To make a living

I have spent a lot of time to ponder on why I work as a researcher and a programmer.  You see, this is one of those fundamental questions which people try to avoid.   Yet,  once you have the answers for one of them, you have a powerful conviction in your life and many difficulties become non-issues.

In the past, my answer of working on research has a lot to do with compassion.  I truly believe that technology can benefit human being.  I still believe so.   Though in reality, humans have a lot to do with technology development and humans......  let's just say you will have your own reason to feel unhappy with them.

Then, there is innovation.  I briefly considered.  In the modern day companies though, you are probably a small part of a very big framework to do something.  When you really publish a paper, you become one of the inconsequential second authors of the paper.  Your idea is usually not being used unless it convinces people high-up.   And when it convince people's high-up, it would become their ideas(!).

Go to read Putt's Law and the Successful Technocrat, you will know what I just said it's true for every single bit.

So, not compassion, not innovation, without them also implies there is no fun as well. Ok, no fun as well...... What can we think of...?  Ah.

Money.

Yes, at the end of the day, your rational judgement of whether you should take a certain job should always boil down to optimizing money.   My job is certainly not a darling.  But I buck up because I want to make a living and pay off my house.  My boss is one of the most brain-proud person in the world and talking with him is suffocating but I always think, "This is just part of the hostile situation, I am going to think of a solution to talk with him".    Some of strategies include I would avoid social interaction with him - so I avoid the group lunch because he is always taking up the conversation token but got pissed when the token is taken from him.  This gives me the reputation of "anti-social".

I decided to take all these.  Not because I have any compassion or can be innovative about the job, but I want to make a living.  I have myself and my family to take care.

But fellows, that doesn't mean this is a compromise.   If you found that you are one of my situations, what you should do is to make sure you equipped yourself during these kind of bad time.  Here is the 5 things I do,

• Learn: take every chance to learn.   Learn everything that can help you - work-related stuffs such as programming courses or classes, thinking-related stuffs such as Math, Physic.  Learn, Learn, Learn.  Your job sucks, you don't.   Think of how to optimize the experience if it is not the most ideal. 
• Take control of your life.  Your job is not you.  Your employer is not really your boss.  You are. You should conduct yourself like it is a company.  A good company.  So don't crazy things when time is rough and economy is bad.  Be responsible for your life.  
• Connect with other people: Your boss sucks it doesn't mean all of your co-workers suck.  You co-workers suck doesn't mean every one besides you suck.   Positive interaction is indeed a random event but whether you want to seek one is decided by you. 
• See it as  problem: Don't see limitations as limitations.  See it as opportunities for you to grow as a person.  You don't always win in every life's situation.  So when life is tough, you should be in your problem solving mode - think! how should I deal with difficult people?  Treat it as a problem.  Never subscribe to the theory that "I am that kind of person and he/she are those kinds, so we can't get a long forever."  Every problem has a solution.  If you give up, then there is none. 

This is a big motivational but I think it's as every bit true as well.  Go on living, programmers and researchers.  You guys are smart group in the population.  You deserve a good life and feel happy. 

33_P