Looking for Work!
At of November 21, 2023, I’m no longer employed. I’ve been laid off from Google’s Security Systems team as a Project Coordinator. I knew it was coming as I had a 60 day window to try and find another role. I wasn’t sure I wanted to continue to work for/at Google. The previous role I had, I didn’t feel valued nor did I feel like I had a sense of purpose. I had the opportunity for the Security Systems role, which was nice, but I struggled to feel like it was me.
The other issue was during my time at Google I learned about, and grew convictions about, Surveillance Capitalism. If you’re unaware what it is, the gist of Surveillance Capitalism is the collecting of YOUR data for profit, whether to market to you both goods and services or ideals, as well as selling it to other third parties so they can do the same. (While that is the short of it, I’m interested in the future expanding this at a later date.) Surveillance Capitalism is Google’s whole business model; AdSense. While I was making changes in my own life around privacy and security, I was making an income from a company that was profiting off others data, usually unknowingly. While I did justify my continued employment as a security professional keeping people safe, I still struggled with where my salary was coming from. So, finding out I was getting laid off was a bit of a relief. Now I feel that I can be myself and follow my own convictions without having a conflict of interest or risking my employment.
So, how did I handle the news? Well, pretty well when I first found out. I was aware it could happen again. It’d been about a year since the first wave of lay offs had happened at Google and the rest of the tech industry. And I had recently seen in the news the tech industry was doing more lay offs and Google had just laid off it’s recruiters, so when I got the call, I wasn’t surprised. I was glad it wasn’t like the first wave where everyone was just cut off. Instead I had noticed and had the opportunity to find another role for 60 days which was nice.
So now what? I’ve decided to take a little bit of time for myself. I want to make sure I’m taking care of myself and my mental health. I want to do some investment in some hobbies and interest that I care about. I’m working on learning to solder as I’ve always had an interest in electronics. I’d like to eventually build my own Game Boy DMG Color, which requires soldering everything onto the board myself. I’d also like to complete a Pokémon Living Dex as well as have completed versions of each mainline/core series Pokémon game. I own them all. Almost 10 years ago, I had bought every Pokémon game and the consoles to play them on. I just never got around to playing them all.
When it comes to work, I’d like to try something different for a bit. I’ve worked in the Security Industry for most of my career and want to try other things I might enjoy. I enjoy driving, and so I’ve considered being a delivery driver for Amazon, USPS, or UPS/FedEx. I also have taken an interest in the past in being a Tow Truck Driver. But also, I’ve considered doing a seasonal job like retail, such as Target, just because. Due to life circumstances, I never really had the opportunity to try different things and I’d like to now. I kind of want to see where life leads.
Well, those are my thoughts for now. It’s nice to get them out.
Until next time, take care, treat others the way they’d like to be treated, because that is what you would want. If you have any ideas for me, let me know!
Mark
