Job in Chicago...
I have been up here for approximately 4 weeks now, 3 of which I have been working (2.5…but…you get the picture). I spent one week in Alaska with my wife (photos here), which was incredible. The trip was great…caught lots of halibut, brought back a taste of salmon, and got to see some really cool stuff. However, this post is titled “Job in Chicago”…not “Trip to Alaska”…so I’ll get off that subject now.
So far things are going well in the new town. My job is good. It is definitely different than my previous job…some of which is good…and some bad. The working environment is so different it is hard to compare them…as the list would go on forever. I think it boils down to a few MAJOR differences:
1.) Hours worked
2.) Intensity/Stress level
3.) Interaction/Relationships with co-workers
4.) Experience/Knowledge of the topics I deal with on a day-to-day basis
Numbers 1 and 2 are pretty much always a good thing to have in your favor, I think. I work pretty much 40-45 hours per week at this point. I am sure I will be increasing that number on occasion, but it seems to be a pretty consistant number for the environment I am in…which is about 20-25% less than it was at my previous job…at least. One point for Chicago.
Chicago: 1
KC: 0
I think the same goes for stress…and many times this a pretty much a relationship…as I think #1 is at least partially affected by #2. From my experience, as stress/intensity increases, typically hours do too…otherwise you would just stay working the same number of hours…if you didn’t think that increasing them would somehow reduce your stress the next day, week, month, etc. Then…the hours affect what you do in your “personal” time…which then increases the stress more…and you have something similar to a teeter-totter effect between work and life known as the “work-life balance”. Just my theory.
Anyway, at my previous job, this game of “teeter-totter” was similar to the little guy (‘Life’) playing teeter-totter with the fat kid on the playground (‘Work’). The skinny kid only had the joy of getting to allow the other person to the ground at the discretion of the fat kid, which isn’t fair to anyone other than “The Man” (the fat kid’s dad). This was fine when I was there…and would still be if I went back tomorrow…because of #3 & #4 (letting the cat out of the bag a little here, I guess). However, after being exposed to this sort of game…where, Life (skinny kid) gets to consistantly touch it’s feet to the ground known as “Thomas’s Time”, it is easy to see why people from outside that environment (known as “Cerner”) think it is crazy to work as long and hard as the employees do. One point for Chicago.
Chicago: 2
KC: 0
I knew #3 would be hard to replace when I left my job in Kansas City. The people were awesome. A person could not have asked for a better group of co-workers. We were constantly loaded with work, and most people were working 50-60 hours per week (many of us more)…many of which were between 10pm-6am or on weekends…and unplanned. It sounds crazy to the people that aren’t there, but the ones that are don’t think anything of it. That is cool…and I attribute most of that to the relationships that people establish with each other. It was not uncommon for a group of Cerner employees to get together in a circle at a party and talk about work the whole night…it is actually a problem that their (our) significant others point out (complain about) frequently. I think it is kind of like when you go to a foreign country and you find a pocket of people from the same country you are from hanging out. They may not have known each other at all prior to making the trip to this foreign place, but when they get there, it is something familiar for them to embrace…people they can share their thoughts opinions with freely and probably get nods of agreement from. Nobody from the foreign place can really GET what the people are talking about and referring to…you have to be a foreigner. When you are in Cerner, that is like your ‘United States’…and when you get out and go to ‘Europe’…a.k.a. ‘a party, a bar, etc’….you find other US citizens (employees) and shoot the shit with each other and hang out all night. I’m shootin’ from the hip here on this theory…and it makes sense to me…it may not to you at all. I think a lot of this score can be attributed to my length of time at GN so far…I have not had the time to establish a network of resources for any topic I deal with…which is always hard right away. The score could change in the future, but for now, one point for KC.
Chicago: 2
KC: 1
Number 4 is also something I knew I was getting into. The topics I primarily dealt with at Cerner (middleware, database, OS-level administration/troubleshooting, etc) were things I did in school and extensively at home…it carried over pretty well. Also, when I was leaving Cerner, I had 1.5 years of experience with the environment. At GN, I am working with hardware and software languages that are very specific to this field/industry…and I just started. I am basically going to be providing solutions to problems that are very common across both (or all) companies, it’s just that I am not as familiar with some of the tools I will be using to do so as I would like to be yet. I guess prior to working at Cerner, I was not even aware of the OS I primarily used while working there (VMS)…so I know it will come…just not there yet. One point for KC.
Chicago: 2
KC: 2
So…at this point, from a point-perspective, the two places are equal. Salary-wise, I am making a LITTLE more than I was in KC, but when you factor in the cost of living, moving, etc…it’s going to be pretty much a wash for a while. One thing to remember is that both #3 & #4 (KC’s points) are things that will probably changed with time. As I gain experience and a network of people, the score may change. I am not sure I will be able to sway #3, as that is something that is at least somewhat dictated by the environment the company promotes…not necessarily my personal effort. However, I am confident that #4 will come with a little extra effort and some time.
One thing I have definitely realized in this change is that #1 & #2 are very important…and are all relatively dictated by what the company promotes from within. #3 is also somewhat dictated by the company, but each individual has the ability to have their chance at the relationships they establish and how they communicate to maintain them…so a lot of this is on their shoulders. I think #4 is something that each individual has the ability and responsibility to manage. Each company is different. The employee needs time to adapt to the new environment…and it is their responsibility to do so…not the other way around. If they have assessed #1 & #2 correctly…along with the expectations, this should never be a problem.
So…am I happy I made the move? Yes. It is different…and I think that is important to experience. I think I will enjoy the city a lot, and have the time to do so often. The job is great…and it is only going to get better, from what I can tell. I definitely miss certain aspects of Cerner, at this point, and may never find again. I just hope that those that are not matched are replaced with other advantages of GN.