Will our Next Adventure be in the Land of Cheese?

A week and a half ago, Tygan and I had our big trip to WISCONSIN! Which wasn't originally on our map of potential places for Tygan to get a job, but things have been crazy lately. Here's an updated map:

Changes from the first map: Texas and Arizona have been removed, Utah, Wisconsin, and Michigan have been added.

This was the first interview Tygan had where he flew out to a place, and the company paid for me too!

Tygan! In the airport!

Not only was this Tygan's first all-expense-paid interview, but it was also the first time Tygan and I had been in an airport together; been in an airplane together; kissed on an airplane together; made out on an airplane together ... you get the picture. It was a big adventure.

We flew out of Salt Lake on a Thursday, and after checking into our hotel we joined some other recruits at a fancy French bistro restaurant. Tygan got duck and risotto! I got linguini with brussels sprouts and mushrooms and stuff. I didn't really like either of our meals, but maybe I'll give mushrooms another try sometime. I don't think I'll ever like duck though. However, we also had creme brulee, which was awesome. Love that stuff.

After breakfast at the hotel the next morning, Tygan went to spend the day at the company's campus. While he was being grilled, I toured around and explored the Wisconsin Historical Museum!

Poor Wisconsin. Reminds me of Idaho.

... There wasn't much to see. But I did get my obligatory selfie with a big plastic cow:

Meanwhile, Tygan and his fellow job candidates (in his own words):

1. Got an overview of the company's products.
2. Talked with a software developer about what he does every day.
3. Ate whatever we wanted at one of the company's cafeterias. I had fish tacos, rissotto, salad, and raspberry chip gelato.
4. Gave a 1 on 1 presentation of one of my projects with a developer. I think it went ok, but really have no idea.
5. Another developer asked questions about how I would approach a certain problem he presented. Same result as above.
6. Met with the HR rep and answered a couple behavioral questions and asked her questions. Same result as above.
7. Had a tour of parts of the company.

And again in his own words, here's what he learned about this company:

• Most developers work 42-45 hours/week, on average
• Very good health benefits
• Match half of up to 6% of salary for 401k
• Use some old languages but moving a lot to newer web languages
• Standardized coding practices and lots of peer review, which is good
• Your initial team is assigned, but after a year you have more say in what you're doing
• Everyone has an office
• Most high managers were developers
• It's privately-owned
• Has about 9000 employees
• I know this doesn't matter that much, but their campus is one of the wonders of the business world. It's in the middle of farms, there are tons of different buildings, each connected by a tunnel or skybridge, and each building is themed with incredible detail. And there's tons of really random art everywhere.

So overall, Tygan liked it. That night we went out for Mexican food, then crashed in our hotel room. (Well, I did; Tygan had homework. Poor guy.) On Saturday I showed Tygan some cool stuff I found the day before, like an art museum, a lake, and a specialty cheese shop!

Overall, I decided that living in Wisconsin would definitely take some getting used to, but it could work. It wasn't so much that the atmosphere was disconcerting, I just realized that I was so far away from home! I would have enjoyed it as just a vacation, but it was weird and unfamiliar to think that it could be home. I'm used to going on adventures but always having "home" (Idaho/Utah) ready for me in the back of my mind. Wisconsin is not home!

Dairy:Wisconsin::Potatoes:Idaho

But it could be home. While at first it was not one of Tygan's top choices, the company has really impressed us.

UPDATE: Tygan received an offer! They want to hear back from him pretty soon, though, and there's still a lot of interviews he was hoping to do with other companies. Wish us luck as we navigate this crazy time!