New Job

A New Role at Work

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I can finally say that I have started a new role today at work. Saying I have moved roles isn’t new.  I have done so on average about every 1 to 2 years over the past 14 years at Thomson Reuters / Refinitiv / LSEG. This change feels different. Since as far back as 2018 it became clear to me that I wanted to do more in the Security area of Technology vs the Operational area that had been working in. Since then I have tried to spend as much time as I could personally and professionally in the security area with my main role still being operationally focused.

In 2020 right before COVID-19 hit I applied for a role in a Security Architecture group. The timing was not good due to the pandemic. At the time i was a bit disappointed however it worked out in the long run. A few months later another role presented itself that was still in Operations (Reliability Engineering). It was however a good career progression for me. I wouldn’t have thought to go out for it until prompted.  Advise from that is listen to people you trust.

Flashing forward to this year I was interested in a role that came up. I was talking to my previous manager about it. She was very encouraging and gave me some advise i did not initially act on. A few months later I approached someone doing a similar role I was interested in. I was looking for advise on what I could do to beef up my skills so I could apply for the role. The response I got was I should just apply. So I did.

I got the offer in late July.  I have been transitioning with ever increasing amounts of time in the new role since August.  Today is the first day I am full time in the new role.  It is a bit anticlimactic since i have been spending most of my time in the role for most of October.

What is funny to me is the role is very different in many ways however at the core is still the concepts of DEV SEC OPS. It is just approaching the problems from a different angle. That is overly simplifying things a bit  How i go about my work is vastly different now.  There is also so much to learn however that is the fun part.

Now I need to start explaining to people what a BISO is and stop explaining what Reliability Engineering is. I do have some confidence now that my wife will stop telling people (very incorrectly) that I am a project manager.

Day One

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So I started a new job today! Wow, it is totally different, and things are the same all at the same time. I don’t remember starting at my last job being so much of a radical change. I think the department was more established so that might explain it. I am shifting gears to a much smaller organization with more responsibility, vs a very large organization with a set area of responsibility. It is a big adjustment. I am currently in denial mode:) There is just allot to take in. Over time things will come together but the flood of information is allot to get used to.

On the plus side everyone seems really friendly. I can’t complain about the commute. Overall I am just tired from the grind of the first day at a new job. I know it will get easier over time, but it takes a bit to get used to.

Starting Over

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Monday I start a new job. I am excited and nervous all at the same time. Consciously I know the decision to leave my previous job was the right one, but my sub-conscious mind keeps asking if I made the right choice. I know it is my way of worrying about how things will turn out, and keeping me on my toes. Change is good, but it can also get your worrying. People like routine. A new job is an entirely new routine. It is starting over somewhere that you know no one. In a way it is a clean slate, but in another way you have to prove yourself to everyone all the time. As always I am cautiously optimistic. Only time will really tell if I made the right decision, but I have always gone with my gut instinct. It hasn’t always been right, but it is rarely 100% wrong, if that makes any sense?

Ok, enough worried rambling. I am going to try to get some sleep and think about less deep topics to write about.