Today is bittersweet. In about an hour, I'll be walking out the door at I.B.M. for the second time. This time, however, the story is different, because I am leaving on my own terms. The first time, I had worked here for 6 years, before losing my job to economic factors. My second stint at Big Blue was for a team performing hardware testing on systems still in development. I've been here since October, working hard, and now I'm leaving once more.
I've been hesitant to mention where I'm going, or why. It's a silly superstition I have about jinxing a good job before it starts. But I can probably talk now without angering Murphy, or having him unleash his LAWs on me.
Earlier this year, I applied to Canonical, the company founded by Mark Shuttleworth and a small team of brilliant people to develop and promote the Ubuntu distribution of the Linux OS. My official title will be Hardware Certification Engineer and in general terms, I'll be doing a lot of what I've already been doing at I.B.M. Testing Linux on systems, troubleshooting, bug hunting and getting hardware certified on Linux. I'll also have a chance to do some real development, which I am looking forward to.
I am hyper-excited, and at the same time, utterly terrified. This job, while in theory will be something I am quite capable of and used to, will be a bit different. This position is a pure telecommute position, so I'll be working out of my house from here on out. There are, of course, occasional gatherings of the Canonical staff throughout the year for face time, but for the most parts, the longest part of my commute to the office will be winding my way through a bunch of dogs who want to be fed.
This will be entirely new for me. I'll not have a structured office environment. I'll have to force good habits on myself that are, with traditional roles, enforced by environmental means. Succeed or fail, it's all in my hands now.
I also have the typical new-job jitters, added with a dash of the "WTF have I gotten myself into" and a twist of "HOLY CRAP!" But in reality, I think my sheer terror will be easily mitigated by a couple things. First, I'll be part of a great team of friendly, wonderful, and absolutely brilliant people. When I sat through a full morning of interviews for this position, I found that I instantly liked and got on with everyone on the team. I was in a state of shock for a few days afterward because I felt as though I had known and worked with each of them for years. It was an instant comfort that you don't always get.
The second helpful aspect is that this is something I've WANTED to do for a long time, not just something I fell into. My work in QA was really a "fell into it" kind of thing, but inside, I've always wanted to work for a company like Canonical, Red Hat, or even Novell. The fact that Canonical is still small enough to retain that family feel, and energetic enough to keep that pioneering spirit is yet another great aspect to joining this team.
Also, I have been able to speak with close friends who work from home and others within Canonical and have a fair idea of what to expect going in, and some really good pointers for setting up a good work space at home, and tips for making sure I don't just end up in front of the TV with a bowl of pop-corn and a laptop.
When I spoke with my future team mates, I realized that I felt not as though I was starting a strange new job, but more as though I was just coming home from an extended leave.
And THAT is what will get me through the first few days. A great team, a great job and a great company, something that I am proud of, and excited about more than I have been about anything in a long time.
So, shortly, I will walk out the doors of the RTP campus, get into my car and drive off into the afternoon sunshine... and Monday morning, I will walk into that new adventure, afraid, excited, nervous and exhilarated.
Das Aggregator!