There are points in your life where you just have to stop, take a few paces back and ask yourself what you’re doing, and perhaps what you’re not doing that you should be. I guess this is one of those times. I’m leaving Yahoo.
For the last few years, while Rachel has been building up a successful web development agency, I’ve been slogging it out in the day job and then freelancing for her company in the evenings and weekends. It seems crazy to be doing this when we’re both skilled web developers, but it worked for us at the time in terms of the perceived financial stability and a host of other reasons.
Well, turns out it was crazy. At least, over the last couple of months we’ve reassessed the situation as it stands, and it’s just the perfect time for me to quit the drudgery of the 9 to 5 and join Rachel as a director of edgeofmyseat.com, and I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am about it. For me, it means getting back closer to the rock face, working on real projects that really matter to the client’s business. On top of that, I can stop doing this massive daily context switch that I’ve been living with for the last few years where I’ve effectively been working two different jobs each day. For the company, it gives us extra capacity to take on bigger projects and to broaden the scope of the services offered. We already have a new CSS training course planned for the upcoming weeks. (Next public course: 29th Ocober 2007 – now booking)
But as exciting as all that is, joining edgeofmyseat.com also means leaving Yahoo. The last year or so at Yahoo has been quite an experience in a number of ways. I’ve got to meet at work with some great people, and will be particularly sad to leave behind people like Chris Heilmann and my recent team-mate Klaus Komenda.
Back when I posted about joining Yahoo, Jim Ley made a comment to the effect that hiring lots of experienced developers was fine, provided you had enough work to keep them all interested. He likened it to a big football club spending out on a lot of big players – it’s great as long as they don’t end up spending the whole season sat on the bench.
Now, not that I’d compare what we do to the job of a professional football player (make of that what you will) but at times over the last year or so, it’s very much felt like I’m sat on the bench. There’s a lot going on at Yahoo, and I truly believe it’s a great place to work as a front-end web developer as maybe a first or second job. There’s lots to be learned, and good people to learn from. However, web development is very much a production unit at Yahoo. The spec goes in and the code comes out, and that’s more or less how the function is viewed throughout the company.
Maybe is just a symptom of a behemoth, but it’s not for a lack of great ideas or vision from the people on the ground. It seems that the people at the very bottom of the company really get the web, and honestly a lot of the execs right at the very top seem to get it. In the middle is a great swamp of middle management where good ideas go to die.
Leaving Yahoo means that I can also say goodbye to 4 hours of commuting each day – the edgeofmyseat.com offices are just a 10 minute walk from my front door. I’m looking forward to reclaiming those 4 hours and putting them to much more productive use – some of which will be offsetting that 5.45am start. The only question remaining is how on earth I’m going to find the downtime to keep up with all those podcasts now.
Comments
Wonderful news, Mr. McLellan!
Good luck! Keeping the same hat on all day may make for more enjoyable projects. Great to hear, can’t wait to see what EOMS pumps out!
So the right decision! You will never regret it. Being your own boss rocks and dumping the commute will feel so liberating. As for podcasts… well they are overrated anyway!
Congrats Drew… brilliant move… reclaiming your life. You already know, however, that you will no longer have time for podcasts. You might not even have time for blogs. But you’ll likely be a lot happier. Good luck!
This is great news for you! I am sure Y! will miss your talent, but the commute is insane.
Congrats, Drew! Sounds like a great lifestyle upgrade – between that horrid commute and the split-roles you’ve been juggling, I’m sure the extra focus and hours are going to be more than welcome.
Congratulations on the change!
Hard work pays off. Enjoy your new-found freedom!
Congrats! I’m right in the middle of a taking-stock moment myself; it’s inspiring to see others handling them well. :)
It was great being in the same team and getting to know you. Sorry things didn’t turn out better. Good luck mate!
Mike
Well, you don’t need me to tell you what I think :-)
Fabulouso!
Good move Drew. You and Rachel have got so much experience and talent – why waste it on Yahoo! Of course, being your own boss doesn’t necessarily mean less work (as I’m quite sure you realise anyway) but it does mean you can get up at 6:45 instead of 5:45 ;-) You’ll miss the podcasts though (I did).
Best wishes to you and Rachel. Sounds like you’re getting out of a difficult stage in life; the future looks brighter :-)
You probably won’t miss most of the podcasts…
Well, you already know what I think about this…you were the best team-mate a new-starter like me could have. Honestly.
But what is most important is that you get the chance to be really satisfied and happy with what you do – and that’s what really matters, right?
Best of luck to you and Rachel!
All the best Drew. While it is a shame to see you go I understand your points completely. Especially getting rid of that daily commute will increase your quality of life a lot. Just make sure you still keep up a good separation of work and freetime although you can fall into the office now :).
As to the bench thing, noted and I will keep this in mind. Working for a large, old (in internet terms) corporation is an environment much different than anything I have worked in so far, too:)
Best Wishes. It’s a common dream that I’m glad you were able to fulfill.
All the best in your new endeavour Drew.
Best of luck, Drew—not that either of you’ll need it, mind you. :) Can’t wait to see what the two of you are working on next.
Good luck :-)
Two things I don’t want in my life…. commuting and middle management. So I’m with you there. Enjoy and I’m sure you’ll be working just as hard but take time out to come for a beer in London won’t you?
Nice one, I wish you and Rachel every success with full-time seat edging! I’m glad you were able to do this as I suspect you always wanted to.
Bold move, Drew! Congratulations :)
Enjoy this new wave of initiative and innovation…
congrats Drew. It can be pretty exhilarating (and tiring) running your own business. Good luck with it all!
Wow, congratulations Drew. I guess it was inevitable that you’d both get it together in the work space too at some point. :)
As I’m sure you already know from Rachel, being your own boss has it’s pro’s and cons but it’s a very rewarding and enjoyable position to be in.
I noticed you were removed from Backyard yesterday in Y! Gone, so I went looking for more details and found this entry. Sorry to see you go, but this sounds like a significant upgrade in your quality of life. Congratulations!
You do what you gotta do. And I am all about working for yourself. So go for it… and don’t look back!
I completely missed the fact that you left a few months ago. Nevertheless, I missed quite a few things during this last summer. Anyhow, looks like you’ve disembarked the purple army afterall ;) – I’m sure you’re doing great now brutha.