I was working as an Enterprise Architect for a large grocery retailer.
Recently, couple of opportunities showed up, and I was able to get an offer from a company in the energy industry that I decided to take. It’s also an EA job, almost identical to what I was working on before. I’m starting on Monday.
The whole process, from seeing the ad on hotjobs.com, to finally getting the offer, took about 2.5 month. It was definitely worth the wait though. Along the way, I had great help from an architect I got to know through one of the conference I attended, as well as a referral from a family friend.
People from my old company asked me why I’m leaving. I actually thought about it before I decided to take on the new job with the new company. The main reason I’m leaving is that I felt that grocery industry will be negatively affected by globalization, and the energy industry will only benefit from it.
The grocery chains have faced increasing pressure from discounters like Walmart SuperCenter and 99 Cents Store. And now with Tesco’s announcement of them moving into the US market, the competition will only increase. The items a grocery store sells are mostly commoditized, you can get the same can of Campbell Soup from any supermarket and it will taste exactly the same. Since most of these grocery items sold inside the grocery stores are produced within the US, the opportunity to outsource/off-shore the supply chain is not an option. Most grocery chains deal with the increasingly competitive market by product innovation (private label, ethnic food etc…), customer service, or operational efficiency (cost reduction, process optimization), which makes it difficult to leverage the flatten global economy.
On the other hand, the energy industry is experiencing tremendous growth. The reason for this growth is not just because crude oil price has been sky-rocketing. It’s also that due to the increased communication and entertainment channels, people from third-world countries are aspiring to share the western style of living, which means more conspicuous consumption of consumer products. Many of these consumer products either requires a great amount of energy to produce or are crude-oil by-products. This demand will only increase, and the energy industry will keep on growing at a fast pace for the foreseeable future.
That was the main reason, to look at the bigger picture and make sure I’m in a growing industry. The other reasons are that the new company provides a competitive compensation package, has a flexible work schedule, and has a good reputation as having the best people.
My manager from my old company was nice enough to organize a team lunch on my behalf, for which I’m very grateful. Looking back to my careers at the grocery company, I also felt a great sense of gratitude. I was hired as a senior developer, then got laid off because they outsourced the whole development team to India. I was Lucky enough to be hired back as a software architect, and shortly after became an enterprise architect because of organizational changes. I learned all my Enterprise Architect skills here, and worked with a lot of smart and driven people. It was the best unintentional career move I made, but I ended up doing what I love and had a lot of fun along the way.
My colleagues from old company have been very supportive, and I know they have what it takes to make it even more successful.
As to my new team at the new company, I got to met quite a few of the team member during the interview. They were very insightful in their questioning, as well as eager to hear what I had to say. I’m there to share my experience, knowledge and skills, at the same time learning about a new industry as well as a new IT organization.
I appreciated the opportunity to continue my career with such a great company, and I’ll report back my leanings once I start.
P.S. There are couple of books that helped me a great deal during my job search as well as finding out what I want to do.
The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century is a great book focusing on the influence of globalization on our economy and our daily lives. It was what got me thinking about what industry I wanted to be in.
What Color Is Your Parachute? 2007: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers (What Color Is Your Parachute) has been a favorite of mine for quite awhile. It has sections that helped me determine the career I want and what I’m capapable of doing along with a lot of great advice. This is a must-read for anyone looking for a new career.