I have a new job! The offer came yesterday, exactly seven months after I was laid off by my previous employer. With my cash reserves nearly exhausted, I worried that I would have to settle for something very humble. And it’s true that my paychecks will be smaller, at least for a while, but I am excited about the potential to grow my new position into something great.
During my job hunt I applied for more than 60 different positions and went through more than a dozen interviews. I investigated many career fields, but I will remain an information technology professional. IT has put food on my table since October 1995. I’m going to work in the Brookfield data center of a Fortune 500 company that had outsourced most of its IT operations and now is bringing them back in-house. The staff will grow as the workload grows, and with my management background I will be well positioned for a new leadership role.
IT jobs can have undesirable schedules. My hours—11 p.m. through 7 a.m., Monday through Friday—wouldn’t work for everyone, but they will work for me. I have worked nights before and I actually sleep better during the day. And just consider the implications for my cycling objectives: every day will be free for riding, every weekend will be free for racing. Sure, it might be hard to come out of the Friday night shift at 7 o’clock on a Saturday morning and get myself into race mode within just a few hours, but it can be done. My first night on the job will be September 14, so the first test of my ability to race after work will come in the WEMS race at New Fane on Saturday the 19th. But that’s a 3 p.m. start, so I should be able to get some sleep before the race. WORS races are always on Sundays, so they won’t be a problem. Cyclocross will be the toughest fit, especially if I want to attend races outside of the Milwaukee area.
If you read my blog frequently and/or know me in person, then you know the sometimes extreme attention I give to the subjects nearest my heart. I’m a meticulous planner who doesn’t like to leave anything to chance, and I’m always trying to see as far into the future as I can. I am immensely relieved that my employment crisis is over and all of its uncertainty is in the past.
Sorry for accidentally deleting your comment, Glen. You said, "Wowie! This is so fantastic! So happy for you!... er... and the family of course. But wow, for cycling the shift is ideal." Agreed! Working from home for four years was great. I had a lot of control over my own schedule. I could ride during the day and then work later into the evening. I could time my rides to avoid rainfall or temperature dips. And so on. I worried that I would lose that flexibility, but with the new job I still have almost all daylight hours at my disposal.
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