According to The Intelliegence Group, 72% of millenials would like to be their own boss. But if they do have to work for a boss, 79% of them would want that boss to serve more as a coach or mentor. Additionally, 88% prefer a collaborative work-culture rather than a competitive one.

As much as I’d like to think I’m different from my peers, I seem to fit the majority in this sense.

I intended to use this internship with a small company to determine how I work the best and influence my future career goals. I’ve so far concluded that the company itself does not determine its work culture. It’s culture is cultivated and evolved by the people who work there.

This is why Google with 50,000+ employees across multiple locations can still maintain a startup culture and give each employee the fulfillment that they crave while a small company with five full time employees can create the feeling of working in an office cubicle for hours on end.

A company like Google has the privilege to devote resources to improving employee satisfaction. On the other hand, a growing small business needs pawns who can pick up slack and shorten issue queues.

I’ve discovered that I am most comfortable outside my comfort zone. While I may be learning a lot of technical skills in this job I don’t feel like I’m growing. If I’m not growing, I’m dying.