I love helping people solve their problems.  For the last 2.5 years, I helped a bunch of great (and wacky) people solve their problems at my day job, and really had a great time doing it, but now it’s time to help some other people with their problems.

I’m a programmer.  I don’t like to use fancy titles like “solution developer” but that would probably be more accurate.  I’d call myself a coder if that didn’t confuse people quite so much, but I don’t think that tells the full story, either.  So why have I quit my very stable 8:30-4:30 government job with solid pay and benefits in the midst of the worst unemployment and some of the worst economic times in recent history?  Because I see opportunities.  All around, I see opportunities.  Companies are still trying to make a profit, and where companies are trying to make a profit, opportunity exists.  Many companies are reluctant or unable (due to hiring freezes) to hire new people right now, but they still have goals and dreams and desires that they cannot attain with the staff they currently do (or do not) have.  That’s where an independent contractor (or freelance developer) comes into the picture.  Companies are still having problems — some new problems and projects, some old problems that have lingered for years.

Their problems are my opportunities.

I love seeing the problem, mulling it over for a few days or weeks, and coming back with options, each with their pros and cons.  By the time I actually sit down to start programming a project, I know how I’m going to finish it.  I’ve thought it through for days or weeks, written down the workflow and pseudo-code on paper to account for program flow and potential issues beforehand.  I’ve developed a scope of work that talks about what will and will not happen in the program so there are no surprises on either side.  And I love seeing the solution.  Seeing a process that took a company 30 minutes that now takes 2 minutes.  Or something that took all night and now takes 20 minutes.  Or something that only worked okay, when it worked, and now it works really well.  That’s where my real satisfaction comes in.

Seeing the problem, understanding the problem, offering solutions to the problem via software that I develop and write — that’s what makes me tick.

As for quitting my job — these opportunities (and others) abound.   I’m going to take advantage of them.  I’ve completed one iPhone app and I’m working on an iPhone game (the first of several).  I’m not going to wait for a government bailout or anything else — I’m going to grab hold with both hands and see what happens.

This wasn’t a spur of the moment decision — I’ve been thinking about this for over a year, waiting for the right time.  It seems that everything has lined up very quickly in the last month or so, and I sought counsel (there’s wisdom and safety in the counsel of many) and everything seemed right, so I gave my day job 30 days, which will be up within a week.

I may fail in a spectacular way,  or I may succeed in a spectacular way.  But either way, it’ll be spectacular.  :)