Tuesday, December 6, 2011

#ThinkKit11 Day 3: Fav. '11 Read

This month, I'm delving into the wide world of blogging for the first time. As many of you know, I have kicked around the idea of starting my own blog (or blogs), whether it be a personal blog, a blog regarding usability & user experience design, or yes - an IndyCar blog. But, let's be honest - in order for me to start a blog, I need to find out for myself, firsthand, whether I can do a blog, let along keep a regimented schedule of blog posts.

Last week, my four entries for Think Kit 2011 were specifically geared using my personal Twitter account (http://www.twitter.com/djcraske).  Continuing to go back in time to last week - for Day 3.

Saturday, Dec 3: Favorite Read
What did you read this year that inspired you? Share your favorite book or article.


As I've mentioned earlier, I am a May 2011 graduate from Indiana University (IUPUI) with my 2nd Masters degree.  Along with finishing my degree, I have been looking for an ideal opportunity (re: employment) to be able to use my new skills and talents, in conjunction with my previous professional experiences and educational background.  In today's economics, I've seen many people struggling to find employment, and then they reluctantly accept positions they are not truly happy in.  To me, that's a job. That's only a paycheck. Now, to each their own, but that's not what I want.

I find it funny how many recruiters and employers want me to work for them, but they don't care about my new skills, only my previous skills.  To them, a Masters in Computer Science weighs more than a Masters in Human-Computer Interaction.  This struggle to find a position that I am 100% head-over-heels infatuated with did leave me with a little depression. Jobs are hard to find now-a-days, and they're even more difficult finding a position you have an innate passion for.

In September, I accepted into a consulting contract in Chicago. The company was young, established, and seemed like a great opportunity to spread my wings.  Plus, behind Indianapolis, Chicago is one of my favorite cities in the world.  Unfortunately, even after the first 2-3 weeks of working for them, I started seeing that I might not be a great fit, not only for the company, but also for myself personally and the desired lifestyle I personally want to live. Things weren't feeling so rosy.

And then, October 5th, 2011 came around. The passing of Steve Jobs.

Admittedly, I'm not the biggest Apple fan. I own an iPod 5th Generation (still in my alarm clock), and I'm still rocking the original Apple iPhone. I don't own a Mac - heck, I don't even know how to operate a Mac. But, I respected who Mr. Jobs was and, more importantly, the visions and products his companies have introduced to the world. His loss was our loss.

Late that evening, one of the cable stations up in Chicago replayed Steve Jobs' full 2005 Commencement speech to Stanford University. It was the first time I had heard the speech in its entirety.  It was breathtaking.




Full text of speech (to which I can highly recommend reading) can be found here:


In November, the company and I agreed to mutually separate.  It wasn't because of my quality of work, because they said it was outstanding and worthy of recommendations, but we were never really on the same wavelength from a professional standpoint. My definition of professionalism, teamwork, and work ethics seemed to clash against their definitions. My thirst, my "hunger", for knowledge and in the subjects of usability design & research, remains unquenched, so I continue to attend conferences, reading articles, and even put several UX & Usability books on my Christmas wish list.  My "foolishness" continues to get the best of me as well, as I have now committed to fully redesigning one web site and creating a web presence for a friend's new business venture in Minnesota.  Yeah - 2 websites by the end-of-the-year ... both voluntary ... and during the holidays.  See - two Masters degrees does not make one the sharpest tool in the shed.

My grandfather told me back while I was in high school something that has stuck with me, and will forever stick with me: Do what you love to do. Love, money, and happiness will always follow. This speech gave me a shot in the chops. If you're not happy, do something about it, don't let anyone else do it for you. You only have one life, but if you live it the right way, one go-around on this planet should be plenty!

Stay hungry. Stay foolish. Because Steve asks us to do so.

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