Why I Had To Quit My Job At Google For A Career In Community Development

By Lilian Wamaitha
If you had it, I mean a job at a multinational like Google; would you ever dream of leaving it?
Highest possibility is that most of us would not even dream of it. It’s like finally getting your life together and giving up on it to find some “kind of purpose”.
When I read the story of Jerry Kamau, I admit I was curious as to why a young man would dream of quitting his job at the giant multi-tech for a career in development.
To those who did not know him, it looked like Jerry Kamau was living a dream.
After graduating with a degree in survey engineering from the University of Nairobi, like a majority of graduates, he wanted nothing but to land a job at a well-paying company. Even in his wildest dream, he would not have thought that that company would be Google.
However, things worked for him and he ended up landing a job at the tech giant that is known for its hefty employee perks and laid back office culture.
He spent nine years at Google first building Google Maps in Africa before moving to help manage a team that supported Google Maps in Western markets in Hyderabad, India.
Something was always missing
In spite of the success he had already achieved, Jerry always felt like something was amiss. Partly because he wanted to come back home but there was always something else. He wanted to find a job where he can do something meaningful to support his community and apply all the skills he had acquired where they were needed most.
“I’d be sitting in Nairobi or in India and working to support the U.S. or Europe,” Jerry said. “I wanted to connect back to my roots and contribute to Kenya and to Africa. I wanted to do something that added more value.”
Like so many job seekers today, Jerry was looking for purpose in his career.
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The journey of finding a new job
Feeling like he needed something more out of his life, Jerry began looking for jobs in Kenya. After a number of applications he was able to land a job at One Acre Fund, an organization that works with more than 500,000 smallholder farmers to eliminate hunger and poverty.
At One Acre Fund he is managing a team that handles the distribution of fertilizer, seeds and other supplies to farmers across the country.
All the skills that he learned at Google came in handy when he took up the new challenge at the NGO. Most importantly, Jerry says that he feels value in the work he does and is proud to be giving back to the community.
According to a survey by Gallup poll, 93% of young of young people say that it is important for them that their career path aligns with their passions and values. At the same time more and more employees are feeling dissatisfied with their jobs especially in the wave of current unemployment rates that are at an all-time high. The report also shows that only 15% of the world’s working population feel like they are engaged at work.
Jerry’s decision to leave Google must have come as a surprise to many but he knew what he wanted from the very beginning. He knew that working at Google was not what he wanted to do with his life. While the pay was good and the culture was superb, he is happy that he found job satisfaction working for an NGO especially since he is doing when he wanted all the while – giving back to the community and helping uplift the lives of others.
What is your opinion on Jerry’s decision? Do you think he made the right one? If it were you, what do you treasure more, job satisfaction or working for a multinational? Share your opinion below.
Source: One Acre Fund
Lilian is a Communication Officer at Career Point Kenya and has a passion of improving other people’s lives through everyday inspiration. Leave a comment below if you agree with this article.