i left two jobs that didn't work out. the problem is that the first one of those failed because i was working all alone, no team, and an overworked supervisor, and at the time i didn't know how to compensate for that (i didn't even know that it needed compensating).

it took me years to understand that i am driven by human interaction. what i am struggling now is how to translate that into advice. i mean yes, i should have looked for jobs that do pair programming. but every personality is different. how would a 25 year old know if that advice applies.

the best i can come up with is to try a few different jobs and pay attention what it is that that is fun.

but even there you can mislead yourself. i did a programming internship while studying and figured that i hated 9-5 office work. then i did foss development with roxen and pike and i absolutely loved it. but i thought it was the programming language, when in truth it probably was that i was working closely with the people that used the website i built. so i stumbled from one experience to the next without really understanding what made work fun.

i can work on side projects all alone for months at a time because i was solving problems for myself. or i can do the utmost boring work with a hands-on client. we worked together for 10 years. the most wonderful person i have ever worked with. working together made the dullest task enjoyable.

i suppose the common element is that there was a need that had to be filled. in one case it was my own, in another it was someone elses.

but how does that translate into actionable advice?