New Job!

I've got some exciting personal news: I recently accepted a position with the Allen Institute for Brain Science! I'll be working as a web developer to build out a scientific data sharing platform.

After six years in IT consulting, I've decided to make the jump to the non-profit sector. I've wanted to work for a non-profit organization for a while, and now is the time for me to make that dream come true.

I started my first job out of college with Pariveda Solutions, and I'm incredibly grateful to have been there for so long. It's a fantastic place to work and I'm glad I landed there to start my technology career. But my life has changed a lot in the six years I was with Pariveda, and it felt like it was time to move on.

So in August, I started my first job hunt in forever.

It was a strange experience. I literally had not looked for a job or touched my resume while I was with Pariveda since I had been very happy working there. So I brushed up my resume, sent it to some friends who gave great feedback, and then started sending out job applications like crazy!

Here are the stats regarding the applications I sent out:

• 63 applications
• 35 ghosted
• 21 nos
• 4 technical assessments
• 2 "no positions available" responses
• 2 post-assessment interviews
• 1 offer

I applied for a lot of "pie-in-the-sky" jobs, like Discord, Reddit, Nintendo, and other companies whose products and services I enjoy. I also looked for some Rust-specific jobs since I really enjoy that programming language. And I applied for some that were building tools to address climate change.

Eventually I ran across the Allen Institute a couple weeks into my search. I knew about the organization because I walked by their building in Seattle every day for a couple years during my commute. I always thought it would be cool to work for them or another non-profit, but I never really looked into it because I thought it was just a bunch of scientists who didn't have a need for a web/cloud/backend software engineer. Thankfully I discovered that's not the case!

I got through the interview process, met a good portion of the team, and was literally dancing around when I received the offer. I'm super excited to work on web technologies to build out useful graphs, charts, tables, and other tools for exploring the data generated by the scientific teams at the Allen Institute. It's a fantastic opportunity for me and I'm really grateful that I get a chance to use my skills to further what humanity knows about the brain. If I can do anything to help solve issues like brain cancer or Alzheimer's disease, I will be ecstatic.

I'm moving back to Seattle right now to start the new job next week, which means I'll get to see my dog Kaladin again and many of my Seattle friends! I had a really good time living in Utah with my family, but it also feels nice to return to the Pacific Northwest.

I'm starting a new chapter in my life, and it's scary and exciting and new and terrifying. I can't wait to see how it goes!