So I have been at my job for a week and a half now. It is ok. At first the job was pretty soul crushing. I was doing data entry or "ciffing" as they call it to learn how to use their shamefully antiquated DOS based computer system. It was bad both because it was mind numbing data entry, but also because the system was so user unfriendly. I still can't believe they still use this software.
After ciffing for a week, I started to get a better sense of the system so they moved me on to my real job, assisting underwriters. Underwriters are the people who decide whether or not a lender should take a financial risk. In my bank, what this boils down to is a set of bank-determined guidlines and an assistant like me to ensure all the supporting documentation is in place and says what it is supposed to. The whole process is pretty straight forward. There is not a huge amount of autonomy or creativity in the job. My job its self is mostly just to check the supporting documentation faxed in by the mortgage broker. Not particulary interesting stuff.
I still don't know whether I like this job or not. On the one hand, it is certainly not as good as that month at the UN. It is also not as stimulating as teaching English in China in that I don't have as much interaction with other people. On the other hand, working for a big, well known bank has a bit of cachet and the work I do is not particularly hard or stressful. I am never expected to work overtime and the whole work environment is pretty casual. I guess my major complaint with this job is that maybe it is not professional enough. Rather than being a knowledge worker, or even a knowledge worker's assistant, I am a cog in a machine completing routine tasks. I just hope that this experience can be a stepping stone to something that is both more interesting and pays better.
The people at the office are a mixed bunch. In general, I would describe my office as 'pink collar', that is there are far more women than men. This suits me fine but also indicates that it is not a place where I am likely to stay for an extended period of time. Among my coworkers, there are several immigrants, some Toronto refugees and one girl on a workiing holiday visa. All of this makes the office very diverse and Vancouveresque. Everyone is nice and I am starting to make some friendships. I think that I will pass my time well here.
On the personal side, I have been getting better at being social. I have contacted and seen more friends in the last week than I had until that point. Although there are still people left to see, I am now well on my way to re-establishing whats left of the social networks I had before I left for China. Also, there is the potential to become friends with some of my coworkers. I am still suffering from my lack of social context and a social life, but the worst is over. This side of my life stands to gain a lot from my imminent move back to my parent's apartment downtown. Being near the bars and on all of the major transit routes just has a way of making these things easier.
My birthday is coming up in less than two weeks and I am wondering what I should do to celebrate. My first thought is to have a party, but that is stressful and involves a lot of planning. The party would also not be as good as my birthday party last year as many of my good friends have left Vancouver in the interum. The age, 23, is also a bit of a meaningless birthday. I am now firmly a 20-something and paradoxically, as I get older, I am feeling younger. When I was a kid, I never understood why people who are my age now were considered young but now, faced with an office of coworkers who are almost all older than me, I feel like the young one again. I guess I should enjoy this while it lasts.
After ciffing for a week, I started to get a better sense of the system so they moved me on to my real job, assisting underwriters. Underwriters are the people who decide whether or not a lender should take a financial risk. In my bank, what this boils down to is a set of bank-determined guidlines and an assistant like me to ensure all the supporting documentation is in place and says what it is supposed to. The whole process is pretty straight forward. There is not a huge amount of autonomy or creativity in the job. My job its self is mostly just to check the supporting documentation faxed in by the mortgage broker. Not particulary interesting stuff.
I still don't know whether I like this job or not. On the one hand, it is certainly not as good as that month at the UN. It is also not as stimulating as teaching English in China in that I don't have as much interaction with other people. On the other hand, working for a big, well known bank has a bit of cachet and the work I do is not particularly hard or stressful. I am never expected to work overtime and the whole work environment is pretty casual. I guess my major complaint with this job is that maybe it is not professional enough. Rather than being a knowledge worker, or even a knowledge worker's assistant, I am a cog in a machine completing routine tasks. I just hope that this experience can be a stepping stone to something that is both more interesting and pays better.
The people at the office are a mixed bunch. In general, I would describe my office as 'pink collar', that is there are far more women than men. This suits me fine but also indicates that it is not a place where I am likely to stay for an extended period of time. Among my coworkers, there are several immigrants, some Toronto refugees and one girl on a workiing holiday visa. All of this makes the office very diverse and Vancouveresque. Everyone is nice and I am starting to make some friendships. I think that I will pass my time well here.
On the personal side, I have been getting better at being social. I have contacted and seen more friends in the last week than I had until that point. Although there are still people left to see, I am now well on my way to re-establishing whats left of the social networks I had before I left for China. Also, there is the potential to become friends with some of my coworkers. I am still suffering from my lack of social context and a social life, but the worst is over. This side of my life stands to gain a lot from my imminent move back to my parent's apartment downtown. Being near the bars and on all of the major transit routes just has a way of making these things easier.
My birthday is coming up in less than two weeks and I am wondering what I should do to celebrate. My first thought is to have a party, but that is stressful and involves a lot of planning. The party would also not be as good as my birthday party last year as many of my good friends have left Vancouver in the interum. The age, 23, is also a bit of a meaningless birthday. I am now firmly a 20-something and paradoxically, as I get older, I am feeling younger. When I was a kid, I never understood why people who are my age now were considered young but now, faced with an office of coworkers who are almost all older than me, I feel like the young one again. I guess I should enjoy this while it lasts.
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