A year ago today I started my current job. For the first time in a seven years I was a full-time employee rather than a consultant, and for the first time in a decade I was changing jobs without moving cross-country in the process.
It has been an interesting first year. The project I joined as a software architect was canceled only a few weeks after I completed my orientation; my team was re-tasked to various legacy projects. In June one of the other architects left the company. He was followed in July by a second architect. In October the remaining architect left. Finally in December the manager quit and moved on to other pastures. In less than a year I had gone from being the fourth member of a team to being the entire software architecture department.
Along with the canceled project, and the attrition in the architecture ranks, I was faced with some serious doubts about how I was going to fit into the organization. After two and a half years on the team at my previous engagement I struggled quite a bit to find my comfort zone at the new job.
Today I am feeling pretty good about the company, and my place within it. The transition from consultant to employee is complete. Today I see my job as more than the hours between 7:30 and 4:00 every work day; it includes benefits and supports our lifestyle. Most important it is building a future retirement for us. It isn’t a perfect job (no job is) but it is a good job, and I feel like I am making a positive difference.
[...] One Year the fourth member of a team to being the entire software architecture department. Along with the canceled project, and the attrition in the architecture ranks, I was faced with some serious doubts [...]