I don’t take my career too seriously

I often see articles and videos on how to advance your career, be it in tech or in other industries. I had always had a bad taste for these videos.

I believe that my career should be fun and something that I am passionate about. The idea of doing things to ‘advance my career’ seems to go the opposite direction from that. It gives the perception that I am doing things for progress in this game called ‘career’ and it seems that the meaningfulness of the things I do is just reduced to means to achieve an end.

In contrast, I would like to take a more goal oriented view. When I find something I am interested about, I would do everything I can to achieve this vision that had appeared in my mind. The rewards is so enticing that it becomes an obsession to make that vision a reality. Oftentimes, it is coincidental that the actions that I will take to do so is also actions that will help me to ‘advance my career’, but the motivation and intentions are completely different. I believe that breaking into new frontiers and really only be achieved by the spirit of curiousity, interest and geniuine passion. It is difficult to see that when one treats their career too seriously, that it becomes a mundane chore and a checklist to go through.

I see my career as fun, light-hearted and always something that grows the fire in me. To me, fun and light-hearted can also mean ridiculously long hours, 60 hours programming marathons, but internally it still feels awesome because the goal of what I am building is so exciting.