I say “new” because its not that new. I have been working @ my new job for a little over two months now, and frankly, the memories of corporate america seem but just a blur now.
So, what is this new job? Well, I’m basically working as a Microsoft .Net Web Developer for a small startup, and when I mean small, I mean small. There’s a total of five of us working on a daily basis. Three of us are programmers, a lead project manager and our boss. Thats it.
We get to basically build our own schedule, and right now we are trying to stick to a regular 9-5 work schedule on the weekdays, although it really ends up being more like 10-6. We wear pretty much whatever we want every day (goodbye slacks and buttoned up shirts) and work either @ home or at our boss’s house.
It’s great.
Although there is no doubt that on taking this job I’ve incurred a lot of risk, I think that so far it has all been worth it. I have no regrets. Even if the worst happens and I end up unemployed (cross my fingers), I believe I have learned so much about myself and the things that I want to do with my career to make the experience extremely valuable.
For starters, working as a programmer on a real public facing website or building a product is way more fun than working on IT for a big corporation. It’s much easier to get motivated to work when you know that what you are building, and that the decisions you are making affect everything around you, not just some finicky prima donna user on the 9th floor. Is it more stressful? Sure, but it’s a different kind of stress, one that gets your creative juices flowing and makes you take on the challenge every day.
It’s also great to work on small teams and under a relaxed atmosphere. I believe that is the way programmers where always meant to work. Software development is a creative endeavor. One that requires the most out of our mind at every step of the way. Communication is very important as well as collaboration. I believe corporations work against that. Always pushing the opposite way, believing every worker is just a part of the machine. I am glad I’ve had a chance to work on a place like this, so that I can take this experience with me everywhere I go in the future.
I’ve also realized how much I enjoy web design and product design, and I hope to keep on sharpening my skills and continue to learn so I can eventually be my own boss. That’s definitely one of my goals now.
I do not miss being bored out of my mind in my cube under those glowing neon office lights. Not for a second. I hope that in the end I am able to look back at this time in my life and say that this was one of the best decisions I made. I hope for that to be true.