Love your family. Enjoy your job. Run screaming when your job is "...like a family"!

Hello, Rebellion!

Before the barrage of new technical insights, reports from graduated members, plans for the 2010 NYC Trip, and other forms of production fun & frolic, here's one more warning as many of you head out into the world: Your job is NOT a family.

I've heard this MANY times, and I've always taken special precautions to avoid falling into the "Well we're just like a family here" mentality. I warn you now (and as always, take it or leave it) your job is NOT a family (not even the joke of "Yeah, it's a dysfunctional family!" *pathetic laughter followed by people sharing pictures of cats and having cases of "The Mondays"*).

Your job is your job. Where you work is a professional business that produces a professional product. Your family loves you: your job does not. Your family can guilt you into things that you don't want to do: your job should NEVER have that type of mental hold on you and force you into that type of guilt. Yes, being friends with people you work with is not unprofessional, and neither is having fun where you work...but that doesn't mean the relationships are "family" and not "business".

If where you work sees itself as a family, then you're not going to be treated as a professional, and you need to be ready for that. You'll be asked to do things like a parent would ask, or demand of a child...and the appreciation you get will most likely NOT be in the form of a professional reward. When you look for a job, look for a place that sees itself as a group of professionals. That place is the best place to grow professionally. The companies and productions I worked for that acted as professionals were the BEST placed I worked for, and my best professional connections and friends came from those places.

Long Live The Rebellion!