I have a few philosophies, such as “if I stop having fun at my job, It’s time to move on.” All the IT related jobs that I have held have been fun in one way or another. For example, my first job in the IT field was doing Coldfusion. We actually had more fun then we should have, and overall, it was a good experience. I’ve also stayed friends with most of the developers and we hang out from time to time.

My second IT job, this time in .NET, was also fun. The people were easy to get along with — we cut jokes, made fun of each other, etc. — but we also got work done. Unlike the last job.

When I hear friends talk about their office politics/drama, it’s as if they’re saying, “This job would be great if it wasn’t for the f@!#ing co-workers,” (to paraphrase Clerks). My advice is always “find a job you like with people you can get along with.” If it’s not the work you hate, find a company with which you are comfortable and with people with whom you get along.

And so, I find myself here, at The Washington Times — having fun, getting a ton of work done and coding in Python/Django.

I guess the real reason I like doing what I do is not knowing what problems we will have to solve today. Every day we run into something different, which is what I consider a real challenge. It’s why I like coming to work, even though I live about 2 hours away.

My main point of all this is to just do what you like to do, have some fun, get some work done, and don’t let office politics get in your way. If you don’t like what you do, try to get on the path to doing something you will enjoy.