My first interview with LSD was in 2016 and didn’t end up getting hired afterwards. At the time I was a self-taught developer working as a sysadmin, with very little production development experience aside from a few bash scripts to automate things.
Fast-forward to 2020 and I’m the lead developer for a device management company programming automated configuration and administration of devices for all the big telcos in South Africa. In the meanwhile, I’d also been working with IoT technology building sensor devices and web interfaces to monitor the readings remotely. At this point, I decided it’s time to contact LSD again for another interview.
The interview was in February 2020 and I received an offer on Saturday the 28th, a leap year, and immediately messaged my current employer to hand in my resignation. There was something about LSD. To me it wasn’t just a job, it was a culture, a family. Felt it the first time they interviewed me and could still feel it. Accepting the offer and preparing to start on the 1st of April, knowing about COVID-19 and what’s happening, we go into lockdown.
LSD had already practised working from home the year before and had everything prepared. There were remote morning standups in place and, being a tech company, everything could be orchestrated or supported from any computer connected to the internet. Team and client meetings became completely virtual though everyone adapted and business continued as usual, if not better.
At some point, I felt like I was living in a Sierra game from the ’90s. Jones (Jonas?) in the Fast Lane. Working virtually with people and a technology I knew nothing about though quickly applied skills I’d built up over the years to understand and get involved. All from the comfort of my own home. In a way, it was great, though still felt virtual at the same time. At times I questioned myself, “Is this even real?” or “Do I actually have a job or am I just hanging out with friends online getting paid to build and fix things all day?”. There was even a day in mid-April where our CEO made a joke about me starting on April Fool’s Day.
Eventually, after around 6 months or so, we met for a social. It immediately felt like home being with everyone, talking about work and interesting things in a social situation. LSD is a family of people who are passionate about technology and we are all a little crazy in our own ways. There’s a fine line between genius and madness.
So, TLDR, starting a new job is easy and amazing if you find the right fit. Even during a pandemic.
