Happy New Year! With the coming of the new year it’s time for me create my 2025 career goals and post them online so I can force myself to actually attain them! (I wrote that line to have a sarcastic tinge to it, but I’m not sure if readers will read it that way. Ah, one of the major pains of being a writer. Enough, Brittany. I way off on a tangent and the readers want to know about my goals.)
My 2025 Career Goals: Continue My Journey To Become A Software Engineer
One of my 2025 career goals it continue my journey to upgrade from a Data Center Technician to a Software Engineer at Google. Will that happen this year? I’m leaning toward no, but there is a slight chance I could make a successful transition. For that to happen I need to accomplish the following:
- Submit working code changes into the codebase: This shows not only can I write good code, but other coworkers who review it think so too.
- Continue to write and update technical documentation: There’s quite of bit of outdated documents that are waiting for anyone knowledgeable to update them. And there’s need for someone to create new documentation for upcoming services and/or procedures.
- Widen my professional relationships to include additional individuals from other teams: Not only does this help me get to know new people, but also create the opportunity to share information and improve productivity for both parties.
- Improve my programming language skills: I will continue to improve my Python skills. I’m also interested in continuing my C/C++ education. I plan to do this through books. Yes, actual books. I love to read!
My 2025 Career Goals: Move?
Yeah, I’m thinking about moving this year. And by moving I mean transferring to a different work location. If I’m able to do that with a Software Engineering role, that would be fantastic! However, if I can’t then I would transfer to another Google data center.
Why is moving one of my 2025 career goals? Frankly, I’m not that fond of Tennessee. As a lifelong Georgia resident I find living in its upstairs neighbor a boring. Also, the road infrastructure is worse in Tennessee than Georgia. I did move to Nashville to see if that would make life exciting, and it did for a bit, but I’m back to wanting more.
Where am I thinking of moving to? Here’s a list of all the states containing a data center I’m interested in:
- Georgia
- Virginia
- Texas
- Arizona
Now, if I’m able to get a Software Engineer job I would probably transfer to the Bay Area, Pittsburgh, or Raleigh. That’s where many openings are. (Granted, there are others in the Seattle area, but I’m not sure I would want to move there.)
I plan to travel to Texas (and possibly Arizona) this year to get a feel of the different cities. I already traveled to Virginia a few times in 2023 and 2024 to perform some work in the data centers up there.
When I would move would be around after August 1st, as I have to work in my current role for 12 months before transferring to a new role. So I wouldn’t start looking for a new position until late June or early July.