I had meant to write this much earlier in the day, but it’s been so busy that I’m just now sitting down to hammer it out.

Today was the sixth anniversary of my start date at Automattic. It’s hard for me to think that so much time has gone by and to consider all the things I have learned, accomplished, and even gracefully failed at (and learned from!) as an Automattician.

At six years, that means I’ve been around longer than a huge part of the company as it stands now. From the time I joined to now, the company is now almost 10x the size, which I could not have imagined when I started. And we keep finding amazing people to work with, who we can hire because we don’t make them move anywhere. :)

I’m constantly grateful for the opportunity I have to work with colleagues who are as thoughful, intelligent, patient, kind, and supportive as my friends at Automattic. And I get to work with an open source ethos and a dedication to improving the ability for people everywhere to have a voice. It’s humbling and sometimes even intimidating.

Think about all the things in my life I likely would not have had I not been doing this for the last six years:

• Learn so much more about code and about how things just work, even though IMO I still have so much more to go and am nowhere near where I want to be
• Gain the ability to leave a job and path I ultimately found much less fulfilling and satisfying to work and learn from and alongside fantastic people
• And do it while now getting to spend more time with my wife and children than I could have otherwise, simply by eliminating my commute
• Travel to places I never thought I’d see or experience
• Help countless people with their WordPress sites so they can get on with making content and not worry about the technical bits
• Be constantly challenged by new problems and questions that push me to my limits and nudge me to develop new skills and proficiencies
• Help coordinate the migration of an entire platform (Live Spaces!) of sites over to WordPress.com
• Launch some of the biggest websites on the planet with some of the coolest partners around
• Re-discover my love of Doctor Who
• Learn there are other smart people out there who think pro wrestling is rad
• Overall, worry a lot less and just have fun with what I do, how I balance that with the rest of my life, and who I am

There are probably other things I am forgetting, but I have only five minutes left to publish this post. :)

I really do love what I do. Maybe you’d like to join me? We’re hiring.