[TriLUG] Not Linux: Anyone else feeling the pain?

[Carl Crider]

 Forgot to add that I'm nearly at the point of taking 2 lower paying gigs
closer to home (Chapel Hill) just to make it easier for me. I ride a bike
and use the bus these days, so I do get a financial break when it comes
to commuting.



On Fri, Nov 21, 2008 at 1:35 PM, Carl Crider <c.crider at gmail.com> wrote:
>  That seems to be the biggest issue for me right now ... being happy
> in your job. I really
> enjoy the work here. The learning curve has been the steepest yet, but
> I've made it through,
> and there is always a new, challenging project ahead. The downside
> being that I am a
> contractor (employee-like-personnel) and have no room to move up ...
> or laterally. I'm staying
> put but looking for something else because of the recent cuts.
> Luckily, the wife makes decent
> money and we're not in fear of losing our home. Searching for a gig
> right now is as tough as ever.
>
> Oh well.
>
>
>
>
> On Fri, Nov 21, 2008 at 12:29 PM, Steve Litt <slitt at troubleshooters.com> wrote:
>> On Friday 21 November 2008 11:32:01 am Robert Dale wrote:
>>> On Fri, Nov 21, 2008 at 11:21 AM, Steve Litt <slitt at troubleshooters.com>
>> wrote:
>>> > On Friday 21 November 2008 09:44:05 am Robert Dale wrote:
>>> > An employed person never knows when an even better job will pop up. And
>>> > you just stated another benefit of putting it in the main list -- if you
>>> > were employed and on the jobs list, your employer would find out you're
>>> > "looking" (as if we're not always looking).
>>>
>>> This is sort of like checking your stocks everyday and missing the big
>>> picture.  Really, are you going job hopping every week because some
>>> job looked 'better'?  Has no one here had a job longer than a couple
>>> of months?
>>
>> Hi Robert,
>>
>> Your post is an ideal conversation starter. You're right -- the big picture is
>> how happy you are in your job, and how secure you are in your job. Looking at
>> job ads impacts that big picture in many ways:
>>
>> * Looking at job ads can remind you what a great job you have already.
>> * Looking at job ads stating salary ranges can help in your next salary
>> negotiation.
>> * If you're anything like I was when my main job was software developer, you
>> go on 10 interviews for every job you get and take. That means if you look at
>> job ads every day, turn one into an interview every 6 months, it will be 5
>> years before you switch.
>> * No job is perfect. You just might find an even better one.
>> * You're not married to your job. You never promised til death do you part.
>> * You better believe your employer is looking, whether or not you are. In good
>> times they actively look for people, any of which may later become your
>> competitor. In bad times tens or hundreds of people, willing to work for
>> peanuts, send unsolicited resumes in hopes of replacing you.
>> * Your employer isn't married to you. They didn't promise til death do you
>> part, and they CERTAINLY didn't promise in sickness or in health, and they
>> ABSOLUTELY didn't promise to forake all others.
>> * You never know when your employer is planning to sell themselves to a chop
>> shop who will hire half price Indians, and then they'll order you to train
>> the Indians AND promise not to sue if you want your severance package.
>> * It's hard to get a substantial raise, no matter your productivity or added
>> work, unless your employer senses you can get more money elsewhere.
>>
>> I was a contract programmer 1984-1998. One of my clients lasted 1984-1987, and
>> another one lasted 1987-1992, off for a year for the 1993 recession, and then
>> 1994-1998. I moved 2500 miles away in 1998. That whole time I was constantly
>> looking. A lot of that time I had 2nd and 3rd gigs. My clients loved me.
>>
>> SteveT
>>
>> Steve Litt
>> Recession Relief Package
>> http://www.recession-relief.US
>>
>> --
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>>
>