So, after a pretty long medical leave of absence, I resigned from “REEX” on November 26th, worked through the 30th, and took leave through December 31st. Yes, push came to “shove it” and I told a couple of them where they could (with my eyes only, of course).
On Thursday the 29th, I saw a Tech Writer job post at a company I’d not yet heard of. I applied and was immediately offered interviews for Friday or Monday afternoon. Tuesday, I had an email offer, and Wednesday, I went to my first meeting. My first day of work is Thursday, just one week after the position posted.
I’m still spinning from the rush of it all. It’s a wonderful company with plenty of room for career growth and true professional development. It has a family feel. Today was another staff member’s last day and I could tell it was hard on everyone.
Initially, I’ll be writing small and large grants, coordinating press releases, and updating content on the website. I’ll also have a role in getting the company up to ISO 9000 standards. And get this: thanks to my photography skills, I’ll be shooting images for the new site so we can get away from using so much stock photography. wow! (At my old job, they intentionally kept me from doing photography projects because I shoot weddings on the side.)
The company designs and builds aerospace electro-optical products. One example is some $600,000 gizmos that keep satellites in the right orbit by “looking” at the stars. The company also uses what is learned on a project and makes consumer products from that technology. This same technology allowed the company to create a ~$300 astronomy laser pointer, a “StarTagger(tm)”, that can identify any star it’s pointed at and tell you what constellation it’s in. (These are currently scheduled to be on the market in about a year and should be a huge hit with schools and parks)
The office is currently in Research Park (SE corner of 2818 and University) so it’s much closer than I was before. And, in January will be moving to the NW corner of 2818 and University. I’ll be able to bike to work, again. Heck, I could walk if I wanted to.
Everyone is part of the team. The new space will have work “pods” for each product. So, when you need to work on any given thing, you are in the same room with others working on that same thing. It will create synergy and foster creativity. The rest of the office is an open-floorplan concept. So cutting edge!
http://starvisiontech.com/
Thank you Jenn, JJ, Lee, and Dr. Welch. I appreciate the urgent reference checks!
So, for the first time in my adult life, I’m saying goodbye to Higher Education (snif! snif!) and hello to a corporate environment.
Y’all keep me in your thoughts; it’s a little scary, too.