Newbie status

So #secretthing is no longer secret anymore – I’m starting a new adventure another company.  It was not an easy decision to switch as I feel/felt a great deal of loyalty to my current job and I feel bittersweet about the end of my chapter. However, like in nature, things bloom and die to bloom again (and die).

New company is still based in my area of residence so my commute does not significantly change (yay!). The tech stack is a major change and I’ll be coming into it as a “newbie” which I’m very excited about. It’ll expand my skill set and working at this new company will expose me to additional best practices e.g. faster/robust CI/CD pipelines, advanced metrics/logging/tracing of code in production,  streamlined on-boarding processes, and so on.

I’m leaving a pretty secure/sure thing for the unknown which fills with me with nerves and excitement. I know that I will thrive wherever I am because I’m scrappy! I’m not leaving on bad terms thankfully and the door is always open to my return if things don’t work out; I obviously don’t plan to fail! I’m taking a step “back” in a few areas (losing bonus pay, 401k match, etc) but negotiated compensation & startup-y perks make up for the shortcomings. I probably left money on the table again (ugh) but not enough to make me lose sleep. Live and learn, then negotiate “like a man”. My goal at the new company will be to exceed expectations during my time at new company, garner respectable raises (5% – 8%) and maybe a promotion (stretch goal!).

This switch made me do a lot of thinking about what I want my career to look like and that’s fodder for another blog post. Until then, adieu!