Do what you love, love what you do

This post is a bit different from all that have gone before on this blog as it is not a “how to”, a rant or even technology related.  Rather, it is a tiny bit of advice to any young person looking at getting into the IT biz from a grizzled old veteran.  It has been prompted by us (itgroove) interviewing a potential co-op student and it got me thinking about what it is that drives people to get into this business and, more to the point, excel within the business.

Very simply, if you want to get into the biz, figure out what it is you really love to do, what is it that makes you passionate and then go for it.  This business will chew you up and spit you out if you go at it in a half-assed fashion or if you move off at a tangent from what it is that truly turns you on.  When you look at successful companies in the business you see that they are staffed top to bottom with people who like what they do and the people that make the most impact on the business love what they do.

Many technology companies have people that are known as and maybe even titled as “evangelists”; that is an excellent term as it is so descriptive of those who truly love what they do.  If you are evangelical about something chances are it is your passion that drives the evangelism and it is that passion that will drive you forward and help you excel within the industry.

I have been very, very lucky in my career in that I have been able to work with some truly phenomenal people, people passionate about the technologies they use, people passionate about “doing it right”, people passionate about keeping the “flame” alive in those they work with.  It is those people that help the rest of us slog through when it has all gone wrong (and, Lordy, it can go so  wrong sometimes) and inspire us to go to the next level.  I fervently hope that, on occasion, I have been one of those people myself.  (Ok, itgroove-ers, you can stop sniggering now.  The grumpy old fart can be both passionate and a tad sentimental once in awhile ….).

This is an incredible business to be in if you have found your passion.  So, as the post title says, “do what you love, love what you do” and enjoy the ride!