Life, the universe, and big decisions
I haven’t had time to update this site in a week or two for a number of reasons. First off, I haven’t done any work on the DC30. I still need to finish up the new head case and get power scaling working, but the amp works as-is and I’m enjoying playing it when I have time so further modifications haven’t bubbled to the top of my personal to-do list. I have been working on a redesign for this site as I’ve had free time but other things are taking priority just now.
Back in mid-February, I posted that I was working on sending out resumes and taking various civil service and psychological exams. These came to some fruition this week as I was offered one of the jobs that I applied for. It is a very challenging position, maybe even on the leading edge of library technology, with the a large library system in New Zealand. Christchurch, to be specific. My wife and I often talked about relocating to New Zealand should a position arise. Now we need to decide if we will carry though on our desire, or if this was just a pipe dream. Complicating the decision even more, I think I’m a viable candidate for the directorship of any one of several libraries near where we live in New York. Each of these opportunities would be very challenging and force me to move beyond my comfort zone and learn new skills.
I am, to borrow a term, deeply conflicted: Work in an exciting forward-looking technology position that I know I will excel at, or stay local and shepherd my career down a administrative path with (arguably) more long-term potential. Relocate to a great place that I’ve wanted to go for many years, or stay in metropolitan New York near friends and family. In many ways I would much prefer to go to New Zealand but my chief reservation would be typecasting myself as the “computer guy” and losing out on further career advancement. Another significant reservation would be if we moved to New Zealand it would be a permanent move. We would need to put aside a sizable sum of money as a “bail out” fund we could use to relocate back to the US if necessary. That wouldn’t be a problem, but re-establishing myself in my profession would be much more difficult. Ultimately, I think the devil will be in the details. How much will it cost to relocate, what would we gain by going, what would we lose. This is shaping up to be the most difficult decision of my life.
To be continued…