I'm starting this entry at the beginning of my last week with my employ-
er. I will officially be transitioning to IBM on 8/1--one day shy of my
three year anniversary with my current employer. We were informed that a
number of us would be outsourced to IBM towards the beginning of May.
They "assured" us that this had nothing to do with the pandemic that is
affecting the world, but the transition has been anything but smooth.
I would venture to say that few people actually want to go through a job
transition that they did not initiate. I know I've gone through my own
stages of grief--denile, anger, &c, but I'm confident in my skills. I
have both mainframe and "distributed" talent, so I wasn't necessarily
concerned about not making it into the transition even though I wasn't
in the "critical" group who basically got a spot automatically.
I'll be employed by IBM, but I will be on the account that serves my
current employer. Basically, I'll be doing the exact thing next Monday
that I'm doing today--I'll just be doing it as an IBMer rather than as
an associate of my current employer. It's the first time I've been
"caught" in an outsourcing scheme. Not too bad in my 11 year career--
especially being a mainframer.
This has made me reevaluate my career. Am I a bit too complacent and
comfortable with what I'm doing? Am I going to miss the #NextBigThing
due to building my career around mainframe? What can I do to make sure
that I'm not caught in the next wave of layoffs? I don't have a
definitive five year plan. I should, but I have generally found an
opportunity to explore and become competent. This current outsourcing
caught me by surprise. I believe that's mainly because this position was
presented to me as a "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity to get on the
ground floor with an IT headquarters being built from scratch in
Atlanta.
Don't get me wrong, I believe I have grown a lot as an IMS database
administrator. I'm in a much larger environment than I was before, and I
believe there's an opportunity with modernizing the mainframe
environment. If anything, I can grow my knowledge and (hopefully) play
with new functionality that is coming along with newer releases of IMS
and the growing Open Mainframe Project (which IBM is a major
contributor).
All in all, I have mixed feelings about this. There's a bit of an
annoyance with the transition (getting your work files from your current
laptop to your new one--if you can even do that due to existing company
policies, changes in benefits, getting used to new a new pay schedule,
making sure your new equipment can connect properly, &c), but I also see
some opportunity with what's going on.
It has reinforced this fact--you're providing services to your employer,
so don't become complacent that you'll be doing the same thing tomorrow.
It's also important to remember that, inspite of the marketing and feely
emails that try to give you the warm-fuzzies, your employer isn't
family. They provide you with pay and (hopefully) benefits that allow
you to support yourself and your family.
I'm happy to do what I do, and I'm happy to provide a necessary service,
but I have a life outside of work. My son turns three in less than a
month, and I'm amazed to watch him grow. I'm glad I'm able to provide
for him, but I want him to know that daddy isn't on-call or having to
work 24x7.
2020 has certainly highlighted the importance of work-life balance.
