It's time to say goodbye to the News and hello to the new

I wrote my first business column for the Deseret News in March 2002, shortly after Salt Lake City hosted the Olympic Winter Games.

In the ensuing nine-plus years, I've used this space to opine on business issues, talk about money lessons learned by my children and family, answer readers' personal finance questions and, most recently, address the topic of work/life balance.

I've only missed a couple of weeks during that time. And while I'm not saying every column has been a gem, I have genuinely enjoyed writing about business and interacting with readers.

I've mentioned several times over the years that I'm not a big fan of change. And yet, this week, I'll make my biggest work-related change since I started at the Deseret News on Feb. 2, 1998.

This Friday, Sept. 2, will be my last day at the News. I'm leaving my job as managing editor of deseretnews.com to become managing editor of a Web team at another Salt Lake company. (Although I'm not severing ties completely — I'll continue to write this weekly column.)

I've held several positions at the DN since I started here — business reporter and editor, sports editor, assignment editor, assistant city editor, Web editor — but those changes were always within the same company.

I've been fortunate to make excellent friends at the News. Some left before me, voluntarily or in last year's layoffs. Others were here before I started and will remain here long after I leave. I'll miss them all.

But as much as I talk about disliking change, I confess I find myself very excited to try something new and to attempt to build a career outside of journalism.

Don't get me wrong: I'll always love newspapers and deadlines and big stories and ornery reporters and demanding editors. I imagine the first time some huge news breaks while I'm at my new job, I may even wish I was back in the newsroom, feeling the familiar rush that only comes when you're racing the clock, trying to deliver the most complete story to your readers as quickly as possible.

But I also know that, for me, it's time to move on.

I've read and written several times over the years about changes in the workplace. One common theme has been that, while people in the past expected to work for one company for their entire careers, such is not the case anymore. Rather, people should expect to change jobs several times.

I'm at that point.