Seven years as an Apple employee

On this day, I received my package, employee number and modified badge signifying employee, not contractor (really a temp). It was a pretty sweet day going through the orientation with the other six people who made it. Back in 1999, becoming an employee through AppleCare (tech support) was a more difficult achievement but it would soon become easier in the following years due to the nature of the business changing. 
 
Today, there are only two of us left from that hiring date. Scott Smith and me. JoAnna Slimmer and Darren Doyle quit within a year and Eric Lyons died in his sleep on New Year’s Eve, it was very sad. There was another guy we didn’t know from Servers & Apps who also left. Scott and I have never been able to figure out or remember who the seventh person was. 
 
What do I get for seven years? Another vacation day to my rate. Five is always the big one because you get 100% matching on the 401k. Long ago, if you made it to five, employees used to receive a six-week paid sabbatical to recharge the batteries. People would go on trips to Europe or other exotic places, I always wanted to go to France with mine. When Jobs returned to power, he killed that program. He claimed people were using it to job hunt. Not really, Apple was already perceived to be on the ropes so people were job hunting all the time. There were dozens of people in Austin due to collect on this benefit and it would’ve looked bad to the shareholders, thus, it was cut to save money. 
 
Has it been worth it? With little hesistation, yes. It’s the longest job I’ve ever had. I have had adequate or better reviews, with the exception of 2004, but that’s another story which has been resolved and best left in the past. It’s a much easier job to explain than everywhere else I worked. And I know it is pretty lousy at many other places still. 
 
What’s in store for the next year? I don’t know. Currently, I have a supervisor I enjoy working with plus another one nearby. There could be some improvement on other fronts, including myself but I will be mapping that out with the boss and probably HR (great lesson I learned, you can talk to them for many things, they’re not around for just the negative). Much is still in limbo while Somara tries to gain some traction on her career. Fortunately, Whole Foods called back so my fingers are crossed there. Apple? They’ve been decent to me and I have held up my end of the bargain over 90 percent of the time, which is an A. I think 2006 will be a decent year through to April 12, 2007.