Avatar photoSteven Savage

Some thoughts on career and mobility

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With many of my friends and family looking at career changes, many of them also talk relocation.  I'm consolidating a few random thoughts on relocation, with a fan-to-pro/geek-pro viewpoint here.

* Consider how permanent a move may be – as painful as it may be, a relocation close to but not at an eventual goal may be a good thing.  If you want to go to a particular city relocating nearby, in the same state, etc. as a temporary measure for a few years may be a good idea.  If you can find a job easier in a nearby location that lets you plan the final stage of your move, get a job in a lousy economy, and scope out your intended destination.

* Consider a tryout if possible.  Are there friends and family in a location you can live with for a few months to see if you like it and can find work?  It's tough, and can be scary, but may be a good bet.  It's also a good way to push yourself.

* If your career or job involves a lot of travel, or will, you may want to look at a good hub city as a possible relocation destination (permanent or temporary).  If you plan to fly all over the country, Chicago or St. Louis, for instance, could be good choices.  Even if transport hub cities are not your first choice, they may be good for awhile – and face it, it'll be easier to leave . . .

* Keep educational facilities in mind when you relocate because training is going to be vital to keep up with things in the future (not that it ever was NOT important).  Don't just think notable universities – see what kind of adult education, training companies, etc. are nearby.  I once had an interview with a company located right next to a major university – that definitely had me interested since classes would be easier to take with a walk right after work.

* Whatever you do, keep a city's fannish and geek life in mind – you do NOT want to end up in a personal cultural wasteland long-term (a few months maybe).  Go online and check meetups, conventions, groups, events, etc. in detail.  You'd be surprised what places do AND don't have fannish or geek culture.

So that's just some random thoughts from your friendly pro-geek blogger.  Anything you want to add?

– Steven Savage

Done Right Or Done On Time?

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I encounter an interesting issue when coaching and speaking on self-organization:  which is more important, finishing something on time or doing it right?  I think it's a question important enough to address on the blog.

The answer, as you may guess, is "it depends."  However for your career, indeed your life, it's very important to know when "on time" is important and when "done right" is important.  Some tasks (perhaps many tasks) force you to confront these choices – including ones affecting your career.

My rules of thumb are this:

DONE ON TIME: Things that need to be done on time are those things where time is of the essence and whatever is dependent on said task won't happen unless it's done – even if it's not done perfectly.  An example myself is preparing presentation materials – I know I can take far, far longer to get them perfectly, but since I'm there at the presentation, I can make up for any issues – and I CANT take forever to get them right and miss my deadline.

DONE RIGHT: Are things that have to have a certain level of quality or there will be failure, and where quality is more important than a deadline.  This would be things that are vital to proper functioning and where you can't easily correct failure – a lot of software deployments fall into this area.

Learning to make the call between "do it right" or "do it on time" is a challenging part of life and career – but worth doing.  It also requires you to accept sometimes you miss a deadline – and sometimes you don't do things perfectly.  Then again, that's part of life.

Of course the WORST things are those that must be done perfectly right and done on time.  In that case . . . good luck.

– Steven Savage