Sabbaticaling

I’m taking a sabbatical.

I’ve been working full-time for about nine years, on six teams across three companies. I learned a lot, worked with good people, and generally enjoyed the work-life balance. I made a career pivot from data scientist to software developer. I took the jump from a big stable company to a startup. I went from individual contributor to team lead.

But even so, I’ve been a little bit more conservative in my career than I wish I’d been.

A reliable job with health insurance is a blessing; one with the perks and pay of the tech industry even moreso. But for all the alarmism about AI automating away the whole industry, I’m confident those jobs will still be here in six months.

Like most people, I never have enough time. I want to build more toy apps, work through my nonfiction book backlog, visit Southern Europe, blog more (ha!), speak at some conferences, tackle new fitness goals. And after almost a decade of life out of college, I want to figure out what the next decade should look like.

Well, now’s my chance. My last day at Capital One is January 17. I fly to Europe late that evening, and I’ll spend about a month in Portugal, Spain, and Italy. I’ll be giving a keynote at UC’s Analytics Summit in May. I’m running several distance races in Chicago next spring, along with the marathon in the fall. I might finally sign up for swimming lessons so I can check a triathlon off my bucket list.

And I’ll also be mulling over what’s up next, with an eye towards smaller companies and maybe some independent consulting work. If you know of any good opportunities, send them my way!