I started with VMware back in late 2005 as a support engineer. In 2007, I switched to be a technical trainer (again; something I have been doing since 1998). Since then, I’ve travelled around the world for classes and conferences. I wrote a single book (Ugh! Never do a certification book) on VCP-Desktop (VMware View 5). And thoroughly enjoyed all challenges thrust upon me.
Unfortunately, as of November 2023 I was RIF’d (Reduction in Force); basically the tech industry’s new term for mass layoffs. It sucked, but it also is great. This gave me an opportunity to be selfish and focus on myself for a bit. I realized that this would be the first time in nearly 30 years that I would be looking for work. And because of luck and circumstance, I could look to improving myself while looking for work with relatively little fear. My inner workaholic was determined to find work, given that I had never been without work since age 12. This was both a good and bad thing.
This time without having work allowed me to do some self-improvement that I had neglected, as well as try to figure out what my next adventure would be. To say that being unemployed at my age (nearly 55!) was scary. And having spent most of my career at one company, made me worry that I would be passed over because of age, or tech-knowledge limitations. And looking for work is work. You have to have somewhat of a thick skin with regard to the rejection emails. I applied to nearly 300 roles. I’d estimate that 80% never even send a “thanks, but no, thanks” email. And about 18% send a “thanks, but no, thanks” response.
The last 2% resulted in first interview and maybe a quarter I got to 2nd interview. Interestingly enough, I randomly saw a posting on LinkedIn for a small startup. When I went to apply, the application process had a twist: upload a video as to why you want to work with them. A few weeks later, I started on my 55th birthday at Spectro Cloud.
In many ways, it reminded me of the early days of VMware. The company and people are focused on supporting each other and supporting customers. While my new role doesn’t involve direct teaching, it is still a form of education (albeit entirely written).
Now, one of the things that was becoming a challenge for me prior to my new job was that I was only focused on VMware. Being let go opened me to other technologies and pathways. So, as weird as it might sound, this has forced me to investigate the world beyond virtualization. I’ve always believed that what makes a job truly meaningful is a combination of the people you work with and the shared drive to create something great—something that helps others and empowers organizations to reach their full potential. That’s when a job becomes more than just work—it becomes a calling.
So now that I’ve been without VMware for a while, I’ve gone back to spending my spare time on things other than virtualization. I mean, I have a variety of interests (and in no particular order):
- technology
- teaching
- World of Warcraft
- Reading (non-fiction, science fiction, mystery, horror, humour)
- personal interactions
- politics (I tend to not talk about this much)
- improving myself
- Buddhism
- Science in general (I generally just like learning)
- All things Canadian (both good and bad)
- LGBTQ+ issues, specifically trans related
So theoretically, I have a lot of topics to talk about. So while the blog will focus on tech, don’t be surprised if you see a topic about any of the above appearing (I’m keeping the politics on a separate blog).
NOTE: The contents of this blog are my personal views and do not represent those of my employer, current or former. (They probably wouldn’t use as many emojis anyway.)