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Yup, I did it, after 11 years I decided enough was enough. Read the good-bye
email sent to my co-workers below, and check out the links in the letter - they
lead to some interesting reading about the modern American worker and the job environment.
If you're like me and are fed up with the timid, high-overhead, sluggish corporate
life, then check out the following links. Maybe it'll shake up your career
and life as it did mine!
August 12, 2003
After much soul-searching and consideration, particularly the past several months,
I've reached a point both professionally and personally where I feel the need to
move on. Therefore, after 11 years with the company, I am departing Microsoft.
My last day at work is this Friday, August 15 and my last day as an employee is
August 31.
I have enjoyed this part of my career, and the privilege of working for such an
amazing company in the history of software and the modern technological world.
I have gained an even stronger appreciation for the fact that everything we do is
for customers both personal and corporate, to change their lives and their businesses.
There are still many forthcoming ways to innovate and discover entirely new paradigms
for the application of software technology, and it will be marvelous.
My future plans are to take a short break with the family to rejuvenate, and then
begin working towards building a small business or two on my own. I'm looking
for a fundamental lifestyle change. I want to get back to the technology itself,
customers, and my developer roots once again, and build solutions that are of personal
interest and value to me. The entrepreneurial environment beckons me irresistibly.
People leaving corporate life for the unknown world of self-employment isn't new.
NPR has a current series on the phenomena at
http://www.marketplace.org/features/starting/. Read an article on the
whole idea at
http://www.startupjournal.com/columnists/startuplifestyle/20020529-lifestyle.html.
Life's short - and I intend to once again work towards maximizing my time on earth.
I'll still be hanging around Redmond and am happy to stay in touch with folks.
Please feel free to contact me at my personal email address - jimselders@hotmail.com
- and I'm in the Redmond phone book. My family web page is http://jimseld.com.
Best wishes to all of you building products for customers - I'll be watching your
work from the outside now.
Jim Selders
program manager | software update services
Hang Up and Drive.
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