Why I banished the idea of a job for life

Necessity sharpens the wit and I have not particularly developed my professional skills more than since I put aside the idea of belonging to the Public Administration.

In a country like Spain, where the ideal job is to obtain a position for life through one of the State administrations, working in a private company is, more and more, to expose oneself to the risk of having to change company every few years.

For whatever reason: because the company where you are working does not offer the professional development possibilities you want, because the contract is for a fixed term, or in the worst case, because of disagreements with the contracting party.

I find myself in this second class of workers who change projects every few years. It is not a self-imposed condition. In fact, for a time I prepared myself to try to apply for one of those coveted public positions.

But I did not succeed.

And deep, deep down, I was relieved.

Yes, it’s nice to have a fixed salary for the rest of my professional life, but necessity sharpens the wits, and I haven’t particularly developed my professional skills more than since I put aside the idea of being in the civil service.

After a few years I managed to get to work in a large firm with a development plan from day one, which develops projects in my specialty (railway construction) and also from day one have encouraged me to develop other facets of my professional profile (podcasts, BIM consulting…), I think understanding two things:

• A satisfied worker is going to develop his job better: It is a no-brainer, but if you are happy with the job you do, with your work environment, and with the trade-offs that your company offers you, it is easier to feel that “the pieces fit” and therefore be motivated to continue on that path.
• An employee who develops competencies outside his 9 to 5 schedule can become a tremendously valuable (and economic) asset for the company: If I develop my facet as a consultant or disseminator on BIM and technology in the AECO sector, for example, with time I will probably become an expert on the subject. For the company you work for, having an expert in strategic competency is tremendously important. If, in addition, the training that brings this professional to this level of expertise is free for the company, so much the better.

So, a lot has to change for me to stop thinking this way.

I have banished my eagerness to get a job for life, and I have decided to put all the effort I was going to put into that task, in my 9 to 5 job and in all the side projects I am involved in.

And I’m not doing badly.