In three weeks, my position as Program Manager with one of the world's largest corporations, along with all the others in my building in Silicon Valley will come to an end.

I've been with my current employer for twelve years and working continuously since even before university, so the idea that my services are no longer needed comes as a shock. But this is Silicon Valley, California, and it's continuously in flux. I can finally bury years of legacy knowledge and look only to the future. I'm very valuable to the right employer, but the tricky part is arranging the marriage.

I see three ways forward. The first is to keep doing what I have been doing in the real-time and embedded computer field: product management/program management/technical marketing kind of thing. These are all good, wholesome, stressful, and well-paying roles. I've been in this line of business for a very long time: I started with electronics when I was ten years old and was programming at thirteen, eventually turning both skills into full-time employment. Silicon Valley is packed with companies creating the next big thing in security, networking, storage, mobility, etc. and they all need this kind of help.

The second is to go work for Apple. This seems like a natural fit, but the company is notoriously difficult to get into. And what would I do there? Apple doesn't make any real-time embedded computer products, so that's hardly a good... Wait! Yes they do! iPhones and iPods and Airports are real-time embedded computers. And laptops and desktops better be as real-time as they can be or users will be pissed cough -- Vista -- cough. I've already talked to one group at Apple and they like me very much. But they don't have an open position and have been unable to create one for me. So I'm going to continue leveraging the contacts I have and running down leads.

The third way is to do the Indie thing. I'll sit in my home office and write. I'll write articles, code, books, applications, utilities, reviews, plug-ins, whatever pays the bills. I'll do training, sell my brain by the hour, bludgeon slow payers with caustic wit, maybe even have some time off now and again. And I'll take photos. It's an attractive option -- I ran my own consulting company for seven years, so I know how it's done -- but it's also a lonely and risky one. Success depends on building long-term relationships with clients and I have no long-term clients. Or even short-term ones. Do I really want to start from scratch again?

Whatever I do, it has to be interesting and I have to be working with other smart, successful people, preferably as part of a focused team. The best position would provide a creative outlet and involve understanding new complex material. My skills for analyzing, simplifying, communicating, and educating (see my Aperture articles for example) make me particularly valuable where problems are badly-defined and even the right questions are hard to come by. It's fun to be immersed in confusion if the resources are there to create something new from it.

I've added a Hire Me page that gives more information, so take a look and get in touch if you think you have a match. And my business card really does look like the one above.

Tags: Employment, Advertising, Disruption, Silicon Valley, WTF, Apple, Writing

The second Thursday of each month sees a meeting of Silicon Valley CocoaHeads, usually on Apple's campus at 1 Infinite Loop. This month the topics are Core Animation and Related Leopard APIs (starter), and Cocoa Binding Tips And Tricks (main course). I will be there, trying to get my head around bindings one more time.

Tags: Cocoa, CocoaHeads, Silicon Valley, Apple, Interesting Stuff