Friday, January 14, 2011

Coming cleanish

I've been avoiding this post for about a week (because I think there's a chance I might have made a mistake) but there's really no turning back at this point, so I might as well just say it:

I am changing jobs.

(Phew. That was not so bad.)

I am downsizing (-ish), taking a job with less responsibility and less stress (and yes, less pay). I weighed the pros and cons, and while I think this is the right move, there's always an element of doubt that creeps in with capital-letters Life Change.

I had been thinking about my career a lot since I got laid off last summer. I wasn't unhappy at my current job (my coworkers are nice, the benefits are great), but I wasn't really doing a very good job at it, either. I am a person who likes programming well enough; surrounded by people who *love* it, I felt like (and was, really) the weakest link. It's hard to spend 40 hours a week feeling utterly incompetent. It's even harder when your team is so nice about the fact that you're failing them on a daily basis.

While I don't necessarily think that this new job is my dream job, I do think it could serve as a great stepping stone. If you'll forgive the mixed metaphor, I think it may just be the key that unlocks the golden handcuffs that have kept me at my non-dream job.

For now, I think that's fine with me.

3 comments:

angelasw said...

It's a brave step and I'm proud. Good luck and have fun!

Lemon Gloria said...

It sounds totally reasonable. Who wants to spend every day at work not being terribly interested and not feeling good enough?

Kim said...

I think this sounds like a good step for you. Good luck and keep us updated!