I recently made some big life changes (new city, new job) and this new chapter in my life has made me unusually reflective. I’m a librarian by training and prior to this move, I thought I knew exactly what my long-term career plans were: work at an academic library as the medical librarian, do research and teach classes, get tenure. Now, though, I’m becoming increasingly aware that perhaps there are other career paths I could explore, careers that would be equally or more fulfilling and enjoyable as being an academic librarian.

It’s an uncomfortable feeling, not knowing if you’re making the right decisions in life. So I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about what exactly I want my life to look like in 5, 10, 15 years. What about my life is important to me, and what types of careers can bring those qualities to reality?

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I haven’t yet fully arrived at an answer to this question, but I have discovered a few characteristics of my ideal life and career that I’ve begun to focus on, and these have led me to the field of web development.

Challenge

It’s important to me to feel like I’m working at the edge of my skill set. My ideal job would have a balance between easily knowing exactly what and how to do my work and being presented with challenging tasks that require me to think creatively. This helps to keep me fully engaged with my work and encourages me to continuously grow my range of skills. And in web development, there are always new things to learn.

Flexibility

I know how I work best, and I’d like to have the freedom to decide how and when to get my work done. I know that remote work is a possibility in many web developer jobs, and that is a huge draw for me.

Meaning

If I’m spending a significant portion of my life at a job, I want to feel like I’m contributing to something that will make the world better. I’d like to know that the websites I’m creating are making someone’s life easier and more enjoyable.

Bonus: No More School!

I really don’t want to go back to school for another degree, and there are so many free or cheap educational offerings for learning web development.

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The answer to what I want out of life will change over time, and I know that I will need to continually engage in this type of self-reflection to make sure my actions are aligning with my values. But for now, this has given me something to work with, some guidance in where to direct my energy and how to improve my situation. It’s all rather exciting, and I’m looking forward to seeing what happens.