Decisions
I was talking with an old friend on the phone last week and I mentioned something about work. "You're still working?" he asked. The answer is yes. I'm still keeping my full-time job, even though I've moved from Houston to Seattle. At least for now... As a consultant I had been working remotely from Houston for a client for 8 months already, so working from Seattle isn't any different (except for the time difference). A few weeks before leaving Houston I meet with my VP to let him know about my upcoming move and to discuss what my options were. I was certain that there was only one option: wrap things up and resign prior to my move. So it turns out that they wanted me to continue working on my existing project until the end of August to allow ample time transition my work over to someone else. In addition, my VP said he'd help me find another project and another practice within our Seattle office. I'm itching to start working on my own company on a full-time basis, but I've decided not to turn anything down until I know what's available. So if there's a great project available to me in Seattle, then perhaps I won't resign. But I'm going to be really picky with any projects that come up. No weekly travel, no government clients, no long commute, no incompetent project leadership, no impossible schedules and no poorly planned solutions. If I'm sticking with my current employer I need to not just enjoy what I'm doing, but I need to be passionate about it. Passion about my work is something I've lacked for almost 4 years now and it's something I realize is most important about any work I'm doing. So here's the dilemma: I've been told that there are a few opportunities in the Seattle area for which I might be a good fit, but I haven't been able to get many details about the projects nor a commitment that I can be placed on the projects. There's only a week and a half left on my current project, and I'm sure my VP will want to know what the plan is going forward. So do I propose going non-chargeable (aka going "on the beach") for a few weeks or a month to give time to see what develops in terms of these other projects becoming available (and therefore continue getting a paycheck)? Or, is it time to tender my resignation, stop getting a paycheck, and give up on the possibility of working on a local project? What makes this an even harder decision is that I just got an 8% pay increase. I'll have to decide on a plan within the next couple days.

- posted by Drew @ 2:27 PM