Topic for today: What do I want to be when I grow up? Part 1.

Since being laid off 3 (4?) weeks ago, I haven't been in a huge hurry to find a new job. I mean, this is why I have an emergency fund, yes? And also, there were gymnastics National Championships nearby. And my sister's wedding things to think about. But really, I haven't done more than peruse craigslist because I have no idea what type of job I actually want.

Most everyone else who was laid off (most of them went almost 2 months before I did) found a new job and are happily adjusting to the post PhotoSite work-place. I'm sure I could do something similar if I wanted to jump back into another QA or QA manager position. But I think I'd rather take a job an In-n-Out (they pay well for a fast food place and treat their employees fairly) than another QA job. In fact, other than letting down our users and not working with the same group of great people, I'm thrilled about the shut down and layoff because it got me out of that job.

What is so bad about QA? For a lot of people, probably nothing. For me? I was bored beyond belief. There is a lot to the QA job that I could have done but didn't; I could have gotten more involved with automating tests for one. But I never wanted to. The mere thought of trying some of the stuff my manager wanted us to start working on made me tired. Not that I didn't start doing it, but I had little to no enthusiasm about it. The main tasks my team did were repetitive in a way. I did them for 9 years. At a certain point, I started not caring. Which is really, really dangerous for someone doing QA. Because if you aren't going to get upset over a misspelled word on the splash page, it isn't going to get fixed. I truly don't know how I didn't make a huge mistake sometime in the past 2 or 3 years. I was forcing myself to do all the necessary parts of the job but very little beyond that. I was unhappy and depressed and had at least 30 extra pounds to show for it.

What about QA was a good fit for me? I'm a little bit nit-picky naturally. I like knowing about the code without having to actually write it. I like having an idea of how all of the moving parts work together. I like organizing things logically. I enjoy working with all the various groups - development, project management, design, etc. I like the consumer internet space. I love the casual atmosphere of software/internet companies.

Part 2 , I promise, will have less whining.