I’ve had an actual “job” since I was 15. Of course, my first work was mowing lawns as a kid, moving firewood, cleaning up rental houses, the usual “make a few bucks” stuff. When I was 15 I had a chance to become a beta tester for a book called something like “Windows 3.1 for kids”. Of course, once that book published, I had to enter the real workforce, which led to the upper crust position of Jack in the Box grill guy. Over time I moved up the ladder to Wal-Mart, pushing carts, and ultimately working in the electronics department. In my junior year of high school, I joined a small independent computer shop in a strip mall called ICB computers, managing to get in 40 hours a week while in school. There I beat my head against the wall trying to resolve IRQ conflicts by swapping jumpers in ISA cards, installing the oh-so futuristic 5″ “bigfoot” hard drives, and generally figuring out the world of the PC. Many years and jobs later, I’m 35, so I’ve had a full time job for around 18 years.
It was this comfort of always “having a job” which caused me to struggle with a very tough question – was this the time to branch out into my own business? Would there be enough work for me to sustain my family? Could I manage such a daunting task? Ultimately, I was compelled to take the step, and as of Oct 2014 have launched Advanced Research Consulting Corporation.
[EDIT]
Originally I planned to stop blogging, but I’ve had a number of requests to keep it up! So – I must bow to the community and get back to frequent posting. 🙂
-Austin