In early 2008, I was working in ITS at SVSU. I was working with good friends and had a stable job. I didn’t enjoy it. I dreaded waking up and going to work every morning. I couldn’t see where I was going because I wasn’t going anywhere. I developed sleeping problems and took Lunesta for over a year to help me sleep.
Take a Risk to Follow Your Dreams
In late January of 2008, I was in San Francisco for the MacWorld Conference and Expo. I attended a WordPress meetup and met Matt Mullenweg. A week later I applied for a job at Automattic, started contracting shortly after, and was hired as a Happiness Engineer in the middle of March.
When I broke the news to my family they were worried. They wanted to support me, but didn’t understand it. I was leaving a steady paycheck where I had worked for over 8 years. Automattic was a young company which didn’t exist until the middle of 2005 and there were only 20 employees. The economy was heading in the wrong direction and I was venturing into the unknown to work from home for a web company.
I went with my gut and my heart. I took the leap.
Make the Most of Your Opportunities
When you work for a company like Automattic, everyone is a rock star at what they do. “Where do I fit in with these people?” is a common thought for new employees. You soon get over it and hunt out your co-workers to learn everything you can.
This type of learning started for me when my Dad taught me the value of hard work. When I was about 12, he helping me with my first paper routes. I took that knowledge on to mowing and raking lawns in high school. If you work hard and do a good job people will pay for your services.
Good Things Will Happen
You may not reach your dreams or goals for a month, a year, or several years. Keep at it. Enjoying what you do is one of the greatest feelings in the world.
Today is my first day in a new role at Automattic. I’ll be working with Matt as his Technical Assistant which is a position similar to an idea Bill Gates had at Microsoft.
Our company has been hiring at a rapid pace. We have 60 employees and there are no signs of slowing down. To help with growth, many of my first projects will involve improvements to our internal systems.
I’m very excited about this new opportunity and look forward to the future of Automattic.
Nick Momrik 
Wow congratulations with your new job role. 🙂
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Well done Nick on the new role and a great, inspiring post for those of us that almost let the external pressures get the better of us and force us off our gut career paths!
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Congratulations, Nick, well deserved! The new role is exciting—can’t wait to see the cool stuff you’ll be working on.
I love your attitude about hard work and setting goals. In my view, if you set a goal and work hard to get there, nothing is impossible and the sky is the limit.
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I knew you were meant for better things while you were there. I’m impressed with where you’re going. You’re example was what I needed to cut the cord too.
Does this mean you’ll need to leave the area soon?
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I might travel once a month to meet up with Matt. I do want to move out to AZ though.
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I just saw your update to users re email enhancement. Very nice. You seem to be doing well, and made the right choice in leaving SVSU.
Maybe you could live in Phoenix and work for Automattic? I wish I could do that! I live about a mile from the Phoenix Zoo, where you took those nice photos. You might miss the Saginaw summers though!
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Your promotion is just about the perfect transition I can see to even better things. 🙂
Btw, I think you are a great example, and Automattic is a great place to excel.
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