I’m happy to report that I’m hanging up my freelance hat and putting on my gainfully-employed hat as a member of the Automattic team, which I’ve already written about more fully if you’re curious about the details. The short version is that I get to help make WordPress.com.
There are too many factors to tease out in a move like this, but one of the significant personal ones for me came down to values: I was dissatisfied with my attempts to find a work-life balance. Even when I wasn’t working, I was thinking about work too much, preventing me from being properly present to those around me. And it wasn’t getting any better.
Employment isn’t going to be a magic bullet, but I’m hopeful that this shift will help me to find a better balance so that I’m actually present to my wife, family, friends, and community when I’m not working. I also look forward to having colleagues, since the freelance life can feel pretty isolated at times. All in all, I’m really excited!
Congrats man! Happy for you and your family.
Hi Matt,
Great to hear. I have been stalking Auttomatic job openings for about 8 months now, and was wondering what your experience had been working there for almost a year now, and if you had any tips as to what skills would be helpful in being successful working there?
From the information I’ve gleaned, I really like their (your) work culture and vision for their company. I’m ferociously building the skill-set to apply.