changing jobs!
Well, after about four and a half years, I am leaving IQE. That’s a pretty impressive stint, I think, for a job I started as a temp. I was hired to make Excel charts, and I ended up sticking around to write a lot of Perl. I had a lot of good time and a lot of bad times, but finally I just needed to get out of there. I think my enthusiasm was gradually ground down to a point from which I’m not sure it could’ve recovered, and I feel that’s it’s better for me to go, now, than to try and stay.
When I told my boss, he was pretty surprised, and wondered whether I wouldn’t change my mind. I wouldn’t; I think that I’d have a hard time feeling better about a company if I learned that it could be blackmailed. I know there are changed I could demand that might even be good for the company (in my opinion), but it wouldn’t be good for me, in the end. So, I’m out of there. My last day is Friday the 13th. Someone suggested I wear a hockey mask all day.
I got a lot of “don’t quit!”s, which was really flattering, though. Actually, it’s helped make me feel a little worse about leaving. Then again, I’ve also gotten a good amount of, “Good for you!” which has made me feel better. I think it’s roughly zero-sum.
I hadn’t planned to talk about where I was going until I was there, following the advice of Nick the Headhunter, but people are pretty darn persistent! I’ll drop everyone (or a number of people) an email, I guess, when I get settled into a new office.
I know that I won’t be The Go-To Guy at my new job, which is sort of terrifying, but I’m still pretty stoked. If nothing else, it’s a change. I think it’ll be a good one.