The Job, Part 2
10/7/04 - So... It's been like, almost 2 years since my last report. Time for an update.
I started my job in January 2003, and have been working there now for more than a year and a half. It's amazing how quickly time has passed, especially since it feels so slow at work most days. Without the summer breaks, and semester exams, time just passes, without major events to mark the end of one period and the beginning of the next. Well, except for things like the year changing from 2003 to 2004. Minor things like that I guess.
Before my job, I was wondering what I'd be doing with all the money I'd be getting paid. Would I just stack it up and make a bed out of it? That seemed possible, since it would be so much more than I was used to. But that didn't happen. Turns out living in Dallas is a lot more expensive than College Station, especially when you're not spliting all the bills with a roomate.
And now I have a car to pay for. All through college my parents let me borrow a car, and paid for my insurance. Now I have to pay for both myself. Guess that's part of growing up, but man, it'd be cool to have all that extra money to buy video games or something. Or donuts. Mmmmm, donuts.
Oh right, and saving for retirement. Starting early means I'll have a lot more.... in 40+ years when I retire. Until then I just get the statements every quarter saying how much I have in my account. But I guess that's good. I can't waste what I can't spend. A penny saved is a penny earned. Actually, my whole paycheck is earned, so I guess the pennies saved are earned twice? I don't know, a penny's a penny.
Then there's the government. I give them lots of money so they can spend it on things that mostly don't affect me. I wish I didn't have to pay anything into social security, since it's probably going to be gone in 40 years when I'm supposed to start collecting. I'd even give up my claim to any social security benefits if it was still around in 40 years. Just let me keep all that money every month. A candidate running on a full opt-out program for social security would get my vote, but good luck passing it. It'd probably be scary if they did though, since lots of people would opt-out so they'd get extra money every month, then they'd just waste the money on junk, and then when they'd retire they'd whine that they had no money. Maybe that's the idea behind the private retirement accounts that I've heard Bush talk about. You can't opt-out, but you can at least make sure some of the money you put in will be coming back to you, instead of losing it all because the whole program fails.
So, if you're wondering about the Job, I basically work on software development most of the day. That means I have to make the computer do the things it needs to so that the user will be able to get their job done. Usually it's a pretty relaxed schedule that is kinda fun, but lately it's been hectic and a little stressful. I'm not in any hurry to find another job though, I've made a lot of friends and enjoy the area. I'm sure I won't be at this place forever, but it's been a nice first job so far.
-Luke