So, right now I'm inspired to write about something a little less than fun - pinkeye. It's nothing horribly detrimental to the overall picture of my wellbeing, but alas - I have come down with it in the last 72 hours. And, I can say that it itches. Frequently.
I got to thinking about how my dry, itchy eyes could translate into a post about software engineering and money. Then, the phrase "scratch the itch" occurred to me. In my case, what I imagine that referring to is making a career change. Even if you find yourself comfortable and content in your current role, sometimes you have to jump to something new to find out if your comfort was from complacency or not. Though, you have to be careful scratching itches. If you scratch too often you rub the skin/eye raw and make things even worse. So, plan carefully if you do intend to make a job jump - because the last thing anyone wants on their resume is "Unreliable" or "No follow through" or "Flighty". (Contractors/Consultants - this last line doesn't really apply to you as much.)
Now, it's pretty easy in some cases to know when to start looking for a new job. There's a slew of evidence that make it relatively obvious that you might be in a toxic work environment - I'm not really interested in diving into those right now. What I'm talking about is considering changing jobs even when things are going very well for you.
Software engineering as a profession sits on a pretty steep demand curve. Though I won't go into my current pondering about elasticity of demand around development salary, suffice it to say that even as developer talent continues to get more expensive, the current demand for developers in most jobs continues to increase dramatically. US News and World Report lists 3 of the top 10 in demand jobs as IT related. The rest are in healthcare. Similarly, CNN Money reports that 3 of the best 10 jobs in the US are in the technology field. As far as hiring goes, technically inclined people (vis-à-vis geeks) have reached rock star status. While I wouldn't recommend throwing your next latte in your intern's face because the foam wasn't airy enough, engineers can command excellent things from their careers. Just because things are going well for you now doesn't mean they can't be better, as long as you're willing to look.
To be fair, if you're already working for one of the top 14 tech companies to work for then the most you can hope for is ensuring your needs fit the company's needs - because it's usually pretty difficult to improve on "the best". There are ways, but they're much more subtle than outright job jumping.
What do you think? Is it worth it to scratch the itch?
