Wombat Mobile I should be coding or sleeping instead of this...

I realized this morning that I really miss the life of a contractor. I've been at my current job for nearly 4 years now, which is the longest I've ever been in one place. For a while I was doing 6-12 month contracts all around the Bay Area and it was a blast.

Contracting reminds me of those old tv shows where a guy just wanders from town to town each episode and goes around solving people's problems. Kind of like Kung Fu or the old Hulk tv series. Or maybe Starman? Or the A-team even though they were a group. Maybe Knight Rider, except he had his little support group. Hmm, the best comparison is probably an easily forgotten show called Stingray. Here's the summary from tvTome:

Stingray revolves around a mysterious man known only as Ray, who travels the land in a black '65 Stingray Corvette. His background is unknown. However, someone can contact him by placing a newspaper or computer ad to barter for a Stingray Corvette. He typically helps those who can't help themselves, but always asks a price: he requires that they help him out one time, sometime in the future, no questions asked. A favor for a favor. Ray has no friends but many allies and grateful customers, and only fleeting romantic relationships. He doesn't do repeat favors (although he will sometimes accept referrals from former clients). His background is unknown, although he is an expert martial artist, spy, and infiltrator.

Damn, contracting was fun. A new company each time with different people and interesting projects. Maybe a love interest every few gigs. I've been lucky with my contracts, there was always a nice sense of completion when a contact was up, although, as with those tv shows, I always got the sense that things weren't always so cleanly wrapped up after a few months after I left.

I decided to give up contracting a while ago when the economy was looking bad. Anticipating a worst-case scenario for the job market, I looked for some deep pockets, so I went to work for a national lab funded by the Dept. of Energy. It's been ok, but I think I'm just not cut out for a government job and the slow pace around here.

Actually, what I really miss more than contracting is working for a startup. I didn't get too badly burned with startups as some others I know. I worked for 5 startups over my 10 year career and 2 went public, which isn't a bad track record. I didn't experience a huge financial windfall either time, but I got enough for a house in the Bay Area, so I'm happy with that.

But looking back at working for startups, my best memories didn't have to do with the financial aspect, it had to do with the camaraderie and the sense of being a part of something great. The feeling of joining a team of smart people trying to change the world. Creating something far greater than each of us could have accomplished on our own through the synergies of a startup and pushing each other creatively and intellectually.

Heh, they say that blogging is therapeutic and helps people consolidate their thoughts. I'd have to agree. I've been pondering a job change for a while, but it looks like I need to get moving and send out some resumes. Hopefully blogging this will motivate me.

It's funny, they filmed part of the recent Ang Lee Hulk movie at the Lab where I currently work, but I have this image of the old Hulk tv series right now. The way Bill Bixby would always be hitchhiking down the road at the end of every episode and they'd play that sad, walking away music in the background.

Cue the music^*

The end of that show was always overwhelmingly sad, but, I guess I was a naive little kid, but even knowing that each episode would end in despair, I had a tiny bit of hope that maybe, just maybe, at the town over the next hill, he'd find what he was looking for in the next episode. Damn, I need to find a ringtone of that song. Maybe I'll play it when I leave my current job as I flip my laptop bag over my shoulder and head towards that startup over the next hill.

^*There's a great Hulk website at http://www.bryanshulkpage.com/