Why I Move Jobs

A friend of mine who has a very fine job recently asked me, and a couple of other friends, how we decide when to take a new job. The issue came up because he was made an out-of-the-blue offer from a company he knows, but he isn’t looking and has, in fact, only been at his current job a relatively short while (less than two years).

It’s a good question, and since I made another jump early this year I thought I’d go through my list to review…

My current job is, I hope, a dream job. I don’t think there’s only one, but when I left my previous full-time gig, I made a list of the companies I wanted to work for. There were two companies on it: SpaceX and Disney, and SpaceX was far and away the #1. So I sent a resume, and about eight months later I started here.

That approach has, however, been an anomaly. It was actually fun to go remember why I take new jobs. For one thing, I can tell you, I’ve never left a job for more money (in fact a few of my moves were definitely pay reducing). I find that interesting. Here’s how the rest of my career path went, chronologically:

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Tiny House – A Year in a Caboose

yellow car in front of a yellow caboose

That month I lived in a Yellow Caboose and owned a Yellow Subaru

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Working Here — Week Four

So moving to California (and coordinating with my fiancé, who is not QUITE out here full time yet), starting a new job at SpaceX, and trying at ALL to do homework/research/thesis work for school has me rather busy!

But I wanted to do a quick update… this place is insanely cool.

The philosophy that seems to permeate the culture here is one of “of course we can do that”, coupled with pushing ourselves and each other to answer “how quickly can we do that, and do it well”?

Every barrier I’ve seen in other companies is torn down. Meetings are pretty efficient and only as long as necessary. No one gets upset if you don’t attend; you’re an adult, you know how your time is best used… if someone NEEDS you to attend, they’ll make it very clear. They’re adults too.
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California – Week One

Wow, so, let me catch you up:

  • Got engaged to Mary Ann
  • Moved to Los Angeles, CA last week and started a new job at SpaceX

Ok, I guess it’s just two things, but they’re REALLY big things!

Once More Into the Bitcoin…

Last time I talked about Bitcoin, in 2011, I said this:

Prices quickly went from a few dollars to around $30, although they’ve now backed off a bit to around $20/BTC (Bitcoin).

And, you will notice, I was not predicting great things from Bitcoin (although I DID admire the underlying blockchain and proof of work technology).

Seven years later, let me follow up.

First, despite what I said, I did do some bitcoin speculation myself. I ended up losing thousands, not because I didn’t make the right choices in market timing and investment… but because I was part of the MtGox Hack. I lost several thousand dollars, the equivalent of about five bitcoin at the time, which would have been worth $50,000 today.

So that sucked.

Despite that, I got back in a few months ago, using Coinbase, gained back about the amount I lost in MtGox, sold all my bitcoin and bailed. I’m completely out now. I checked this site where you can learn about digital Asset management easy explained and apply it to your life to take good care of your money.

I’m not saying that Bitcoin prices won’t go higher. They might.

But I AM still saying that I don’t believe in its long-term stability. And let me tell you why.
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