The bustling conversation seemed to be rising to deafening levels, the beer flowing across hastily pulled together tables and bar stools. The division had taken over this bar, filling it to capacity on an otherwise uneventful evening and of them all, I was the only one who didn’t call this company home. Like so many times before, I was the only outsider at the table, brought in to crush any doubts that the product would ship on time. I sipped the local brew and exchanged pleasantries and congratulations when a hush fell over the table I was sitting at.

“So Justin, there’s a question that everyone here has been meaning to ask since you were brought on,” said the young manager, a slender gent who three beers in appeared to have spoken more words this evening than in my two months on said team.

“How THE FUCK do you know all this? How was it you came in on this project in the dark and somehow pulled this rabbit out of a hat? The rabbit was FUCKING huge.”

With every use of the word fuck, the table erupted in laughter and agreement. An answer had to be given, their inquiries turning more impassioned.

“The simple answer is this is my profession,” I replied.

This answer did not sit well with the table.

“Yeah, but coding is my job too,” said one developer.

“I’ve managed product before, so it’s not like I don’t have a handle on my job,” replied another manager.

I could see I was losing the table with my use of the word profession, so I bought another round for the table; I know a losing battle when I see one, and given the alcohol consumption a loaded question just leads to hurt feelings. Beers arrived and the conversation turned to more interesting topics.

The thing is, the rebuke of the notion of profession bothers me. Some folks take it as an insult, others say the term is outdated. For so many it’s about the job they have, the thing the company hired you to do based on some skills they have. Maybe that’s writing code or running tests, maybe that’s managing a team. For most people, this is their existence and quite frankly there is nothing wrong with that. You get to choose what you want to do and who you want to be.

For me, coming into a company is always a new adventure that goes beyond just my so-called skills. It relies on my profession, something I’ve trained and studied for over 20 years in combination with a depth of working experience. Why do I have arcane knowledge about this strange thing that seems foreign to you that you just brought me in to resolve? Namely because I studied and have likely fixed that issue before. I keep my fingers on a pulse that many folks do not because that’s the choice I made.

I wanted to be the very best I could be, job, code, or project be damned. I studied and took positions that stretched my knowledge. I listened more than I spoke (I still do at every opportunity). Explore. Lather, rinse, repeat, 23 years and ticking.

This choice however also puts me at a disadvantage in today’s strange new working environments, where companies hire people with some skillset who lack the ability to apply those skills in productive ways when matched with imperfect conditions. This leads to fear when I walk in a lot of rooms, because the presumption is that I’m one of the Bob’s from Office Space and that I’m looking to evaluate and release people from their jobs.

The sad part? I’ve saved a lot of people their jobs and those very people who despised my existence never even knew. You probably know the type; they wax quixotic on topics they know enough about to be dangerous, and they’re always quick to take credit when they’ve done nothing.

Comes with the profession.

For those that might say “Justin, profession is an elitist attitude because what you’re saying that requires school and classes and study, not everyone can do that.” If you want to get pedantic about the definition and the notion of “qualified certification”, go right ahead and use that as an excuse not to do the “prolonged training” part. I’m not saying you have to give up your life, go back to school, and study all the time either; anything at the extremes does not work for long. Find a balance.

I’m not striving to be the best I can be to meet some expectations of others, to meet some ungodly notion of perfection. The pursuit of my nameless profession makes me whole. Sure, there are stormy days and bumpy plane rides, but that’s just part of the fun.