Or, my options runneth over...
As if, at last blogging, my choice were not convoluted and difficult enough, the plot has thickened. My supervisor has resigned effective mid-February. This creates two additional potential options: 1) vault, inconceivably, from level 2 PT to level 4 inpatient PT manager, or, more realistically, advocate for one of the level 3 PTs to get the level 4 spot for semi-self-interested reasons. Both options keep me "in the system", which I am presently, enthusiastically opposed to. But arguably, I'd be insane not to pursue the 4 position. At 28, from an outsider's perspective, to not show the initiative in applying/interviewing would be a bigger hit to my "in system" career than flat out leaving for a better opportunity.
Speaking of which... there are more.
But first, in a world of real problems, in which global attention is rightly centered on the decimation in Haiti, this blog must read as the trifles of a spoiled brat. When forced to step back and contextualize my "difficulties", life is gloriously good, idyllic in fact. My pitfall, I suspect shared by others feeling the need to Move It, is micro-focal worries. One day I will learn to make decisions in the macro-mindset... maybe when I grow up, that is.
But yes, on to more. A peer suggested business opportunities on the horizon in a technology related PT field. "Dynamic" and "Innovative" were also thrown about just to press all of my nerdy, over exuberant buttons. Add to that a friend of a friend heading up some part of the Health initiative at Google and my imagination is a whirl.
So what does this all mean to my largely inchoate plan? No going down to 32 hours! That's probably not a move they would look for in an aspiring manger... or could it be a brilliant piece of strategy. Promote me or lose me.!?... In another system perhaps that would/could be understood by the powers that be. Here I fear it would be missed. Unsurprisingly, I'll leave the hours drop on the table, surely no one would expect me to narrow my options, right?
An aside, I discovered today that I made less money in '09 than in '08. 'Huh?', you say? 'Huh?', I echo. Within a small company, in a slow economy, that's plausible. "In system", I feel duped. To reiterate, spoiled brat = me.
So where, in all of this, does decision theory come about? How do you compare disparate options on an ordinal scale? Therein lies a problem. New Professionals don't compare options, we compare hypothetical, parallel futures. If that's not treacherous, I'm not sure what is. Why are we better at weaving baskets than divvying up eggs? (Weaving, which I am clearly better at than coming up with analogies.)
While that seems a reasonable stopping point for a blog, I'll attempt to implement the Hemingway'ian method of 'stop while you are writing'. That seems counterintuitive in the age of blogs. We stop at a sound bite; we stop with a theme. Reward, not provocation, is the endpoint. Is that an evolution of prose or a byproduct of our shrinking attention spans? If I answer that question, do I perpetuate the cycle? In all fairness, I should concede that, also Hemingway'esque, I couldn't stop quite yet because I was not finished with my drink and didn't want to leave my spot at the bar.
Cheers,
Ben
that google health opportunity sounds like it has some wicked potential... that shrinking attention span article looked interesting but I just skimmed through it
ReplyDeleteThat's a great quote, that we do not compare options but instead parallel futures. I very much agree with that and I think it is an ideal way to look at the long term taking into account the macro possibilities as well. It is an exciting time that will and can make huge implications on our field.