Sunday, June 10, 2012

Life, It is a Changin’

As some of you may know, I have been working as a Civil Engineer for over 15 years.  When I was in college at Ohio State I had a strong interest in Traffic Engineering, but at graduation was not able to find a job in that specific field.  Instead I took a job as a Roadway Engineer for a small consulting firm.  I learned a lot at that job and eventually I moved on to another company.  Now, I was doing much of the same kind of work and no hope of doing Traffic work.  So I moved on again later that year to another consultant that promised I would get to work on Traffic.  Fast forward ten years and I still was not getting to do much traffic.  I was let go and moved on to another company which was a small start-up.  I had high hopes at this job that I’d get to do Traffic since they had work in other offices with this emphasis.  Again, this didn’t pan out.  So… when I got a phone call from another firm that has been around for 90 years and was asked if I was interested in a Traffic Engineer position… it was an easy decision.  Last Wednesday was my first day at my new job and I must say that I’m excited at the prospects of finally using my Traffic knowledge and building my experience. 

Why am I telling you all this? 

Because this is part of my story.  We spend so much time at our jobs (more than half of our awake lives!) and we rarely talk about it. Recently I was able to visit my dad and other relatives up in Indiana.  I’m glad I was able to make the trip up there even if it was a short visit.  While I was there my dad gave me several bags full of old photo albums and miscellaneous items.  I had a blast looking through it all and soon discovered my grandmother had a handwritten book full of her work experience.  She had worked for a number of different jobs and it was really fascinating to see her notes regarding what she learned on the job.  I hope to eventually sit down and scan it all, but for now I’ll just enjoy learning about a time in her life that until now I knew very little. 

I asked my dad a while back to share what kinds of jobs he had worked over the years and he has a particularly fascinating story.  He has been worked in manufacturing plants, been a math teacher, cab driver, social worker, computer programmer, taxi business owner (twice), and even is learning to be a day-trader.  My mom has similarly varied experiences with work in retail, seamstress, sewing business owner, adult education teacher, senior citizen activity director, and has worked retail in several garden centers.  Both of my parents are highly intelligent (go figure!) and I find that like them, I’m a constant learner.  I like the challenge of learning something new and finding ways to excel at what I do.  I have a lot of interests myself, but find that I have to really focus on one or two things to really do well.  My focus this past year and a half has been on genealogy and developing my business.  Now, I will have two things to enjoy and learn from and I’m thrilled at the prospects.  I love a good challenge and am most effective when I’m busy.  This new job promises to be all that.  So look for great things to come!

 

1 comment:

Nancy said...

Congratulations, Jen, on finally getting to do what you most wanted to do with your degree. I hope it turns out even better than you thought it would!

Lucky you to have all those photos PLUS the writings of your grandmother about her work experiences. I'll look forward to reading them when you eventually get them scanned and posted.

Best wishes with your new job!