Duck, Meet Water
It was an awkward moment when I had to tell my manager and my coworkers that I had accepted a new job. I was working at a great company, and I was happy to work there, and I liked the people I was working with … but I received a really good offer from another company and it was just – well, it was one of those opportunities that only comes along once or twice in your career. The only problem was that I had been working at the new job for only about a month! Talk about your inconvenient timing. (Well, it’s not the worst problem I could have had; after all, how often do I get a chance to choose between two really good jobs?)
Here’s the thing: I left my last job to go to this new company in February. I didn’t continue my job search at that point – I wasn’t still looking for a new position somewhere else. However, little did I know there was an old friend who was looking for me. The timing was bad, but the job was exactly right – developing software for robotics applications.
Now, I don’t have any problem with selling paper and ink for a living, and there certainly were plenty of technical challenges at this place. Also, I am not easily bored – I find a lot of things to be interesting, and this of course has served me well in my career. But robotics isn’t just something I find interesting, it’s something I am fascinated with, and it’s something I went to school to study. I haven’t done it in a long time, however, having been diverted into various other sidelines by the vagaries of life and career. I thought I had left robotics behind forever, until my friend called me with an offer. It entailed a small pay cut and a big increase in my commute, but it offered the possibility that I could work on something that I loved, rather than just something that paid.
I told my supervisor that although it was awkward to leave a new job so soon, I didn’t want to turn the offer down and end up regretting it for the rest of my life. Fortunately, everyone at the old place let me know they understood. In fact, my immediate manager said that in my position, he’d do exactly the same thing. What can I tell you? They’re great people. They’re hiring, by the way – you should apply.
I’m now almost a month into this new job (– the new new job), and so far I’m really, really glad I jumped. (My friend has said that I was exactly right for this job, and what do you know? She was right.) The work is extremely interesting and the people are better than I hoped for. I jumped right into it and I felt exactly right. I am already making a contribution and it feels really good.
PS: If you’re one of the three people on the planet wondering why I’ve been so remiss with updating the blog lately, now you know. Getting up to speed at two new jobs while helping to raise my infant daughter and producing a small local theater festival has a way of eating into one’s blogging.
PPS: Comments are working again.
