I think your goals are the right goals, but they involve wholesale change of the company culture.

Yeah, I've thought about this one a lot. Really, I think my company has great management at the top, in terms of how they run their core business (mutual fund management.) There's a lot of focus on discipline, honesty, and cost savings, all of which I think are essential to success when you're managing hundreds of billions of dollars. I think the problem is that many of the other features of my company that make us a leader in the mutual fund industry don't make for a very enjoyable life as an IT worker. I don't know that I'd have to change the entire corporate culture, but I'm probably at odds with my company's perspective on IT, and the way that perspective translates into how we're managed.

My thinking is to focus on your particular corner of the world. Accept that the company culture will not (indeed, can not!) change until it fails, or, it will take a very long time at least. My question is, can you imagine a situation where the overall culture does not change, but your corner of the world is a happy, enjoyable place where you can work with integrity and (slowly) nudge the culture along to a more sophisticated one?

That's a great way to look at it, and, to tell you the truth, while I can imagine scenarios where my day-to-day job would be more enjoyable than it is, I can't imagine being happy with the overall culture. And I know enough about my other options in the IT division that a lateral move to another organization within IT won't solve the problem... If you can believe it, many of them are worse, and I often count my lucky stars that I started where I did.

Your company will eventually need to address the issues of sacrificing quality for time-to-market. That's a big one for many companies and it *always* bites them. Eventually. In the mean time, can you imagine a role that you would enjoy until that happens?

It's hard to imagine one. And, really, this has gone on so long that I really feel like a sucker for staying as long as I have. If I do have any kind of perspective and ideas that my department manager will listen to, it's hard to believe that anything could be done about it within a time table that would keep me from going crazy. So, the more I've talked about this and mulled it over, the more I've realized it's more about my desire to hear that at least one person recognizes the problem. Even if he agrees with everything I say (unlikely) there's probably little chance he can do enough about it to make me happy. For all I know, he feels the same way, but is more willing to deal with the status quo and go home knowing he did the best he could given the parameters he had to work in. I wish I could do that, but I'm early enough in my career that I still have a shred of idealism left in me.

Now I really believe that the company culture is the single most important aspect of a job, because everything else flows from it. Now I'd much rather have an enjoyable job that fits my natural abilities in a culture that embraces my values than have lots of responsibility, authority and power in a culture that I find offensive.

Hmm. I always thought I could do fine without buying into the whole corporate culture, but I guess that only gets you so far. Maybe there's more truth to this than I ever thought.

Is there a way to define your role and responsibilities such that you suffer the minimum impact from the culture?

I don't know, and I'm going to try to get some insight about that from our department head. Scheduling this meeting was a step towards finding out whether my thoughts might be validated by someone who can do something about it. If that somehow proved true, the next question is how much could he possibly do to change things, and then it would be how long am I willing to wait. Really, it's also about sending a message to my direct boss and my project lead that I'm sick of being a sucker, and I'm going to stand up for what I believe in.

Now I'd much rather have an enjoyable job that fits my natural abilities in a culture that embraces my values than have lots of responsibility, authority and power in a culture that I find offensive.

Again, I've always thought of myself as someone who could shrug off corporate culture and just enjoy the day-to-day work I do, and as long as I'm being given interesting and challenging work, fair compensation, and opportunities for career growth, I'd be okay. I'm finding that's not the case.

I think both of us are now trying to find "meaningful" work, which means doing enjoyable and creative work in a way that is consistent with our nature -- in an environment that embraces our values.

Exactly. Man, I couldn't have said it better. My hope is that after this meeting I'll either know for sure that it's not going to work out, or come away with some idea that things might get better. I think deep down I already know those changes won't come in time to help me, but maybe they'll help the next poor sucker who's in my position.

Anyway, thanks for all the perspective, it's good to hear advice from someone who's gone through some of the same challenges. This is my first "real world" (post college) job, so this is my first time dealing with these issues. That also makes cutting the cord seem a lot more difficult than it probably is, so maybe this experience will be the kick in the ass that I need. I guess I'll find out soon. Thanks again.