I recently started a new job at a media/tech start-up called Sharethrough. It’s been great so far – I really like the people and the work. Before that I worked for about a year doing consulting and really missed working on a product as part of a permanent team, so the switch back has been awesome. I don’t regret trying out consulting but I can tell after 2 months out of it that my heart is really in creating a product that me and my team have ownership over.
Some things that I’ve found interesting along the way:
1. The Incredible “Start-up”-iness of Sharethrough
Sure, I’ve worked at small companies before, but this one feels different. We’ve got a ping-pong table, a beer fridge, investors, a board, a young CEO, a rapidly-growing staff, a liberal “dogs at work” policy… all the trappings of your typical modern start-up. It’s cool, and makes for a very pleasant environment. Sometimes it’s weird that my office is cooler than my house, but I’m getting used to it.
2. Pair Programming
Our engineering team works in pairs pretty much all of the time, which is fairly new to me. And when I say “works in pairs”, I mean literally working on the same task on the same computer with the same person for 8 hours or so. It’s intense and it takes some getting used to, but I now prefer it to working alone (or “soloing”).
3. The move from .NET to Rails
For the past bunch of years I’ve been working almost exclusively with the .NET platform. I really liked it (and still do) but I wanted to branch out and try working professionally in a different language. I noticed that all the companies I found interesting were using Rails, as well as a lot of my friends, so I decided that my next position would be at a company using it.
It’s been a real trip – it feels very close to learning a foreign language. I’m working hard to get up to speed but I still have a ways to go. Overall Ruby is a pleasure to work with, and I like that the community is young and vibrant.
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As with every other tech company in the Bay Area right now, we’re hiring. Life’s too short not to love what you do, so check out our website, find a job that interests you, and join us.
Peter Kinmond 