PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

Having come from an upper-middle-class family and having attended an Ivy League school, many of my cousins and peers are in the professional fields. They are doctors, engineers, lawyers, and consultants. They are schooled in, and now perform, specialized functions, like analyze enzymes and design software tools and implement IT solutions. Their contribution to our economy is in intellectual capital, adding value by knowing legal technicalities or advising on IPO’s or rehabilitating cancer survivors.

My wife and I, although similarly educated and equally intelligent, find ourselves with much more mundane and tangible work responsibilities. We order office supplies, manage facilities, and supervise clerical staff. Neither of us have secretaries or administrative assistants, so we do a lot of our own typing, faxing, and copying. Our cousins and peers go throughout their jobs without a second thought to some of the things that Amy and I spend much of our days worrying about, like researching benefits packages or filling out shift schedules or making sure there’s enough money next month to pay for everything.

It is impossible to look at the contrasts without making some sort of value judgment, in both directions. It is easy to think myself less than my cousins and peers for having to deal with such trivialities. It is also easy to think myself more authentic than my cousins and peers, for being more blue-collar and gritty in my work life. But for the purposes of this blog, I am simply making an observation: that unlike our cousins and peers, Amy and I find ourselves in jobs that involve overseeing people, tending to physical plant, and managing HR and admin functions.