mentors at work
As I’m finishing up my data protection law class in my degree and starting separate training to become a certified data protection officer in April, I was yearning for access to more practical experience. I’ve also been outgrowing my old position and while I am grateful for many parts of it, it’s also currently contributing to me experiencing burnout1. So what better than talking to the data protection officer at my work? He’s also an IT lawyer.
I got myself together and scheduled an office meeting with him to discuss and ask questions about the job. And it was amazing! Over an hour of talking, laughing, learning. We were really on the same wave-length and his substitute also showed up. I got so many valuable tips about how to prepare, what’s done every day, with what groups you’ll be cooperating with, common misconceptions, boundaries you need to enforce, and more. I was able to look at forms, get recommendations about magazines and congresses, and find out how the privacy impact assessment works, especially with giants like Microsoft and SAP (hint: it doesn’t and they’re too big to care about your little demands, sadly).
During that talk, we went over my current degree and plans a couple times. They were happy and surprised someone was interested in this field and going into it willingly instead of being forced into it by their company via a 2 week class. They also mentioned they wanted a third position for administrative data protection, but weren’t able to convince leadership yet. I said hey, if I’ll see it I’ll apply, and he said: You’d probably be overqualified2, and I told him I’m overqualified in my current position too, but I’d rather work with something I’m passionate about and gather experience. He laughed and said he understands that and I’d definitely gather some valuable experience here.
My employer is very interested in using AI in healthcare and electronic patient files, so I hope with more focus on that comes willingness to expand on the data protection team. And who knows, maybe I’ve impressed enough for them to try again to convince leadership. I had a good feeling at least, and I think I would deserve the chance to at least interview for it.
All in all, I left that meeting hopeful and happy. It felt energizing to be able to talk to someone who also knows about and cares about the same things. Now I also have someone to direct questions to and I’m always welcome.
Now I have to let the universe do its thing and focus on my studies…
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Published 09 Feb, 2025
I didn’t really want to acknowledge or admit this to myself until yesterday or so. I wondered why I sometimes work normally, then suddenly zone out for however long and come back realizing I just stared at the screen doing nothing for however long without being present; then headaches, the trouble sleeping, outbursts mixed with sudden lack of interest in anything, losing my appetite, and feeling a weird sort of complete mental exhaustion when I have to do easy but repetitive tasks. A big part is monotonous and unchallenging work I can do in autopilot and not living near friends and family. I didn’t want this to be true because in my mind, I don’t do enough to justify having burnout. But then I remembered that every time I tell people about all the things I do, they’re shocked and ask how I manage. But it just doesn’t even feel enough to me. And some feelings are just so normal to me.. like looking at a uni assignment or law book or work email and feeling like I’m drowning. But then somehow I get it done. I don’t recognize how messed up it is.↩
This is a thing that has haunted me since forever. I’ve never had a job I wasn’t overqualified for, and I’ve been rejected for that, too. On the other hand, the last time I applied for jobs, all 3 picked me and I got to choose. That was almost 4 years ago.↩