I’ve gone independent

Yes, I’ve left SAS, the world’s largest privately held software company. What would make me do such a thing? There were many factors involved in the decision, of course, but the primary reason was the opportunity to work full-time with Ruby on Rails from home. This will give me more time with my family. I’m also looking forward to doing more writing, speaking, and volunteering during the remainder of the year. Leaving was a difficult decision because I’ve enjoyed my last three years at SAS very much, but I’ve been wanting to get into independent consulting for over a year now. When the opportunity came up last month, I felt led to take it.

My primary purpose in making this post was not to cast for offers, but I do want folks to know that I’m available now. My specialties are Ruby, Rails, Java, .NET, and PHP. I’m interested in using these technologies to develop world-class applications, especially web-based applications. I also have a passion for testing and continuous integration. I’m interested in helping development teams build and install automated testing frameworks and continuous integration servers. My background in agile development processes makes these interests a good fit.

I’m not sure what the future holds for me in this area, but the freedom I’ve experienced so far is incredible. I know this is where God wants me right now. I’m looking forward to enhancing my development skills and branching out into new specializations. I’ve always enjoyed learning (due in large part, I think, to my background as a home schooled student) and now I’ve been given the chance to do so on a level I wasn’t able to before. What an adventure!