Author: Claude

Dear fellow investors, friends, family and future self.

Welcome to my second portfolio update or the year 2025, I hope you still enjoy them. Now let’s get into things!

On the professional side, things not so good, but not so bad. The company that I am working for is not investing anymore into the Berlin office and I think they just want people to leave, to hire in other cheaper locations. This reflected in my annual performance review, where the results were less that expected. The things are not so bad as I like what I am doing and learning a lot, flexible times, home-office when I need it and good engineering culture. The compensation part and not having a level promotion would have been just a title change, as the salary would not have increased too much. What they changed this year was that the bonus we got as RSUs will be converted in cash, which I find a good move for short term, as I will get that salary percentage each month, instead of waiting for 4 years to vest. I still have 40% of my RSUs unvested, which means that I will lose them if I leave the company, basically 40% of my annual bonus in the last 4 years. I’ve written here an article about how RSUs work.

I will look for a new position after summer vacation, but no rush in finding something immediately, unless is something better than I have here.

Continue reading “Portfolio update – June 2025”

Dear fellow investors, friends, family and future self.

Welcome to my first portfolio update or the year 2025, I hope you still enjoy them. Now let’s get into things!

On the professional side, things are still calmer now and I do a lot of different and interesting stuff I came back to the technical side and I enjoy it, although I think from time to time about the manager path. But when your calendar is so free and you can do the work under your own pace. no more endless meetings that keep you tied to a chair when it’s nice outside, no more juggling 7 balls in the same time, no more constant sensation that you are not doing enough. I am still looking for a new position, but no rush in finding something immediately, unless is something better than I have here.

Continue reading “Portfolio update – March 2025”

Dear fellow investors, friends, family and future self.

Welcome to my fourth and last portfolio update or the year 2024, I hope you still enjoy them. Now let’s get into things!

On the professional side, things are calmer now and I started again to like what I am doing. I am not holding a management position anymore, but a technical one, but I still enjoy it. No more endless meetings, no more juggling 7 balls in the same time, no more constant sensation that you are not doing enough. I am still looking for a new position, but again, no interview processes yet to reach later or final stages. The search is on going, but I am not rushing in finding something immediately.

Continue reading “Portfolio update – December 2024”

Dear fellow investors, friends, family and future self.

Welcome to my third portfolio update or the year 2024, I hope you still enjoy them. Now let’s get into things!

On the professional side, things are looking not as good as expected: still no good options for a new job, only some initial talks with some companies. The market is quite screwed at the moment, the are a lot of people applying and wanting to change jobs (some unemployed) and the competition is bigger that the previous years. At my current work place I am also transitioning to a new team, let’s see what this change will bring.

Continue reading “Portfolio update – September 2024”

Dear fellow investors, friends, family and future self.

Welcome to my second portfolio update or the year 2024, I hope you still enjoy them. Now let’s get into things!

On the professional side, things are looking not as good as expected: I did not get the raise I’ve expected and I’ve lost some motivation in my job. Also, the position is quite demanding, with a lot of balls to juggle, and I’m getting mentally tired of it. Still testing the market, still no concrete offer, but thing look good, as I am getting leads, even though I have only two years of experience in the manager position.

Continue reading “Portfolio update – June 2024”

Dear fellow investors, friends, family and future self.

Welcome to my first portfolio update or the year 2024, I hope you still enjoy them. Now let’s get into things!

On the professional side, things are looking good: after a reorg in my company, I got to keep my team and my leadership position. We are now in the middle of the anual compensation review process, and I am expecting a considerable raise. I am also testing the market and there are indeed opportunities that pay 30-40% more than my current position, but nothing materialised with an offer so far. The market is not in the best shape at the moment, like it was in 2021, but things start looking better.

Continue reading “Portfolio update – March 2024”

Dear fellow investors, friends, family and future self.

First of all, I am very sorry for skipping the quarterly update, this year I promise I will post them on a regular basis again. Welcome to my first and last portfolio update or the year 2023, I hope you still enjoy them. Now let’s get into things!

On the professional side, things are looking good: I got my leadership position back in the beginning of the year, managed a big team and survived a busy year with no major incidents. I got a 7.5% raise in spring, but still not enough to cover inflation, as the increase in prices started to take a toll on the family budget, especially for the bigger things (like home renovations). I also managed to travel more business related, having four  company trips in the last year.

Continue reading “Portfolio update – December 2023”

Dear fellow investors, friends, family and future self.

Welcome to my third portfolio update or the year 2022, I hope you enjoy them. I’ve decided to post updates at the end of the quarter, as things are not so interesting every single month. Now let’s get into things!

On the professional side, things are looking okish: my team got dissolved, I’ve moved to a new team where I will have to learn new technologies and frameworks. It’s good in a way that I am exposed to other stuff, but again I will need to go through a learning period. I hope that I will get my former position back, I have strong signals on this path.

Continue reading “Portfolio update – December 2022”

Dear fellow investors, friends, family and future self.

Welcome to my third portfolio update or the year 2022, I hope you enjoy them. I’ve decided to post updates at the end of the quarter, as things are not so interesting every single month. Now let’s get into things!

On the professional side, things are looking better: I got promoted! The company is still reorganizing and finding its path to being profitable again. I am hoping that it will succeed, as I have some RSUs that will get vested soon and I hope in their appreciation in value.

Continue reading “Portfolio update – September 2022”