A Year Later
You didn't think I was kidding in my first post about infrequent updates did you?
So, in the past year, what has happened? In May 2011, I started working for Informatica's Ultra Messaging Business Unit (http://www.informatica.com/us/products/messaging/). Coming from a background with plenty of Network Engineering work, I thought I had a fair grasp of networking. Working here has showed me that I still have plenty to learn. Aside from being able to work on some of the best low-latency systems in the world, I really enjoyed the casual work environment and having passionate and accessible co-workers.
In late August 2011, I made the long drive from Chicago down to Austin, Texas. From then til the end of December, I took part in AMD's fall Co-Op term. For the unfamiliar, this is AMD's program that puts Undergrad and Graduate students in a professional setting for longer than a typical internship. With a brand-new CEO with a penchant for pirate sayings, a large layoff, and team shake-up this was definitely one of the less boring professional experiences I've had. From a professional perspective, the people I worked with at AMD were amazing. As someone with a strictly software engineering background, being around that many hardware engineers was a bit intimidating. However, I never felt left out of meetings or discussions.
Aside from work, Austin has an awesome music scene, and an even more awesome craft beer scene. I'm definitely keeping an eye out for chances to go back.
