• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 01:11
CEST 07:11
KST 14:11
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
[ASL19] Finals Recap: Standing Tall10HomeStory Cup 27 - Info & Preview18Classic wins Code S Season 2 (2025)16Code S RO4 & Finals Preview: herO, Rogue, Classic, GuMiho0TL Team Map Contest #5: Presented by Monster Energy6
Community News
Weekly Cups (June 30 - July 6): Classic Doubles2[BSL20] Non-Korean Championship 4x BSL + 4x China9Flash Announces Hiatus From ASL66Weekly Cups (June 23-29): Reynor in world title form?14FEL Cracov 2025 (July 27) - $8000 live event22
StarCraft 2
General
The GOAT ranking of GOAT rankings The SCII GOAT: A statistical Evaluation Weekly Cups (June 23-29): Reynor in world title form? Weekly Cups (June 30 - July 6): Classic Doubles Program: SC2 / XSplit / OBS Scene Switcher
Tourneys
RSL: Revival, a new crowdfunded tournament series FEL Cracov 2025 (July 27) - $8000 live event Sparkling Tuna Cup - Weekly Open Tournament WardiTV Mondays Korean Starcraft League Week 77
Strategy
How did i lose this ZvP, whats the proper response Simple Questions Simple Answers
Custom Maps
[UMS] Zillion Zerglings
External Content
Mutation # 481 Fear and Lava Mutation # 480 Moths to the Flame Mutation # 479 Worn Out Welcome Mutation # 478 Instant Karma
Brood War
General
BGH Auto Balance -> http://bghmmr.eu/ ASL20 Preliminary Maps [ASL19] Finals Recap: Standing Tall SC uni coach streams logging into betting site Flash Announces Hiatus From ASL
Tourneys
[BSL20] Non-Korean Championship 4x BSL + 4x China [BSL20] Grand Finals - Sunday 20:00 CET CSL Xiamen International Invitational The Casual Games of the Week Thread
Strategy
Simple Questions, Simple Answers I am doing this better than progamers do.
Other Games
General Games
Nintendo Switch Thread Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread Path of Exile What do you want from future RTS games? Beyond All Reason
Dota 2
Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion
League of Legends
Heroes of the Storm
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Heroes of StarCraft mini-set
TL Mafia
TL Mafia Community Thread Vanilla Mini Mafia
Community
General
Summer Games Done Quick 2025! US Politics Mega-thread Russo-Ukrainian War Thread Stop Killing Games - European Citizens Initiative Summer Games Done Quick 2024!
Fan Clubs
SKT1 Classic Fan Club! Maru Fan Club
Media & Entertainment
Anime Discussion Thread [Manga] One Piece [\m/] Heavy Metal Thread
Sports
Formula 1 Discussion 2024 - 2025 Football Thread NBA General Discussion TeamLiquid Health and Fitness Initiative For 2023 NHL Playoffs 2024
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
Computer Build, Upgrade & Buying Resource Thread
TL Community
The Automated Ban List
Blogs
momentary artworks from des…
tankgirl
Culture Clash in Video Games…
TrAiDoS
from making sc maps to makin…
Husyelt
StarCraft improvement
iopq
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 639 users

The Three Most Important Aspects of Your Job

Blogs > thedeadhaji
Post a Reply
thedeadhaji *
Profile Blog Joined January 2006
39489 Posts
Last Edited: 2013-01-21 03:54:20
March 06 2012 17:08 GMT
#1

The first jobs we have coming out of college are arguably the ones that shape our careers the most. The younger we are, the more malleable we are; it's not an exaggeration to say that for most of us, our work during our twenties shapes the remainder of our professional lives. I am currently in high tech, and only small, gradual career pivots can potentially get me out of this sector (if I so choose). During these formative years, I believe that there are three factors that are most vital for a healthy and productive professional investment.

#1: The Boss

The Boss. He can be your savior or your nemesis. It's almost blind luck whether you'll land in a group with a great boss or not, particularly on your first gig that you got straight out of on campus recruitment.

The boss quite simply determines everything about your job. He is the one who decides whether your tasks will be interesting or menial, and whether that will ever change. He could treat you with respect and care about your learning and growth, or choose to use you as a cog.

Every company has interesting responsibilities and great learning opportunities. While there is a bilateral relationship in the subordinate demonstrating his capability to the boss, in the end all the chips belong to the manager.

Your boss is also the person from whom you will learn the most, whether it be through his past experiences, the decisions you see him make, or simply the way he works. We will be influenced and shaped by the boss' quirks and mannerisms one way or another, either emulating or deliberately defying them.

#2: The Job

The second most important aspect of work is the responsibilities of the job themselves. The actual things you do from day to day are key factors in your learning, your satisfaction, your happiness, and the accomplishments that you can boast when moving on to your next stint, whether it be inside the same company or not.

Our job responsibilities are what keep us motivated during the 8+ hours we punch in at the office, five days a week. If it weren't interesting or challenging, the job is going to get old and repetitive real fast. "Meaningful" work sounds more realistic and more valuable than so called "enjoyable" work, to me personally at least.

What we do and what we accomplish are what lets us move forward in our careers. The number one reason why people leave a company is because their responsibilities become stale, and they don't see growth in the future, or a different position to move up into in the near time frame.

#3: The Team

Your coworkers, or more precisely your team, is the group you'll be spending the bulk of the time with at the office, both working and not working. They are the people who largely set the work environment for you. Even within the same company, different teams will have different cultures and different ways of doing things. You can easily mesh well with one group but not enjoy the cast of characters in another.

As mentioned before, we're spending at least 8 hours a day with these guys, for more than 200 days a year. You'll be spending around a third of your waking hours at the office with these guys; it's pretty paramount that you enjoy collaborating and debating with them, but perhaps even more important that you like hanging around and engaging and pointless stupid conversation with them. Enjoying the "off" moments at the office is key to health and longevity at the office.

There are other factors contributing to the importance of the team as well. You'll be learning indirectly from them, whether it's by seeing them work or by asking them questions. They are people who will inspire you or demotivate you from doing more and learning more.

As a corollary, they will form your future personal network, the people to tap in both good times and bad. In the West, job security doesn't come through lifetime employment anymore. We gain security through our own skills and experiences, as well as the people we can count on to help us out when the going gets tough. In the West, forging a strong professional network is one of the most important and difficult aspects of one's career.

What About Pay?

What about the paycheck you say? I'd be lying if I said that compensation isn't important. At the very least, it's the most concrete and direct means by which we feel appreciated. Pay is, at the most basic level, what the company is telling us how much we are worth. If it is grossly lower than what we expect from ourselves, then it is a blow to both our pride and our motivation.

However, pay isn't as important as the three factors I've listed above. In the long term, pay is a function of your experience and the opportunities you have access to. This in turn, is dictated by your boss, your job responsibilities, and your team.

If these three facets of your career are solid, then you shouldn't have issues with career advancement or pay raises in the future, whether it be with your current company or your next.

In the end, our professional leverage is largely driven by the flexibility we have and the range of options we have available to us. The three factors I listed will contribute directly to growing your leverage, which is tantamount to establishing and elevating your career.







Crossposted from my main blog




****
fusefuse
Profile Blog Joined February 2011
Estonia4644 Posts
March 06 2012 17:33 GMT
#2
one can dream...

well written!
congratulations and good luck to everyone who manages to check all 3 down in one go, or even during a multitude of jobs
Liquipedia@jkursk
cmen15
Profile Blog Joined December 2010
United States1519 Posts
March 06 2012 17:38 GMT
#3
nice read, your on a blog rampage as of late. O_O
Greed leads to just about all losses.
spinesheath
Profile Blog Joined June 2009
Germany8679 Posts
March 06 2012 17:58 GMT
#4
200 days a week is a lot. More than that, even!
If you have a good reason to disagree with the above, please tell me. Thank you.
fusefuse
Profile Blog Joined February 2011
Estonia4644 Posts
March 06 2012 17:59 GMT
#5
On March 07 2012 02:58 spinesheath wrote:
200 days a week is a lot. More than that, even!



ahahahahaha
only just noticed
epic

also, someone already got so pissed by this (or the lack of said points in his life) according to the rating, 1's flyin across the room D:
Liquipedia@jkursk
Crais
Profile Blog Joined March 2010
Canada2136 Posts
March 06 2012 18:10 GMT
#6
I love your blogs. Always a good read.
RIP MBC Game Hero
actionbastrd
Profile Blog Joined September 2010
Congo598 Posts
March 06 2012 18:29 GMT
#7
Thanks for the blog ^__^ I enjoy reading peoples thoughts on this type of thing as it makes me think about where i am going and what i will need to be aware of in my future business ventures.
It rained today inside my head...
Vod.kaholic
Profile Blog Joined August 2010
United States1052 Posts
March 06 2012 21:45 GMT
#8
That was a good read. It sounds really obvious, but it's good to put the different aspects of a job into perspective like that. Sure good pay is great, but it doesn't exist in a vacuum. 5/5
._. \: |: /: .-. :\ :| :/ ._. They see me rolling...
xSixGeneralHan
Profile Joined April 2011
United States528 Posts
March 06 2012 22:47 GMT
#9
I'm a working professional and I approve this message. But yeah seriously, your boss is by far and away the most important thing
Team Operations Director for CheckSix Gaming
RaspberrySC2
Profile Joined November 2011
United States168 Posts
March 06 2012 23:01 GMT
#10
Blogs like these are why I want to be a drug dealer or something.

Props for well-written. I'm just saying everything you outlined is everything I want to avoid. Replacement ideal:

1. Be your own boss. Your opportunities are now your own to make. Your successes and failures are limited only by your own efforts.

2. If you can't do something you enjoy, hustle people. If you like hustlin' people, you're golden.

3. Avoid relying on others as much as possible. If you need help with something, contract it out. "Coworkers" are liabilities and in any kind of "professional" or office environment, the ones who are can place the interests of the company above all else are the ones who move up so put on your prettiest lipstick and suck like your retirement depends on it.

Career advancement in a corporate setting is all about knowing how to use people (and not get caught). It's why I respect prostitutes. They're honest about what they do.
Ever since I was a child I have had this instinctive urge for expansion and growth. To me, the function and duty of a quality human being is the sincere and honest development of one's potential. - Bruce Lee
thedeadhaji *
Profile Blog Joined January 2006
39489 Posts
March 07 2012 04:41 GMT
#11
On March 07 2012 02:58 spinesheath wrote:
200 days a week is a lot. More than that, even!


FFFFUUUUUUUUUUU >:O

Thanks for the thumbs up everyone
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
Next event in 4h 49m
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
RuFF_SC2 209
Tasteless 176
StarCraft: Brood War
GuemChi 1051
Leta 602
PianO 311
Snow 106
Dewaltoss 53
Bale 18
Icarus 8
Dota 2
ODPixel5
League of Legends
JimRising 765
Counter-Strike
Stewie2K825
Super Smash Bros
Mew2King132
Other Games
summit1g8941
monkeys_forever391
WinterStarcraft381
SortOf86
NeuroSwarm60
Organizations
Other Games
gamesdonequick40767
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
sctven
[ Show 19 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• Berry_CruncH308
• practicex 53
• Kozan
• sooper7s
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• Migwel
• intothetv
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• IndyKCrew
StarCraft: Brood War
• Diggity2
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
• BSLYoutube
League of Legends
• Lourlo961
• Rush894
• masondota2384
• HappyZerGling89
Other Games
• Scarra2151
• Shiphtur304
Upcoming Events
Sparkling Tuna Cup
4h 49m
WardiTV European League
10h 49m
MaNa vs sebesdes
Mixu vs Fjant
ByuN vs HeRoMaRinE
ShoWTimE vs goblin
Gerald vs Babymarine
Krystianer vs YoungYakov
PiGosaur Monday
18h 49m
The PondCast
1d 4h
WardiTV European League
1d 6h
Jumy vs NightPhoenix
Percival vs Nicoract
ArT vs HiGhDrA
MaxPax vs Harstem
Scarlett vs Shameless
SKillous vs uThermal
uThermal 2v2 Circuit
1d 10h
Replay Cast
1d 18h
RSL Revival
2 days
ByuN vs SHIN
Clem vs Reynor
Replay Cast
2 days
RSL Revival
3 days
Classic vs Cure
[ Show More ]
FEL
3 days
RSL Revival
4 days
FEL
4 days
FEL
4 days
CSO Cup
4 days
BSL20 Non-Korean Champi…
4 days
Bonyth vs QiaoGege
Dewalt vs Fengzi
Hawk vs Zhanhun
Sziky vs Mihu
Mihu vs QiaoGege
Zhanhun vs Sziky
Fengzi vs Hawk
Sparkling Tuna Cup
5 days
RSL Revival
5 days
FEL
5 days
BSL20 Non-Korean Champi…
5 days
Bonyth vs Dewalt
QiaoGege vs Dewalt
Hawk vs Bonyth
Sziky vs Fengzi
Mihu vs Zhanhun
QiaoGege vs Zhanhun
Fengzi vs Mihu
Liquipedia Results

Completed

BSL Season 20
HSC XXVII
Heroes 10 EU

Ongoing

JPL Season 2
BSL 2v2 Season 3
Acropolis #3
KCM Race Survival 2025 Season 2
CSL 17: 2025 SUMMER
Copa Latinoamericana 4
Jiahua Invitational
Championship of Russia 2025
RSL Revival: Season 1
Murky Cup #2
BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025
ESL Impact League Season 7
IEM Dallas 2025
PGL Astana 2025
Asian Champions League '25
BLAST Rivals Spring 2025
MESA Nomadic Masters
CCT Season 2 Global Finals
IEM Melbourne 2025

Upcoming

2025 ACS Season 2: Qualifier
CSLPRO Last Chance 2025
CSL Xiamen Invitational
2025 ACS Season 2
CSLPRO Chat StarLAN 3
K-Championship
uThermal 2v2 Main Event
SEL Season 2 Championship
FEL Cracov 2025
Esports World Cup 2025
StarSeries Fall 2025
FISSURE Playground #2
BLAST Open Fall 2025
BLAST Open Fall Qual
Esports World Cup 2025
BLAST Bounty Fall 2025
BLAST Bounty Fall Qual
IEM Cologne 2025
FISSURE Playground #1
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2025 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.