the one about my corporate life

life caught up to me

For as long as I know, I have always hated the 9-5 work culture (correction, 8-5 in this Nigeria.) The having to wake up by 5am, the fighting and pushing to enter bus so early in morning. The body odor of people ,who somehow forget perfume exists while you're left wondering why someone smells so early in the morning. The traffic. The monotony of work. The lack of a suitable work life balance because try as you might, a Nigerian employer will call you by 10pm on a Sunday night and expect you to pick up the phone.

I grew up watching my mother, who works at a bank, leave home on Saturdays to go to work because one something or the other needed attention. And I told myself, I wouldn't slave for a company. Well, life caught up to me.

First ever corporate job. Remote. Tech. I learnt two things about myself in those two months that I was mandated to be there for a school credit. One, as long as I'm at home, my brain doesn't process that I still have a job. My brain tells me its a weekend, a holiday.

The second thing I learnt was that, coding is not for me. I didn't have the patience or tolerance required to do it. I feel bad for the guy they put in charge of teaching me the ropes of the company, cause he was out here teaching me shit we both knew I would barely use (because I wasn't going to be there long enough to use them). But when given an assignment, I guess you have to do it. Ps. if you're new to coding, NEVER START WITH JAVA (I crashed out multiple times)

Second ever corporate job. Hybrid. Tech. Six months school mandated. Got a good supervisor. Started learning shit I would actually use that wasn't related to coding. Kinda enjoyed it. He took me under his wing. Involved me in company stuff. Then he decided to chase greener pastures and left the country after a month of being under him.

I got moved to another supervisor under another tech related team and after being given multiple online courses to learn from, I learned another thing about myself. If I'm not adding value to the company, I actually feel useless and like a leech (now this was news to me because I have always wanted to be paid for doing nothing). So yeah, another five months of crashouts and wondering how people survive years in this hellhole.

Third corporate job (this one gotten by merit and not connect as it wasn't school mandated). On-site. Tech. I finally (kind of) see the allure of the 9-5 (8-5, I should stop mentally making this mistake). Now, I do have better conditions. I wake up 6.30, find a straight bus, no traffic and the office is about thirty minutes away. Therefore, I have none of the morning anger and stress (trust it actually makes your day better). Also, I actually do work here, no learn this or that first (can you believe that?)

Now do I see myself doing this 9-5 (8-5!!!) long-term? Not really but entrepreneurship is not for me (I have no entrepreneurial bone in my body, I have actually checked) and I don't know another way to make money that is legal, moral and isn't rich man's wife, so I guess I'm stuck with it for now (I still hate it. I just have no choice).