Decisions, decisions...

I've always been passionate about technology. Before school, it was re-wiring my alarm clock radio with huge speakers and an in-line power source. In elementary it was messing with my Atari 2600 console and, later, my Mac SE all-in-one and dot-matrix printer. I even tried to get my computer lab teacher to wire up the macs in the lab for a rudimentary chat room. By middle school I was digging around with Windows .dlls to get emulators to work, and in high school hacking around menu.lst and xorg.conf files to breathe new life into my dad's ancient Thinkpad he gave to me.

I've also really enjoyed evangelising for open-source products. All of my friends have put up with me rail on and on about GNU/Linux, and the entire idea of the open-source development model. I've enjoyed helping those who were receptive to it learn how stable, reliable, and interoperable these systems are. I've doubly enjoyed in-depth discussions of the business merits of an open-source development model vs the closed-source, "guarded castle" proprietary system.

So now I'm a senior in college and I don't really know what to pursue first...my desire to learn the nitty-gritty aspect of the computer world, by going into a technical field where I'll do a lot of learning (and somewhat less earning), or to start in business and sales, where the moolah is good but the foo-bar won't be as prevalent. In that case I'll have to learn technology on an ancillary note.

I figure that if I go into the technical side, I'll be learning something important - a way of thinking. At this point I don't care so much if I learn PHP or C++, IP4 or IP6, Windows 7 or Snow Leopard - I will instead be learning mostly about the mindset involved in the technology development/maintenence field, just as I've learned how the corporate-retail-sales and genetics research mindsets work. And of course, my technical skills like in programming and configuration will grow dramatically, since I'm only passingly versed in such matters.

Going into business/sales/management, however, I feel like my core competencies will be better leveraged. I'm willing to put myself out there and get to know different people's perspectives; I've always enjoyed helping people solve problems, especially when I make money providing a solution. I also feel better suited to the environment, having worked in a managed sales position for a number of years already. Plus, I won't be behind the crowd in that field; I won't be playing catch-up quite as frantically, and I'll be able to spend the extra time I have learning programming at a lower pace. Unfortunately this kind of work is much more taxing and will add to the immense stress at home of having my lovely lady working frenetically to get into, and then perform in, Law school.

Decisions, decisions. And this one is not so trivial as Sprint or Verizon. I feel like I'll be pretty committed for at least a year or two once I pick a path.



And this post brought me no closer to an answer! Off to the pro/con list...

~Micah

Business

Being an entrepreneur is difficult. Any student who has attempted to start a business they believe will turn into an extra source of income can appreciate this. It's surprising sometimes how difficult customers can be, even in the incredibly-informal and dirt-cheap area of college student work.

It's a constant back-and-forth between whether it's worth the time investment it takes from one's studies; we juggle the value of being a proprietor on a resume, the value of a high GPA, the value of the additional income, the potential that exists for a full-time job being one's own boss right out of college...the list goes on and on.

But we all have a drive that is difficult to define. We want. We push. It's nearly impossible to go a full day without thinking about another way to push the limits of our business.

It only takes one measly little sale, whether there be a $5 economic profit or a $1000 economic profit. For new businesspeople, it's a confirmation of the ability you believe you have when a customer is happy to have your help with something. The positive reinforcement from experiences like that is elating.

And yet...it comes back to a struggle when we spend too much time on one project and don't have an adequate payout, or when our invested time in the venture interferes with other very important aspects of our lives...our free time, our relationships, our schoolwork...our futures.

I continue to discover that it is at once the most wonderful and terrible of things, this entrepreneurial spirit in me.

Oh, BTW I just posted a coupon for my business. Enjoy!

~Micah