Want a second grade testing job?
I don’t. Nobody does.
Yet I meet regularly people bitter with their jobs. As if they have been thrown into the environment as ragdolls of the very life itself.
Feelings of pointlessness bother them. It makes sense because doing work that makes no difference to the people they serve does that to anybody.
Bitterness however is useless for two reasons.
- If you can do something to influence your situation for the better, bitterness is useless, because you can do something about the cause.
- If you cannot do anything to influence your situation for the better, bitterness is useless, because you can’t do anything about it anyways.
Unless we are in extreme environments like jail or a concentration camp, there is always something we can do. The difficult part just happens to be difficult for a reason.
It would mean taking ownership of everything that is under a radius of our influence. And that influence may reach further than we might perceive at first. Takin charge of our destiny is hard.
What would you have to be in order to become more valuable? In fact so valuable that you would be dearly missed if you left?
Those bitter for their testing jobs usually have handed over their ownership ages ago. The ownership most important to success has been subcontracted to beliefs like.
I just don’t know coding. My organisation never changes. The boss doesn’t understand whats it like. Automating tests is just no my thing. The manager doesn’t understand the value of exploration.
The list could go on and on. It never ends once we start drilling into the excuses. And yes. I really suggest the organisation is an excuse like any other. Find a new one it that’s what it takes.
Beliefs shape both our professional and personal destiny.
By all mean. Please stick to your beliefs if you like them. But be critical. Do they really serve you?
The world will move on with or without your consent. Your professional and personal future boils down to your beliefs. Shed the useless ones and replace them with inspiring and uplifting ones.
Learn coding if that’s what it takes. Find out how cultures change and learn story telling to influence you organisation. Help the boss understand. Make automation your bitch! Show them the value of exploring. Learn to make it so visible it simply cannot be ignored anymore.
Bitterness is pointless. Instead read. Write. Model. Talk. Show. Own. Teach. Sweat. Try. Fail. Experiment. Repeat.
Find out what you need to do for you, in order to become the kind of a professional who makes it to the next level.
Then repeat once more.
Love the process.
