Priorities
As I consider my future, I’ve been thinking about what I want the next chapter of my working life to look like.
Here are the things that really matter to me, in rough priority order:
Provide a sustainable livelihood for my family
Enjoy a fulfilling, inclusive, creative and fun work environment
Solve an important problem for society
Contribute to the commons
Teach others what I know
#1 is a given. I realise I’m lucky to be able to expect this, but I do.
I’ll put up without #2 for the right price, but I won’t stick around for long unless I get the influence to create that kind of environment for me and everyone else.
I am really puzzled about #3. It seems like so much of the work available to me is simply making the engine of capitalism slightly more efficient. I’m OK with that – it’s the paradigm we live in, like it or not – but I deeply yearn to do something more political, to use the skills I have to actually improve society.
#4 matters to me a lot, but probably not quite as much as #3. I’m not really sure I believe in proprietary code at all anymore, and at the same time I’m really curious about how we can make open source software pay, to make it more sustainable instead of just relying on corporate philanthropy.
#5 gives me a great deal of pleasure, and I guess is really a part of #2.
If I could find a role with all five, I’d be very happy!