The Best Job I Ever Had

It's a common question older people ask high school and college students: "What career are you studying for? - or something like that. In many cases, young adults have a clear idea of what they want to do in life. They have interests and pursue their interests as they go on to college and perhaps graduate work. In my case, I had no doubt about my career as I graduated high school and went on to college. I wanted to work in the mental health field.

After I graduated college, I pursued my Masters degree in Rehabilitation Counseling. When I received my Masters in 1976, New York was in the midst of a fiscal crisis, and there was little work to be found. I took a job as an administrative assistant in a child care advocacy firm, and was employed there for four years. Then, I changed gears. Somehow I found myself attracted to the corporate world and I decided to search for work in this area. Along the way, a recruiter called me and told me they had an administrative assistant position reporting to a senior executive in Merrill Lynch & Co. I told the recruiter I did not want to work in a financial institution. I was never interested in finance. A few weeks later, she called me again to tell me the firm raised the salary level by $2,000 per year (a lot of money in 1980), and would I please consider going on the interview. I relented.

The rest is history. I never would have believed it, but I decided to take the job based on the interview with my manager-to-be. Somehow, my background and attention to detail fit in well in the financial services world. It was a challenge, and sometimes I didn't know my way, but I managed to get promotion after promotion over a 20 year period. I retired from Merrill Lynch as a Vice President and Business Manager. Throughout my 20+ years, I managed almost every administrative function, and gained immense experience. I had wonderful managers and colleagues, some of whom remain good friends.

What made this job so special was a combination of factors: (1) I had the opportunity to work for a great manager who believed in challenging his staff, (2) I learned a whole new type of work, (3) I was continually challenged with new and more complex projects, (4) I worked in an environment of comraderie and support (5) People were paid and promoted based on performance, and not on other, extraneous factors, and (6) I had great benefits being in a large and successful company. The work was sometimes overwhelming, and the hours sometimes long. However, all of the factors I mentioned above made all the difference in the world.

I left Merrill Lynch with mixed feelings. I was glad I finally had a chance to pursue other interests in retirement. On the other hand, I was sad because there were so many good people and memories I would leave behind.

The moral of this story is that one never knows what job will be the best one for them. Sometimes it's trial and error. Careers can change over time, and that's okay. The important thing is that you have a job that you love, or at least like very much.