I am in the process right now of finding another job, or at least searching for whatever opportunities exist out there. After a week of job searching, I’ve realized that my current employer may not be able to afford me. I will look back nostalgically on my 2 years here, but I will also be ready to move on with my career. It will be hard to say goodbye, but I almost feel like I’ve been backed into a corner by my company. I think the transition between jobs will be made harder by the uncertainty of the situation. When you leave one company for another, you don’t really know exactly what you are getting into until you are there. I will miss the laid-back environment of my current job. I mean, I probably wear sandals and hoodies to work more than I wear anything else. I speak with the same twang I speak to my friends and act no differently than I do when I’m out with the guys just chilling. My only responsibility is to get the work done.

They don’t care about anything else. Just get the work done – and I LOVE that about my job. No politics, no drama. Another added bonus of my job is that I can pretty much take a day off whenever I need. I don’t ever remember in 2 years having to haggle over taking a day off. Not once. And as far as a set work schedule, there really is none. It is flexible enough for me to come in at 6am or 10 am – so long as I work my 8 hours. That luxury I probably won’t have at my next job. I get to sleep in a little more on certain days and not have to stress about getting to work on time. Picture this: me walking into the office with my Tech hoodie on, wearing my Bata sandals (unquestionably the greatest set of footwear in the world), and jeans – at 10am. Yes, I’ve done that before.

I rarely ever felt like I was working – I know that sounds odd, but the environment is so relaxed at my job that I have rarely gotten stressed or frustrated. I’ve been challenged, but rarely felt pressured or stressed. These are the subtle freedoms that I will miss. I will definitely miss our Friday lunches (our boss would take us out on his tab). I will miss being part of a company devoid of hierarchies. There are no titles at my job – just employees. Some know more and some have more experience, but those are the only lines of differentiation.

I think that my company has a plan for me and my asian persuasion co-worker. They brought us both in on the same day two years ago. I think that our boss wants us to be leaders in the near future. I think he want us to be project managers. I would love that responsibility and I think it would be a tremendous opportunity to gain valuable experience. That’s why if I choose to leave, it won’t be easy to break the news to him. I feel as though they have bigger plans for us in the coming future, but unfortunately, I don’t think it will work out for me the way they have planned. It is a tough decision leaving your first job I think, especially for me. I think that coming into this job, I had very little expectations and even less knowledge about the controls field. Now, I have learned so much in two years at this job and have seen myself grow from an unsure industrial engineer to a knowledgeable and confident controls engineer.

How valedictory does this sound?

Shit, I’m already sounding like I’ve left Microfusion – I guess it’s just a preliminary goodbye.