… well, not exactly changing directions so much as returning to the direction I’ve traveled before. Today I put in my notice at one of America’s great places to work. I have landed a sales engineering position at a growing software company. In a lot of ways it’s pretty much my dream job: I get to do what I love to do best, the folks at the company are all really cool, and I can really make an impact right from the start. I had been looking for the right position and it looks like it found me.
Sales engineering takes a combination of technical and people skills. While it’s easy to find people who excel in either category, it’s not often you find someone who excel in both. I’ve been using my technical skills at my current job but almost none of my people skills. This gives me a chance to perform while still being a geek. I love it.
Back in March my world got shaken up pretty drastically. It got me thinking about how short life is, and if what I was doing was really what I wanted to be doing. What I was doing was okay. It’s been a fine job. But it isn’t what I want to be doing.
Is there risk? You betcha. I’m leaving a large company for a much smaller one. I’m trusting that I can figure out what I need to know. I will have to be independent when I need to be and ever-present when I have to be. It could all turn out insanely great or it could be a bust.
That’s like life, though. The only guarantee is that you’ll never succeed if you don’t try.
I’ve had the feeling that everything I’ve done up until now has been a rehearsal for this role. We’ll see if that’s true. One thing I know: I’m ready for the challenge.
I actually think that most technical people have pretty darn good people skills. At least in these times. I feel it’s an unfortunate stereotype held over from the early days that is continually perpetuated and does a disservice to people like you and me.
On that note, good luck! Hope you do well!
I wish you all the best in your future endeavours.