Just realized, I haven’t talked much about my job since I started back in October. The other day, a recruiter who saw my resume online called, and I told him, “Thanks, but I’m really happy where I’m working now.” It kind of surprised me when I said that. For a long time I didn’t ever think I’d be happy working regular business hours in an office setting.
The company I work for handles rebate and spiff programs for large corporations. We program websites so people can claim their rebates online, and we create reports for company management. We also handle the financial side – the transfer of funds. The company also offers other services that I’m not involved in, such as verifying that a manufacturer’s logo and model ran correctly in retailer ads, and doing research so manufacturers better understand how their competitors are advertising.
(I’d list the company’s name, but when people do Google searches for it, it’s probably best that they don’t turn up a blog site that talks about tube tops, bums, pigeons, and getting drunk.)
I “skin” websites, meaning I make our rebate and spiff websites look as much like our clients’ websites as possible, so people don’t notice that they’ve clicked over to us when the claim their rebates. I also do a lot of custom programming of reports and search functions.
From a technical standpoint, I write web pages mainly in ASP.NET, and I also maintain some older sites that were done in classic ASP. The sites pull data from Access (small companies) and SQL Server (large companies). I’ve learned a lot about SQL Server the past year – written a lot of stored procedures, and some DTS (Data Transformation Services) packages.
We’re also getting into a new area called “literature fulfillment” and I’m getting assigned the first project. This could be a big new source of business for the company, if done right.
Our biggest client is GM, but I got hired at the wrong time to get a piece of that account. I’ve been working mainly with air conditioning companies such as Bryant, York, Luxaire, and Coleman. I’ve also done some stuff for Shell, Volvo, Panasonic, Samsung, and Xerox.
Overall, it’s just a fantastic career path. I’m learning the programming and database skills that are the most relevant in the market today, and it’s interesting work.
In addition, it’s a comfortable place to work. One of the biggest advantages is that I don’t have to be there until 9:00. That means I can get up at 8:00 and still make it to work, which means I can stay up until midnight or even 1:00 on a weekday night and still get a decent night’s sleep. It’s a 7.5 hour workday, which means I can take a 30-minute lunch and be out by 5:00.
Most days I can wear a T-shirt and jeans to work, and even when there are clients in the office I only have to wear a shirt with a collar and pants that are not jeans. I don’t even tuck the shirt in most days.
I get along with everybody here, and have learned a lot from my boss and co-workers. Usually there’s at least one neurotic asshole in every office who makes life difficult, and in some places they’re the majority (Autozone comes to mind). But there don’t seem to be any people like that here. I guess an easygoing corporate culture attracts easygoing people.
So, basically, work is going well. Life is going well. I’m happy.