Just under three weeks left until I’m let go at work and the anxiety is quickly mounting. I’ve gotten a couple bites internally, but I’m only interested in one of them. It seems to be a small step in the right direction towards my dream job of today, but might include a lot of things I’m not interested in, so I’m still looking around. Sadly, I’ve seen very little external interest. I’ve applied for a position at GMU that I only half qualified for — Oracle and Linux Admin — mostly because it’d be a great commute that I could easily make on my bike. I’ve also applied for a few positions at Mitre and one at Booz Allen Hamilton, but they both seem to have a very long hiring process, if they’re even interested.

There are a few things I’ve learned in this process so far:

• I don’t speak the language. I am unfamiliar with Governmentese. Holy crap! The computer industry has nothing on government. This makes filling out applications for government contractors (such as Mitre and BAH) rather frustrating and depressing. I’m sure I’ve got all kinds of things covered by those acronyms, but none of it fits exactly to them.
• If I had a security clearance, I’d be golden. At least half to two-thirds of the job postings I see require a current clearance. I’m sure I could be cleared, but nobody wants to clear a new applicant. Heck, I’d even apply for some of these positions if they didn’t have a directive right at the top in BIG BOLD LETTERS saying that only people with active clearances should apply.
• Most online job application systems are terrible interfaces.

Anyway, the search continues. Here’s my updated resume (text, PDF). As usual, comments and corrections are welcome.