Are you where you deserve to be?

I've been punching above my weight for quite some time.

No reason to stop now, of course.

 

Oh, I did. But I worked my ass off to get here, so I won't apologize for it. Caught a few breaks. At least two editors took (major) chances on me and that's why I'm still in this biz, doing what I love and making enough money to live a life I enjoy. But if I ever get laid off, god forbid, I'm probably going to drop much further than I deserve, too. Not looking forward to that day.

 

I picked that option, but it's not because of arrogance. It's because of choice.
I've been in the business for 10 years, won a few awards and probably could've moved up the food chain by now. But I've chosen to stay where I am for personal reasons and because I like where I work. It's a fairly cushy job with flexible hours and they've shown they want me to stay the one time I did seriously consider leaving. And with the uncertainty at many bigger papers these days, I'm quite happy to stay a few rungs lower and avoid the layoff guillotine that's hanging over so many heads.
So, I'd say given my experience and abilities, I might deserve to be somewhere else. I'd also say that I'm OK with where I'm at. If that's a lack of drive or whatever, and I "deserve" to be in Podunk, then so be it.

 

I'm with Batman. Only with fewer awards. Ah, hell, now I wanna change my answer. I deserve to be back in a town of 1,000 typing up whatever bullshit the old ladies handwrite and mail into the crappiest weekly on the face of the Earth.

Really though, I've had opportunities to move up and decided my family is better in the long run here than it is in a bigger city. Being two minutes from home instead of 45 is a huge, huge reason to stay.

 

In a word ... No.

 

Based on what I think I deserve ... oh nevermind.

 

I think I'm about where I should be -- maybe even further up the chain. I'm a boss at a good paper in a good situation. I probably shouldn't be in my position based on my age and experience, but I think I've got the skills, knowledge and work ethic to be here. I'm good at what I do, and I deserve to be where I am.

 

No, I'm lower than I should be.

I tell myself every day I should be working for SI or the New York Times, and for some reason I'm not.
I mean, I was one of the best writers in my Jschool class two years ago, why shouldn't I be at that level?


I voted: "Yes, I'm at the level I should be at."
I've only been at my first job out of college for just more than a year. I've done solid work, but I know I still have a lot of things to improve on. With that in mind, I'm happy at my shop and where I am.

 

I've never won a single award. If that's the criteria for judging my lowly position in this craft, than I'm exactly where I should be.

 

I voted that I'm higher than I should be, mainly because of all the tryptophans.

 

Folks who know me away from here know where I am, and I don't feel like writing it all out again, but I did select the third option. spud's post is pretty darn close to my thoughts on it, too, so I'm just going to second spud's post. Especially the final part. It's not all sunshine and rainbows, but I know luck played a part in this peach of a gig and who am I to argue with fate, anyway? I'm very thankful I'm able to say I even still have a job in the biz, let alone am covering one of the sports I truly love.

 

No, I'm not where I should be.

I used to be. But I'm not, anymore.

And arrogance has had nothing to do with it.