My plan right now is to stick with my new position for at least one year. Perhaps it will be longer, maybe much longer, if I really enjoy the work and the environment. I've just completed the first week of training and so far, so good.
That being said...
I do have a MacBook. I do have a microphone headset. On this MacBook, I theoretically have the opportunity to serve customers from home, or from a rented office. If I could do this, that would be an intriguing possibility. I have the experience and the training, and this time next year, I'd like to take another serious look after I have one more solid year of customer service experience with my new company.
Having a customer service career seems to be a great way to make a living...but more companies need to work harder at
1) creating an awesome, world-class work environment where employees from a wide variety of backgrounds feel welcomed, involved, part of a "team" and happy to report for work each day
2) providing fair and appropriate compensation and benefits for professionals with at least an associate's degree and/or 2 years of experience in the field*
3) holding team members accountable for performance in a fair and respectful manner, with an attitude of retaining those team members; providing coaching, feedback and continuing development as a basic part of the job, without treating them like children, robots or prisoners
4) allowing for "work from home" or "work from anywhere" using the power and magic of technology.
There is no reason why I can't do any entry or mid-level customer care job on this MacBook using off-the-shelf web-based tools - from the privacy and convenience of my own home, or a third-party working space I rent.
*I'm a huge supporter of the United States adopting a universal single-payer healthcare system, where the federal government pays medical providers, including doctors and hospitals, for expenses from tax dollars so patients don't have to (outside of the same (or slightly higher) payroll deductions they now give). Additionally, the federal Social Security Administration needs to adopt a federal short-term disability program based on California's system.
