I recently switched jobs.
An amazing workplace, my colleagues? Such a fun bunch. The job itself? What I did, I enjoyed very, very much. But I left because of all the time it took for me to get to the worksite. It wasn’t doable long term, at least not for me. Thankfully, luck seems to always be on my side in regard to these situations, and before leaving I already had a solid job offer lined up, somewhere else.
My new employer and I were already flirting about the idea for the last couple of weeks, doing some screenings, video calls, hard skills tests, soft skills tests, all of it — it sounds like I am talking about sex here. Funny how almost everything in life can be related to it.
Anyhow, I got offered the job position and it was hard to say yes because of the culture and the people that I met at my now, ex-job. So I gave myself a week to munch it over, but time is the most valuable asset we´ve got and I had to say yes.
The new job isn´t bad at all, don´t get me wrong. I only work between 36 to 40 flexible hours per week, the pay is 40% more and everything is remotely done. With the exception of one day, where we gather the local team at a small HQ we´ve got in Lima, which funnily enough is on a building next to my ex-worksite, to exchange body fluids and all of that. Haha no, I am kidding. We play a lot of games together and exchange ideas and have breakfast and lunch together. I am thrilled.
The current ones would be my third passing through a startup. You read that right, yours truly has got two remote jobs on different startups at the same time. The other one that I haven´t mentioned here, I´ve been with for a year or so at the time of writing this article-post-thing.
Time and Added Expenses
Since my first startup experience — I haven´t been able to get back into the big-company wagon again. I tried a few after the startup I was in, closed down. But, I didn´t last for more than a couple of weeks; wearing a suit again and subjugating myself to, rigid work schedules are things I can´t do anymore. I sound like a spoiled brat here, and perhaps I´ve become one yeah? The hardy cook with straight discipline and professional behavior akin to having OCD has softened up. In a way.
Let’s do a quick recap, based on my last job at a big corp., of all the time it took for me to be ready at work at o´clock:
Grooming(15–20 minutes)
Walking to the nearest bus stop(15 minutes)
Waiting for the bus to arrive(10 minutes)
Bus ride(40–60 minutes)
Walking to the worksite(10–12 minutes)
In the best-case scenario, that was 90 minutes off of my day and we are not taking into account how much time it took me to get home. On top of that, I had to cook daily meals to take to work and had to buy office clothes every now and then. It is pure nonsense, the added expenses.
About Those Added Expenses
When I realized how much of my income I had to spend to keep my job I left swiftly; I am talking about, office clothes and meals here. And that was one of the reasons that pushed me to the kitchen. When you work with food, chances are, you are getting a uniform and at least one good meal a day. And other added perks… And well at the beginning, to me that made all of the sense in the world. But then, the larger-than-life work shifts hit me and it wasn´t quite an improvement in that aspect. But I was happy with the change nonetheless. I wanted those skills and all of that romanticism that restaurant work gets covered with.
Startup Work Life Is All About Cheap Thrills
It took a lot, to get climatized in the first one. I mean, casual actually meant casual for once, and it felt like you could just be in that sense — although I did had to wear a uniform for the first year or so, but that is another story. There were no strict rules about hair or beards. And despite the fact that it was on-site work, the check-in and checkout timeframe was very flexible. And on top of that, it only took a 15-minute walk to get there. And, I was given command of the most modern, well-equipped professional kitchen in the whole country to play with and I could stay there as long as I wanted to. Cheap thrills.
The second startup I got enrolled in while pursuing different skills and knowledge, while still working at the first one. I started dabbling into tech by taking several online courses and one of my teachers recommended me for a trainee position at a startup based in Québec. It is a food tech startup and it has been an amazing experience. Everything is remote, I have no work schedule as I work with deliverables with a deadline of course. The payment is good, way better than whatever anyone is paying per hour in my country. I love it and also, they are open for me to work somewhere else at the same time, as long as it is not in the same industry and things like that, which is cool for me. Cheap thrills.
And my current new job, I am very excited to tell you about this one. It is a French startup, with HQs in Barcelona, France, and Perú. We dwell in IoT tech, that is all that I am allowed to say at the moment hahaha. Anyway, what I really like is the exchange of cultures that happens in worldwide spread businesses and this thing they have, where we send each other something of our liking every month and it can be absolutely random, as long as you know that it won’t offend the other part or be taken as improper, of course. Cheap thrills eh, did I not say?
But
It does require a certain mindset to thrive at a startup. These kinds of endeavors are, in my humble experience, surrounded by chaos. You are thrown into the sea with a duck lifesaver and if you and the rest are smart and remain collected enough, you will stay afloat until a ship arrives. If you like precise rules and procedures, you will have a hard time at a startup, where everything changes fast; this thing right here does not work? Pivot! Let´s try this other way and so on and so forth.
And it is not that I like business bedlam, I come from a kitchen after all. Yet, adaptability has always been a strong point in my character, and that works well in these environments.
Some of you may be meaning to ask, “Hey Kevin, how do I get into one?” Well, my friend, make the connection. Enroll in courses, go to events, seminars, webinars, all of it. I did this while in my early thirties so it is never too late. Get involved!
Album I am listening to at the moment: Fix Yourself, Not the World — The Wombats.
Say hi on Instagram where I post mostly about food but also about THINGS haha! Also, as I am currently located in Perú I am unable to join the paid partnership program, so leave me a tip eh?
Get involved! No, but seriously. No, just kidding. But if you want to, I will appreciate it.