2005-06-15

But do I want this job either?

I interviewed for a new job. It is doing data warehousing. The company is a start-up, but it is a joint venture of two other major companies, and as such has plenty of funding and a great benefits package. Based on what the recruiter's told me, I'm probably the best candidate for this position. The interview went ok, I suppose (I've always hated interviews and am a fairly poor judge of how things go), so if it went well enough, then I'm probably going to be offered the job.

But do I want it? The problem is, it's a DBA position, and based on how the interview went, there will be little to no coding involved. Writing code is my first big love. I've been writing programs since I taught myself BASIC when I was 8. This job would be a definite move away from that. Is that where I want to go? Do I want to put myself on track for being a data analyst instead of a coder?

Could I do the job? Most definitely. Would I be happy doing it? That's the real question. I'm not sure. Part of me is hoping I'm not offered the job, so I don't even have to make a decision. If I had other interviews pending, it would be easier, but although I've had many nibbles on my résumé, this is really my one big bite. I have a feeling I'll be spending a lot of time on my knees figuring this one out.

2005-06-07

You know what? Maybe I don't.

I received orders that I was to rewrite a certain module yet again, from the ground up, for the third or fourth time, because an executive at our major client blinked. Once again, the specs were not thought through and were very vague, were rather arbitrary with respect to how the system is actually used, and so on. The order came by way of a phone call from my boss. I had a couple other things to do first, so I did those while waiting for our department meeting where I could address my concerns.

At the meeting, when the topic came up, I believe I said something to the tune of, "We need to sit down and talk the requirements through, because I don't want to spend all day rewriting this code yet again just to throw it away tomorrow." The first words out of my boss's mouth? "Well, if you don't want to work here..."

Eventually we were able to talk things through enough that I was able to write the module the way it was wanted (today) with more clear directives, but his initial response stuck with me. And I thought to myself, "You know what? Maybe I don't want to work here." Honestly, having my job threatened when I protest about wasting time and energy is really low, and it's not the first time I've been threatened with such for not just shutting up and doing as I'm told. And that's only one aspect of the complete lack of respect I'm faced with.

So now I'm looking again. I'm tired of putting up with this. The reasons I've stayed so long have become less and less important and less certain. I'm sure once I leave, they will finally make whatever big deal they've been hoping for and I'll miss out, but honestly I've been doubting what my cut of that would be if I stayed anyway.

I will miss the perks. I pay less for health insurance for my whole family than many people I know. I can wear what I want and even come in and leave when I want within reason, I can work from home when necessary, and the kitchen is stocked with free goodies. The 401(k) program is pretty cool as well, considering the employer matches 1:1 on up to 5%.

But I'm not happy. I can only deal with so much, and this job passed it a long time ago. It's way past time to move on.