This is a personal blog post that's purely for my own therapy. If you find it interesting, great, if not, you've been warned. I've been considering where I want to be in 5 years. I wouldn't say I'm dissatisfied with my current work. In fact, I quite enjoy most of it. However, I'm not sure it's leading me in the direction I want to be in 5 years. Of course, I haven't the foggiest idea what I want to be doing 5 years from today. I was in much the same position 5 years ago while working toward my M.S. in Computer Science because I didn't really know what to look for in a job and a nearly free M.S. seemed like a good idea at the time (and was an excellent idea in hindsight).
So what do I want to do in 5 years? I have a few vague notions. I want to work at least 50% of the time on Open Source software, which I already do. That's important to me for a number of reasons that I won't go into here. I would like to be working using Perl as my primary language (being the language snob that I am---as Seth likes to point out). I'd say I'm almost there currently too. I would like to still be in Kansas, though I wouldn't mind being in Kansas City or out of Manhattan, though I do love Manhattan quite a bit.
I'd also like to work in an environment surrounded by at least a few of my peers, which is certainly not the case currently. OSCON was nice for the fact that I was surrounded by software developers like myself. I also find my current work environment to be very structured, which I knew I was getting into, but it still chafes. I don't like cubicles. I don't like regular hours. I don't like wearing slacks and a polo, particularly when I could be wearing shorts and a T-shirt. The level of meetings at work is a little higher than I'd consider ideal, but that's not too bad. I miss having a whiteboard, which is something sadly lacking in the office.
I miss having my own office, though that wouldn't be too bad if I could spend more time out of my cubicle... I mostly don't like the cubicle. I was very pleased when we rearranged cubicles, but now that I've had it for this amount of time it's not quite what I want. I miss having an office where I can close the door and work with the music loud enough to penetrate. Some of my best work has been done with the music at an almost unpleasant volume and headphones just don't quite add the same feel to the mood.
I would like to be able to take "time off" from work to focus on a toy project. If I could take 2 weeks off once or twice a year and separate myself from the office to focus on something, that would be great. I would also like to be involved in hackathons and even travel to participate in a few. I haven't had the privilege of being involved in enough of that sort of thing before.
I do miss teaching a bit, but I do not miss the grading. I wouldn't mind giving seminars and such more regularly. Yet, I despise grades and particularly despise giving grades. I always thought I hated school, but it turns out that I just hate the metrics that school performance is judged by. I'd rather be judged by accomplishments than whether the teacher thought I was paying attention. Whether that's really what grades are or not, that's how I've always felt about them. I feel similarly about training. I don't mind giving the lesson, but I don't like being responsible for making sure everyone understands. I'd rather just deliver the information and let everyone do whatever they want with it.
I want to work on building frameworks and applying those frameworks. I don't particularly care if my software is web software as it mostly is now. I don't mind GUI development and games are fun and I really like tool development. I'd really need to be involved in building a GUI library or a gaming toolkit or building a compiler while using each of those to an application, a game, or other programs at the same time. This is why I'm attempting to spend my time split between improving Jifty and writing applications in Jifty. The combination of theory and application is very appealing to me. I was equally attracted to Parrot when I could use it to develop materials for my Computer Architecture course.
For the past 3 years or so, I've had a sense of discontent with my current circumstances. It comes and goes, but tends to come more than goes. I've attempted to overcome this unease a number of times, but it's hard to shake that "It just doesn't feel right" feeling. And no, this doesn't have to do with working for consultants. ;)
Well, I can't really think of anything else to write, so I guess that's about it for today.
Cheers.
Well, I was poking around on
Well, I was poking around on the CIS directory and found Cole's website, which led me to yours.
This is a dilemma that plagues many individuals, as you probably have seen from your experience with other people. Finding that right spot in the industry that fits your mold. I am not familiar with any companies that fit what you are looking for, but since you enjoy education, you have some great possibilities to put together that mold.
You enjoy teaching, and teaching can offer so many opportunities. Given that the administration can see your goals clearly, and that they have the ability to do anything, you have an opportunity.
I am not sure if there is anything like this at KSU. Have you ever thought about proposing some sort of open source class to the department? Have you ever sat to think about how you could integrate Open Source, Perl, and your desire to work with frameworks into a class? I've never had experience with Perl, or Open Source. This could be a great experience for a student coming through KSU. I know many people have an interest with open source projects just from my prior classroom discussions. Learning a new language never hurts. All in all, open source has the potential to become a huge deal in the future, and getting the experience now could be extremely beneficial.
I hear you about grades. I would much rather have a course that looked at how I could apply what I was taught, rather than focusing on if I remembered the exact details. But, in reality, couldn't you tailor your course to do that? I don't know all the rules, but some day I would love to teach (but will be in your shoes toward giving grades).
But, yeah... That's my two cents. You don't know me, but I've seen you around Nichols. Have a great day, and stay motivated.
Thanks...
For now, I'm going to just make the best of where I am, which doesn't include teaching at K-State, though it could. Virg offered once before, but I needed to be paid to do it and he didn't have any money at the time for it. I'm still open to the option (despite the grading), though given the way that the University spends money, it would be teaching a class they felt they needed to provide, not crafting something that I would find interesting. My professional reputation isn't large enough (yet, hehe) that I can just tell the CIS department what would be most useful.
On the other hand, I am working with my employer on some senior project type things that we could offer to the department. I wouldn't be giving grades, but, if I can swing it, might involve some cash to a student or group of students capable of meeting the requirements we're looking for. This would be a really practical measurement since I'd craft the requirements based upon what we needed the deliverable to do. We would present these as the metrics that would determine the fitness of the presented product and then make the award if that product met the specification. If it doesn't suit our needs, they don't get the bounty (but get their grade anyway). This would involve some time on my part working with students to keep up with progress and help them make decisions, at least if we want to get a decent product out of them. Without the money, we might still get something worthwhile, but volunteers just don't work hard on something unless it's something they really value, which may or may not be the case depending on who's involved and what their personal goals are.
Anyway, that's how it's going to play out for now. I do happen to know of at least one company that fits the mold I'm thinking of (at least as far as I know the company), but I don't think I'll be switching jobs just now.
Yeah, the money issues sure
Yeah, the money issues sure do tend to blockade any sort of ambitions like that. That's half the reason why I'm personally motivated to donate money to the CIS department if/when I can. With any hope, there can be more free form classes that could possibly be developed and tried. Could be interesting.
The student project idea sounds great. I'm sure there are a few people out there that would find the experience worthwhile. But, finding that person is a challenge in and of itself. A lot of people might think they're motivated enough, but when they start, they could be in for a rude awakening.
I'm sure you'll find your place soon enough. And while you might not be particularly happy/or confused with the current situation, your definitely learning /something/ that will get that professional reputation moving in the right direction.