I started a new job last week. So far, it’s been great. I no longer dread going in to work each day.

I think the following exchange is an excellent example of why working here is so much better.

Co-worker: The current system doesn’t do that, we’ll want to add it at some point. Management is probably selling that feature to a prospective client right now.
Me: They aren’t the “we can do anything you want in just 4 weeks” type of people, are they?
Co-worker: No, they haven’t sold anything i haven’t told them i could do yet, either. They check first.
Me: Must not have marketing degrees.
Co-worker: Nope, engineering. Not professional liars.

I’m still working in Cleveland, so the drive hasn’t changed. Molly is very relieved that she’ll still have me to drive her to work in the winter.

The company is a lot smaller. There are only 10 employees, whereas my last employer had 300 employees. While I’ve noticed some drawbacks of working at a smaller company in the past (my first two jobs were at small companies), I feel some of those issues are mitigated by the fact that this is a product-driven company rather than a project-driven one.

I haven’t quite settled in to my new job yet, but I strongly feel that this change has been very positive.