I've done a lot of interesting work at NFJS One over the last year, but I underestimated how much travel would be involved, and now it's time to find something that can keep me closer to home. So while I'll still be doing engagements with NFJS One, I'm also looking around to see which direction to move next. Talking about it on the blog seems like a good way to start conversations with more people than I could reasonably email.
One very appealing idea is to bring many of the courses I teach across the United States to the local RTP market. I've found that the price point for training in DC, Atlanta, and Chicago is a bit higher than it is here in North Carolina. NFJS One wanted to offer consistent pricing for the NFJS One courseware in all markets, so the local market struggled a bit. I've been teaching courses on test automation training, integration testing, selenium, introduction to Java, introduction to Ruby, transitioning to Agile, and team wide tune-ups. I've also done coaching and mentoring for teams. One of the more popular engagements is me teaching your team about effective test automation, while at the same time cleaning up your existing test suites alongside them.
If you're in the Research Triangle Park area (that is to say, local to me!), please drop me a line (jared@agileartisans.com) and we can discuss details. If you don't have the budget to send your entire team, I've also hosted public training events on request. Then you only need to pay for the two to three attendees you need trained, and let other companies attend too.
I’m considering some remote training, using more of a webinar style presentation as well. I’ve already had some companies express interest in that format, but please let me know if you’re interested too.
I'm also talking to a few local companies about full-time employment. I'm not religious about being independent or a full time employee. I'm passionate about working where I can make a difference. The companies I'm talking with are interested in moving various internal efforts forward, and I find that very appealing.
One of the best ways to explore options is to discuss them publicly, so that’s the reason for this blog entry. Here's hoping some interesting conversations come my way!