No Rest for the Curious
Quitting with integrity
Earlier this month I quit my job as a software engineer in the energy industry. I learned a lot there over eight years and feel grateful for that.
However my career was going in the wrong direction. I saw no path forward to get on track to do work I felt passionate about.
I could have “quiet quit” - do a shit job and burn the rest of my time off on my way out. Instead I felt the path of greater integrity was to give notice, do my best work for the last couple weeks, and move on.
It’s time for me to travel, study, write, and build. This a summary how I got here and resources for folks with similar inclinations to do the same. Here’s me kicking it at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival.
Confidence and Curiosity
The conventional wisdom is to not just quit your job. Instead you go apply, interview, and get the next job first. Then you don’t have a career gap in your resume.
I’m less worried about that for a few reasons. For one, I’ve been playing with entrepreneurship for some time. I made my first few sales recently through my company Kaldun Technologies LLC. The big one is building a website for my friend and pro MMA fighter Rose Namajunas.1
People take career breaks. In Europe it’s more common for people to take a month or more off of work than here in the States. In this case I work for myself part time using the technologies I want. My view is there is no “gap in my resume.”
Entrepreneurship and sales are a hell of a challenge. Thankfully we live in an era of abundant online education. Cloud resources and AI can supercharge your growth. Earlier in summer I wrote about how to get started on this path.
The fire that set me out on my software engineering journey lay dormant. I rekindled it by digging into entrepreneurship, building websites, and trying my hand at sales.
I loved math and computers as a kid. I loved websites and video games. After high school I got into college on a business scholarship. I picked out finance and accounting.
There was an opportunity to get on the fast-track to Wall Street. After the 2008 crisis, that didn’t feel right to me. But I was clueless on how to do a career: job applications, interviewing, navigating the corporate world.
I tried a job as an accountant at the billing department of a big corporation. That was definitely not the right spot for me. But I was fascinated by the software they used.
I wanted to build computer systems that create value for people! Software is eating the world. I enrolled for math and computer science and got an internship dowtown.
I was fascinated with many different subjects: algorithms and data structures, graphics, compilers, system design, blockchain and cryptography.
Money was tight in Milwaukee. The first company I interned with went out of business. The second gave me a full-time job offer with a tight timing window.
I took the offer. My buddy Steve and I rented a nearby apartment. I learned a lot, especially about full-stack development. We used C#, JavaScript, and relational databases. But shortly before Thanksgiving they let all the junior people go.
Back to applying and interviewing! I got another C# development offer here in the suburbs of Minneapolis and made the move. But the job they wanted me to do in practice was heavy on legacy C for server communications.
It had almost nothing to do with my passions. The years rolled on and I forgot what got me excited about software development in the first place.
I tried a customer facing role with the opportunity to travel. Instead I felt stuck in the office toiling at corporate energy drudgery.
I started interviewing both inside and outside the company. I’m building, studying, and pitching ideas to people. The hunger is back. I’m confident my ideas about math, finance, and software are valuable.
How valuable are they, and to whom? How do you turn your passion into a career? It’s a dynamic process. You formulate offers and get them in front of people. You learn and adjust. The journey is the destination.
What? How Can You Just Quit?
My last paycheck is coming up this Friday. There goes my steady income and my health insurance.
Quitting reduces my expenses somewhat. I need to drive less and have more time for my dog and self care.
Yet I still have the mortgage and the dog to take care of. I want to travel and give my friends and family gifts! I’m considering other strategies to improve cash flow like a housemate.
The golden key is that I have a GPS to guide my financial journey: a budget. I know how much I spend per month on average.
And I have a liquid asset to tap into: an opportunity fund. This lets me grow, protect, and use my money through thick and thin.
Last week I also set up an estate plan so my family is taken care of if my travels go awry. Just one less thing to worry about.
Do you want change in your life for greater freedom and prosperity? These posts include free resources to help you to accomplish your financial goals.
Interview with Confidence
Here’s some fantastic resources for other software engineer hunting for opportunity.
Underdog.io published a prep guide on Notion. This includes resume guidance and what you need to study to crack the interview.2
Neo Kim writes a newsletter on system design. Thinking about system design recently came on my radar as a key to career growth.3
Python and JavaScript are both popular languages. You can start learning for free with these e-books and associated courses.4
Algorithms and data structures are fundamental to computer science. My recent interviews revealed that my strength in this subject has atrophied. I’m working through a free course by Princeton via Coursera for algorithms in Java.5
The behavioral interview is also new to my lexicon. Acing this interview positions you as a good fit for the company. This determines your starting level and pay. I plan to check out this course and practice mock interviews.6
Thanks for reading homies. Share this with anyone who would value it.
Live free.
