As of today, 1st May 2010, I have decided to officially end my sabbatical from the IT industry.
In other words, I’m actively looking for work.
I’ve greatly enjoyed my 18 months of not answering to “the man” which has allowed me to focus my time and energy into smaller websites, my favourite Open Source projects, move country, entirely renovate a house and meet some friends in far flung places in the globe.
So what has changed?
Basically, I’m a geek that really misses building solutions to problems. The last two websites I’ve helped out with have both had real fundamental issues, and required outside of the box thinking and coding to make them work effectively. I can’t explain how much I have enjoyed having my brain firing on all cylinders again.
The ‘global recession’ seems to be over, and I’ve found that the mood and choice of work I’ve seen being offered to me has been of a better standard. True, I’m very fussy about the work I take on but I’m once again enthused about the potential projects out there.
One of the key changes in the last 18 months though has been that of the WordPress platform. The change from the mentality of WP2.6 to WP3.0 has been colossal, and the knock on effect of what can be done with the platform is now staggering. I have truly enjoyed ever minute spent with WordPress in the last 6 months, and if we can just transfer that energy to bbPress then I could properly define myself as a WordPress Platform solution architect.
Finally, I have re-fallen in love with JavaScript. For me, web development really started when I learnt JavaScript. The ability to interact, key for websites, was ground-breaking and powerful; a power that many have abused for way too long. Now though, the ability to use JavaScript’s power for good and work with browsers and not against them has me daydreaming of code in the shower again (sorry for the mental image).
All in all, life is sweet, and I’m hungry for work!