Under construction

Today my holidays start and I will spend them ... working : Tomorrow I will start redecorating my new house. Basically it will be just some cleaning, painting, and small repairs, no major de- and reconstruction.
In two weeks I plan to move to the new place and I hope to be ready by then, and I still have to do a lot of packing.
The next three weeks will be quite busy, just like the last 3 months actually. ;)

Dreamjob

Changing jobs is always some sort of a gamble. Will I like it? Is it as described in the vacancy? Is it as I expected it to be?
Therefor, it is important to know what you want and expect of a job.

Taking my current and past job experiences in account, this is what my ideal job would look like :

• It should have something to do with technology or IT. I enjoy creating new things, so some programming, engineering or research should be envolved.

• I have to believe in what I'm doing or what I'm being part of. The long-term project or product should be something I can support and be commited to. Maybe some sort of Open Source project, or cutting edge technology.

• Considering my health, it is important I get enough sleep. Although I always enjoyed doing project work which involved long, irregular hours and traveling abroad, it's better for me if I can have less demanding hours.

• I don't mind forensing, to a certain extent, but I'd like to live near where I work. Working in the same city where I live, is therefor preferrable. For a dreamjob, I would even consider relocating, even if it means going abroad.

• The working atmosphere should be nice. Getting along with my colleagues is important as I'm around them for a major part of the day, and maybe even for a large part of my working life.

Selection test #2 : trip to VUB

I went, I told them what I know and I got a job!

This morning I went to Brussels, for the second time this week, for a job interview and written selection test, this time at VUB. The job I applied for is very similar to what I do now, i.e. system administration of linux servers.

The written test, in the morning, went well, explaining some linux and digital library terms and answering some sysadmin related questions. In the afternoon, I had an interview, with more questions about linux, libraries, me and my motivation. And although I was quite nervous, it went well.

On the way home, I got a call, telling me I was ranked first and congratulating me with my appointment as sysadmin.

I didn't expect to hear from them so soon. I thought it would take at least a day or two, before they would let me know the outcome of their deliberation. But it didn't take that long, so I'm very excited getting that job.

I have some thinking to do and arrange a few things, soon, as they would like me to start in March already.

Studying ex, working in

Some close friends and family saw it coming, but I finally decided to stop studying. It's not that I'm no longer interested in physics, nor that I don't want to know more about it, but I can't bring myself to studying for exams anymore. I had a good time studying at the university and I have learned a lot over the past few years and I have met a lot of interesting people in this period, but it's time to go on and get to something else.

I've been looking around for the past few days, wondering which direction to take. I'm going back to working, that's for sure, but I have nearly endless possibilities. I can go back to my previous employer or the automation industry in general, but having gained some Linux, sysadmin and web development skills during the years I've spent at the university, I might as well apply for a job in that field as well.
I could look for a job in, or near, my hometown, but nothing is restricting me to go looking further, maybe even abroad.
Right now I'm looking what's available and feasible on the job market, in Belgium and abroad. I've started applying and probably will begin doing interviews soon. And I will continue to do so until I find a job that's best for me.
I'm not really in a hurry, so I can take my time evaluating the opportunities I come by and choose the most interesting one.