By Paul Tarricone
Paul Pompeo’s article “My Favorite Job” (p. 44) is a prompt. As part of his annual “Careers” roundtable panel to kick off the year, Paul asked a handful of lighting professionals to “remember when.” The prompt is for readers to reflect on their own career and do the same. So, I took the bait and played along: What was my favorite job?
Pondering this question, it occurred to me that my “favorite job” was as much about the job description itself, as the point in my career when I landed it. Upon graduating Franklin & Marshall, a liberal arts college in Lancaster, PA, my goal was to work as a newspaper reporter, preferably in the sports department. (I fancied myself as Oscar Madison from The Odd Couple…without the mess). I caught on as a part-time reporter, but soon discovered that I didn’t like working at night (damn those circadian rhythms). With that, I moved on to a public relations/communications job at a non-profit association. A placeholder position.
Then it all clicked with a writing position at Civil Engineering, the magazine of the American Society of Civil Engineers. I was 24 and had no idea that trade, association or B-to-B magazines existed. It turned out there was a publication for everything. To this point, my frame of reference was limited to consumer magazines and daily newspapers. Who knew?
Here was the chance to write cover stories on spectacular infrastructure projects for a 100,000-circulation magazine. (This beats covering high school field hockey on a chilly Tuesday night, I thought). So off I went to site visits at the World Trade Center when it was structurally stabilized after the 1993 attack, and to Camden Yards, home of the Baltimore Orioles, when it was under construction. I also got my first taste of the excitement of business travel, even if it was to Johnstown, PA, on a puddle jumper. Timing was everything and this “favorite job” came along at just the right time in my career.
And for the record, when thinking back to my favorite job, I did not consider my time in high school working the deli counter at the local supermarket—lots of perks, as you can imagine. That might have been the winner.