So... the job thing in London...

I really thought jobs might be a bit different here, but it appears that my industry offers the same opportunities, and suffers from the same problems in the UK as it does in the US.

A few things seem better:

• more cognisant of theoretical/intellectual concerns in building their business systems


• some openness to open-source software and vendor neutrality

Some things are worse:

• filling in 4 different time sheets every week


• spent 3 hours in a pointless health and safety meeting recently

Some things are the same:

• Many companies are dealing with the horrible legacy of outsourcing their product development to India

So the company I resigned from is still employing me... After handing in my notice, the development manager spoke to me for about 15 minutes, at which point it became clear that the problems I was running into were definitely problems that needed to be addressed. I was therefore moved to a different team while they address the issues. Although the new team is working with old technology, and the work is painfully messy, I have decided to work out the contract in order to come good on my word regarding the initial contract period. I think he offered me this role because he felt bad about employing me, only to have me walk into a crap situation. According to the contract, I could leave at any time given one week's notice, but I figure things will not necessarily be any better in any other company I work in. Better the devil I know...

Meanwhile I'm working on some certifications in the hope that I can be better value for money for future employers. My career seems to be taking somewhat of a back seat, in the sense that I am trying to be less aggressive about pursuing the best opportunities and the latest technologies. I am not at all sure what the focus for this energy should be, but I have at least resolved that it is not worth channelling it into staying at the forefront of my field. I suppose I am trying to listen to the circumstances of my life and sense where I should be heading, rather than trying to shape it myself. It's hard though. So much of what I get a kick out of in life is the excitment of being on the bleeding edge, of getting to know my material as well as anyone else in the industry. Now that appears to be the wrong direction...

OK - back to my painful untangling of messy, hacked-together code again...

Hey, look - I'm ending all my paragraphs with elipses...