That title probably sounds like an oxymoron – probably because on face value, it is! I guess it’s critical to realize that there are 2 types of change being referenced. The first one is work related, in a very specific way – regarding the languages and frameworks that are used for web development; and the second, related more to my overall position, in both my current career and the one I aspire to.

As far as the first one, I am SOOOOOO tired of having to constantly learn new languages, architecture patterns, frameworks, etc to do my job. I had just mastered web forms when MVC became the hot new framework, so I learned it. Just as I was getting to a place of mastery and comfort with it, Angular came on the scene – a COMPLETELY different paradigm. So lately, I have been learning it, and was just starting (kinda’) to get it down. And then guess what? Yep – yet ANOTHER paradigm to learn. They released new versions of Angular, and they use yet another new language (TypeScript) and another different paradigm. Ugh! I am have some serious difficulty mustering the inspiration or motivation to dive in and learn Angular 7.

Now I know what most people in the industry would say: “That’s the nature of working in IT, especially development. Things are constantly changing, and you need to be willing, able and excited about change and learning new things.” And they are not wrong in some sense. And to be certain, there are some people who thrive on this kind of thing. They are natural born coders it seems, and are always eager to learn the next new hot thing. I guess it’s pretty obvious I am not one of those people lol. And up until recently, I’ve done a pretty good job of just barely keeping up – like the guy at the back of pack of runners who doesn’t fall quite far enough to get lost, but will never lead the pack or even be near the front and has no desire to.

So that change fatigue leads to a hunger for a change that will free me from having to deal with it. I actually have an opportunity I will find out more about today to go work with an old workmate (Ian) who has a position as the CIO (or something) at this dental group. It sounds like it will be a bit of a grab bag of different development and IT related duties, and that sounds somewhat appealing to me. I am concerned they are looking for someone heavier on the SQL and reporting side, and that has never been my fortay, so I’m not sure if it will be a valid option or not. I should know after my meeting with him at 10am today.

Then of course there is the greater change I really yearn for – a wholesale change in my career, getting into being able to write full time, or do something similar. I would so love to be able to do creative stuff for a living and get out of this branch of IT altogether. I have even started making my own jewelry again, and Emilee suggested I start a store on Etsy. Of course I would have to sell a hell of a lot of necklaces and bracelets to even come close to making enough money to not have to work in IT – which is why I, like many other people I’m sure, keep hoping for those magic lottery balls to come out of that hopper in an order that will allow me the financial and creative freedom I so desire.

But for now, I am just trying to muster some tiny bit of motivation to dive in and learn Angular 7 and TypeScript. Perhaps I will experience some “coding epiphany,” it’s happened before, but at this point, I’m hoping for a meteor strike or EMP or something almost more lol. Of course, depending on what happens at 10am today, I might not have to worry about it that much. But there are a lot of considerations – standing desk, EPIC bonus, environment (not sure about hearing dentist drills all day – that cause me some doubt about that position with Ian being a realistic possibilty. But I am working on having faith, letting go of me expectations, and welcoming big change into my life. I just hope it’s the kind of change I asked for! 🙂