I have previously posted in here about how pointless I was finding the work I was doing, and how much I resented having to pretend to care. Well, I quit the job – and the industry – and went on a four-month hiatus to conduct some soul-searching. I half-heartedly looked for things to apply for during this whole time, but only one role actually jumped out as being something I was both interested in and potentially qualified for. I applied, and lo and behold, got the job! I started about three weeks ago, so it’s early days, but so far I have found it to be everything I had been searching for.
Without going into too much detail, the job is in the police, in a public service role, working on a project to implement some important but controversial reforms. The work I do on this project will actually change lives. Potentially, people who might have died will live (or vice versa, depending on how well my team does its job).
This makes me WANT to get out of bed every day. It’s the polar opposite of working in tech, where everything was about convincing people to use different software which may or may not be to their advantage. The only way my previous companies made money was to do whatever was profitable, whether it was in anyone’s best interest or not.
I know public service has its faults too, but for me, it’s such a breath of fresh air to be able to unashamedly base my actions on what is ultimately in the interests of the public good, without being mocked for it.
So I guess my message to this group is – although the serious social and structural problems with work in general still exist, and that’s what this group is fighting – in the meantime, just doing something you feel is important can help you cope a little better.