It was announced today that IBM won the bid. This is exciting news, but to be clear, I was not aware of who was going to win this bid. And since I haven’t decided whether I prefer moving on or wait to find out what will happen next, I figured I’d start talking about my approach towards finding my next job. I now find it interesting pondering on what could be next and what I may be able to do with my future.
I’m taking a deep look into who I am and who I want to be. Over the past decade I’ve generally allowed my career to drive my future. Whether or not it was for the best, it’s time I take back the controls and drive my career where I want it to go. My career has predominantly focused on Microsoft, but in 2008 I completed my Masters in Systems Programming and Design, which involved mostly non-Microsoft specific technologies. To expand on these skills I clearly need to incorporate more of them into my job. Sure, IBM could help me out with that and my job application was a smart move. But I still need to identify a lot more opportunities in order to safeguard against finding myself laid off with no where to go. Still important, though, I must not forget my roots and I should find new ways to expand upon my knowledge of Microsoft technologies.
The next thing I want to look at is whether or not I can break away from business applications and expand into different styles of development. I looked at jobs posted by non-business specific companies, like NASA, and they are mostly looking for true Computer Science experts. I do have a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science; however, my business background makes it a tough sell for those focusing on non-business problems. But I’m not going to decide what I can’t do and over the next few weeks I’ll see if I can identify a few of these positions in which I feel qualified. I'll then test the waters to see if I can spark some interest in this arena.
Lastly, I’m also going to investigate how I can break into the mobile technology industry. Over the past decade, and in particular the past five years, there has been an explosion in mobile device development. I will clearly have difficulty getting into this area, but having a strong background in application development I’m sure I could get a job by using a little elbow grease to develop a demonstration application I would use to show my abilities. Mobile web development would be interesting to me as well, which might serve as a launching pad into device development.
Overall, this is going to get interesting…and quickly.
I’m taking a deep look into who I am and who I want to be. Over the past decade I’ve generally allowed my career to drive my future. Whether or not it was for the best, it’s time I take back the controls and drive my career where I want it to go. My career has predominantly focused on Microsoft, but in 2008 I completed my Masters in Systems Programming and Design, which involved mostly non-Microsoft specific technologies. To expand on these skills I clearly need to incorporate more of them into my job. Sure, IBM could help me out with that and my job application was a smart move. But I still need to identify a lot more opportunities in order to safeguard against finding myself laid off with no where to go. Still important, though, I must not forget my roots and I should find new ways to expand upon my knowledge of Microsoft technologies.
The next thing I want to look at is whether or not I can break away from business applications and expand into different styles of development. I looked at jobs posted by non-business specific companies, like NASA, and they are mostly looking for true Computer Science experts. I do have a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science; however, my business background makes it a tough sell for those focusing on non-business problems. But I’m not going to decide what I can’t do and over the next few weeks I’ll see if I can identify a few of these positions in which I feel qualified. I'll then test the waters to see if I can spark some interest in this arena.
Lastly, I’m also going to investigate how I can break into the mobile technology industry. Over the past decade, and in particular the past five years, there has been an explosion in mobile device development. I will clearly have difficulty getting into this area, but having a strong background in application development I’m sure I could get a job by using a little elbow grease to develop a demonstration application I would use to show my abilities. Mobile web development would be interesting to me as well, which might serve as a launching pad into device development.
Overall, this is going to get interesting…and quickly.
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