Spanky's Place

1 - I tried to post this earlier, but I guess your site was in the process of switching hosts.

About a year and a half ago, I started working for a non-profit organization for the first time. I took a small pay cut compared to my for-profit career history, but as I'm still working in Notes, the difference wasn't huge.

I find there's a big difference in job satisfaction where there's more than just money on the line. Remember though, non-profits still have their problems. People can still burn out and there can still be office politics. The reasons are different though.

Rich is right, the habits of a good developer transcend specific technologies. You shouldn't have to restart from zero.

2 - Hey Devin,

I'll definitely pray for you. As you know, God's plan is perfect and you have nothing to fear if you seek His will for your life. I'll pray that whatever direction that may be, it will become clear to you soon, and that when you do see the way you should go, God will fill you with courage and whatever else you should find yourself lacking so as to pursue it with your full passion.

Best regards,

Jerry

3 - Will do, and have done Devin!

Praying you make the best decision for you and your family.

4 - Thank you my friend.
-Devin.

5 - Ditto! Know that God has a great plan for you in whatever path He may lead you!

6 - Devin,

I invite you to take a look at your strengths and talents from a much higher level than just programming. As someone who has known you now for just shy of 10 years, I've seen some of them.

Ask yourself...
What about me makes me write great code?
What activities / tasks make me feel especially strong vs. those that make me feel weak?
What really makes me get out of bed in the morning?

Explore the answers to those questions. Those are the hard-wired gifts you were given that you bring to the table regardless of whether you are a programmer or a fast-food restaurant manager. When you find out what those are. You may be more comfortable "declaring victory and moving on."

Need help finding those strengths? Check out the (soft cover or audio) book by Marcus Buckingham, "Now Discover Your Strengths." It comes with a key to a strengths assessment test hosted by the Gallup organization. Answer the questions authentically and you'll come away with your top 5 themes of strength. He also has a 6 DVD series called "Trombone Player Wanted" {link} which I encourage you to watch. You can grab the first two for free on iTunes. Spend 45 minutes today learning about yourself in a way that may change the way you look for and land your next gig.

You may find out that you feel strongest when you are teaching others or you feel strongest when you are brewing a batch of Christmas Ale or Honey Brown (hint).

Don't rule out any possibilities and try your best not to be attached to any particular outcome. You may be totally surprised with your discoveries.

7 - I'm a pragmatist, as you know. I have a comment and a couple of questions.

Questions first:
You mentioned taking a pay cut, along with the need to provide for your family. So the obvious question is, does the prospective salary allow you to provide for them? If so, and given that you're going to learn this new skillset and be worth more money over time, I don't see an issue. If it isn't enough and you have to count on getting a quick raise to pay the bills, there's a potential problem.

Second, is this technology so radically different? Most programming jobs have a lot in common, with the only difference ultimately coming down to syntax and knowing a platform's strengths and weaknesses. Granted that you won't know those things off the bat, your level of experience should mean that you'll pick them up very quickly. So you won't be a neophyte for long.

Now the comment:
The organization does good works. This is bound to be a major benefit to you, because of your life philosophy. If your job makes you happy, makes you feel like a better person, and lets you do good things in the world, that's a job worth making some sacrifices for.

8 - I urge you to consider four things:

1. There is much to be commended about taking a pay cut to do work you believe in for good causes. Being careful to separate this from all other considerations, figure out how much of a cut you believe is appropriate for this. It's not hard to figure this out independently. Just imagine moving to a Notes/Domino job for the very same organization, and think of what compensation you would accept.

2. Consider where your guru status comes from and what it signifies. I will tell you that in my mind, 90% of such status comes not from knowing a particular system, a particular API, etc., but from knowing how to apply what you know effectively, learn what you don't know efficiently, and make the right decisions by instinct when neither of those is enough. In my mind, a guru in one technology switching to a new technology should take no more than a 10% cut, and definitely not a cut to "neophyte" wages. But you know better than anyone the nature of your guru status, so find your own number. Again, it's not difficult. Imagine moving to a job with a new technology, but in an organization similar to where you are now, i.e., no more oriented toward "good works" than what you do today, and think of the compensation you would deserve and the compensation you would accept.

3. Take the two above numbers and combine them. This is the cut in compensation level that rational analysis says you should be willing to accept.

4. Listen to your heart, and if it tells you that rational consideration is not the way to go, feel free to ignore all I've said.

-rich

9 - Thanks guys, your advice has been very helpful.
-Devin.