I really like my job

Something I realized after work yesterday -- and still believe it today -- is that I really like my job.


My current job is relatively new:  the government dissolved my old agency in May, so I've only been at my current place about two months.  And it deals with a slightly different subject matter (although broadly ''criminology'') than my old job, and works the with the data slightly differently.

But!  Because I'm forced to use a spreadsheet program (Excel) rather than statistical software (SPSS or Stata) to manipulate the data, I'm learning a whole new approach:  I'm now (finally!) at the point where I can basically do all the data-related things in Excel that I used to be able to do in SPSS or Stata.

And, in my new job, my two roles seem to be to run analyses on data, and be the coordinator of data quality issues.  Running the analyses, I enjoy.  And coordinating the data quality means that I get to tap into my latent I.T. Guy orientation:  I have enough of an understanding of both database issues and data-crunching needs that I can bridge the gap, and speak the lingo -- possibly better than anyone else on my team.


My insights of ''Hey!  I actually **really** enjoy my job'' came about because all I did on Thursday and Friday was nut out (and accomplish!) a moderately challenging analaysis, in between assorted meetings with the database people to troubleshoot some data quality issues.

I get to interact with the database people enough that I get to influence what they do and how they do it -- but not so much that I have to actually learn SQL or write the code.  I'm in the perfect in-between zone.


Interesting; intellectually challenging; good stuff!!!   :)


--GG