• The Job Title: Systems Programmer II
• What it actually is: The University is going to be pulling all of the various departmental web sites and tools that have sprung up over time under the umbrella of one centralized Content Management System (Vignette, in this case). I’ll be programming and porting apps to the new system, doing user support, and doing some sysadmin work. This will give me a chance to dig even deeper into Java and to see whether Vignette is worth the huge price premium over Conversant! Should be a fun and interesting project, and plays much better to my professional strengths and direction than did being on the Server team at EA.
• The Pay: While it’s one of the best-paying jobs I’ve seen posted on the University’s job beard, this position pays about 20% less than my old job at EA did. While this represents a fairly significant drop to our family’s income, it should still be enough for us all to live on, especially with Kathy’s mad garage-sale skillz. (Heck, with gas prices shooting up, the mere savings from not having to drive to Austin daily will make up a fair portion of that cut.)
• The Compensatory Factors: There are a number of things that make the pay cut worth it to us. The fact that the University is about seven blocks from our house means that I’ll be able to bike to work daily, enjoy lunch with family and friends in San Marcos, and not have to spend two hours a day in the car. The University provides good educational benefits, and good leave policies. (No 100 hour per week crunch here!) The creativity and diversity of Universities is something I’ve always found a treat to be around, and was what I missed most after leaving my job at UNT. And finally, the stability has some appeal after being through this last layoff at EA.
• When: I should be starting on Monday, or Wednesday if the paperwork gets delayed.

I want to thank all the people who prayed, prodded, supported, encouraged, enquired, and reconnoitered over the past couple of months. (A special thanks to the folks who encouraged me to go back and apply a second time after they’d closed the position without hiring anybody the first time around.) I’m immensely grateful for all of your support and help.

P.S. Everyone enjoyed the soup.