Let me be real: job hunting feels like online dating. You’re endlessly swiping through listings, reading vague descriptions, and hoping for that click. Most days, it feels like you’re stuck in an awkward coffee date with your own resume.

But recently, something changed.

I was casually browsing LinkedIn (read: aggressively looking for opportunities while pretending I wasn’t), when a certain listing caught my eye. It was for a Network Engineer role — remote support, Cisco-based systems, enterprise-level projects — and here’s the twist: it’s contractual. And strangely enough, that’s exactly what made it feel so right.

Yes, contractual.

While most people scroll past anything that doesn’t scream “permanent” or “full-time with benefits,” I paused. Because for someone like me—someone who thrives on flexibility, loves project-based work, and has been quietly craving something exciting and fast-paced—this gig was speaking my language.

The role involves supporting large enterprise networks, managing Cisco devices, tackling routing protocols like BGP, EIGRP, OSPF, and diving into switching technologies like STP, EtherChannel, 802.1X. It even hinted at Meraki wireless and firewall experience—basically, all the tech candy I love.

Did I apply? Oh, absolutely. Did I get it? Not yet. But I haven’t felt this excited about a job in a long time.

It’s the kind of role that makes you daydream a little harder, update your lab setup, brush up on your certs (hello again, CCNA), and imagine what it’d be like to be that go-to person managing networks while sipping coffee from your home office.

So here I am—hopeful, slightly nervous, but mostly pumped. Maybe it’s not love at first click, but I definitely swiped right.

Wish me luck. This might just be the start of something exciting.