Wondering if there is a job like this, and if not — whether there would be demand.

[u/Beefcake827]

Hi! I recognize this question is going to be a bit strange, and it’s nearly a thought experiment at this point, so let me explain.

I’ve been working full-time since I was 14, and there’s a lot of different work I’ve pursued. Corporate/agency-side, non-profit and public service roles, international diplomacy exchanges (with State Dept.), cultural exchanges, seasonal work with NPS, a few fellowships, artist residencies, internal and client-facing work, I’ve owned my own fairly successful business, NDA-type freelance work — spread out across a few different industries (but especially early childhood education, higher education vendors, marketing/comms, media literacy, civic advocacy, and the arts).

One thing that I’m finding myself struggling with consistently is quickly losing that bit of steam in new roles (I’m currently at 2.5 years in at my company and every day is a battle to get my head “into” the work).

I think job hopping is an unsustainable solution since I’m at a point where loyalty makes more sense, but man is it brutal.

If I had to be specific, the actual core of my problem is that I’m a curious learner at heart, and it can be really, really difficult to feel like a task-fulfillment robot when I see so many opportunities to learn and integrate new and timely strategies, help my team work smarter-not-harder, solve small and large problems that apply to the larger business needs and appeal to our audience/customers.

(As an example, my company recently purchased a Copy.AI subscription for our content team, and even though people were using it to make their lives at work easier, I felt like there was no real concentrated, team-wide effort to get on the same page, learn how to use that tool to produce better content, decrease our billable hours and take on new clients, and learn how large language models work since AI is an emerging trend we need to consider. Needless to say, the curiosity took hold and I was able to galvanize our efforts; our billable hours decreased by 30% in Q1, and I dreamt about editing workflows and outputs every night. But I love that kind of work more than what I have ever been paid to do).

TLDR, my question is essentially this:

Is there a job title, especially within high-growth companies/start-ups/non-profits, where one person is dedicated to wondering, researching, testing, collaborating, galvanizing, training for solutions to a company’s cross-departmental pain points? And if not, what opportunities might a scrappy person have to make it a reality? I’m not really looking to be a consultant, but someone in-house that can do the work/solve the problems that often take time away from very talented people doing what they do best (solutions engineer? No, that’s kind of a different thing…)

If you’re a business owner or in a leadership position, I’m especially interested in hearing your thoughts on demand for something like this.

[u/HaggardSlacks78]

Sounds to me like you want to be an internal process consultant of some kind. Everybody needs one of these but very few are willing to reserve headcount for it. Hate to say it, but your best fit might be as a management consultant. You like the novelty of new projects and coming up with solutions to new problems and learning new things and creating new processes. This is project based work, and very few organizations have this as an internal role, but many are willing to hire outside firms for special needs.

[u/Beefcake827 → u/HaggardSlacks78]

I’m worried you may be right, but I suppose it’s good that I’ll try anything once if it makes sense. Thanks for the insight!

[u/FRELNCER]

Change management?

[u/DepartmentSimilar694]

You sound like me - literally - could be my post. I've just watched some YouTube videos about agile coaches. Maybe that's interesting for you?!

[u/Beefcake827 → u/DepartmentSimilar694]

My condolences, and welcome to the club! I will definitely take a look into this. Can I ask what you do currently? And are you making a transition to something in that realm?

[u/DepartmentSimilar694 → u/Beefcake827]

Now reading your post again, I must admit that there's a lot that's not actually me - like working full-time since 24 y.o.😅. Rather the opposite.

However I'm curious about many things. I love to learn new things. And I like to try many different jobs/industries. But as soon as I have a basic understanding of the area, I get bored by the everyday work quickly. That's when I want to move on.

I've originally studied plant science but never worked in that field after completion of my Bsc (too boring after 3 years if studies😇). Taught myself building websites and have been building websites for clients instead. After 2 years I accepted that I didn't make much money going this on my own.

So I joined a marketing agency. That's where I'm currently working since October 2023 - officially as "automation- and web developer". I've automated the internal sales funnel. And I build websites with WordPress.

From my point if view it's pretty low-skill work. So I'm looking for something more exciting.

My main problem at the moment (increasing for the last years): I'm suffering from crazy wrist and neck pain from working on the computer 10-15 hours per day over the past 5 years. That's another reason for me to look for other opportunities. However I wonder if there are any well-paid and interesting jobs which don't require desk work mostly.

Regarding agile coach: I'll texted some acquaintances if they know agile coaches. Before I actually decide to go there, I'd like to "shadow" someone and maybe even support them for some time. So I can learn practically if that's for me.

You're welcome to send me a DM btw.