Ten years ago.
I was a recent University graduate, arriving at IBM’s R&D site in Hursley for the first time. I remember arriving in Reception.
Reception – the view that greeted me when I arrived
Ten years.
It was a Wednesday.
I’m still at the same company. I’m still at the same site. I still do the same drive to work, more or less.
For a *decade*.
How did that happen?
It was never The Plan. The Plan (as cynical as it sounds in hindsight) was that I’d stay for two or three years. I figured that would be long enough to get experience, and then I’d leave to work at a small nimble start-up which was where all the “cool” work was.
The Plan never happened. A few years passed, and then another few… I kept saying that I’d leave “later” and before I knew it a ten year milestone has kind of snuck up on me.
I think I’m more surprised than anyone. I’ve never been at any place this long. I was at Uni for five years. The longest I was at any school was four years.
It’s a serious commitment, and one I never realised that I had made. I’ve not even been married for as long as I’ve been with IBM.
So why? Why am I still here?
I’ve tried to explain 
