My job for the past number of years has been marketing technology products.
For the most part I love it – the amazing ways people are finding to manipulate machines to improve lives (even if it doesn’t always work out that way) is fascinating. The communities are exciting; the innovation is inspiring. I love the feeling I get when someone discovers our products, engages with us as a company, and is profoundly thankful that what we do has made them better at what they do.
And then I try to explain to my grandmother what I do.
“Well, many businesses buy a really big software system to run everything at their companies, like hiring and bookkeeping and inventory, and the software we build helps one of those pieces work better…”
“I tell people about the software we make and show them how it can help them make the most of this other software they have….”
“How? I build calculators to show that spending $40,000 can save them $80,000 and go to user groups to share ideas and write papers and presentations to explain the technology and….”
“Yes, I’m sortof a writer. No, it’s not like writing a book or for newspapers and magazines. Mostly it goes through email.”
My job, in my grandmother’s eyes, is reduced to writing (sortof) and sending email. And she still doesn’t understand why I didn’t go work in a bookstore.
So I think it’s understandable that when I can get out of the magical world of ones and zeros and make something that I can point to, touch, have aches and blisters from building, and whose form and function are plainly obvious to anyone, anywhere in the world, I get pretty excited.
Over the past long weekend, we fenced in our pig pen! Pigs arrive first week of June.
As I get further and further away from work that anyone understands, I get more and more satisfaction from things that everyone can relate to.
I would very much like to eat part of your pig. In return you can eat some of our zucchini, tomatoes, apples, and/or squash. Next year we plan to have more, but we have to terrace the backyard. If you want more blisters you can come help with our retaining walls 🙂
For some reason I thought the title of the post was “Penciled In” as in, “I’ll have an appointment” 🙂
.-= Raul´s last blog ..Win tickets to opening night of Prodigals #theatre =-.
+1. While I in no way dislike the fact my work is difficult to explain to someone outside my field, I am finding physical, tangible work more satisfying. After spending 5 hours working in the garden this weekend, and several hours a day in the kitchen, I find that I’m enjoying every minute of it.
.-= Chris Simmons´s last blog ..Weather woes =-.
I could never explain my job to anyone but now “I work for Disney” seems to make people happy enough that they don’t ask for further details 🙂 It will suck when I work somewhere else and there’s no such distracting comment for me.
.-= gillian´s last blog ..Supreme embarrassment time =-.