In defense of the desk job
I still don’t know what I’ll be doing when I grow up, but I’ll probably be sitting at a desk while I’m doing it. That’s awesome.
How many times have you heard the phrase, “I don’t want to sit at a desk all day”? I’m guessing your answer is a lot.
As kids, we’re asked what we want to be when we grow up. The most common answers to that question, according to Fatherly.com, are pro athlete, doctor, and “Don’t Know.”
I want to focus on that beautiful, simple, “Don’t Know.”
When I was about six years old, I decided that I would definitely be a novelist. I would read a new book every other day, and I filled journal pages religiously. Then I got access to the internet, and found out that stardom via YouTube was a thing (thanks Bieber!). I was definitely going to be a YouTube famous singer, and started putting out poorly made “music videos” and song covers. That phase passed, and I started focusing on my up-and-coming basketball career—I was definitely going to be a WNBA player. And then I realized that I was really bad at basketball. Next came marching band. I was definitely going to be a band director/tuba instructor/music goddess. Surprise! That didn’t work out either.
By junior year of high school, I had no idea what I would definitely be doing in the future. I was taking two really important courses—AP Environmental Science and Geographic Information Systems (GIS), both extraordinarily well-taught and groundbreaking to 16-year-old Lindsey. It took me quite a while to realize that while I was dreaming about stories and singing and sports, what I loved was right in front of me. I loved every APES class, even when we talked about sewage disposal. I also loved every GIS class, even when I spent the entire time being angry at my computer for being unresponsive/stubborn/rude/generally disastrous. What was different about these classes was that I consistently loved them. It wasn’t a come-and-go kind of love—it was a constant and growing appreciation for the field itself. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is where the real story comes in.
Today I’m working at the National Environmental Modeling and Analysis Center (NEMAC) in Asheville, North Carolina. I would have never known that this job even existed had I not taken part in that GIS class—let alone actually have been able to do it.
When I was asked as a kid, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” there is no way in hell that my answer would have ever been, “GIS Intern working on the development of a coastal resilience assessment.”
Yet here we are.
My point is that, while we of course have ambitions and dreams, what’s important is that we learn to be creative, hard-working, and passionate.
I always said that I didn’t want to be stuck at a desk all day, eyes glued to a screen, because it didn’t seem like exciting or meaningful work. That was the image I was fed, what I was taught to think. And it is complete and utter nonsense.
Every day my desk job leads me to new questions, new information, and new ideas. Every day my desk job puts me in contact with incredibly smart, talented, and kind people. Every day my desk job challenges me, teaches me, and empowers me.
I may not be writing books, but I am using the power of language and writing to communicate with others. I may not be playing basketball for the WNBA, but I am using the discipline and persistence I learned from my time as an athlete to do better work. I may not be a musical professional, but I use the creativity and teamwork I learned from music to pursue new ideas and collaborate with others.
If we want our children to explore and create and question the world around them, we must first work to expand their understanding of professional life, not minimize it. We cannot overlook professions that require sitting at a computer all day, because many of the most important careers of today are just that. Especially in a world where technology is being developed faster than ever, we need desk jobs. We need people to do the behind-the-scenes work in every single field, and we need them to do it well.
So yeah, I am one of those horribly unfortunate people that sits at a desk and stares at a computer. And it’s awesome. I have no idea what I will definitely be doing in the future, but I know it’ll be driven by passion, curiosity, and a need to be challenged.
So here’s to everyone reading this from their desk. Keep up the good work—the world needs you!
