On Getting a New Job

I had been applying for various positions for over a year, at least. Near the end of it, my manager and I got feedback that I was coming across as desperate and too focused on the financial aspect of changing positions. I'd decided to hold off until after I graduated, to see if actually having a Bachelor's would get me a larger offer. Then, someone pitched the idea that I should apply for IT.

I hadn't realized just how much I'd been obsessing over it. I'd written a training manual that included collapsible sections. I'd created an Excel spreadsheet that had backend scripting in VBA to make it do things we needed it to do that it wouldn't have otherwise. I knew how to install/uninstall programs, clear cache/cookies, and various other things I'd picked up over the years. I just legitimately never thought I was IT material, regardless of the fact that even my ex-husband mentioned that I should give it a try while we were still married. So, in the middle of September, I applied for the position, admitting openly to the HR person who reached out to me shortly thereafter that I was mildly Autistic and had ADHD. After explaining to me the financial aspects of the position prior to the interview, I found myself on camera with the person I'd initially reached out to in order to see if IT was even hiring, along with a familiar face I'd reached out to for my own IT issues in the past. It was probably the most laid-back interview I've ever had. Then, to my surprise, came the second interview. Then, another call from HR, asking if I'd need any accommodation, to which I replied 'the position itself IS the accommodation; IT is pretty much Heaven for someone like me.'

I started my new position on 10/4, and I LOVE coming to work every day.

The people on my team are the biggest bunch of loud, sarcastic, insane, random, goofy folks I've ever met, and every day I talk to them is a day I walk away with a huge grin on my face. The work itself can still sometimes be frustrating to the point I want to bang my head off a wall, but it's rewarding in that every day, I learn something new. I've even earned a certification in Java Script, and I'm now moving on to studying HTML. I'm hoping to build a $0.99 app sometime soon to get rich off of (wish me luck!)

Otherwise, I talk to people every day. Yes, it's often phone-based, but I can also chat or email with folks, or even interact in person if I work in the office (which I LOVE to do!)

It turns out someone on the team has a child who is on the spectrum as well, so nobody reacts to me like I'm a total freak or anything. Everyone's been really great about sending my learning materials in various forms in various places, and walking me through things I've never done before. One guy even wrote an awesome review of me helping him, and copied both my boss AND the CEO.

As for my degree?

I did drop from an A in all 4 classes to most likely graduating with a B in every class, but graduation is in 2 weeks, so I'm more focused now on learning coding, working with our seriously awesome department Encyclopedia of Random Knowledge person on building and utilizing some AWESOME stuff, and trying to get our condo on the market so we can buy a real house. I do miss chatting with my old coworkers, and it would be awesome if I could still build them cool stuff to make their lives easier, but such is life, I guess. We do still keep in touch, but we all keep pretty busy.