Recently I've acquired a job working for Verizon Wireless/Cellular Sales. "Oh you work for Verizon?!" Everybody asks: yes and no. Verizon has a direct and indirect job market: the direct refers to all of Verizon's corporate stores, whereas the indirect refers to all of the authorized premium retailers. Cellular Sales is currently the top premium retailer for Verizon.

This job I've acquired takes my large technical background and the skills I've acquired and merges them with my social capabilities and so far, it's a perfect fit. Not only do I get to talk to and make friends with new people every day, but I get to help them learn and understand their phones - on top of selling them a hot spot or maybe some accessories.

Throughout college all my friends would come knocking on my door, "Hey Jake, I got a problem with my phone, I was wondering if you can help me out?" With that look of frustration and confusion on their face. This is what I see everyday and it's almost nostalgic for me.

Now if you think phones are confusing then you'll never understand the comission structure.

In a nutshell, the job is about getting the customer the phone they need, and explaining every little feature that the customer may need. Taking something complex, and making it simple and easy to use in a routine fashion on a daily basis. The commission structure is the exact opposite: it takes something as simple as getting paid 10 dollars an hour to getting money based on a large variety of factors, including but not limited to, the popularity of the phone, the cost, whether it's a new line or an upgrade, how many people are working that day, any accessories you may sell, service charges that apply, etc, etc, etc.

The list goes on , but since I just finished my seventh day, I've only just broken the surface. Despite the complexity of the pay structure, I wake up excited to provide people new phones and help them learn to use them.

When I walk into work it's like my brain connects to the Verizon server because when I leave I'm amped up, with enough energy to run a marathon. I'm wired to the point that I'm physically incapable of falling asleep, but as shown by this morning, regardless of how much or little sleep I got, when I walked into the store my battery began to charge. Slowly but surely I'm becoming a phone: A vehicle for connecting and bringing people together.