About Me - work & goals

 My view of employment

• Work is a gift from God.  I feel too many people treat it as a curse.
• I believe in doing the best I possibly can; even if it isn't something enjoyable at various times.
• I believe that my work should benefit my employer.
• To excel at what I do requires continuous learning; 
• books, research papers, prototyping, self-learning, organizations like the ACM, Google and software related sites are required resources both during work and outside of work to gain and maintain skills
• Learning from others is wise; only relying on other peers is laziness.  You cannot improve at something without actually spending your time doing the work. 
• Don't just give up when problems get difficult; brainstorm with others, research alternative solutions, redefine the problem to provide a way to a different solution space, rethink the box.
• Work ethic is important to me; don't cut corners simply to take the easy way out.  If an employer requires cutting corners; make the implications known and either do your best or find an employer with compatible work ethics depending on the circumstances.
• Admit mistakes, learn from them and move on.  
• Remember to treat others as I want to be treated; abrasive personalities make this difficult but do the best to readjust self-attitude before making comments which cannot be taken back.
• Help others in need whenever possible.
• A sense of humor can help everyone during stressful time
• I should provide an honest assessment of both things that I can do and things that I am  not (overly) familiar with.  If you don't know something say so; even if you plan to figure it out.
• I should provide as realistic estimates as possible; yes a fudge factor for the unknown may be warranted.  If an organization has little/no emphasis on managing overall employee workload and the project on-boarding is a high-speed ramp then estimations probably have little value though.

My personal hope and expectations of an employer

• Respect for me and my family. 
• Respect for employees as a whole.  Actions speak much louder than words.
• Appropriate support so I may fully perform my duties to the best of my abilities 
• Reasonably clear and attainable goals
• Long hours on occasion are an expected part of the job; normal planning using 45+ hour weeks is not respectful of anyone or their families IF not stated during interviews and paid appropriately for the overtime.  In an interview, stating "occasional overtime required" but expecting normal 42+ hour weeks is deceitful.  I expect an honest assessment of the organizations needs. 
• Pay which matches industry expectations for the job function and area.
• The ability to use annual leave without a guilt trip.  i.e. having 6 months out of the year which are "too busy to use leave" is not very respectful unless it is made clear during interviews. 
• A day off should not have the normal meaning/expectation of "work from home".
• I expect managers not to use fear and intimidation as management tactics.

Hope this provides some insight into me for anyone interested.

For any readers of this that are interested in some of the biblical backing, here are some references from the New American Standard Bible of things I try to live by (but fail at all to often).

• Colossians 3:23 - Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men.
• Proverbs 14:23 - In all labor there is profit, but mere talk  leads only to poverty.
• Acts 20:35 - In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus , that He Himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'
• 1 Peter 4:10-11 - As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
• 1 Timothy 5:8 - But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.