Monday, August 14, 2006

It's Not a Secret Anymore

I've been thinking about switching jobs. I wouldn't be leaving my library, just going to a completely different position in the same building. Until today, this was something I absolutely could not speak of in public. My prospective new boss swore me to secrecy around the library, forbidding me to even whisper the fact that he was so-unofficially-it-wasn't-even-official-enough-to-be-called-unofficially speaking to me of it. So over the past month I did a lot of thinking about it. I talked to one co-worker about it because 1.) I know who can keep their mouths shut around here and 2.) she's done the switch from front to back or vice versa. And then Friday, my Top-Secretive-Offer-Me-a-Job-Without-Really-Offering-Me-a-Job-Prospective-New-Boss talked to his boss (a real one) and told her that he had approached me about the whole thing, but that nothing was even close to official, we were just talking. Today, out of the blue, one of my bosses (a real one, this time) called me into his office and asked me about the fact that I was thinking of changing jobs. Apparently, the real bosses talk to each other (now who would have suspected that? :) ) He was very honest with me, and I was with him, and it was a really good conversation. So it's come down to decision time, here in the life of this happy librarian. I love my job in the reference department. Love it, love it, love it. Love talking to the students and most of the facutly/retirees (there are a couple of glaring exceptions), love working on the web site, love the periodicals, love the vast majority of the people that I work with (or at least, I tolerate them so well that they think that I love them, and that's just as good, right?), love, love, love, etc. I look forward to my job, I don't mind going to work (which is saying a lot, 'cause I'm a lazybones at heart). So why in the world would I switch? Because I want to do something completely different before I get totally rooted in one place. It happens with many librarians - they get in a job that they enjoy and they don't get out. They're happy there, and that's great. I want to do that one day too (mostly because it takes a lot of energy to learn a completely new job, and I think I already mentioned the lazybones side of me?). But before I get too lazy, I want to see the other side. The non-public service side. What a lot of people call the boring side. Boring? hmmm... I'll get to read lots of things - and get paid to do it. I read fast. I love the indexing that I already do, and getting to do it 8 hours a day may get old...but did I mention that I'll have spreadsheets to play with? Have I introduced you to my love of a good spreadsheet? My best friend tried to put me in therapy when I showed her the spreadsheet monstrosity that I made to organize my wedding. It was a thing of beauty. The finished product - completed the day of my wedding, as I checked things off - was color coded, cross referenced and subject sorted. If I had had a laptop at the time, I'm sure that I would have had it at the side of the actual ceremony in case I needed to check something. And then there's the flex-time. I'll get a lot more flexibility with my hours, which can only be a good thing. I miss being able to leave work a couple of hours early on a whim because I worked a little extra the week before. I'll get a boss that won't drive me batty (always a plus) and technicians that won't complain that my brand-spanking-new-state-of-the-art printer is pumping out toxic fumes (don't even let me get started on that one). I won't have to work weekends or nights. No more getting home from work at 11 PM only to turn around and leave again at 6:15 AM. And I know that I'll come back up front. I don't want to leave it forever - I just want to see how the other side lives for a little while. So I think I may be ready to try something new.

2 comments:

K.A.S. said...

Yay sis! Take a walk on the dark side.
I've got my fingers crossed for you xx

smdrm said...

you go girl!!