This week sees the closing of a chapter in my career. It was starting to feel like the right time for an all-around change and after a lot of thought and support of close friends and family I set out to find my next adventure. So, after nearly 15 years working through various roles at my current company I’ve taken the plunge into a new role in a completely new business and sector.
After such a long period with the same company there’s so much experience you can acquire relating to the business, how it operates within the industry, and moreover the intricacies which come with it. Over time these can all increase the quality and value which you can deliver, however along with that comes a degree of comfort and you can get caught up in the past more than the future. On top of all of this the thought of moving posed the question to me – is the value that I have based on my skills or my experiences?
Due to the shift in sectors, the experiences within the business – particularly the nuances of how it operates – wouldn’t be as transferable to most other businesses so the challenge of transferring my skills into a new area was what piqued my interest. Currently I’ve got a broader DBA role where we have various hats to wear and quite a breadth to the work. In the new position I’ll be moving into a more specialised Development DBA role with more focus as part of a much larger specialised team so it’ll be a new challenge adapting to that.
Within my career so far I’ve had the opportunity to develop software for desktop use, web based tools, utilise automation and integration technologies, build data solutions, pipelines and analytics tools – and through all of those my passion comes from creating solutions which are scalable, reliable, consistent and performant. These are contained within my new role which will include both in the development of new data solutions and enhancement of existing solutions to bring greater performance. Its a new challenge at a new scale and I look forward to the learning cycle once again.
Within any business over the course of 15 years there’s inevitably countless people you work alongside and its been a pleasure to work with some fantastic folks. My decision to move on certainly wasn’t due to the people around me. I’ve got some fond memories from various times, projects or life events which I’ve been able to get through over the years with those folks around me and I’m so thankful for the close relationships we’ve built over the time.
This week has been bittersweet seeing a lot of folks one last time before I depart, some of which I haven’t seen in person for a couple of years due to more flexible working post-pandemic.
To all of those I’ve worked with through these years – thank you to every one of you who has supported me, given me opportunities, trusted me, taken chances on me, and just put up with me for this long. Its been a crazy ride and I’m so proud of what I’ve been a part of and what we’ve created within the business, and it wouldn’t have been the same without you all. Thank you.
And now for something completely different.
Andy Brownsword 