First Impressions of a First Job

Alright, maybe “first impressions” isn’t entirely accurate anymore. I originally planned to post this the first or second week of the month, but I’ve now been at my first job for almost a month now. I started it with really very little idea of what to expect. After all, I’ve never really had a formal desk job. That said, so far, I’ve actually been pretty pleasantly surprised. I really have to admit that environment here really is not what I expected. It’s better. That said, I love my job.

For obvious security reasons, I really can’t go into much detail about what it is that I actually do, but my job title is “Information Security Analyst”. For those of you who missed the earlier posts about the subject, I’m co-oping at Bristol-Myers Squibb. And I’m having blast. For the most part, I’ve been really busy. My free time has been cut the most I’ve ever had it in life. While that has made it harder to keep up with some things, I’m actually glad things are the way the are. For the first time in my life, I feel as if I’m finally not wasting the hours of the day. Being busy is actually pretty nice. Sure, it means I’m juggling roughly three different projects right now, one of which each step is practically a project itself, but I’m fine with that. It means that I’m getting to learn a lot, almost more than in class. I think that is one of the best parts.

For how large of a corporation BMS is, I honestly never expected it to have such a laid back environment. I certainly never expected to have a bigger desk than my one back home. Huge might be an understatement to describe how big it is. I would decorate it some, but given that most of what I’d decorate it with would be anime and manga references, I don’t too many co-workers would understand ^_^;

Really the only thing right now that could be better is the commute. It’s a little over an hour to and from work on roads with some of the biggest asshole drivers you will ever encounter. Yes, even worse than the Vine Street Expressway that Philly is [in]famous for during rush hour. But it’s worth it. Every last horn blow and middle finger.

So, bottom line, I’m loving my first job. Heck, given all the negativity the word “job” has associated with it these days, I’m reluctant to call it that. I’d consider it more of a learning experience than anything else. I know I haven’t really justified that too much with details, but the simple fact of the matter is that I just can’t. That’s just the nature of my job. But it’s fun.