Every new beginning...

I got laid off today.

Well, I found out I'm getting laid off. My last day at my current employer is at the end of the month. But they made the news official today.

You may know that I'm only a part-time content creator. The revenue I get from YouTube, Patreon, etc isn't at a level that I could live off of, so I have a full-time job to pay my bills. It's actually a nice arrangement, as it plays into the "don't turn your hobbies into your job" advice that's commonly offered. I agree with that; as soon as your livelihood relies on a hobby, it changes the relationship and now all the stresses that come with work make it less enjoyable. I put a lot of effort into my YouTube videos, but I've always been able to have a separation of sorts between the business and creative sides. If a video doesn't make any money, that's a bummer, but I can still pay my bills.

So with an end date to my current full-time employment on the horizon, and the IT job market being fairly bleak, one would think that needs (paying bills) would eclipse wants (keeping a hobby a hobby) and I'd declare myself a full-time YouTuber.

But I'm not.

Because I already have a new job lined up ;-)

The only sticky bit is that my schedule is going to be absolutely wack for a while. I'm still expected to do my regular work at my current job, while also training the outsourcing company that's replacing my entire department. This will likely entail extended hours, eating into the evenings I spend working on episodes. And after I start my new job, episodes will probably still be less frequent than I'd like as I settle in and eventually establish a work-from-home schedule. Not having to spend 90 minutes a day in traffic lets me redirect that time to research, scriptwriting and editing. But for the first few weeks at least, I'll need to be in the office every day as I learn about the new environment and get to know my direct reports.

I've had to take breaks from videos before, and it works out fine. My channel doesn't fall off the map, and it also lets me pause the biweekly production schedule (that manages to expand to fit all of my available time) so I can get some work done on bigger or more in-depth episodes. I have a couple in mind that have been on my backlog for too long, and I look forward to finally knocking them out. And in between, when I can, I'll try to get some more straightforward videos produced. Here's a sneak peek at one: What was using the Mac in its early days really like? Perhaps not as magical as legend would suggest...

Don't worry, Unimplemented Trap will continue on a (hopefully) weekly basis. And I've got some Patron-exclusive videos on tap, much more casual topics than I'd otherwise publish publicly. If you have an idea for one, let me know -- if it's quick to shoot and something I have access to, I'll make it happen.

My previous beginning -- 12 years ago, a year before I started creating videos on YouTube -- is coming to an end, and it's bittersweet. But as the song goes, ends are where new beginnings come from, and I'm looking forward to the evolution of my professional career. I think it's the best thing for my channel too, as it keeps it a hobby and something I'm less likely to burn out from.

As always, I appreciate your support, and thanks for watching.