People Who Really Love Their Jobs

A program that Vicki and I have been watching recently (thanks, in part, to the scarcity of new episodes of our favourite night-time dramas) is Nova on PBS, as well as its (I assume) spin-off, Nova Science Now. We find most of the segments on both shows to be filled with fascinating and enlightening information, which I'm sure is hardly a revelation to those who've been enjoying them for years.

What may be a revelation, though, is my observation that virtually all of the scientists and specialists shown on Nova and Nova Science Now seem to really, truly love their vocations. Whether it's a middle-aged NASA biologist rejoicing at the photos coming back from Mars and working day and night to analyze them, a 60-year old volcanologist sifting through ash sent to him from all over the world, or a fresh-out-of-school oceanographer tracing the history of evolution by studying new species of fish at the bottom of an unexplored trench, they all have a lot in common. Their job is their passion; they feel that their work is important in some way; and they love talking about what they've observed or discovered.

In fact, the sense I get from watching this ever-changing cast of characters, week after week, is very similar to what Dan Pink spoke of in the TED session that I referred to on the AgileMan blog recently. He described a work environment consisting of "Autonomy-Mastery-Purpose" devoted to the process of producing software: having a great deal of say in how you go about your job, being granted the time and tools to become a master of your particular craft, and believing that your work matters. It's interesting to me to see this perspective showing up, again and again, in different arenas. And yet, when we're in the midst of a Nova episode and I'm marveling at the enthusiasm flowing out of the men and women on the screen, I often find myself wondering, "How many people in any of the places that I've worked would ever have looked that animated in describing their own activities?"

Now that I've reached the point in my life where I no longer have to toil away at jobs I don't enjoy, this sort of Autonomy-Mastery-Purpose paradigm has become very important to me. I can afford to walk away from opportunities that don't seem to provide that framework for me (as I've done), and to seek out ones that do. While I certainly may change my mind on this point later, so far my Math Tutoring experience has fit very nicely into that structure. I have the freedom to choose my students as well as the material that I teach (to some degree) and the approach that I take (to a large degree). I have the time and inclination to do research on these topics, so that I bring more and more expertise to them with each passing month. And I'm able to see positive change in young minds that has at least the potential to open new doors for them later in life. It's a rewarding use of my time well beyond the simple accumulation of income (although that part's nice, too!).

It'd be easy for me to advise every person out there who's stuck in a job they don't love to rise up and cast off their shackles of nine-to-five drudgery, but of course that's not always feasible. After all, in many cases it's more noble to toil away at that kind of work for awhile, rather than leaving loved ones in the lurch. But I definitely encourage anyone within the sound of my "voice" to think more about what they could be doing with their life that would give them greater joy, and then work out a plan on how to transition toward that while still making a living and putting food on the table. Life's too short to do otherwise, I think.