When I’m asked about my job, I tend to think of it in terms of three Cs: compensation, convenience, and career development.
Compensation is of course important, because I don’t intend to work for free. My family has spent the last four years funneling an enormous amount of money into the belly of a major(ly expensive) educational institution and clearly, I’m looking for some decent return on that investment.
Convenience is important because if its not easy to get to work, if my living situation is awkward or overly-expensive, then life, no matter how much I’m paid, would be absolutely miserable.
Career development is probably the most important consideration, as degrees of compensation and convenience can improve over time and are oftentimes dependent on one’s career track. A solid network of colleagues and steady progression of job skills is a lot more rewarding and valuable than the lower salary or increased inconvenience of one’s job.
Yet, on a day-to-day, hour-by-hour basis, the things that make or break my mood are not these big, macro-level things, but the little things.
What do I really value when I walk into the office Monday early morning? Is it my salary? No. Is it the fact that it’s in the Bay Area? No. Is it the fact that my career offers me a wide range of professional development opportunities? No.
What really makes me happy when I walk in is a bowl of Special K Red Berries cereal. It’s the fruit that the firm buys for all of us to eat, whenever (I’m particularly fond of plums and nectarines). It’s my nice view from the top floor. It’s the fact that the office room is always stocked. It’s knowing that if I have any technical problems, a tech support group is always on call. It’s the convenience that the corporate intranet allows me to quickly instant message anybody in the firm to chat or to conduct business. It’s the fact that the guy who sits next to me can be both a consummate professional and a hilariously funny friend. It’s the fact that there is a refrigerator stocked with bottled water, soda, and juice. It’s the fact that I don’t have to struggle to find parking. It’s the fact that if I email the list of newly starting consultants with a question about how to find X type of financial data, I get bombarded by emails within 5 minutes from 80% of them — the other 20% responding by the end of the day.
Yes, the big things are important — and they keep me fed, paid, and able to talk about what I do with a sense of accomplishment. But its the little things that make the job not only easier to do but one helluva lot more (I’m not going to say fun, because it’s still work) bearable.