Are We Our Jobs?
A friend of mine was once wrongfully accused of transporting narcotics across the US-Canada border. What turned out to be hollyhock seeds for his mother’s garden has caused him no end of trouble. It was when he and I traveled through the States to Mexico that I made a startling observation.
Because of his previous record we were held up at the border for well over an hour being questioned by countless officials and police. What intrigued me so greatly was how startlingly similar were all the personalities of these border officials. There were numerous traits they all shared. Broadly built; clean shaven; their hair was always cut at very short and sharp right angles; and they all spoke as though they were reading from an instruction manual. And this has remained pretty constant every subsequent time I’ve crossed the border. I wondered what sort of people they were at home. Did they speak to their friends and family just as curtly and deliberately?
I’ve spent years playing competitive soccer, and I don’t want to speak for all sports, but I’ve noticed something about referees. They all seem to share a certain set of traits as well. They all appear as though they love the sport but were nerdy to the point that they were always being picked last at the schoolyard. Now while managing the match they strut about at every moment trying to assert their authority pushing around the players that would not pick them for their team and who are now at their mercy. Their motions are, like the border officials, mechanical and deliberate. Still, I wonder how they behave in real life.
Growing up with my brother, and choosing a completely different career path, I was always amazed how he mirrored the behaviour of others in his chosen profession – medicine. Somewhere I lost track of when it all happened. Was my brother always like these people, or did he become like them? A resident in surgery, my brother opens people up and puts them back together again as all the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t do. It’s given him an arrogant disposition – some might call it a “God-complexâ€. He likes his fine wines and enjoys being able to talk about them – but because I know him so well, I know that it’s all really just happy grape juice to him. Still he appreciates art, can quote what he’s read, and will no doubt one day be an avid purchaser. And because I know him so well I know he’d covet the Mona Lisa more for its status than for it being nice to look at. When we’re together we burp and fart like real bohemians and trenchermen, but when he’s all dolled up and with med friends, then it’s med-demeanour and med-speak all the time. Is it because he can’t show these people who he “really†is? Is it because he doesn’t like to show me who he “really†is? Is he just everything to everyone? What about all these other “medicinitesâ€, do they go home and burp and fart with their brothers and eat pizza and Jack Daniels with just as much as enjoyment as they would poached salmon and white wine?
I may never unravel the mystery but I’m determined to investigate the question because there is certainly substantial evidence to support either case: Do certain vocations attract a particular type of person, or do certain careers mould and shape individuals into certain types?
If you haven’t heard, there’s a war going on at the border and we have to keep the “bad” people out of the country. This requires a special person for the job. Ok, I’m being a bit harsh, but to prove my point or observations.
I’m not going to knock border officials, but I do believe certain jobs attract certain personalities. The quasi military personnel, who coincidentally are being aided by full fledge military personnel are not on the border to be your friend. They have a serious job, a love for our country, and do what it takes to keep drugs, undeclared and untaxed items and undesirables out of the country. I guess it’s not a glamorous job, but it’s an important one.
I’ve come to observe that jobs that require a high level of training and precision in the end attract and produce similar type people. Doctors study for years to be qualified. Lawyers do the same. Other specialized jobs like being a pilot, border official, police officer, and teacher seem to have a similar type personality.
Unstructured jobs like businessperson, actor and bartender don’t always have a defined character type. There aren’t any rules to follow per se and there fore more opportunities available to deviate from the norm.
I think in many cases the person finds the job and the job finds the person. It’s a mutual relationship that just works out. There are outliers in every profession…the oddballs, the weirdos, the ones that don’t fit the mold. They stand out like soar thumbs and help us define what we consider the mold to be…they have a relationship like light and dark, black and white. They define the what is.
So while being in the medical environment where deviating from the norm can be costly your brother may not have a choice. At home there isn’t a need to make a choice. We fulfill our roles as society hands them out. Not “following” the rules can lead to consequences we don’t wish to face.
Comment by Eric Brown — February 20, 2007 @ 4:20 pm