Yes. I’m packing up my desk at Edelman. This is my third desk. For my first two weeks, I sat in a teeny tiny corner cube on a high traffic corner. Then for the next year I sat in a cube twice the size, but so packed with supplies that I could barely breathe. I moved into this cube last July, right before I went to Mexico. And on Friday I kiss it goodbye.
Why?
No, I’m not changing jobs again. We are moving floors. Good thing I never really moved into this cube, because packing is pretty easy. Other people need the beers we were supplied with to get us through the night. Me? Just a matter of removing some momentos and cleaning my drawers. Anyone know why I have a kippah in my desk drawer? Me neither.
I’m coming up on two years at Edelman. A milestone. Why? I’ve never stayed anywhere longer than two years. As my two year anniversary comes creeping up on me, I remember why I’ve always left at two years. Always, always, always, it has been made clear to me that there was no career path for me. No promotion. No room to grow.
At Fort Lewis College and at IES the problem was my lack of an advance degree. Not that I wanted to advance at Fort Lewis, I learned that it was the wrong industry for me. At IES, not having a Master’s meant that I wasn’t going to get another promotion–in 18 months I’d grown as much as they would support. At the ice cream parlor… what do you do after manager? Quit and start temping, eventually leading to a perm position that eventually leads to my new job.
So now I know I have room to grow, but it doesn’t mean I’m not totally on edge as my review gets closer. My sister pointed out that I’ve only been in this job for one year, so I’m a year ahead of when I should freak out. Yes, she’s right. So I’ll just clean my desk and try to remember where the kippah came from.
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