Personal vs Professional

It's been a while since I've posted here... and quite a few things have changed since then.

From a professional standpoint, the biggest change was that I switched jobs.
Why? Well, although I experienced great amounts of frustration at my previous job, there was an element of convenience there that suited my purposes - the working hours were predictable, the work itself was not too difficult, if not exciting, and it was close to home so I didn't face a commute. It seems like pretty shallow reasons to stick around at a job, but I was in the last year of my degree programme, and had a large project to finish. That job afforded me the time to get my work done, and after 3+ years of investing time in that degree, I didn't want to mess it up by not being able to complete my project.

Unfortunately, although the job was 'convenient', that convenience had a price in frustration that I was just unwilling to pay anymore - it just became too much.

And so I switched jobs.

I joined an American consulting company that was building up an office locally - a version of outsourcing that short-circuited a lot of the difficulties with outsourcing to India - the time difference, the culture and language barriers etc.

It was an eye-opening experience to go from a place where software development was seen as an after-thought to a company where they really 'got it'. Code reviews, technical design documents, tons of whiteboard space, a cupboard full of snacks.... These people really GOT IT!!

So I joined up in February, and for two months, I didn't work a single day.... after all, you couldn't call that 'work'. This was much too much fun to be 'work'. 'Work' is something to avoid and dread, right?

Unfortunately, such ecstasy didn't last.

The sad thing about the situation is that I still feel that this place is a cool place to work. I still think that more times than not, we aren't doing 'work'... we're just doing what we love, and getting paid in the process.

But, the honest truth is that the hours started to become noticeably longer. I'm not sure that things changed that much over the 8 months I've been here, but as more and more of my life disappeared between 'being at work, commuting to and from work', and 'doing work on evenings at home and on weekends', frustration started to set in. Adding to the frustration is that I am getting married next year, and preparation time was quickly slipping away - and things weren't getting any better.

So, I had to make a hard decision - one that wasn't easy, but I believe it was the right one. I decided to step away from that company - back to something that is a little more predictable, and a little less demanding.

Am I making the right choice?
One of my bosses does not think so. "I'm bailing out and passing up a great opportunity".

But, others weren't so extreme. "Each person has to do what's right for them." A fair statement. Simple, yet surprisingly profound if you really stop to consider it.

But, maybe the best advice was: "Two things must never come before 'job' - your health, and your family."

And that's how I feel. I believe that with these time commitments, it's going to be ridiculously hard to find the time to plan and prepare for a wedding. And, quite frankly, even though a wedding is only 'one day', it's a day of great significance to my bride-to-be, and hence, it's a day of great significance to me. She has been quite understanding of my work and career commitments, waiting patiently for 4 years for me to complete my degree. But she is understandably impatient to begin the next stage of our journey together, and quite frankly, so am I.


Am I a fool for making a career choice based on personal reasons? Maybe. But I'd rather be a happily married fool than a single (and lonely) success.

But that's just me.

There's more to the story, of course.... but that's for another time.