Jobs aren’t something I change very often.
This isn’t due to some fierce loyalty that I carry from role to role, nor is it because I’m easily contented with the predictability and certainty of a comfortable salary. Quite to the contrary: I need regular change in what I do; I need the opportunity that comes with living an entrepreneurial existence; and I definitely need the drive and motivation that comes from the ever-changing goals project work has to offer.
I’ve spent the last year and a half working in a full time role over at CyclingTips where I was the entire web development team. Before that, I worked as a freelancer on all sorts of projects either working directly for businesses in need of a web site, or working as a contractor for design agencies delivering custom builds to their clients. Having worked the two different roles, I can say they are distinctly different.
I’m very thankful for the last eighteen months as it allowed me to develop my skills more than I would have had I been working the freelance scene where time is typically restricted to project budgets and the relatively simple technical requests that come with building a typical website. Working for a high traffic media organisation that focuses heavily on their user experience while also meeting the commercial requirements necessary to keep that business running did, in many ways, challenge my technical skills far more than freelancing ever did.
Still, that old saying about not appreciating what you have until it’s gone has been tapping on my shoulder for the past few months and, after gaining clarity around what I really need, change naturally found its way into my life.
Today, I started my new role as a senior developer with Digital Thing. In this role, I’ll be working amongst a growing team of developers and designers, each with their own unique strengths, headed up by two fine gents who come from similar foundations.
I’m truly pumped for this new role where the projects will change regularly, each offering up its own unique set of technical challenges. It’s a role where I get to take my skills further through collaborative work and, best of all, it will afford me the time to pursue my own projects, which is a major motivator for getting back out on my own.
Looking forward to the things we build over at DT.
