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*                        ### Transitions ###                           * 
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*                           July 27, 2020                              *
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I'm starting this entry at the beginning of my last week with my employ- 
er. I will officially be transitioning to IBM on 8/1--one day shy of my 
three year anniversary with my current employer. We were informed that a 
number of us would be outsourced to IBM towards the beginning of May. 
They "assured" us that this had nothing to do with the pandemic that is 
affecting the world, but the transition has been anything but smooth.

I would venture to say that few people actually want to go through a job 
transition that they did not initiate. I know I've gone through my own 
stages of grief--denile, anger, &c, but I'm confident in my skills. I 
have both mainframe and "distributed" talent, so I wasn't necessarily 
concerned about not making it into the transition even though I wasn't 
in the "critical" group who basically got a spot automatically.

I'll be employed by IBM, but I will be on the account that serves my 
current employer.  Basically, I'll be doing the exact thing next Monday 
that I'm doing today--I'll just be doing it as an IBMer rather than as 
an associate of my current employer. It's the first time I've been 
"caught" in an outsourcing scheme.  Not too bad in my 11 year career-- 
especially being a mainframer.

This has made me reevaluate my career.  Am I a bit too complacent and 
comfortable with what I'm doing? Am I going to miss the #NextBigThing 
due to building my career around mainframe? What can I do to make sure 
that I'm not caught in the next wave of layoffs? I don't have a 
definitive five year plan. I should, but I have generally found an 
opportunity to explore and become competent. This current outsourcing 
caught me by surprise. I believe that's mainly because this position was 
presented to me as a "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity to get on the 
ground floor with an IT headquarters being built from scratch in 
Atlanta.

Don't get me wrong, I believe I have grown a lot as an IMS database 
administrator. I'm in a much larger environment than I was before, and I 
believe there's an opportunity with modernizing the mainframe 
environment. If anything, I can grow my knowledge and (hopefully) play 
with new functionality that is coming along with newer releases of IMS 
and the growing Open Mainframe Project (which IBM is a major 
contributor).

All in all, I have mixed feelings about this. There's a bit of an 
annoyance with the transition (getting your work files from your current 
laptop to your new one--if you can even do that due to existing company 
policies, changes in benefits, getting used to new a new pay schedule, 
making sure your new equipment can connect properly, &c), but I also see 
some opportunity with what's going on.

It has reinforced this fact--you're providing services to your employer, 
so don't become complacent that you'll be doing the same thing tomorrow. 
It's also important to remember that, inspite of the marketing and feely 
emails that try to give you the warm-fuzzies, your employer isn't 
family. They provide you with pay and (hopefully) benefits that allow 
you to support yourself and your family.

I'm happy to do what I do, and I'm happy to provide a necessary service, 
but I have a life outside of work. My son turns three in less than a 
month, and I'm amazed to watch him grow. I'm glad I'm able to provide 
for him, but I want him to know that daddy isn't on-call or having to 
work 24x7.

2020 has certainly highlighted the importance of work-life balance.