Two weeks ago I came upon a Linux Sysadmin job posting at Rackspace. I’m almost done with school so I’m currently looking out there on my future employment possibilities. Before that, I had only heard about Rackspace when we were considering hosting for a project at my current job.
I went ahead and read the job posting and it started along the lines of “Do you buy a new computer and the first thing you do is install Linux?” Yup, that's me. I have been messing around with Linux/GNU since I was 15. I remember reading that there were other free operating systems out there and I couldn't just know that and do nothing, so I went ahead and downloaded a copy of Mandrake. I burned a total of three CD's and rebooted to start the installation.
I kept reading the posting and I thought to myself, OK I know I can do most of this stuff, but what's working at Rackspace like? What is it to work at Rackspace?
I started clicking through Rackspace's website and learned what a great company they are. What I was able to perceive from all the videos and Racker blog posts blew my mind. I can tell that they are a company that is true to their core values: Fanatical Support in all they do, Results first, substance over flash, Committed to greatness, Full Disclosure and Transparency, Passion for their work and Treating fellow Rackers like Friends and Family.
I also learned a little bit more of what Rackspace does and how they are leading the way to an open cloud.
They founded OpenStack, which is an open source project that aims to make Infrastructure as a Service as open as possible, inviting any developers to join and make a set of applications that can help anyone setup their own cloud. I’m a person who really believes in the benefits that Free and Open Source Software can bring to a project, seeing how Rackspace understands this is a motivation to be part of them.
What I like most about Rackspace is their passion for their work, what they are trying to achieve. They are committed to giving their customers Fanatical Support, and everyone works towards that goal regardless of what someone's job in Rackspace actually is. Why can everyone treat the customers happily? Well simply because everyone is happy to be there. Simple as that. I believe Rackspace really compensates their employees and appreciates the hard work that they do and that feeds back to the kind of service that they give, Fanatical Support.
I've also read about Technical Career Track, which is a way that Rackspace has created to let people keep growing their technical careers without moving on to management or other areas. I believe this is wonderful, to be able to stay in a technical career path, solving hard problems, and enjoying what you do, without having to worry about where your career growth is going to take you.
I think it would be a fantastical opportunity for me to have the chance to be part of Rackspace and be a Racker. I have already applied and I'm already in the interview/qualifications process but I have to confess that I am a little nervous. I really hope that I'm up to the level of what Rackspace is looking for, and I get the chance to be part of the great family of Rackspace.