2026 & a new direction
Been thinking about the current work climate.
Been thinking about what it is that I actually want (need) to do with my time.
Been thinking how the IT industry has changed significantly over the time I've worked on my previous 3-4 projects, whilst at IBM.
Been thinking what "used to be fun".
Been thinking "how do I get some of that fun back"?
As people who may have worked with me over the years, I don't chase the money, I'm not doing work for job titles, awards, external validation, recognition for promotions, or any of that other corporate bs that you are spoon fed as a way to manipulate & control you into a certain way of life.
I have always followed my heart, my passion and desire to do things that make a difference in the world, technology and the IT industry just happened to be my tool / mechanism to do that. I confess that for the past 3-4 projects, I did fall into a trap of very specific deskilling environments & projects and I have slowly watched & felt the effect of the big corporations dumbing technical people down so they all just become business analysts and project managers, either managing real offshore humans or AI model tools to do the same thing.
For about 5 years (over the past 6-7), I have had the luxury of working / leading a team of enthusiastic & genuine future up and coming IT professionals who actually inspire and want to make things, try things, learn things, make a difference. The vibe was more akin to a startup company or a university lab hub environment, it was great, we would invent things from a very small vague requirement and see what we could do. Unfortunately, this got railroaded to become more production output focused rather than creative / inventive.
This has led me to a fork in the road, not a crossroads, a fork, I have a choice. I can choose to continue doing the same old same old, just to get by OR I can take some risks and do what I used to do on a regular basis & that is to follow my heart & venture into newer & different things that I have a passion and care about.
Obviously, this doesn't mean I'll jack it all in and become a ski-instructor or go and teach scuba-diving (although those thoughts do appeal, they are not really "me"), so therefore, sitting pondering and reflecting, what is it that "I" actually enjoy, what do "I" want to dedicate the next 5-7 years of my life to? what will keep my brain cells working, what will have a positive impact and do something useful? What is NOT driven by growth margins and shareholder profit for large corporations?
I see the slow creep of "AI" being forced into companies by large corporations continuing, that juggernaut is not going to stop, there has been far too much investment. However, as I mentioned previously, I always wanted to build a hobby "garden-bot", the technology just wasn't there at the time & I also wasn't! I was working away on client sites around the world, barely having enough time for myself, let alone doing a thing called a "hobby". Well, times are different now. I have that time.
However, I do not believe that the corporations are the right way to work in places that are going to genuinely help humanity and the world.
If I could describe the projects, the implementations, the approaches, the designs that I have worked on for the past 10-20 years, they can ALL be re-mapped over to doing something useful in a very different way.
Am I looking to be a multi-millionaire building up and industry leading company that will dominate a vast market share and make profits and more money than can ever be spent? No.
So, what options do I have?
If you ever watched Halt-and-Catch-Fire, on the final episode "Joe" moves on from start-up companies and decides to teach at a university. Now, I'm no university professor, the thought horrifies me - however, I do have 30+ years of real-life, in the trenches, IT implementation experience, not just managerial bullshit, so I can bring my Engineering skills to the table and use that to help inspire the young minds that can and WILL make a difference to THEIR future and the PLANETS future.
I've just got to figure out a way to make that happen over the next 6 months. Not just talk about it, but do it.
https://github.com/YnotZer0/awesome-robotics
I watched a few inspiring videos last night that helped to re-enforce my decision, this is exactly the mindset, the approach, the drive, the vibe, the "tribe" that I have been looking and seeking for, this is where I need to engage. I just have to figure out how. I love a challenge with a purpose:
and this is also the next stage of evolution - EUROPE (&UK) needs to bring MANUFACTURING back home, it needs to be SOVEREIGN again, we need to be the MAKERS, not just the consumers - that is where the world screwed up over the past 20 years, we've become users / consumers, we need the resurgence of makers again - and these makers need some help from oldsters like myself, just to guide them and help them to reach their aspirational goals:
https://updates.prototypecap.com/p/why-you-should-start-a-robotics-startup
https://www.studentrobotics.eu/
I just have to have a broken wisdom tooth extracted via knock-out surgery and then I'll be back on this mission for the whole of April / May - I have a goal / vision now, I am inspired.
It is interesting that the "IT Industry" that I used to love and feel embraced by now feels so cold and heartless, with no valuation of having genuine skills. It's a sad day for the "IT Industry" and I do feel that a LOT of Gen X-ers, like myself, will start quietly walking away over the next 2-3 years and there will be a HUGE impact on businesses that have relied on the likes of myself to keep their engines / machines running. That kind of know-how cannot be recreated by GenAI, it just cannot.
Will we care, yes, a little bit, because we do, it was how we were brought up, however, we'll either be enjoying our 50s doing early retirement stuff that we postponed to do the corporate things for so long, or we'll be switching over to do things that make a difference and NOT FOR PROFIT.
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