Working on Venus?

This used to be my resume page, with lists of what I knew, what degrees I've earned, and where I worked. Surprisingly, this seemed to attract occasional job offers, some interesting, some not really. In the interest of narrowing these to the most interesting, thus saving the time of both myself and the head-hunters, I've revamped this somewhat.

The most important point to get out first is that I'm pretty happy where I am, both geographically and career-wise. That does not, however, mean I would not be willing to take a new job, but it does raise the threshold of acceptability for any potential offer.

Salary and Benefits

Perhaps I'm unusual, but cash is not really a primary consideration. Working at a university, my salary is already considerably less than what I could expect in an industry position, so what really keeps me here and keeps me happy are the benefits. That said, I'm unlikely to take offers which would not result in at least a modest salary increase unless they are really interesting.

As far as benefits go, an academic position offers considerable flexibility in my working hours, which I appreciate. It also offers an opportunity for investigating related areas of personal interest, rather than requiring a narrow focus on the strict requirements of the job.

Small update: now that I'm out working in the real world, any new offer is likely to require being both interesting and a reasonable salary increase over what I'm making at my current interesting job located two minutes walk from my home.

Potential Job Positions

Unix System Administrator

This is what I do at present, what I have the most experience with, and what I expect to do for much of my career. Minor responibility for other OSes such as Microsoft and Apple platforms is acceptable, but the more they feature, the lower the job ranks. NT holds potential for future interest, but in its current state offers little more attraction than MSDOS.

I am particularly interested in Usenet and Email administration at the Internet level, and will look more favourably on jobs that lean in that direction. Email at the LAN level, particularly with products such as cc:Mail, MSMail and a number of others is a certain disincentive.

Also very interesting to me is the area of network security, again mainly at the Internet level. This interest is more at the design and implementation of secure networks at the hands-on level than at the theory and protocol stages.

Web Developer

I've done a fair amount of this recreationally, as well as maintaining servers and writing a small amount of CGI as part of my sysadmin job. The web is quite interesting to me, and there are many areas I might be interested in exploring related to it. On the flip side, I would probably not fit well at most companies, as modern marketing is far too reliant on flash and glitter at the expense of content, and I will simply have no part of that.

Software Developer

I've done my share of coding during my university years and as part of my work. I enjoy the challenge of solving problems with software, but I also do not typically enjoy extended projects. I frequently enjoy beta-testing software and making design suggestions, so QA is not out of the question, but I doubt I would fit well with the more formal QA process that larger companies must typically employ.

Broader Fields of Interest

As you should have guessed, I'm quite partial to the academic environment and the flexibility it offers. Thus positions at academic institutions will be considered with greater interest. However, some R&D environments such as Xerox PARC also may be attractive.

Working for a company that produces a product that interests me is also a plus. A unix sysadmin position at a Japanese animation company would get my attention very quickly. Likewise, such a position at a cycling or music company would be of above-average interest; a position with a recumbent manufacturer doubly so, though I'm not aware of any large enough to need much unix support staff. Working with a unix (particularly Linux) porting team at a video game company would also be attractive.

Geography

I like Vancouver (well, most of the time). Continuing to work in the Vancouver area is a plus, but most any other coastal area would not be a significant minus. Moving to a flat, middle-of-nowhere location would put a job offer at a disadvantage.

I'm not a big fan of heat or humidity, so anything too equatorial is at a serious disadvantage. Cold on the other hand is not such a problem, but it's nice not to be so far away from the equator that you lose the normal day/night patterns. I would certainly prefer a region (and job) where it is possible to cycle to work much of the year.

Staying in Canada certainly simplifies my life, though moving to a new country is not beyond consideration. Many parts of the US would be acceptable, and living in Europe could be attractive. Japan in particular is quite interesting to me, but other regions in the pacific rim could also be given consideration.

I will not work in a politically repressive country. China and probably soon Hong Kong would thus be at a serious disadvantage. Singapore would require serious consideration. Countries under Islamic governments are pretty much out of the question.

Home to Fry Cooks on Venus

Working on Venus?

Brian Edmonds <brian@gweep.ca> May 1, 1998