Leaving Microsoft

I joined Microsoft in 2005 to work in the Intelligence and Homeland Security practice of Microsoft Services. I resigned from Microsoft on Feb. 29, 2008.

I am grateful for the opportunity I had to work for Microsoft. During my stay at Microsoft I worked as a software development consultant, architect, and manager, sometimes all at the same time. My managers were always very supportive of me. They put me in charge of growing the business and managing the project delivery in a couple of key areas and gave me a lot of freedom to do so. My team and I didn't disappoint. We had very significant revenue growth driven by successful project delivery due to a lot of hard work.

If everything was so great then why did I leave Microsoft? I am at a point in my life where I can do things differently than most. I am 49 years old, my children have been raised, I am virtually debt-free, I have a decent amount of money saved, and I live very frugally. So, I am leaving Microsoft because I can, not because of any specific negative reason. I have a couple of itches that need to be scratched. Who knows, after I have scratched my itches I might consider rejoining Microsoft.

What's next? First, I am not retiring even though I can afford to. Anyone who knows me knows that I like to work hard. I will probably continue working until I drop. I figure I have at least 20 years of productive work life remaining. Second, I am considering whether to resume my Ph.D. studies. Over 20 years ago I dropped out of the Computer Science Ph.D. program at University of Michigan because I had a wife and three children to support. While I can handle the academics I am not sure if I have the temperament to go through a formal program. Third, I like entrepreneurial work. I enjoyed the couple of start-ups that I have been involved with. I see one or more new ventures in my future.

At a minimum, I am taking the month of March off. I have a long list of technical topics that I want to dig into. After March I have no specific timeline for my next venture.