First Choice

On the first of July, I will be marking my first year in my first job.

My first job is like the boy-next-door -- familiar and comfortable. It is located in the same university that I graduated in. My boss is my former thesis adviser. I have an officemate who was a blockmate during freshman year.

I work in the in-house architecture and engineering office of a big university. We handle the design and bidding process of renovation projects within the campus. Occasionally, when the university doesn't want to hire an outside consultant, they let us design new buildings.

Getting in was relatively hassle-free. I got an email a month after graduation announcing a vacancy. I sent an application letter and cv. Some weeks later, my future boss replied. The day I got "interviewed" was the day I got hired.

I got what I wanted: a smooth transition from school to work. I didn't have to go through the ardous task of delivering my resume' to a number of architectural firms, because this was the first job I applied to. I didn't want to commute two or three hours everyday to work; I got in an office thirty minutes away from my house.

On my first month, I didn't even have to go to the office. My boss permitted me to work at home because they hadn't bought new computers yet. I had enough time to adjust myself to an 8-5 schedule.

It was too easy. As expected, there were some drawbacks. My contract clearly stated that I was a 6-month contractual employee not entitled to any benefits. An "employer-employee" relationship did not exist between me and the university. They wouldn't even give me an I.D. The status of my contract did not really bother me. I wasn't planning on staying long, so I didn't need security of tenure.

There were other facts about the job I needed to accept. Despite being under an autonomous public university, we were still a government office, subject to the bureaucratic procedures most government offices are saddled with. My salary is delayed every month because my salary voucher needs to go through at least three offices (with several stops within) before it goes back to me. If you want to get a refund for expenses, it takes at least a week, and it goes back to you 10% less (imagine that, they tax refunds). We had a new printer, but we couldn't use it because the ink was taking months to replace.

Government offices are not exactly known for their efficiency. I had to get used to the office culture. We have a lot of work, with more than 100 projects in different stages of completion. With that kind of load, you'd expect people to be working double time. When the clock strikes 5pm, however, 95% of the people are gone. Overtime is not paid, so few bother to stay late. I found out that deadlines were flexible. Clients, though sometimes demanding, couldn't threaten us with non-payment if we didn't comply. I'd like to think, however, that we still strive to do our job well.

The strict 8-5 schedule gave me time to do other things. I took up photography classes and sculpture classes. I wrote for online magazines, and joined weekend painting sessions organized by my peers. Sometimes, I found my "sidelines" more exciting than my job.

As months went by, I discovered that I was more in danger of boredom than burnout. Like the boy-next-door, my job isn't exactly glamorous. "Draftsman" was my job description, and I was getting tired of drafting all day. I wasn't looking for glamour, though, just a little variety and excitement. I was getting lower back pain from too much sitting. Fortunately some of my projects went into construction, and I had the reason to go out of the office once in a while.

Luckily, we also have free internet. I have to say it's one of the best things about the job. It means a lot of things: free research materials, free text, free software, free chat. We've become so used to it that if you take it out, we lose our work rhythm.

I don't regret choosing this as my first job. As part of my apprenticeship, I can say that I have learned a lot. Will I stay on? My boss has taken it for granted that I won't. But I'm not in that much of a hurry. If I took on a more demanding job, I might not have time for putting up blogs and writing this essay :)