Starting A New Job for the First Time in a Decade
In a little under 12 hours, I’ll be doing something I haven’t done in about two months: walk out the door on a Monday morning, hop on the Blue line towards downtown, and go to work.
It’s funny, as I had to look things up and do the math a bit. I thought it was just a month, but turns out it’s been two months since I was let go. Time gets kind of funny when you don’t really have anywhere you need to be, and pants kind of become this “optional” thing that you consider in the mornings.
During my downtime I’ve mostly worked on my resume, redesigned my website, did a bit of travel, photographed two different 5K races, visited a fake toy store, and walked around a room half-filled with balloons.
I’ve tried to keep busy.
Surprisingly, I didn’t do a ton of slacking off. I’ve watched my fair share of Netflix, but I haven’t really binged on video games or anything like that. Usually, I’m either working on a side project… or, lately, I’ve been trying to brush up on my HTML, CSS and JS skills.
A few weeks ago, I interviewed for a web developer position with Sears. And I’m happy to say that my first day is tomorrow – Monday morning.
I’ll be honest – I’m nervous. I’ve been away from coding for a while now, so there’s a part of me that’s a little overwhelmed at how much there is to learn, and how much I feel I need to learn. But there’s another part of me that’s pretty excited – to be in an environment where I’ll be working again, actually rolling up my sleeves, getting my hands dirty and making things. It’s daunting and exciting, in equal measure.
In a lot of ways, I think the things I’m feeling now remind me very much of when I was younger, and about to start a new school year. I had a decent idea what to expect, but there was also a great deal of newness I was anticipating.
Having worked for 10 years at the same place, it’s a very weird thing to imagine going to a new business, a new company. There’s new people to meet, a different culture to learn. Will I get along with everyone? Who will I eat lunch with? Will someone try to beat me up if I don’t give them my juice money?
The past two months have been a very dramatic change for me, and it’s fair to say this year has been a pretty significant one, as far as shaking things up go. And here I am, in the early part of December and the tail end of the year, about to head somewhere new after being in the same place for nearly a decade.
Though I’ve been working around technology for many years, right now I feel incredibly green. There is a great deal I have to learn, and I’m intimidated and excited by that thought. I am afraid of what I don’t know how to do, but I’m confident I’ll learn what I need to learn.
Stepping outside on Monday morning is going to feel good, it’s going to feel very much like a beginning.
Wish me luck.
And… maybe shoot me a reminder to put on some pants.
Related:
Four Hundredth Mile
Lucille Clifton: I Am Running Into a New Year
Congrats on the new job, Felix! I can understand why you feel nervous, but you’re going to do great.
Ben (December 11, 2012 at 12:50 pm)Good luck Felix. You’ll be great, I’m sure. In fact, I think Sear is lucky to have someone so tech savvy and original and creative.
Maureen Stanton (December 11, 2012 at 12:53 pm)Yay, Felix! Congratulations! And hey, if you forget to wear pants, it’s Sears. They probably have a pair you can borrow.
Juliet (December 11, 2012 at 2:35 pm)Good luck! I know a couple UXers who went there recently as well!
Rachelle (December 11, 2012 at 2:58 pm)Congrats! Coding…it’s like riding a bicycle, right? ;) I think you’ll do a great job for them!
mobiusbox (December 11, 2012 at 4:05 pm)Thanks so much for the kind words and support, everyone! It’s been a very interesting two days, adjusting to a new place (and such a large company). It’s really quite massive.
Something I didn’t expect: Skype as IM tool. Interesting to have this small window of constant update/activity.
Everyone I’ve talked with has been very kind and welcoming. And everyone also seems to appreciate the fact that I’ve got pants on – I think they can sense that extra effort.
avoision (December 11, 2012 at 10:01 pm)