On leaving a great job
A bit of personal news, today is my last day at Adobe.
I've had such a fantastic run at Adobe. The people are just incredible. I got to work on so many cool products across the Creative Cloud. I worked on web apps, desktop apps, services, shared components, contributed to our design system and helped lead three amazing projects.
So, why am I leaving?
For the first time in my career, I'm struggling with burnout. Really struggling.
One heck of a year
2020 was rough for so many people. I moved from San Francisco to Florida at the end of 2019. I hardly knew anyone in my new state but had an enjoyable few months exploring before the coronavirus hit. The lockdowns, anxiety about loved ones catching the virus and social and political unrest have all been taking their toll. I've always struggled with anxiety, but this last year it has been a constant burden.
On top of that, my team took on an ambitious project at the beginning of 2020. We are building something brand new on a stack that's never been used before. Scoping the work, building up a team, and struggling to hit a deadline have also taken their toll.
The last year has left me struggling to be productive. My team has been great about supporting me through a tough time, but I can sometimes be my own harshest critic, and this year has left me feeling upset and disappointed with myself.
The goodbyes have been hard
I decided to leave a few months ago and began working on an exit plan with my manager. Since deciding to go, I haven't questioned whether it was the correct choice, but saying goodbye has been more difficult than anticipated. It's a special place, and the Creative Cloud org is full of incredible people.
What's next (short term)
I haven't dealt with burnout before. Fortunately, moving to a low cost of living city last year, I'm able to take some time off. I will work on my mental health, physical health, and finding some technologies that get me motivated again!
I'm going to try hard not to work on anything serious for the first few weeks. I want to catch up on sleep and get into a better exercise routine.
What's next (medium term)
After taking a few weeks off, I'd like to find some open source projects to contribute to. I'm particularly interested in:
- Compilers
- Bundlers
- Type Systems
- Programming Languages
- Web Performance
If you work on something like that and would be down to trade my time for your mentorship, hit me up!
What's next (long term)
While I'm not looking for work right now, if you're doing something awesome and you think I'd make a good fit, I'd love to chat about it! COVID has been difficult socially, so even if you're not doing something awesome and think I'd be a terrible fit; I'd still love to chat sometime 😅. I really miss hanging out with people.
Conclusion
I'm extremely sad to be leaving what is probably the best job I've ever had. I've grown so much at Adobe and could not have asked for a better team. If you're looking for a great place to work on a unique set of products, I highly recommend applying at Adobe.
That's all for now. Going to take some time to work on being healthier. Hopefully, I'll have some success and be back doing fun tech stuff soon!
♥️
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