Things that seem strange and negative to people are considered pretty normal to me at this stage in my testing career.

Things like reorgs. We had a really good one a few weeks back. Didn't lose any people, just some people reassigned. I have a new boss. It's my new boss #8. So far, I really like him. It's kind of a setback to have to earn the trust of yet another new boss, but I consider it normal and look forward to demonstrating my talent and loyalty as quickly as I possibly can. Each new boss is another opportunity to learn something.

Things like testing that wasn't planned or agreed on coming up and having to make a decision. This "fire fighting" isn't strategic at all. However, I think it is important to efficiently do what needs to be done. I PLAN to be flexible. Some people consider it a weakness. I don't agree. If I can do something to help us ship something on time, I'm easy in. I've seen different strategies when this sort of surprise comes up. Some leads will take a hard stance and refuse any work they didn't agree to in an effort to "protect their testers". I don't agree with that strategy. Creating a false reality for your team isn't true protection. For real security, you have to be mission critical with needed skills and do something that has recognized high value. On the other hand, if you are nothing but a dung heap that people pile their unneeded work on, you can't do anything of high value. All you are is reactive.

I know that it is human to like to be rewarded by money. Money is a show of how valued your work is. While money always matters when it comes to work, mainly, I want something else.  If money were no object, I still would work. Most likely I'd work 4 days a week and not 5, but I wouldn't quit working if I had endless money. I want to feel like I matter to people. I want to feel trusted, appreciated, and special. I want someone to believe in me and give me opportunity. I would take a cut in pay to have the chance to do more of the work I love doing.

I've had some people tell me that my style is "Ready, Fire, Aim". Those people don't understand what my style really is. It is "Ready, Fire, Aim, Fire, Re-aim, Fire, Aim, Fire, Aim, Fire, Get machine gun after research, fire and continue until the objective happens." They don't take into account that I have more tenacity than they anticipate. My lack of patience for inaction is not accompanied by a lack of follow through as it usually is with people who have my personality type. I'll do what it takes to not disappoint, even if it is harmful to me. For that reason, having someone who cares about ME as a human is vital for me to do well. If my manager doesn't care about my health, I'm not great about my personal boundaries. I could hurt myself to make sure I deliver what I agreed to. If you want my help, it is super easy. Tell ME that you personally need my help in specific and explain that it will make a difference to you personally and if it really will, to more people than that. If I help you out, let me know that you appreciate it, and the next time, show me you trust me by giving me a little more responsibility. It's really that simple. I just want to matter to people, and I want a chance to show what I can do and build experience.