Confucius didn't know that money talks, bullshit walks.
I feel comfortable enough to finally announce the good news, pardon me if I’ve already told some of you.
During the month of November (four weeks), I will be working in a back-fill capacity with an engineering-level team. We phone techs call them Tier Three because we occasionally escalate cases to that level if it entails matters outside the GUI, involves integration with a third-party OS (Active Directory readily comes to mind) or the customer has a special contract. Normally, when the word “engineer” is stated, people think of a designer, developer or programmer. I think it’s in their titles for salary and job-responsibility reasons because they do work with customers unlike a software designer would.
So what exactly will I be doing? Nothing terribly radical from what I already do. The difference is going to be the means and scope. Means: these engineers communicate by correspondence more often since their base prefers it, ergo, I will be drilled in writing etiquette by my Drill Sarge Dave. As you can tell, I love to write! This part I have no trouble with. Twenty-five years ago, I continued to turn in rewritten homework with my CoPA 001 teacher until I earned the grade I desired. My average was around once. Scope: the engineers work beyond the GUI frequently (their customers are versed in command line/Terminal), go the extra mile on solutions (the line stating the cut-off is “farther back”) and they file their findings with HQ directly; in my role, I submit mine through an intermediary engineering group. In short, these people are the Delta Force/Navy SEALs of technical support (SAS or GiGN in other nations).
Am I worried? I’d be a liar if I said I wasn’t. Am I excited? You bet, this is the next level of challenges in what I’ve been doing for 18 years (I consider my DG gig the beginning). Do I want this spot permanently? Yes. I applied for an opening over the Summer, the interview went poorly. It didn’t bother me though. I got an interview! My foot was in the door and I had a great conversation with Sheree (she’s in the group and she has always been a supporter of my career over the last 10 years!); she explained the role which killed my initial fears and inhibitions. Inhibitions? Yeah. Over the last year, the managers of this team requested me for a backfill and I said, “thank you but I can’t, I have my duties and I’m not very smart.” Good thing those Tier Three people are nice and persistent.
I’ve digressed enough. It all starts tomorrow and I’m going to be working even harder than I already do. This may result in fewer updates, fewer e-mails being answered, rushed chats online/on the phone, etc. Please excuse me in advance and wish me luck. Everybody I know at Apple says, “You’ll be fine/great/successful.” They better know something I don’t! I keep hoping I will just black out for the month and go into the Avatar State, kicking ass as I go.