Who Put Me in Charge?

I have hit one of the first major decisions in my career. I am having to decide on canceling a contract with one software company and hiring another. This decision involves thousands of dollars and lots of work for my office (and by my office I mean me and probably my graduate assistant). On the one hand, this is a scary thought for me. It makes me somewhat nervous to know that this decision is in my hands, and the outcome is on me. On the other hand, though, it is somewhat empowering to know I am being trusted to make this decision. (And by decision, I mean we are doing it.)

My official one year mark here in my job is quickly approaching. Because of the situation our office was in when I arrived, I actually took on lots of decisions and responsibilities within a short period of time. I will say I am grateful for the experience so far. Even with the arrival of our new director, we all have been given much autonomy in our positions. We have all been able to change things up, especially now that we have completed the academic year. We can look back, see what worked and what did not, and we are given the ability to make things better.

This is what I am hoping to accomplish with this system change. I spent much of my year dealing with frustrations with the current system (instead of being able to focus on actually helping student groups and their advisors). The new one appears to alleviate that while offering much more and for less cost. Really, making this decision probably is not such a big deal. I think it is just making things more real for me. I am being trusted to act on behalf of the university. Crazy.

Sidenote: What is the difference between really enjoying your job and just being good at what you do?

Extra sidenote: Boo Donut Kingdom on revoking the really cool deal on certificates we had. Boo!