The five-year plan

[sarahmichigan]

Probably because I've been going on interviews where they ask the standard "Where do you see yourself in five years?" question, I've been thinking about my long-term plans.

I've always thought it was kind of silly to plan where I wanted to be five or 10 yeras down the road. I don't fucking know! And things never work out exactly as you plan, anyway, so it's best to keep yourself open to whatever comes. When I graduated from college, I certainly didn't see myself spending 5.5 years at a newspaper, but am glad I did it.

On the other hand, it probably is good to have some kind of plan, even if it's a loose, vague one. You can't accomplish much if you don't plan well. I think probably the best compromise is to have a rough plan, but to recognize and remember that sometimes something exciting will come along that falls outside your plan, and it's best not to be overly-rigid and miss out on an interesting opportunity.

I know that in five years, I want to be doing something related to writing and editing. I don't much care what it is, as long as it's tolerable, pays enough for me to live on, and is something that doesn't cause a great deal of stress.

My job is not my life. My job is something I do to make money so I can do the things that are important to me. I almost lost sight of that my last 8 or 10 months at the newspaper.

Comments

[jenx.livejournal.com]

I think that's a big difference between us and the generation before. I think that's also something that companies need to adjust to, because employees don't put up with that so much anymore, the unofficial overtime that eats into their lives. Our jobs aren't our lives, they aren't our top priority.