What Makes a Good Job?

When I was in high school, the only important considerations I looked for in a job were which job paid the most and which job had the best schedule. Now that I've had more experience, however, I've found that job satisfaction is an even more important consideration.

As I headed into my first "adult" job, I didn't realize how important actually enjoying my job could be. Then, after my freshman year at college, I got a job in the office of a vocational center for women. Since I did not have a social work degree or counseling experience, I was not allowed to work with clients. Instead, my duties involved handling the office's paperwork. I keyboarded and filed correspondence and filled out countless forms. I soon found myself bored. I wanted to work with people, not paper, but this job kept me sitting quietly at my desk all day. The time seemed to creep by.

Because of my disappointment with the office job, during my second year in college, I looked for a job that would have more people contact. Luckily, I found what I had been looking for in a job waiting on tables at the local coffee shop. People skills are very important for waiting on tables. To be a successful waitress, you need to develop a good rapport with your co-workers. Even more important, you must deal with customers in a friendly way. Waiting on tables took advantage of my ability to work well with people. Although I worked hard, the days passed very quickly. I was never bored.

The pay for both the office job and waiting on tables job was adequate, though the salary I earned at the office job was far steadier. In the office job, I received a regular paycheck. As a waitress, I received a small paycheck. The bulk of my pay came as tips, and those tips varied greatly depending on what shift I worked, which tables I was assigned, and how busy the restaurant was. Though my overall waitress pay was roughly equal to what I received for office work, at the end of some days I found myself with less pay than I would have liked.

The schedule of my office job was regular and predictable. I never had to arrive earlier than 9 a.m. or leave later than 5 p.m. On the other hand, waiting on tables was never regular. One week I might work from noon to nine in the evening, and the next I might work from six in the evening to three in the morning. Moreover, the tasks were more physically demanding and less predictable than those of an office job. One minute I was carrying two heavy trays of food, and the next minute I was keeping track of multiple orders at different tables. Although the work was chaotic, I thrived at waiting on tables.

Now when I look for jobs, I consider job satisfaction as well as pay and schedule. When I worked in an office, the pay and schedule were good, but the job didn't make use of my skills with people and left me dissatisfied. By contrast, although waiting on tables paid less dependably and had a more demanding schedule, I found the job much more satisfying because I worked directly with people. Working at these two jobs has taught me that job satisfaction is much more important to me than the pay and schedule.