Vienna

We lived in New York for about three years before we started getting worn down by the constant stress of the city. Everything was intense, crowded, and fast. There was always a lot going on at the same time, but almost everything involved facing big crowds or long lines. Doing the kinds of things you see in movies, like ice skating in Central Park, meant dealing with huge lines and packed rinks. Going to see the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree meant facing crowds so large they did not even fit on the sidewalks, to the point where the police set up barriers to keep pedestrians from spilling off the sidewalk into the street.

For that reason, we started considering other alternatives, not only within the UN system, but also in private companies. I eventually took part in a Google hiring process in Zurich, which got me a trip to Switzerland. While I was there, I got a message saying I had made it to the second phase of the selection process for a position at an organization called CTBTO, a little-known international organization associated with the UN common system. Since I was traveling and slow to respond, they even called my home and talked to my daughter, who let me know right away.

I couldn’t get the deadline extended, so I had to leave Zurich in the morning, catch a flight to New York, get home, and still take the test that evening in order to meet their deadline. It was a pretty intense day, but in the end it worked out: I was selected for the next phase, online interviews. After the interviews, I got confirmation that I had been selected. The position represented a promotion within the common system, since I would be taking on a role one level above mine.

The CTBTO is based in Vienna, which meant another change of country. We sped up the process so we could move during the summer break, letting the kids start the school year at a new school. It was all a bit rushed, but we managed to get things organized and still had a vacation period in Brazil before the move.

We arrived in Vienna in August 2015, and I started working at the CTBTO soon after as head of the Linux administration unit. In practice, the team did more than the name suggested, but that was the official designation. We had to adapt to a new city, a new country, and also a new work environment, but it was another period of intense learning for all of us.

I’ll wrap up this account of my professional adventures here. I obviously have plenty of stories from the last ten years, but I feel they need a bit more time to mature and for some wounds to heal. I’ll definitely write about them in a few years. Stay tuned!