Getting drunk with the Kool Aid man.

Today the news broke that IBM intends to acquire the company that I currently intern for, FileNet, in an effort to bolster their information management package, and this afternoon management herded us into conference rooms for a fresh batch of Kool-Aid. For most employees this brew was refreshingly tasty and full of positive news, but for me it presents a conundrum. Do I want to work next year doing exactly the same thing that I am doing now, only for the IBM juggernaut?

I have not had the level of success, sense of personal development, or feeling of camaraderie at the larger companies I have worked for that I have had at the smaller ones. I suspect a large part of this is due to the general environment of smaller software development companies, which thrust responsibility on me and people in my age bracket because they could not afford or find anyone better. Even FileNet in its current state feels a little bit large to me, although the skill level of the employees in the engineering group is fantastic and I learn a lot from them, which makes the bureaucracy and lack of jokes about one’s mother worth it.

Now I face an interesting twist in the road at FileNet, one that may lead me down an unexpected path. Now just watch me sprain my ankle in a pothole.