Yes, I did ape this title from Irma Bombeck. When I was a kid, I didn’t know what a septic tank was and I didn’t understand why adults found it funny. In 6th grade, I finally made a friend who knew what a septic tank was, and he explained it. Gross. I still didn’t get the joke though.
Now I live in a house with septic. I finally get it! The greenest part of my yard sometimes smells a little funny. Especially when it is really hot out.
O-o-o-o-o-o-h! Its a metaphor!
At work, and in life, there are some very ripe opportunities, and the most-common are the ones related to stuff that nobody wants to touch. It stinks, but it pays well. It also comes with job security, because anyone who will do unpleasant work is sort-of irreplaceable. Who would you find to replace them? How would you interview for that?
Most of my career, I’ve worked on dev teams where everyone hated reports. I can still see the looks on those faces. Like they could almost smell the reporting tools. Ha ha ha. Funny! But I’m serious. It is rare to find anyone who will even touch reports or admit to knowing anything about reports or data mining.
…which is why I did. Yep, not only would I touch them, I studied hard and became good at it. It was some very green grass to stand-on.
Funny thing; my current job, we already have a reporting ace. He pretty much told me to “go find your own septic field”. Hah! Fair enough. He definitely has things handled and everyone respects his work. So I’ve been keeping my eyes opened, on-the-lookout for anything else worth-avoiding. 🙂
I just have to listen closely in our dev meetings, to see if there is anything the team might be avoiding. Nothing yet.
If you’re looking for greener grass, for yourself, consider the things that others avoid. It might be fertile.
Aah, the pain of being an elitist 