Some background.
Served in the Marines where I was good at all their testing metrics.
Worked as an I.T. customer support rep where I was good fixing issues.
Was essentially “the helpdesk” at another position where I was used to fixing issues.
Learned ASP.NET MVC OOP DDWA EIEIO C# programming.
Took a position where I was able to learn visual basic / crystal reports / Power Automate/BI/ETC.
Upgraded/converted a dozen applications consisting of over 2 million lines of code (Firefox has about 600k per our future AI overlords for point of reference) to go from a progress DB to a SQL DB where the columns in each table were changed. Hundreds if not thousands of queries, redefining undefined variables so they wouldn't blow up once they hit SQL. Converting over 1,500 Crystal Reports to work with new DB….. and a million other nerd things along the way.
I managed to do this while working a ticket load of over 300 open tickets that I inherited down to zero as of Monday.
That should be good, right? Instead, I'm screaming into a void how the company needs an intranet. I'm creating caveman simple heat mapping inspection applications that simply aren't used because paper is easier than tapping with a finger. I'm integrating a ticketing system that in 2 days has the potential to award the company over 900k that previously were just unread emails for who knows how long that went to an individual's mailbox who may or may not be out of office. We were hacked by Russia one month and the next month we're getting requests to change a user's password because they are on vacation. It is common practice to simply share passwords, so work is resolved.
I made a process (based around poor definition) that would start with a conditional form, flow the attachments into SharePoint to generate image previews which would show in a MS Teams group chat along with an approve/deny button for the C-Suite. All of this data was housed in SQL with a UI to manage the requests. When a change was made, it was tied to a ticket that would auto send an email to the original customer with a conditional message based on the approval. It took their quote system from 4 weeks to potentially under a minute. They don't use it because it's a change……
My final straw was when I sent a contact us email into a ticketing system for metric purposes (how many quotes do we get a month?) that like I said above was a potential 900k extra and it was decided to no longer share the information with a group mailbox and to instead send to a new individual.
I completed the request but added a line about how I wish them luck repeating the same process and expecting a different result.
That's employee bonuses, pay raises, equipment, medical plans, and so much more that are simply ignored. I know it's just one example, but it was the very first email so it doesn't pass my sniff test as being an exception and not the norm. I want to make all these changes to better this company, but everyone has such an aversion to change, enjoys their current level of complacency and unaccountability, or are simply too ignorant to see the end goal.
I'm a good person. Married for over 15 years. I have a beautiful 7 month old daughter and a 4 year old son who is going on 13. I give so much energy and effort to my job and it feels like it is almost for nothing but self-accomplishment. Every day regardless of my workload I go home feeling exhausted. I am torn how to break it to my job that I will be moving on. I am the only developer and the company runs through IT (Why did this job blow up? Because someone typed a novel in the part number field). The company has said for the past 3 years they have been looking for additional help, but no action is also an action. I see the job listing and have been tempted to apply to it myself.
Should I do what my heart is saying is the right thing and inform my boss, the CFO, that I am looking for another position? I would be extremely hard to replace especially with limited assistance from me.
Should I do what my brain is telling me to do and trust my ability to find another job and just put my notice in now to freak them out and make them react in a way that benefits me at the risk of potentially my family?
Or should I do what society says and simply put a two week notice in once I have a solid offer letter in my hand?
My “end goal” is either 100% remote work so I can live near family, or to make enough to where my wife doesn't have to work and raise 2 children at the same time, which is a choice we agreed to.
Changelog.
1.0 Unfiltered thoughts added
1.1 Changed a ? to a .
1.2 1.1 introduced 13 new bugs which will be addressed on the 2.0 update.
1.3 Following Blizzard logic reduced fun 25% Increased cooldown by 50%