Career ruminations.....
It may be time to take a good hard look at my life - especially my job and career. I love what I do, I like having a flexible schedule but I certainly could use more money and I don't like some of the things that have happened lately. Most of the animals I take care of are wonderful. But, everyone once in a while I get a wild card. In December, I was bit by a lab/pit mix. It was a fairly serious wound and, because of the location of the bite, could lead to a a more serious conclusion. Yesterday, one of the "junk yard dogs" I walk escaped and killed a neighborhood cat. It all happened very quickly and the situation was beyond my control. The cat was a stray that a neighbor was feeding in hopes of trapping and spaying. She was pregnant. Dogs need to be trained. The owners of these dogs have done no training and all three of them are large, mixed breed and out of control. I've been working with them and they've gotten better, but I'm not a trainer. There are so many "what ifs" in this particular situation. What if it was someone's actual pet? How would I feel if it was one of my babies? What if it was a child? (The owners have a 2 1/2 year old child themselves.) I can't spend all of my time dealing in "what ifs" but I CAN decide if i want to put myself in such a potentially dangerous situation. Besides the fact that yesterday was horrifying for me emotionally, which is never a good thing.
So, today, I'm wondering if I should bite the bullet and go back to the "real world" of employment. I would lose my flexibility, my ability to take time off whenever I want to, and some of the job satisfaction I currently have. I like that I am still working in my chosen field of marketing and events in my current job and I have really made a big difference to the company's profits since I became the marketing manager. But, I certaily don't make the income I was making and, there are an awful lot of wild cards in my current job. So, less flexibility, more money, possible less job satisfaction, equal responsibility (or maybe even less)....
I also need to think about the long-term effects on my career. I have lots of professional and managerial marketing experience but, even though I'm currently still managing a marketing program, it is on a much smaller scale than I was doing before (major company, large region, etc).
There's also the fact that Chris' job has given him less flexibility with time off. Even though he has an insane amount of vacation time, he can't take it like he used to.
I don't know if I'm just having a gut reaction to yesterday's events or if this has really just jump-started what has been floating around in the back of my mind for a while. But, either way, it is probably worth thinking about.
So, today, I'm wondering if I should bite the bullet and go back to the "real world" of employment. I would lose my flexibility, my ability to take time off whenever I want to, and some of the job satisfaction I currently have. I like that I am still working in my chosen field of marketing and events in my current job and I have really made a big difference to the company's profits since I became the marketing manager. But, I certaily don't make the income I was making and, there are an awful lot of wild cards in my current job. So, less flexibility, more money, possible less job satisfaction, equal responsibility (or maybe even less)....
I also need to think about the long-term effects on my career. I have lots of professional and managerial marketing experience but, even though I'm currently still managing a marketing program, it is on a much smaller scale than I was doing before (major company, large region, etc).
There's also the fact that Chris' job has given him less flexibility with time off. Even though he has an insane amount of vacation time, he can't take it like he used to.
I don't know if I'm just having a gut reaction to yesterday's events or if this has really just jump-started what has been floating around in the back of my mind for a while. But, either way, it is probably worth thinking about.