Quest to the North

I learnt a few lessons recently that ultimately led to a job change and relocation. A lesson well learnt is hard to justify since one doesn’t always know which turn leads to which outcome and if in another time, a lesson will be a curse. Perhaps a true lesson is timeless, or rather, part of the lesson itself is learning when and how to apply it.

First Feasibility

I looked over at Lisa, beside me on the balcony on a sunny Winter’s morning. “We have to go this year, Mark. You can’t keep promising that we will go.” She was right. We didn’t relocate before, although we tried to force the stars to align. I did say we would do it, but it wasn’t feasible then. We didn’t have an appropriate mastery of a desired skill set to make the transition sensible. I was looking for that moment of first feasibility and I may have nearly missed it.

Subconscious Self-destruction

The National CEO of a major auto-maker once told me that he had never turned down a promotion. I applied this to my own life for a role I was in two minds about, around the time I was assessing my first feasibility for relocating to the UK. In the end, taking the promotion was the right thing, but it led me towards an exit.

Landing the Role

Moving overseas required either my wife or I to get a job. We decided that as long as we had one job, the rest of the ugly deterrents that could face us would be kept at bay. I dealt with recruiters, online job postings and personal connections. The most fruitful was the recruiter option - he led me to companies that needed to make rapid placements.

The result was leaving a management role for a technical role at a lower salary. I hope this is reported back on as a success story from a non-linear career move.

Motive

Why relocate at all?

One appeal for relocation is international exposure as a developer. Moving far away from what you’re used to results in adoption of new ways of working. Comparing operational methods between organisations is a sure way to learn what works and what doesn’t.

Additionally, we realised that we want options for our future. With a weakening South African currency, retirement emmigration is unaffordable for most. Moving to a strong currency has its benefits in that sense. One can always move back from a stronger position later.

Arrival

My life transformed from managing a team to responding to team leadership. Perhaps the skill to learn in this circumstance is how to effectively gain momentum from a fresh start repeatably. I previously wrote code in my free time and always had a technical project that was slowly moving forward. This changed to technical work all day and creative projects at night. I was challenged to learn new tools and embark on a journey of re-creation.

Edinburgh was a whole new world at first sight. Calton Hill, Arthur’s Seat, Dean’s Village Walk and the Edinburgh Castle blew us away. Adapting to a new culture during COVID-19 is hard, but it is doable when coupled with exploration.

Treat Others Fairly

The greatest lesson I have learnt through my transition is to treat others fairly. In the past I have pushed my team beyond what is fair to match a striving performance culture. In the present, I am afforded respite even as an impossible deadline looms. Every other lesson is valuable, but this one struck through to my heart. Human dignity is paramount and I now truly know when and how to apply it.