It's officially been three weeks since I started and I still feel great about this job! I've had the experience from starting somewhere and beginning the job hunt again after two weeks because it was just a miserable place to be, to feeling pushed beyond my limits within the first year. Basically I've never had a job that took me on as a permanent employee immediately where I fit in so quickly, but didn't have to work like a dog and still not be able to fulfill the needs of the organization due to office politics, mismanagement, or understaffing.

Don't get me wrong, I have always worked very hard and I continue to give 100% when there is work waiting in the inbox. But I appreciate SIB so much more from experiencing the massive levels of dysfunction at most of my other jobs. From veterinary offices to universities to publishing to LIB there was always a fundamental problem with how things were run that was completely out of my control. And as study after study has shown, employees with high demands placed on them but little control over the root of those demands leads to burnout. I was absolutely Exhibit A.

Maybe it was for the best that I flamed out when I did. The health damage that I've caused myself isn't reversible, but it seems to have been stopped before the true point of no return since I haven't gotten sicker. Because of the pandemic I was able to explain my "career break"  (as they're calling them now) in interviews when I was looking to reenter the workforce, and even though I got rejected from a lot of jobs, the one that mattered came through. I think I'm somewhat safe now to say that I will be a success at this job, and while I'm sure there will be parts that I don't like or that don't work, I don't see that fundamental, fatal flaw I ran into in other places. I hope I can continue to say that long-term because I see myself having a career here, not just a job.