Wait, what?!?

I know, I know, it seems like I’ve been changing jobs a lot lately. So much so that I haven’t even written posts about some of them.

Note: This has always been one of my favorite New Yorker cartoons from way back in the day when I lived in NYC. In the 1980s, this was a real phenomenon on the Upper West Side.

It’s been a very difficult time for the industry, for DevRel in particular, and for me individually. And trust me when I say that when things are unstable in the employment area for me, things are unstable in a lot of other areas for me. It hasn’t been a fun ride these last 3 years or so.

Some basic numbers for you, this year (2024) alone:

That’s a lot of folks out of a job. If you look at it over time, it’s not really any better:

Are you depressed yet? Thanks to this post, those of us in DevRel are even more depressed:

It has not been a good time.

Leveling off

All of that being said, it seems as though things are beginning to level off a bit. Yes, tech companies are still laying people off in droves, or driving them to quit, but there does seem to be some light at the end of the tunnel.

I feel extremely lucky that, throughout all of this, I have had little trouble finding a new position as old ones melted away. This is not true for everyone and I am sad that others are having such a difficult time. Having been through about 22 months of unemployment not too long ago, I can certainly empathize with your plight. As I have said many times, if there is anything I can do to help, please, don’t hesitate to reach out. Even if all you want to do it talk, grab some time on my calendar and let’s chat!

Where I landed

All of that being said (and no, I’m not going to go into the specifics of all the jobs that have come and gone, at least not publicly) I have landed back in the world of IoT and I couldn’t be happier! I’m at a small company called Zymbit that does high security for Raspberry Pi devices. And by “high security” I mean virtually impenetrable.

We make our own hardware (based on the Raspberry Pi compute module) that we enclose in an extremely secure enclosure. If set up properly, it means that if anyone manages to open the enclosure, the device inside is rendered useless. All data, programs, etc. are unrecoverable.

We also make Hardware Security Modules (HSMs) for the Pi that can help secure your off-the-shelf Raspberry Pi. Once set up, the Pi, the SD Card, and the HSM are inextricably tied together such that you cannot remove the SD Card, put it in another Pi, and have access to anything stored on it.

If you’ve followed me for any amount of time, you’ll know that I am extremely vocal about security in IoT (or the lack thereof, as the case may be). It’s one of the major factors, in my opinion, limiting more widespread adoption of IoT technology.

I’m really chuffed to be back in IoT, and working on a solution that makes IoT edge devices incredibly secure. Keep checking back as I will be posting a lot more on Zymbit, and how to secure your IoT deployments.

Bonus: I got a new 3D printer not long ago, and decided to make a Zymbit Logo sign. Came out pretty cool I think!