1) The Travel Industry.
While I would like to say that I sagaciously saw the writing on the wall regarding the imminent demise of the established travel industry, the truth of the matter was that I was fatigued by my workplace and wanted to return to school. Going on to get a graduate degree allowed me to exit gracefully with good will on all sides, though I confess I wanted to tell the CEO and president how insulted I felt by working for people who literally made millions off of my efforts and threw only a few thousand dollars my way. In fact, our two chief executives routinely bought cars that were three times my annual salary, yet were penurious with bonuses, vacation days, and raises. Worse yet, I was often given the role of assistant when I would travel overseas with the CEO and/or president, even though the client and I knew that I was the one doing all of the work for which they paid us six figures. Swallowing my pride for many years meant that I had long savored the bitter pill of resentment. Despite that acrid taste, I gave the company several months notice and left on good terms. My feeling at the time was that I should never intentionally burn a bridge that I may later need to cross should circumstances turn against me. I still stand by that decision, but the anger I felt toward myself (for selling myself short and rarely demanding what I thought was fair) and my frustration with the chief executives took years to subside.
2) The Arts, Part 1.
Without question, this was the best job I ever held; I had near total autonomy, traveled the western United States speaking to groups of arts administrators, felt challenged to improve my skills as an employee, and was decently paid for my efforts. Yes the hours I put in were long, and yes I felt that the executive director wanted to see just how many tasks he could assign me before I collapsed, but I loved my job. Being able to support the arts and work with interesting people was a major source of my pleasure, yet so was the success I felt at the conclusion of a project. I gave up my rather ideal position in order to do more graduate work, particularly as the job had grown less challenging for me and thus less interesting. There are some moments when I regret my choice to leave, but mostly I stand by my decision. My departure from the organization was without bitterness—they even threw me a party.
3) The Arts, Part 2.
I returned to working in the arts after having completed my coursework for a Ph.D. At that point I was really unsure if I wanted to write the dissertation and knew that I needed to earn some money if we wanted to keep our standard of living. While the organization was superficially glad to have me back, much had changed. The direction the ED was taking seemed less connected to artistic production and more on the generation of profit. Moreover, the work I was given was supervised and less interesting. In short I chaffed in my role as the in-house problem solver and miscellaneous project assistant. My behavior took the form of blatant honesty and an unwillingness to tolerate the group fantasy underlying many ill-conceived partnerships. At least my displeasure prompted me to return to graduate school. My letter of resignation was curt, but evidenced no ill will or anger. I received another farewell party, but the relationship with the organization was over.
I have taken several lessons away from these three experiences. First, I should never willingly sell myself short or tolerate behavior that causes me excessive bitterness. I am willing to take some abuse for good pay, but I do not believe any employee ought to be treated as a serf or servant, meaning always at the mercy of a superior master. Second, my desire to be challenged means that I must be alert to the threat of continued boredom. Locating a job that continues to challenge and develop me is essential, but so is my own ability to find ways to challenge myself within a position when I grow complacent. My third lesson concerns self-direction: I live best when I make my own path, not when I take familiar routes. If I can direct my own future instead of waiting for it to be unfurled before me then I am more likely to appreciate what changes await me. This little confession about my work experience is less startling than the one made by Mr. Smith, but at least I can say I have always tried to work and quit in a graceful manner.
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