Recently I quit my real job to find my DreamJob, again. See Appendix for VJSP data inputs. __________________________________________________________________________
Early in my life I initiated a self-directed research project called DreamJob. It’s hard to say exactly when this project kicked-off.
I was maybe 7 when I discovered schooling wasn’t optional. From then on I grappled with the notion that school was a set of parameters for working. It was definitely not for fun, it was not even for experimenting.
Early working life involved doing things like ‘baby photographer’, ‘laboratory assistant’, ‘gallery assistant’, ‘data entry operator’, ‘scholarship coordinator’ and ‘production coordinator’. But I could not settle.
Work spun off perks though. The thrill of holding an envelope containing my first printed payslip. Having regular money in my bank, that I would promptly spend. Or the buzz of sitting in my very own office with my own telephone. It was fun exploring my options.
It became clear that I needed a career. So I settled into the logical task sequence of an Archivist.
Archivist involved the moving of paper. Putting paper into folders, folders into boxes, boxes onto shelves and then sometimes taking the paper back out again. This basic sequence of tasks lasted for some years. It felt important, and worthy. It became my career.
As time went on, post Y2K[1], archival tasks began to dematerialise. Paper became digital. It started as copying tasks, and that felt ok. Then came digitisation and then datafication.[2]
The role I performed still felt basically Archivist, but with added keyboard, and pumped-up job titles. I advised. I consulted. I researched and analysed. I supervised. I managed. I advocated.
As more time went on, post-COVID lock-downs, my work days seemed to really flatten and elongate. Screen time increased. I worked from home all the time. I felt burnt-out. I felt I was enabling Big Tech and their friends. I felt like a feeder. I felt like a hungry ghost.
Eventually this existential thin-ness became overwhelming, so I took a ‘career break’.
I started my own DreamJobs Virtual Jobs Simulation Platform (VJSP). Through VJSP I got involved in community economy experiments and basic income approaches.[3] I undertook online and offline courses. I did some casual and contract work. I experimented with ChatGPT and made some AI helpers.
It was fun, until suddenly it wasn’t anymore. I felt like I was being eaten by my own platform.
DreamJob VJSP has wound up, for now – I’m looking for real work again.
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[1] Y2K was perhaps the first existential computing problem.
[2] Datafication is turning life into data
[3] Basic Income explainer
Appendix: DreamJobs for Virtual Job Simulation Platform (VJSP)
- Art Therapist**
- Board Member
- Citizen Scientist**
- Data Taxonomist
- Digital Credentialing
- Communication and Marketing
- DJ*
- Economist
- End of Life Doula**
- Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Specialist
- Existential Wellness Coach**
- Fermenter**
- Information Architect
- Information Governance Advisor
- Landcare/regenerator*
- Learning Designer*
- Management and Business Consultant
- Permaculture Teacher**
- Prompt Engineer/Chat-GPT Builder
- Real Estate Agent
- Social Enterprise Entrepreneur*
- Sole Trader
- Taxonomist
- Wildlife Carer**