for the dirty deets. So here's my chance.

And maybe there are some peeps out there who don't blog or who aren't my friends - who have totally awesome jobs, whose jobs suck, or who are way bored by a seemingly cool job - maybe they, too, want to share their story?

Who's with me?!? Email me, comment here or on Facebook, and let me know if you find this interesting, as I do. If you're super lazy, you can just "like" this shit and that tells me a little something.


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Potential Interview Questions:

Bio info - who are you, how old are you, where are you from, where do you live, what's your living/family situation, what are your hobbies, etc. Essentially, what's your background story?

What is your current job/profession? What path did you take to get there?

What are the pros and cons of your current position?

Walk us through a typical day/week/month ...

What is something about your job that other people might not know or expect?

How much do you make? (Too forward?!? Probably. But let's be real, a large part of the reason we work is to make money - give us some deets about your income, as much as you feel comfortable sharing, whether specific to your personal salary, or generally speaking, as in, What Would Google Say).

Do you anticipate making any career changes in the next 5 to 10 years?

If you could have any other job in the world, what would it be?

If someone else was interested in your job, what piece of advice would you give them?

How do you balance work life and home life?