CAREERS TODAY AREN’T LINEAR—AND THAT’S A GOOD THING!
By Kenisha Sequeira, Software Engineer Intern, Publicis Health
Years ago, a technician visited my house to install a fiber optic internet connection. I remember staring inquisitively at the blinking lights on the box. After a lengthy Q&A session with my father, I realized those lights meant I was connected to the internet, and to Google! This experience marked my life’s journey of summer camp coding classes, fixing my relatives' computers, teaching myself new software, and so on. As I grew up, it was apparent that I would pursue a computer-related career. However, I started questioning this notion in high school. I liked computer science, but I also liked event planning, cooking, art, and other potential professions. How was I to decide what I want to do for the rest of my life?
This question haunted me as I looked through the variety of exciting majors offered by universities. Although I stuck with Computer Science, any obstacle I encountered in a class, or in a project would trigger my paranoia and make me question this decision. My plan to get out of this rut of self-doubt was doing a Software Developer internship. Thankfully, I was offered that opportunity by Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness.
My role as an intern is multi-faceted, affording me the opportunity for hands-on development work. As part of my onboarding, I had the opportunity to virtually learn about the wide array of colleagues at Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness. As I met different leaders from across the organization, I asked them two questions: “What brought you to your current position?” and “Do you value your education or experience more?” I was amazed by the answers I received: project managers who were once psychologists, developers who were once musicians. Many had a passion for their current profession and spent their life exploring nuanced avenues within that field. The diversity in everyone’s journey contrasted with the sameness in their views for the second question. While they admired the base set by formal education, they valued the projects, internships, jobs, and people they encountered more and felt that played a bigger role in helping their career choice.
They all had one thing in common: there was no linear path to their careers. They didn’t carve a fixed path for themselves when they were young, but rather navigated through experiences and relished their journeys along the way. These conversations reiterated advice I had heard before, “enjoy what you do and do what you enjoy” and added new meaning to the phrase.
One of my colleagues mentioned the “tinkering personality”—a trait of curious individuals who ask the right questions and focus on learning. Oftentimes, we are afraid of wasting time or even worse, failing. But this is a “glass half empty” scenario. First, the value of knowing what you don’t like is underestimated. Experience in an area that doesn’t interest you empowers you to eliminate career options and to focus on other opportunities. Second, being in situations where you succeed or fail teaches valuable life skills that you only learn from real-world experiences. Lastly, every experience leads you to new connections that may just be your door to future opportunities and long-lasting relationships.
I believe we need to focus less on a career path and more on gaining knowledge. When we strive for a more holistic approach towards our careers, we are exposed to new ideas and build diversity in our professional experiences. Viewing your occupation as a goal makes the path seem like work and adds considerable stress. Focusing on the joys of the journey, and being inquisitive along the way, is what ultimately helps to shape your career. The game is just as vital as the goal!
