Why We Do What We Do

Over the weekend, I went about and interviewed a friend, some co-workers, and a random stranger or two. I have compiled this information along with my years of being generally nosy, and have come up with this gem of wisdom: we are all completely different. No, really.

What? You already knew that? Alright, let me give you some details just for grins.

People who I interviewed who had an aura of intelligence, have stayed with their respective companies for years. They know the business pretty well, and therefore have moved up to at least lower management positions. When job hunting, they went where their friends were working. These people generally were young adults, no older than 27ish. While most didn't really have a clear-cut plan as to where they were going to end up in life, they didn't have any unreasonable expectations, either.

Older employees who were in the lower ranks varied greatly in definition. There were those who were "slow" or had a low maturity level, and there were those who were laid-off of company jobs when the recession scare hit. These people had no other skills and could not find another employer that was looking to hire. The only thing left for them was CS. An exception was a man who hurt himself on the job and has been unable to go back.

And then, of course, the high school crowd. These kids are not too stupid for the most part (however there are a lot of them who'd like to try to prove me wrong). They just got cars and need to pay for the insurance. Or their parents pay for all that, but they want to go on dates...whatever the reason, these teens are just now starting to personally contribute to the economy. If they work for the right people and for the right company, then they will learn valuable lessons concerning leadership, money management, hard work, and honesty. If not, then probably the opposite of all of these things.

One thing that I noticed though, is that people who work for businesses that stay open late tend to be night owls. These teens and young adults would have already been staying up until two or three in the morning doing whatever they do without the help of a job. I have met one or two guys like that in my time. They can't function at normal hours. Therefore, an office job is out of the question.
Finally, quick word on office jobs: one thing that a lot of us are capable of doing is getting an office job such as data entry or a secretarial position. With myself included, many of us do not want to sit behind a desk or inside a cubical all day. While we may stand behind a counter and work at a register, we are still moving around, working with our hands, meeting new people and joking around with each other and the customers. Our jobs are actually quite enjoyable and we cringe at the thought of a desk.

Basically we're here to pay our bills, like you. We do things a little differently, for different reasons, but we are real people. Whether we stay up until 9 at night or 9 in the morning.