I was finally done! I had taken my last order, chopped my last potato, and washed my last red plastic tray. After my final shift at In-N-Out (yes I’ve worked at In-N-Out), I thought I would never be in the restaurant business again.

I never thought I would be in any of the industries I’ve worked in after graduating from college. Be it clinical research or financial services. The 15-year-old me would have thought he’d be making video games by now. That’s a story for another time.

Anyways, the one constant has been technology, more specifically software. That’s the beauty of knowing how to code. Software is eating the world. I’ve switched industries multiple times while still being able to transfer skills and grow.

Software is eating the world.Marc Andreessen

Recently the move has been from the financial services space back into the restaurant business. The previous company was large (1,000+) the new company is much smaller (50+).  So the company revenue models are different but my job is practically the same.

Regardless of the industry you’re in if you want to be successful you have to love the product. The people who are the most successful do, and everyone else is just going through the motions.

Your values have to be aligned with the company values before you can rise up the ranks and still sleep at night (unless you have no empathy). You can’t just chase dollar signs (big mistake I’ve made). You have to chase learning opportunities. Startups offer amazing outlets for learning, if you can handle the lack of structure. You have to do some self assessment to find if startup life is right for you.

So am I upset about being back in the restaurant business? No because I’m going to learn a ton. Make sure that your next career move allows you  to say the same.