My 3rd Year at SETWorks

Last Friday marked my 3rd anniversary at SETWorks . I thought I would take the time this year, to reflect on the last year and look to what the next year will hold for me. (Inspiration in this task comes from the wonderful Thomas Gloude Whittaker , CEO of BlueModus , who will always be an inspiration to me).

Three years ago when I joined SETWorks, it was big leap of faith. I had spent the majority of my career in typical Tulsa IT shops. Lots of work, lots of stress, for companies that clearly did not have the same priorities as me. Prior to joining SETWorks I had been fortunate to work for nearly two years at BlueModus, which showed me that a company can be successful while putting it’s employees first, and treating everyone with dignity and respect. This set the bar fairly high for any future jobs, and it made me do a great deal of due diligence before accepting a senior dev position at SETWorks. I could only hope I had made the right decision and that I was moving on to a company that was run half as well as the one I was leaving.

My hopes were answered, and then some. SETWorks has been a dream job for me. The companies vision, from our Co-CEOs, Henri McCracken and David Lindell , to our leadership team, to the rest of the company is well thought out and executed. Working in great technologies, with a great engineering team has been incredible, and most importantly, the end result of our work is helping people provide services in the disability services space, so I feel like my daily efforts are making a positive impact, however small, on our world.

I am a problem solver at heart. Usually I prefer to solve problems with technology, which is what led me to be a software engineer in the first place. But that problem solver mentality has also let me to take on challenges and roles in companies and organizations, simply because I see a need that is not being met or a problem that is not being solved, and I want to be part of the solution. Not long after joining SETWorks, this led me to taking on team lead, and then engineering management position. This hasn’t kept me from continuing to get my hands dirty writing code and solving technical problem, but has enabled me to grow as a person and co-worker. I am proud of everything our team has accomplished, and how we continue to improve everyday, and hope that my contributions are helping to move us forward.

The last year, specifically, has been a bit of a whirlwind. Challenging projects, mentoring junior developers, working alongside a great management team has all been wonderful. There have been some hard moments. When you have 20+ years of experience in a field, it’s hard to accept that your ideas are not always the best, or the best for a particular situation. Letting the ego go, and taking the best ideas from everyone in the room to move a project forward is it’s own skill, and one that I work on everyday, as I am surrounded by some very talented individuals. The truth of the matter is, in software development, if you aren’t learning new things, you are going to get left behind. I’ve worked hard to absorb as much knowledge from as many people as I can.

Looking forward to the next year, I don’t expect the challenges to lessen, but I am excited to see what the year holds for both myself and SETWorks. It’s a rare thing in this industry to wake up every morning excited to get to work, but that is honestly how I feel every day of the week. I am grateful for my opportunities, and my co-workers, and especially SETWorks leadership team that make it all possible. I am confident that my 4th year at SETWorks will be the best one yet.