Around 2005, I had a job where I was paid well to do nearly nothing
Around 2005, I had a job where I was paid well to do nearly nothing.
I worked for a large telecom company on a team called “test operations”.
My job: Copy and paste commands given to me in Excel into a terminal, and report back if they failed. I received about 3 spreadsheets a week, totaling around 2 hours of work.
My job was simply to be ready for a spreadsheet when provided.
So, during this time I got my masters degree, which the company paid for. I studied at work, since I had few other tasks. I spent my time reading, learning, and experimenting.
My boss knew all this.
This may sound wonderful. For awhile it was. But having an empty job wears on you. So, when I finished my (free!) masters degree, I happily moved to a real development job…doing PHP.
I didn’t apply for this job. I was transferred there because my former dev team was disbanded.
You can’t choose your circumstances. But you can choose how you respond.
I chose to use my free time to prepare for something better.