Interview Series

Insights from a friend who has worked across the globe.

Matt Viera
January 06, 2023

Scotland

Good morning and happy Friday!

I hope you had a productive first week of 2023.

Welcome to another edition of the Matt Viera Newsletter.

I started this newsletter with a focus on personal finance and building wealth.

However, I had the idea of creating an interview series.

I have many friends who are incredibly successful in their respective careers.

Each of these individuals can provide valuable insight into life and career success.

I emailed each individual a series of questions for them to answer.

My goal is to find key takeaways from their answers that I can apply to my life and career.

My hope is that their answers can do the same for you.

This week, I'd like to introduce my friend Gene Kondusky.

Pals

This is how I will introduce Gene: “He’s good company. He’s my best friend in the whole world.”

[Bonus points if you're able to identify the sci-fi series the above quote is from].

I first met Gene in 2012. We were both teachers in the same New York City (“NYC”) public high school in the Upper West Side in Manhattan. While we worked together in the same school for two years, I can’t say we were close. We were friendly. We enjoyed the happy hours. But we weren’t close.

It wasn’t until Gene left teaching that our friendship really developed to what it is today.

Gene and I are from completely different worlds. We really don’t have much in common.

What we lack in common interests, we make up for in conversation. Gene and I are able to have very deep, very open, and very personal conversations without judgment and with mutual respect. We often, no, we always have these conversations over drinks.

I guess that’s the nexus of our commonality—an appreciation of fine spirits, beer, good conversation, and a love of all that life has to offer developed by our respective life experiences.

While Gene currently lives in Glasgow, Scotland, we maintain our friendship via virtual happy hours, which is a challenge considering the time difference. However, we make it work.

And, we recently vacationed together in Barcelona for two weeks.

Friendships like the one Gene and I share don't present themselves too often.

The quote above sums up our friendship.

Here is my interview with Gene.

Your professional career is as varied as it is interesting—walk me through your career (The Arctic Circle, Turkey, NYC, Scotland) what else?

When I finished undergrad, I moved to Japan to teach English for two years. After that, I taught in Turkey. After that, I taught in the Canadian Arctic. After teaching overseas for a while, I decided I wanted to pursue teaching as a career, so I moved to NYC and completed a Master's degree in teaching. I taught high school English language and literature for two more years before realizing that teaching wasn't really for me after all, so I pivoted to education technology and management.

I worked in this field at a big educational organization in lower Manhattan for about six years, until I met my wife, Chloe, who is from Scotland. We decided to build a family there, and now here I am, three years later, working in technology and management in Glasgow. I'm no longer involved in education—maybe someday! But I enjoy what I do, and a lot of what I learned as a teacher has carried forward into my new career.

You moved to Scotland in December 2019 when you married Chloe—how challenging was it to find a job in Scotland?

I have to admit, it was a bit of a challenge reentering the job market especially since I was doing so in a new country, and in the midst of a global pandemic! When I first moved to Scotland, I was sitting on a comfortable chunk of money, and I wasn't all that worried about finding work. In fact, I was spending quite freely, taking advantage of cheap flights to European destinations, etc. Then in March 2020, the global response to COVID put the brakes on all that, and as more and more people started getting furloughed or even losing their jobs, I realized that I would need to find work sooner than I had planned. Although I had several interviews, after two months of job hunting, I only received one firm offer, and although it was a significant pay cut, I took the job. After only a few months in my position there, I realized that it was not a very good fit for me at all, and started searching again. This second job hunt was much more successful, and I can say that I'm now much happier, at an organization I really like, being remunerated fairly, and enjoying a much happier work/life balance.

What advice do you have for anyone who wants to move to NYC to work?

Find a connection. I know it's a bit of a cliche, but the whole "it's not what you know, it's who you know" thing is very real. It was a friend I knew from high school who was able to help me get set up with housing [in NYC]. It was a teaching colleague of mine who connected me with someone at the educational organization I found a job at after teaching. If your network isn't all that big, work hard to expand it. Be open to new experiences. NYC is a challenging place, but it is absolutely bursting with possibility!

What advice do you have for others who decide to live abroad, in different cities, and looking for work?

As far as living abroad goes, I would just say: embrace the local culture. Make friends with locals. Pick up a hobby. If you do have the opportunity to move abroad, remember how lucky you are.

As for looking for work, I think the same principle that I mentioned earlier applies: make connections. Having connections means better access to the market. Make your presence known. And don't be afraid to follow up!

What are some highlights/accomplishments of your career? Favorite jobs? Favorite places you lived?

Although it was extremely challenging for me when I arrived, I wound up absolutely loving my time in the Arctic. Once you make local connections, it's an incredibly rewarding place! I had the opportunity to go ice fishing, to watch a traditional Inuit hunt, and to spend a night inside an igloo. And of course, the beauty of the Northern Lights! I'd like to go back someday, if it's at all possible. I should also mention New York, of course. Had I not met my wife, I never would have left. The entire world is in New York, and every corner of the city offers new experiences. I also really enjoyed my job there. I was recognized for my work (both in terms of promotion and compensation), I liked my co-workers, and the organization was extremely well-organized. Again, had I not left, I imagine I would still be there.

How has failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success?

I left teaching without securing a new job first. When I did, I was in complete shambles. A big voice in my head kept asking me how I could be so reckless. I was not used to believing in myself in that way. However, I had set aside some money to get me through my job hunt, and I trusted in my own skills and talents. In a short period of time, I was able to find a good job at an organization where I could grow and learn. The lesson was simple: calculated risks can pay off. Know your worth.

What are three lessons you have learned in your varied career?

No matter how right the job description is, if you don't get along with your colleagues, you will be miserable.

Training and certifications are great, but nothing beats actual experience.

Don't be afraid to pivot—but when you pivot, don't step backwards.

What obsessions do you explore on the evenings or weekends?

I've always enjoyed music—both listening to music and making it. I've played guitar since I was 12, and lately, I've been really interested in keyboards and synthesizers. I love a good jam, but even if I can't find others to play with, I'll often pick up a guitar or turn on a synth and just noodle around. It's a great stress relief!

What advice would you give your 20-year old self?

Think bigger. I grew up somewhere between poor and lower-middle class, and that definitely impacted my thinking in terms of what I thought was possible. Don't get me wrong, I always tried to swing for the fences, and sometimes it paid off, but when I was younger (and excuse the extended metaphor here), I didn't know that I could play a completely different game if I wanted to! Other than that, it's worth mentioning that although it's not a fair world, it's one that is full of opportunities for anyone who is willing to take risks and bet on themselves.

If you could have a billboard anywhere in the U.S., where would it be and what would it say?

You mean other than a billboard in Times Square that just says "QUIT SOCIAL MEDIA”?

In all seriousness though, I would probably pick Times Square again, but my billboard would simply say, "Everything is more complicated than you think."

And now I'm realizing that those answers are actually connected—our online lives often ignore the nuance and complexity of human experience.

Let's all just sit down and chat together, yeah?

For the record: Gene cried at the end of the movie Sleepers.

My key takeaways:

• Know your worth.

• Calculated risks can pay off.

• If you do have the opportunity to move abroad, remember how lucky you are.

What are your key takeaways?

Interesting reads:

This pretty Italian town is paying people $30,000 to move there

Want to move to Europe? Here are all the digital nomad visas available for remote workers

Thanks for reading!

Please feel free to reply to this email with suggestions, questions, or comments.