I’ve got some big news to share around my role at VMware!

Last May I’ve hit the two-year milestone at VMware as a Senior Consultant.

This has surely been a wild and awesome ride.

That’s why I wanted to share some insights from myself about this time and what the big news is about.

Time has flown by as well. Working in projects and traveling to different countries almost every week showed me that time is valuable and that there’s such a big difference in work- and personal cultures between these countries.

When I just joined VMware, and started my first real work at a customer, I was pretty nervous. But that feeling quickly vanished as the customer was really, really happy to see someone from VMware onsite. And that someone was me!

All customers I have visited ever since, were more than happy to receive me onsite. This is a feeling that is hard to describe in words, but let’s say it’s awesome and gives you a giant boost!

In the meantime, I have attended around 200 flights and am almost able to mention the stewardesses by name.

VMware takes very good care of its employees. Work equipment such as a laptop, phone and accessoires are of top-grade quality.

Training courses for VMware solutions are free of charge, including travel (as most courses are given in the head office in Staines, UK, if you’re in Europe).

So, even if you’re looking to specialize in ALL solutions, there’s no one holding you back.

The project life can be pretty hectic, especially around planning and availability.

However, I have always been in a position where I could discuss with the project manager or directly with the customer around these challenges. I was able to find the perfect balance between working onsite, traveling and spending time at home.

Spending most of my time at projects, there’s also time for leisure and VMware takes care of this by organizing internal events such as TechSummit. This event is once a year and the location switches between Europe and United States. With me being in 2 years now, I was able to attend both (last one was in Las Vegas!).

It’s really mind blowing to see so many colleagues in the same room. If you’ve ever attended VMworld, you know the feeling when you go in for the kickoff session. That’s the feeling I got during our internal event.

 

 

Currently, I’m in a taxi in Ireland. Heading to a customer site for a 2-week project. And it’s probably going to be my last project at VMware.

I’m having an awesome time at VMware, so why leave? Well, almost 10 years ago I was playing with a thought. A thought around starting my own company. This thought came by every 2 or 3 years, but I never took the step as a new job was already presented to me and got my attention. This happened 3 times now, so I guess it’s a third time’s charm as I finally decided took the step.

This month will be my last at VMware and 1st of August I’ll be kicking off my first project as a freelance consultant!

So, what is this airbending stuff? Well, besides that it rhymes on vendor, it also means that I won’t be focussing on VMware solutions exclusively. I’ll be focussing on all technologies I have been in touch with in the past and new ones as they come by.

However, VMware solutions are still my favourite and will be my primary specialization for now.

To wrap up, I would like to give VMware a really big thanks for their trust and effort in me! I’ve learned very much during my time as employee, met some amazing people and was able to see much of the world while traveling for work.

And a warm thank you to all colleagues I worked together with, especially my PSO NEMEA colleagues that always were available for a chat, question, call or a nice evening out.

I’m not saying goodbye, I’m saying see you later!