Can your perfect job be determined based on the games you play?
I've been working in IT for over 20 years. When I first started, it was new and I really enjoyed what I did. There was a bit of analysis of product requirements, a bit of programming, testing and seeing a piece of software come to life. Because I was new, I was given small tasks to complete one component of a larger project. My responsibility was to get that bit working and testing, and it would be "plugged" into the bigger system.
As with most things we do, we want more, we want to grow. We get better at what we do and are given more responsibilities. On the next project, you now get to create a larger part of the system. It's more complex, requires more thinking and time to solve, more programming and testing.
Many people thrive on this continuous growth cycle, they get more responsibility, more challenge, more satisfaction to deliver the final outcome. That's what I thought as I grew to become a "Tech Lead"; I owned the construction of the complete system, not all the programming, but the architecture and how it all hangs together. That led to being the Application Architect, designing and creating the architecture for the next system. Initially, this was fun, but as the system got more complex, and we built more component onto of components, I started to feel uncomfortable.
I couldn't put my finger on it. I thought, I'm just not smart enough to understand all this complexity, but it wasn't that. I understood it, but it just got very scary. I didn't enjoy it anymore, I didn't enjoy the job anymore. Hang on a sec, I've got this really good job, I'm on the trajectory I wanted (or should have), but how could I no longer enjoy it?
What has go to do with playing games?
Firstly, a bit about my childhood ...
When I was young, I got my first computer. I taught myself how to program, and the first things I did was to build a tool, a digital clock on the screen, with an alarm. The second was to build a game - a jumping game to see how far you could go avoiding blocks coming at you.
When I got a bit older, I got into playing Retro arcade games. Most games have levels. That is, you complete one screen, then there's another one with more things to do, and it is just a little bit harder, it is supposed to keep you hooked through the continual challenge. Even though I had fun playing, the concept of levels, and building on top of what I had already done, always bugged me. I always preferred games that were continuous with no levels, like Tetris. There weren't that many games like this in the arcade, so I started to write my own. I never really published any, but they all had this style to them.
So why am I write this now?
Because, after downloading a few new apps on my iPhone, I was cataloging them and it dawned on me that all the apps in the "Games" folder were all of the continuous game kind. It them made me think about my career and my job - I know, what a leap! I have had many jobs and roles, and today I an Enterprise Architect for a financial institution. I still have the hobby of creating tools and games, while on my commute to and from work. I am still at my happiest doing this.
I've been trying to determine if is it the process of creating, or the programming, or the fact that I'm not at work, that makes me happy. But somehow when I boil it all down, I think it has something to do with the fact that I create tools and continuous games.
I believe the tools are my way of needing to fill-in the gaps, when things are not straight forward, or small and I'm not feeling "harmonious". When I was the tech lead or application architect, I think it was the fact that even though I designed how the "thing" should work, I rarely saw things end up how I felt they needed to. Something was missing and I just couldn't put my finger on it, but when it was right, I just knew it.
For games, continuous games to be exact, I thought maybe it was same kind of thing. The fact that it's continuous, and there are no gaps, it has already achieved that harmonious feeling for me. But I believe it's actually the exact opposite. I like things to be harmonious, but that requires understanding and confidence, and therefore continually repeating something is my way of getting that feeling, or learning. And maybe I'm not so good with continuous change and new things, even though I think I am.
So how does all this help me with my job?
Well, the fundamental question is do I create tools and games because I just love doing that, or is it deeper than that, and it is an indicator of an underlying need for something more in my job and career. I've been at my current job for quite some time, and as of thinking and writing about this, it might be time to see if I can find the things (in my job) that give me that "harmonious" feeling. Otherwise ... I need to look for a job that allows me to have that, more of the time than not.
At least I know that I've always got the hobby of creating tools and games, and that makes me happy, and I can continue to do it, and it may eventually lead somewhere.
I don't know if this makes me a bit of a nutter, and what I've just written is just nonsense. But I do know that now, more than ever, I use and need that "harmonious" feeling as a gauge of whether something feels right. When I feel that "rightness", I am happy.
Check what games you play, and why. Maybe thinking about them (in addition to playing them), might give you some insight into what make you happy!
