Image by Gossamer1013 via Flickr

So, this is it. My last day of employment at Research in Motion. After nearly five years at the company, I’m leaving a great team.

Handing in my resignation letter was a liberating experience. It’s definitely preferable to the alternative means of termination. I feel for the two thousand employees laid off earlier this year. I’ve been in their position before, and it’s not a fun place to be.

My time at RIM has seen some interesting transitions. When I started, the original BlackBerry Pearl was the latest device, marking the entry into the consumer market, from a pure enterprise position. Most recently, the Playbook has staked a tenuous position in the tablet market.

It’s been a fun ride, but it’s time to switch streams. As many resignation notices on the tech world state: So long, and thanks for all the fish. There were after all, some delicious fish along the way. As Douglas Soltys pointed out in his post yesterday, there are a number of colleagues that I leave behind. It’s been a blast working with them.

Next Monday I’ll start my next chapter of employment, with a quarter of the commute. I look forward to a fun challenge, one in which I’ll be able to directly see the results of my work in the company. That’s part of the challenge in working for a smaller company as well. There is more responsibility, but a greater stake in the rewards.

Here’s to the future.