A picture of my former LT1/6-speed vette for your time.
Tl,Dr: Got a conditional job offer pending background check that I’m going to accept.
I’ve mentioned on here that I was considering the prospect of looking for employment beyond the university library, and this afternoon I got an initial offer for a job I’ll take. I actually got a flattering offer for a term job last week (30%+ raise and fully company paid insurance benefits), but it’s not an offer I will take because of the term thing. It did suggest to me that it really is 3.5% unemployment out there, because the whole thing felt like a very different experience than the last time I was applied for a jobs in the 2010ish days. Having not been on a job interview of any type in 7+ years, it was more of a way to go on an interview for a job I didn’t really care about getting before applying for a job I actually did want.
I got an initial offer for an IT-type job in local government where I stay within the state retirement systems and get to move in the more technical direction I’ve had my eye on. Once the background check process comes back, I’ll get the official offer letter and give notice to the university. Given that I’ve had security clearances and worked in law enforcement in the past, this kind of background check is a formality.
I’ve been in a situation where I truly love what I do in the archives for the university library, but it doesn’t pay and I’ve always only half jokingly said that someday I wouldn’t be able to afford to work for the library anymore. Since I’ve so far been unsuccessful in finding a spouse with a well paying job, I’ve know for the last couple of years I would have to move on from the library. There isn’t really a path to bigger and better things from my current position, and I have no desire to go get a library degree and become a tenure-track faculty member. It won’t be easy to leave a team of colleagues that are fantastic (some of whom have become close, personal friends over the years) and the library will lose some substantial institutional knowledge about the largest and highest profile collection is has, but that’s what comes when a university has a compensation strategy that isn’t competitive at the mid-career level.
I’m excited at the chance to get to make such a substantial change and learn a whole bunch of new stuff. Most importantly, it is a position that will not only pay a bit better now, but has a pathway to bigger and better things down the road.
How’s everyone else doing this evening?