Obama: What the hell are you getting yourself into?

There's a moment after you've accepted a job offer, when you briefly wonder if you've made the right decision. I am certain that newly elected presidents experience this. During that long limousine ride to be sworn in on their first day, there has to be a fleeting moment of self-doubt when future presidents think: "What the hell am I getting myself into?"

Being the president of the United States is quite a footnote in your resume, but it's not exactly a dream job. First of all, let's take a look at your new managers. You report to over 300 million people. Each of them will demand miracles and expect you to complete them on tight deadlines and a low budget. On top of this, you also have to deal with all the projects that the last guy left unfinished.

Let's look at your new co-workers. As president, you get to choose your co-workers. It's one of the first things you do after you get accepted. Unfortunately, your co-workers will inevitably do stupid things. You will see many of your co-workers resign for various reasons that all involve spending more time with family. You will also see many co-workers cursing your name under their breath, waiting for you to leave, so they can take your job or write an book about you.

Let's look at your work environment. Being president means being able to work from home a lot... The bad news is that it's less like "working from home" and more like "living at the office". There will be lots of documents, but the nobody expects you to actually read all of them. You're expected to put in a lot of extra hours, and have busy schedules full of meetings. As president, you'll be traveling a lot. There are conferences, meetings, and people that don't speak English... like the finance-nerds at the Federal Reserve.

Let's look at job security. You will constantly be evaluated and criticized, but the job is fairly secure until the 4 year performance review. At that point, they may decide to renew your contract, or go with a new hire. On top of that, as president, you are also on the hit list of every hostile nation, terrorist organization, or crazed lone gunman within sniper distance of you. This may result in an early termination of your contract.

In summary, it's not easy being president of the United States. Every new president takes this job with stars and stripes in their eyes, but every president leaves this job looking exhausted with more gray hairs and wrinkles than they started with. Good luck Barack Obama... and welcome to the company.