Jobs, Meaning, Happiness & Direction (1/6)

Why read this article?

• You may identify, with my story if you've felt unfulfilled at your job and wish to "pursue your true passion" (whatever that means).
• You could find that you are not as alone (or as crazy) as you thought.
• You will be referred to resources and be given actionable advice that may help you sort things out.

So, what happened?

November 3rd, 2023 was my last day at Google. I worked for ~2.5 years as a Technical Solutions Engineer (TSE) in Google Cloud Platform (GCP).

TSE is a support position where the day-to-day operation consists of handling support cases. TSEs usually handle the highest priority cases from GCP's top customers. TSEs also have weekend shifts — not every week — but are given a rest day (Friday or Monday) when working over the weekend. This can lead to high levels of stress and anxiety daily.

Did you underperform or did something bad happen that got you fired?

No. I was doing pretty well:

• I had been promoted within ~6 months.
• I had recently achieved my Blue Belt — a sort of internal certificate that proves one is proficient at dealing with support work — for my product's specialization: Cloud Composer.
• I produced the very first GCP Support Short for Cloud Composer (see below). GCP Support Shorts is an initiative to produce short (<5 min.) videos to increase self-service among GCP customers.

From the outside, we could have said I was even thriving.

Were you one of the unfortunate people who had to go due to downsizing strategies then?

No. I quit out of my own will.

Are you insane?

Clinically, no. I like to think that I'm just the right amount of crazy — as I believe most people are deep down – and that's ok. There's even a saying about this over here in Spanish-speaking countries: "De músico, poeta y loco, todos tenemos un poco". Which can be translated as "There's a bit of a musician, poet,in and madman in all of us".

Why did you do such a thing?

• I felt unfulfilled. I felt miserable. I felt empty.
• I was getting comfortable. And the only constant in life is change. As renowned professor Jordan Peterson mentions in his interview with Thorbjorn Thordarson for Iceland's Channel 2: you should really "dispense with the idea that you get to have any permanent security outside of your ability to contend and adapt".
• The beginning of professional life is the best time to make radical changes. Waiting for a better time is wasteful. A safer future is never guaranteed. It's all an illusion.

Don't get me wrong. Google is an amazing place to work. It has great benefits and I could never complain about my compensation. I had a great time getting to know people around the globe... but something felt off. I couldn't shake that feeling for as long as I was a TSE.

I've analyzed what exactly I was feeling and why this decision was so compelling for me. I'm writing this article hoping that someone else on the internet may find my compilation of key observations useful. So here's what I've learned about jobs, meaning, happiness & direction so far.

I'll be posting an episode every week for the next 5 weeks. If you just want some actionable advice to pursue your dreams, go to the last section (once it's published). Now, let's go over why a corporate job may not suit you.