Hello World

Cliché title right off the bat! Just letting you know what you're signing up for by reading this. For those of you who don't know the reference, "Hello, world!” is typically the first thing you learn to print out when you are learning programming. And we're only going to get into heavier subjects from here so buckle up!

I've decided to switch gears, again. I've been switching gears quite a bit lately. The biggest gear switch was quitting my full time job! Until May 12th of this year (2023), I was working at Salesforce as a Software Engineering Manager. I'd officially had the title of Software Engineering Manager for a little over a year, but I also had the good fortune of acting as a full time team lead (meaning almost zero coding) for more than a year prior to that, giving me a chance to test the waters as a lead that doesn't develop anymore. It was a great experience and I'm truly appreciative of the opportunity. I had the support of many of my leaders which was invaluable and I'll always be grateful for the opportunity they gave me, especially my manager. Thank you!

But I left.

I found myself in a unique position. It took some time to realize it but once I recognized it, I couldn't unsee it.

So what happened? Like anything, it wasn't just one thing, it was a bit more multifaceted than that but there were a few major factors. Over the course of a couple weeks there was a series of meetings that weren't going well - disagreement, misunderstanding, and frustration for all parties involved. I took many a long walk at the end of those days and tried to figure out what exactly was happening. On one particular walk, I finally came to a conclusion that I'm pretty sure explained it, or at least solved things in my own mind. I could be completely wrong, but I think it's a fairly common situation for most people, and in this case it was fear. And I completely understood. Everyone was operating from fear of some sort: fear of not getting good reviews, fear of not getting a promotion, fear of not delivering, or worst of all, fear of getting fired, which means no retirement, which means no insurance, which means no paycheck, which means no house payment, which means not being able to support a family. And then I realized I'm weird. I didn't feel that.

I was 34 at the time, single with no family and enough money to make my mortgage payment for long enough to search for a job for a while if I had to. And that changed my perspective. I began to see my situation not as being behind which I thought I was for a long time, but realized it's an opportunity. I have a marketable skill, and no dependents. I could afford to take on some risk. So maybe I should consider that. And risk is another chapter entirely, I'll return to that at some point.

And then Salesforce laid off about 7000 people. I was not one of them, but it made me think even more about leaving. I was grateful to still have a job, but at the same time I felt bad because I would have been ok with it in all honesty. I would have felt the brief surge of adrenaline when I realized I couldn't log into my work laptop anymore, but I would imagine that once I figured out what was going on, I probably would have happily gone back to sleep or celebrated with an energy drink and gaming the rest of the day because I was already considering leaving. I could have spared someone that had a family to take care of and didn't need the immense stress of having their income suddenly taken from them one day with no warning.

So this pushed me further down the path, and a few months later, I decided it was time.

Originally I told myself I would retire by the time I was 30 and I would tell people that half-jokingly. This was not long after being out of college, so I was 22 or 23 at the time. Fast forward 5 or so years later, and I found myself continuing to tell that joke. Starting to take that idea more seriously, I re-evaluated that 30 was a little ambitious given where I was at experience-wise and financially. By my 3rd job I realized I wasn't exactly in a position to support myself on my own, so I reluctantly concluded 35 would be acceptable. I'd re-prioritize focusing on learning things that could help accomplish that goal. And as 35 drew closer, I knew I was nowhere near my FAT FIRE goals, but it was always in the back of my mind.

And then, one month before I turned 35, I resigned. Goal met.

Time to start a new adventure. I'm still not at my FAT FIRE goals so I'll be working on that slowly, but at the freedom of my own schedule. If you want to follow along, I'll be sharing my experience from being a developer, a manager, tech and tech companies, and probably other heavy nerd stuff that I get into. If any of that intrigues you, check back soon or message me @jaypetersdotdev or email [email protected]! Thanks for stopping by!