It makes me smile;
So I just got this e-mail from one of the girls in the Physics 211 (=calculus-based study of mechanics) facilitated study group that I speedwalk back after band rehearsal to lead every Tuesday evening. It's a paid position, and although I love every job I've had for always different and always interesting reasons, this is the one I've been the best at so far, and even before this e-mail one of the most rewarding:
"Hello Tamara,
I just wanted to let you know that I received all the correct answers for the
problems that we worked on tonight!
Thank you very much and I now feel like I am understanding physics a little
bit more! When you begin to understand the concepts, physics really isn't that bad!
Thanks again,"
I love explaining things that I understand (especially math/science), I love working with motivated, intelligent people, and I love feeling like my work really made a difference.
I had a stressful/upsetting Monday that involved breaking lab equipment that is, er, was critical to the research and I felt sorta dejected and failure-ish because of it. Even if it's unintentional (as lab errors almost always are), screwing up in lab is always highly upsetting. So today, after two hours of scrawling equations and lecturing my freshman physics sprouts on focusing on problem-solving techniques, that e-mail pushed me back over the edge of having self-worth.
That feeling is about 103949009438 times more important to me than the paycheck I get for this job, but it's cool that I'm getting paid for this too.