The road often travelled: What I learned from my first desk job
You’ve heard it before, maybe even said it yourself — ‘After I graduate, I will NOT get a desk job.’
My first (desk) job was at a big firm. I took a fixed-term employment as an auditor amidst the COVID-19 pandemic because my, and everyone else’s, plans were out on hold. Not that I’m using the pandemic as an excuse for going back on my word all those years ago, but if the pandemic hadn’t happened, I probably still would’ve tried what all the fuss was about desk jobs being so terrible. Maybe its because I was around very motivated people in college, who had dreams and professional aspirations, that I was inclined to think of what I wanted to do with my life. So I go took the road often travelled by, hoping to figure it out on the way.
The contract lasted five months and it was one of the most challenging times of my life. The lax first month of training was countered a million-fold by the next four. Working up to 20 hours a day, audit season was way worse than what I expected it to be. Every week was a cycle of waking up, working, eating, and waiting for the week (and my contract) to end.
But I don’t completely regret my time there. For a lot of us that have a desk job (whether by choice or chance), here are a few things I learned:
It’s all about the people
As someone who only recently graduated, adjusting not only to the new environment, but to the new phase of my life was difficult, especially when everything was happening virtually. The importance of having warm and understanding superiors became one of the most important factors and I was lucky enough to get just that. But I’ve had colleagues rant to me about how their audit senior blew up over the smallest things, or how their manager got mad at them for clocking in 30 minutes late even though they worked until 1 AM the previous day. Desk jobs are tough enough as they are, you’d at least want fun people to struggle with. For a better desk job experience, know that your ability to connect with the people you work with will always be more important than your actual work.
In my case, it was especially challenging to connect because we were all working remotely. Its harder to discern what people are like merely through a screen and if you want to create make, you’re gonna have to do it proactively because of the lack of small interactions. I never had lunch with my team nor did I run into anyone in the pantry. No mundane conversations that could possibly grow into lasting relationships. If you wanna build bridges, you have to get to know your colleagues proactively.
The little things matter
You can have the most terrible day at work, week even, but most of the time, a simple plate of sliced fruit laid down by my mom made it all better. Amidst all the work notifications, the one “how are you?” is the one you’re gonna want to reply to first. You really look forward to the weekends because its probably the only time you’re gonna get to spend with your loved ones. Even though it highlights how terrible a desk job can be, it makes those short moments all the more worthwhile.
The value of money
There’s food at home.
Kidding aside, I learned to see money in terms of how much effort I put into making it. The time I had to give and the sacrifices I had to make made that money a little more valuable than the amount printed on the bill. Not that I turned cheap, but I became more careful on the things and people I spent it on. Ultimately, the feeling of being able to make other people happy with money you earned yourself made all the late nights worth it.
Make it count
Being a sentimental person, on my last day, I said goodbye to everyone I worked with. Although my time there was nothing short of the worst, I realized after leaving that there were things I could’ve done differently, things I could’ve learned better. My attitude was greatly affected by the extreme environment, with the heavy workload and lack of substantive human interaction, but it still boils down to you. Talk to that cute girl, learn how taxes really work, discover a new artist from your manager’s playlist. Desk jobs can get so bad they’ll make you quit, but never quit without picking up a thing or two.
At the end of the day, I appreciated my time at my desk job. I like to think of myself as being lost at the moment, and the thing is with being lost is that you can stumble upon the most beautiful paths. Life is too uncertain to say that I won’t be on a terrible desk job (I hope, I’ll try), but I at least learned a few things to get me by; and that will make all the difference.
