I’ve decided to leave Klippa to become a freelance developer and consultant.

TL;DR: See the About and Hire me pages for more information.

Whew, it feels good to finally share this after keeping it under wraps since January.

I can hardly fathom that the 6th of June will be my last day at Klippa, and that time has flown since then. I will start working as a freelancer in July.

What can we hire you for?

See also the pages mentioned in the previous section.

You can hire me as a developer or advisor for development teams.

For example, I help you determine functional requirements and priorities with a customer, make code design plans with fellow developers, help inexperienced developers improve their skills, and more.

I can also help improve the maintainability of projects by introducing quality tools, technical documentation tools, and writing down issues, among other things.

Every team has different needs, so I would have to come over and work with the team to find out how to help.

So, freelancing

I’m going to be honest here; there is a mental health component to this decision:

The professional freedom from my old job and during the COVID-19 lockdown taught me how much I value working from home and on my schedule. Being neurodivergent, returning to stressful morning routines, chronic lack of sleep, and mandatory 09:15 standups affect my health badly.

I also don’t want to wake up in ten years and wonder what working as a freelancer would have been like. Maybe it’s not for me or too stressful, but I’d rather fail and find out than not do it at all.

With an upgrade to the home office almost done and the school summer holidays coming up, timing couldn’t be better.

Thinking about the possibilities, I’m rather excited about all this!

Leaving Klippa

For those unaware of the IT scene in Groningen, The Netherlands: it’s like a village where everyone knows everyone within three handshakes. There is no saying goodbye here, and I won’t do that.

The people in this company are fantastic. I’ve lost count of the number of nationalities represented in the employee pool and people who form a team despite cultural differences. There are many events, both organized by the company and by groups of like-minded folks.

I’m happy that I’ve had a chance to experience this company and learn more about myself in the process.

Some excerpts from my announcement email:

Leaving was a hard decision since Klippa is a pretty cool company. However, Klippa and I are going in different directions, and it's better to "quit while it still hurts."

I'll leave with fond memories of fun colleagues, events, general silliness, unexpected dinners, IKEA Assembly Evening (IYKYK), and new development knowledge.

I recommend Klippa for developers who live near the Groningen office and are looking for a new job.

What about your other job?

You might know I have another job besides Klippa as a coach at Bit Academy / Noorderpoort.

I hope to continue working in education for one or two days a week. This will likely require a didactic or pedagogic degree, which is something to look into.

Wrap-up

We’re two months away from my last working day at Klippa and my start as a freelance developer. It’s a bit daunting, but I’m looking forward to it!