What have you learned from your job/career?

My flippant answer is "other people suck"
My not so flippant answer is that in order to work successfully with others, I have to want to. Compromise and cooperation are mighty fine ideals but in real life tend to boil over into conflict and being territorial.

 

Grass grows quicker then we know.

 

I've learned that I would much rather work in a position/company that directly benefits a person(s) rather than contribute to a company's bottom line.

 

No matter how many people proof read a job, a major typo will jump off the paper after it is off the press.

Seriously though, by working in customer service and sales I have learned how to overcome much of my social shyness.
It's still there, but I can switch to an alter ego if you will.
In the beginnning I was terrified to even answer the phone at work.

I've learned that unless you are in the business of saving babies, nothing is all that important to get worked up over.

 

In the military, I learned that it is a very poor profession fit for an INTP. I went against authority (both passively and agressively) every chance I got. Be that as it may, I still got a lot out of it. I learned to be more extraverted and deal well with people. I learned a lot of leadership skills that I am still able to use to this day. Convincing somebody to cross a minefield or move forward while under fire takes a little more persuasion than just spouting off an order. It also strengthened my J quite a bit, making me better organized and pushing me to follow through with things that I started. I also had the chance to do a lot of interesting things that I'm glad I got out of my system while young ... jumping out of planes, firing really big guns, travelling all over the world ... few regrets there. Also made a lot of life-long friends.


My current profession of software engineering is much more geared towards my temperament. It is very heavy in the Ti-Ne realm. Probably why a lot of NTs gravitate towards it. I have to be careful though, because I tend to neglect my other functions. Fortunately my Sweetheart gives me ample opportunity to develop my Fe further I've learned many things over the course of my second career. A few that stand out are:

• Integration with third parties usually triples the complexity level of the project, at the very least
• Micro-managing introverted engineers tends to breed animosity and often passive-aggressive behavior
• Everybody writes software in a different manner ... there are many good solutions
• Five years down the road, you're never where you expected to be five years down the road
• Intelligence is no excuse for arrogance. I've seen some extremely intelligent people who just cannot cut it in a team environment ... hence cannot impart the benefits of that intelligence.
• You can only work a person so long (usually about 12 hours) before you hit a point of dimishing returns
• It is impossible to stay idle and rest on your laurels. Technology will overtake you in as little as six months.
• You can learn something from almost everybody. Few people are complete morons.

 

In 32 years of helping do Surgery and taking care of patients in the office enviroment, I've learned a lot.
Confidence
Concentration
Poise under pressure
Social skills with diverse groups of people
Persistence
How to make adjustments
Understanding the need for very high standards
Compassion and Patience
Consistency