Are your former companies still around?
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In April, I will have been a professional developer for 26 years. I'm now working for my eleventh company as a paid employee (thus not counting all the contracts I've done.) Most the companies I worked for weren't very healthy and were having problems. Out of curiosity, I made a list of all the companies, whether I resigned or was laid off, whether they were profitable when I exited and if they are still around. Not counting my current position (a company that has always been quite profitable and still is), here are the results: Companies: 10 Resigned: 4** Profitable upon exit: 3* Still around: 4.5 (half for Novell which is a shadow of its former self.) * One company has a massive debt, but runs solidly in the black otherwise, so I counted it as profitable. Another has since recovered, but was losing money when I was laid off. I was laid off from a third the day it was bought. It was profitable and is still around, but the new owners have driven into the ground. ** One of the companies which isn't around is one I started and ran in the late 90s. On tax returns it made a profit until the very end, but only because I often didn't pay myself. After the CDROM-based infotainment market collapsed in 1997/98, I used the company for contracting. I made several thousand on my last contract and officially shut the company down at the end of that month. Still, I didn't count it as profitable. And, while I voluntarily exited, any other choice wasn't practical.
Companies: 4 Resigned: 1 Profitable upon exit: 1 ( still working at the 3rd company, but this company is going strong) 1st company I worked for is no longer around. Recently, I saw on LinkedIn my former CEO is now at another company. 2nd company still around and most likely going strong. Was extremely happy on leaving because they supposedly needed a programmer and I rarely programmed. My biggest contention with them was the negative work environment. I still have nightmares that I am forced to work there again. I left as soon as I could. I was there for only 13 months. 3rd company still around and growing fast. I still work here with 2+ years and hoping that I can stay here longer. The work environment here is so positive that not only co-workers do events to make it positive, but HR invests a pretty penny to make working here enjoyable. 4th company is something I am starting myself. Never started a company before, but it is quite a challenge working a day job and coming home to work on your company. Still trying to find the balance between the two. (So far it is not profitable). Interesting discussion you raised.
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Breadth of knowledge and experience. I was sitting in on an interview (my boss had dragged this guy in without asking my opinion) and he was the senior programmer where he was after having worked there for 18 years. He had a PhD and thought he knew all he needed to know. It turns out he was not much better than an old C programmer following pre-written specs for an industry he knew very well. He might as well have been writing COBOL for all the advance techniques he knew (or rather, didn't know). He had no flexibility, he only knew about one thing and he was very, very good at that one thing. It actually boiled down to attitude more than actual skill set. He wasn't the only one like that. All the people I was involved in interviewing (at this company and a few others) seemed to have the same problem. If they had been at one place, even going through the promotion steps with expanding responsibilities, they seemed to have a single-focus attitude and a narrow outlook. Not 100% of the time, but nearly.
- I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.
Different worlds I guess - At my company it doesn't matter if a new hire is fresh out of school, has 15 years experience at 7 different companies using all the latest whiz-bang stuff or a 30 year PhD specialist - they're going to be learning a lot about our machines, controls and industry for at least 2 years before they start to become productive. If we don't try to avoid job hoppers we're dead - hell, I'm pissed when one of our engineers leaves in less than 10 years. :doh:
Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master. ~ George Washington
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Mike Mullikin wrote:
mechanical engineering
My experience is that companies that have a hardware component tend to be more stable than pure software companies. I tend to work for pure software companies, which come and go like dust in the wind. Incidentally, the below comment isn't a joke; at most places I worked at, we wouldn't even consider someone who hadn't worked at multiple companies. This isn't out of spite, but because the work tends to resemble contract type work more than long term stable work. I don't know if I could stay at one place 28 years, but I planned on staying at my last two companies more than seven and nine months respectively. The first of the two was an awesome company in all respects. Then the president died and they were bought by the biggest jerk company in the area (which is owned by one of the worse Private Equity firms out there.) Since then, almost everyone who wasn't laid off, has quit in disgust. My last company had the best product in their niche, but management were lying, vindictive, micromanaging, crazy bastards. Among many other things, they made the mistake of hiring based on future, hoped for gross sales, not actual earnings. They also tried to do too many things, leaving them vulnerable to startups concentrating on one sub-niche. The only company I truly regret leaving was three companies ago. The commute was hell, they weren't giving me the raises promised and which I deserved and I was tired of arguing over several issues (ironically, I was totally vindicated months after I left.) Still, I really enjoyed the people I worked with, their product is kick ass and I had the best manager ever. If they matched my current salary, I'd probably go back.
Joe Woodbury wrote:
pure software companies, which come and go like dust in the wind.
I wonder if there is an inverse causation between employee turnover and company stability.
Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master. ~ George Washington
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Company 1 - 15 years - asked to leave but believe it was rif - alive and well Company 2 - 13 years - mutual departure before rif - company alive, branch office/division gone Company 3 - 2 years - left - doing okay last I heard Company 4 - Still there - they say going good Not bad for 38 years.
djj55 wrote:
believe it was rif
What's "rif?"
The difficult we do right away... ...the impossible takes slightly longer.
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In April, I will have been a professional developer for 26 years. I'm now working for my eleventh company as a paid employee (thus not counting all the contracts I've done.) Most the companies I worked for weren't very healthy and were having problems. Out of curiosity, I made a list of all the companies, whether I resigned or was laid off, whether they were profitable when I exited and if they are still around. Not counting my current position (a company that has always been quite profitable and still is), here are the results: Companies: 10 Resigned: 4** Profitable upon exit: 3* Still around: 4.5 (half for Novell which is a shadow of its former self.) * One company has a massive debt, but runs solidly in the black otherwise, so I counted it as profitable. Another has since recovered, but was losing money when I was laid off. I was laid off from a third the day it was bought. It was profitable and is still around, but the new owners have driven into the ground. ** One of the companies which isn't around is one I started and ran in the late 90s. On tax returns it made a profit until the very end, but only because I often didn't pay myself. After the CDROM-based infotainment market collapsed in 1997/98, I used the company for contracting. I made several thousand on my last contract and officially shut the company down at the end of that month. Still, I didn't count it as profitable. And, while I voluntarily exited, any other choice wasn't practical.
I think all of mine exist, although some were assimilated.
This space intentionally left blank.
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Joe Woodbury wrote:
pure software companies, which come and go like dust in the wind.
I wonder if there is an inverse causation between employee turnover and company stability.
Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master. ~ George Washington
Mike Mullikin wrote:
I wonder if there is an inverse causation between employee turnover and company stability.
It's one giant feedback loop. Companies grow unstable, people bail; people bail, company grows unstable. (Company has layoff, thinking it will solve everything; it makes things worse, usually because they laid off the wrong people and the talented engineers start bailing and you get the feedback loop going.) A big factor for software companies is that traditionally, they rarely gave raises and any bonuses were often in the form of stock options. Except for Novell, I've never worked at a company which gave me more than one raise and half didn't even bother. Until just a few years ago, it was openly stated in the software [only] industry that if you wanted a raise, you changed jobs.
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In April, I will have been a professional developer for 26 years. I'm now working for my eleventh company as a paid employee (thus not counting all the contracts I've done.) Most the companies I worked for weren't very healthy and were having problems. Out of curiosity, I made a list of all the companies, whether I resigned or was laid off, whether they were profitable when I exited and if they are still around. Not counting my current position (a company that has always been quite profitable and still is), here are the results: Companies: 10 Resigned: 4** Profitable upon exit: 3* Still around: 4.5 (half for Novell which is a shadow of its former self.) * One company has a massive debt, but runs solidly in the black otherwise, so I counted it as profitable. Another has since recovered, but was losing money when I was laid off. I was laid off from a third the day it was bought. It was profitable and is still around, but the new owners have driven into the ground. ** One of the companies which isn't around is one I started and ran in the late 90s. On tax returns it made a profit until the very end, but only because I often didn't pay myself. After the CDROM-based infotainment market collapsed in 1997/98, I used the company for contracting. I made several thousand on my last contract and officially shut the company down at the end of that month. Still, I didn't count it as profitable. And, while I voluntarily exited, any other choice wasn't practical.
I've worked in IT in various guises for 6 companies over 33 years. 2 (ICL NZ and ICL Aus) were taken over by Fujitsu in 1992, who still exist and appear to be doing fairly well. Whether they're profitable I don't know but they show no sign of vanishing. I transferred from the NZ company to the Aus one and eventually resigned about 12 months after the Fujitsu takeover. Then worked for another company which I resigned from and subsequently it went through two mergers and then the last entity was bought by Fujitsu NZ. Meanwhile after leaving the company mentioned above, I (re)joined Fujitsu but resigned after 3 years to do contracting which I had a shelf company for. I still have that for tax purposes - loss making on paper but money appears in my pocket from time to time). My current employer is a public broadcaster owned by the gov't so I guess you could say it's profitable although that's not it's aim (but we try hard not to overspend the budget).
If your neighbours don't listen to The Ramones, turn it up real loud so they can. “We didn't have a positive song until we wrote 'Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue!'” ― Dee Dee Ramone "The Democrats want my guns and the Republicans want my porno mags and I ain't giving up either" - Joey Ramone
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djj55 wrote:
believe it was rif
What's "rif?"
The difficult we do right away... ...the impossible takes slightly longer.
Reduction in Force.
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In April, I will have been a professional developer for 26 years. I'm now working for my eleventh company as a paid employee (thus not counting all the contracts I've done.) Most the companies I worked for weren't very healthy and were having problems. Out of curiosity, I made a list of all the companies, whether I resigned or was laid off, whether they were profitable when I exited and if they are still around. Not counting my current position (a company that has always been quite profitable and still is), here are the results: Companies: 10 Resigned: 4** Profitable upon exit: 3* Still around: 4.5 (half for Novell which is a shadow of its former self.) * One company has a massive debt, but runs solidly in the black otherwise, so I counted it as profitable. Another has since recovered, but was losing money when I was laid off. I was laid off from a third the day it was bought. It was profitable and is still around, but the new owners have driven into the ground. ** One of the companies which isn't around is one I started and ran in the late 90s. On tax returns it made a profit until the very end, but only because I often didn't pay myself. After the CDROM-based infotainment market collapsed in 1997/98, I used the company for contracting. I made several thousand on my last contract and officially shut the company down at the end of that month. Still, I didn't count it as profitable. And, while I voluntarily exited, any other choice wasn't practical.
30+ years consulting/contracting (9 at the current place) and I have no idea how many places I have worked with, companies like Dell and NHS are still around, Wang went tits up and there are a myriad of financial organisations I have contracted to that are probably still around. Quite different to permie history I guess.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity RAH
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A full time employee at 11 companies in 26 years yields an average length of service of ~2.4 years. Wow! :wtf: Not to be rude but... why do you change jobs so often? Surely that comes up in interviews. :omg: In February 2014 I will have been at my current company for 28 years. There have been a few non-profitable years here and there but as a whole we are quite profitable.
Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master. ~ George Washington
6 company in 12 years since I'm in Australia. Hasn't been a problem, 2 years on average in a job is not problem, as far I experienced during my job interviews! This last one is really good, I'm preparing myself for a length record! :P
My programming get away... The Blog... DirectX for WinRT/C# since 2013! Taking over the world since 1371!
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In April, I will have been a professional developer for 26 years. I'm now working for my eleventh company as a paid employee (thus not counting all the contracts I've done.) Most the companies I worked for weren't very healthy and were having problems. Out of curiosity, I made a list of all the companies, whether I resigned or was laid off, whether they were profitable when I exited and if they are still around. Not counting my current position (a company that has always been quite profitable and still is), here are the results: Companies: 10 Resigned: 4** Profitable upon exit: 3* Still around: 4.5 (half for Novell which is a shadow of its former self.) * One company has a massive debt, but runs solidly in the black otherwise, so I counted it as profitable. Another has since recovered, but was losing money when I was laid off. I was laid off from a third the day it was bought. It was profitable and is still around, but the new owners have driven into the ground. ** One of the companies which isn't around is one I started and ran in the late 90s. On tax returns it made a profit until the very end, but only because I often didn't pay myself. After the CDROM-based infotainment market collapsed in 1997/98, I used the company for contracting. I made several thousand on my last contract and officially shut the company down at the end of that month. Still, I didn't count it as profitable. And, while I voluntarily exited, any other choice wasn't practical.
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In April, I will have been a professional developer for 26 years. I'm now working for my eleventh company as a paid employee (thus not counting all the contracts I've done.) Most the companies I worked for weren't very healthy and were having problems. Out of curiosity, I made a list of all the companies, whether I resigned or was laid off, whether they were profitable when I exited and if they are still around. Not counting my current position (a company that has always been quite profitable and still is), here are the results: Companies: 10 Resigned: 4** Profitable upon exit: 3* Still around: 4.5 (half for Novell which is a shadow of its former self.) * One company has a massive debt, but runs solidly in the black otherwise, so I counted it as profitable. Another has since recovered, but was losing money when I was laid off. I was laid off from a third the day it was bought. It was profitable and is still around, but the new owners have driven into the ground. ** One of the companies which isn't around is one I started and ran in the late 90s. On tax returns it made a profit until the very end, but only because I often didn't pay myself. After the CDROM-based infotainment market collapsed in 1997/98, I used the company for contracting. I made several thousand on my last contract and officially shut the company down at the end of that month. Still, I didn't count it as profitable. And, while I voluntarily exited, any other choice wasn't practical.
Two companies in 45 years. I worked for the first company for 21 years, and left because I was head-hunted. It's still around, albeit in a much changed form (mergers / takeovers etc.). Current company for 24 yesrs so far (retiring next year !)
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Mike Mullikin wrote:
I wonder if there is an inverse causation between employee turnover and company stability.
It's one giant feedback loop. Companies grow unstable, people bail; people bail, company grows unstable. (Company has layoff, thinking it will solve everything; it makes things worse, usually because they laid off the wrong people and the talented engineers start bailing and you get the feedback loop going.) A big factor for software companies is that traditionally, they rarely gave raises and any bonuses were often in the form of stock options. Except for Novell, I've never worked at a company which gave me more than one raise and half didn't even bother. Until just a few years ago, it was openly stated in the software [only] industry that if you wanted a raise, you changed jobs.
Joe Woodbury wrote:
Except for Novell, I've never worked at a company which gave me more than one raise and half didn't even bother. Until just a few years ago, it was openly stated in the software [only] industry that if you wanted a raise, you changed jobs.
OMG!! Are you serious? It's no wonder these companies are failing left and right. I had no idea.
Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master. ~ George Washington
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In April, I will have been a professional developer for 26 years. I'm now working for my eleventh company as a paid employee (thus not counting all the contracts I've done.) Most the companies I worked for weren't very healthy and were having problems. Out of curiosity, I made a list of all the companies, whether I resigned or was laid off, whether they were profitable when I exited and if they are still around. Not counting my current position (a company that has always been quite profitable and still is), here are the results: Companies: 10 Resigned: 4** Profitable upon exit: 3* Still around: 4.5 (half for Novell which is a shadow of its former self.) * One company has a massive debt, but runs solidly in the black otherwise, so I counted it as profitable. Another has since recovered, but was losing money when I was laid off. I was laid off from a third the day it was bought. It was profitable and is still around, but the new owners have driven into the ground. ** One of the companies which isn't around is one I started and ran in the late 90s. On tax returns it made a profit until the very end, but only because I often didn't pay myself. After the CDROM-based infotainment market collapsed in 1997/98, I used the company for contracting. I made several thousand on my last contract and officially shut the company down at the end of that month. Still, I didn't count it as profitable. And, while I voluntarily exited, any other choice wasn't practical.
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In April, I will have been a professional developer for 26 years. I'm now working for my eleventh company as a paid employee (thus not counting all the contracts I've done.) Most the companies I worked for weren't very healthy and were having problems. Out of curiosity, I made a list of all the companies, whether I resigned or was laid off, whether they were profitable when I exited and if they are still around. Not counting my current position (a company that has always been quite profitable and still is), here are the results: Companies: 10 Resigned: 4** Profitable upon exit: 3* Still around: 4.5 (half for Novell which is a shadow of its former self.) * One company has a massive debt, but runs solidly in the black otherwise, so I counted it as profitable. Another has since recovered, but was losing money when I was laid off. I was laid off from a third the day it was bought. It was profitable and is still around, but the new owners have driven into the ground. ** One of the companies which isn't around is one I started and ran in the late 90s. On tax returns it made a profit until the very end, but only because I often didn't pay myself. After the CDROM-based infotainment market collapsed in 1997/98, I used the company for contracting. I made several thousand on my last contract and officially shut the company down at the end of that month. Still, I didn't count it as profitable. And, while I voluntarily exited, any other choice wasn't practical.
Excluding the (not tech related) temping I did during school/after graduation my entire professional career's been with my current employer; I'm coming up on my 9th anniversary here. We're a contractor so I haven't worked on just one thing my entire time; but the rapid turn over of many contracts combined with our biggest customer (the US Govt) being on an austerity kick the last few years things are rather shaky at present although I think my current safety window is longer than it's been for a while.
Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, waging all things in the balance of reason? Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful? --Zachris Topelius Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies. -- Sarah Hoyt
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In April, I will have been a professional developer for 26 years. I'm now working for my eleventh company as a paid employee (thus not counting all the contracts I've done.) Most the companies I worked for weren't very healthy and were having problems. Out of curiosity, I made a list of all the companies, whether I resigned or was laid off, whether they were profitable when I exited and if they are still around. Not counting my current position (a company that has always been quite profitable and still is), here are the results: Companies: 10 Resigned: 4** Profitable upon exit: 3* Still around: 4.5 (half for Novell which is a shadow of its former self.) * One company has a massive debt, but runs solidly in the black otherwise, so I counted it as profitable. Another has since recovered, but was losing money when I was laid off. I was laid off from a third the day it was bought. It was profitable and is still around, but the new owners have driven into the ground. ** One of the companies which isn't around is one I started and ran in the late 90s. On tax returns it made a profit until the very end, but only because I often didn't pay myself. After the CDROM-based infotainment market collapsed in 1997/98, I used the company for contracting. I made several thousand on my last contract and officially shut the company down at the end of that month. Still, I didn't count it as profitable. And, while I voluntarily exited, any other choice wasn't practical.
I have been in the dev businness for around 15 years, and the count goes: 1 company only. However, that company went through a bit more than half a dozen names thanks to various merging and acquisition: eXplora, Usweb, Usweb/CKS, marchFirst (ah those wild years 2000/2001), Unilog, Logica and now CGI.... I started in the UK, and lived there for 5 years and came back to my home country 10 years ago without resigning (I resigned in the UK to work for the same company but in a french branch). I'm currently serving my notice period, I'm moving on and will start working for a new employer who is not a ITS company.
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In April, I will have been a professional developer for 26 years. I'm now working for my eleventh company as a paid employee (thus not counting all the contracts I've done.) Most the companies I worked for weren't very healthy and were having problems. Out of curiosity, I made a list of all the companies, whether I resigned or was laid off, whether they were profitable when I exited and if they are still around. Not counting my current position (a company that has always been quite profitable and still is), here are the results: Companies: 10 Resigned: 4** Profitable upon exit: 3* Still around: 4.5 (half for Novell which is a shadow of its former self.) * One company has a massive debt, but runs solidly in the black otherwise, so I counted it as profitable. Another has since recovered, but was losing money when I was laid off. I was laid off from a third the day it was bought. It was profitable and is still around, but the new owners have driven into the ground. ** One of the companies which isn't around is one I started and ran in the late 90s. On tax returns it made a profit until the very end, but only because I often didn't pay myself. After the CDROM-based infotainment market collapsed in 1997/98, I used the company for contracting. I made several thousand on my last contract and officially shut the company down at the end of that month. Still, I didn't count it as profitable. And, while I voluntarily exited, any other choice wasn't practical.
Great question!! I have been a developer for 17 years and have worked for 5 companies: 1 is in hibernation as its owner wakes it up only when a project comes up, cashes the first payment and dissappears. :laugh: 3 are alive and prosperous. :) 1 was a startup that died a year after I left. :((
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Forogar wrote:
you wouldn't even get to the interview stage with that record.
Just out of curiosity... what negative attribute would be assumed about someone for staying at one company for 28 years?
Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master. ~ George Washington
One negative, and the other posts point to this, is that a LOT of people don't have 28 years of experience. They have the SAME 2yrs of experience 14yrs in a row. (Some have 1yr of experience 28yrs in a row!). Overall, stability is not an issue. It is the ability to deal with a pace of change. It is the ability to adapt. On the other hand, look at this guys company. If it takes 2yrs to get up to speed, someone who sticks around for ONLY 3yrs will bankrupt you! You never get more than 50% out of the training investment. You have to consider that.
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Different worlds I guess - At my company it doesn't matter if a new hire is fresh out of school, has 15 years experience at 7 different companies using all the latest whiz-bang stuff or a 30 year PhD specialist - they're going to be learning a lot about our machines, controls and industry for at least 2 years before they start to become productive. If we don't try to avoid job hoppers we're dead - hell, I'm pissed when one of our engineers leaves in less than 10 years. :doh:
Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master. ~ George Washington
Different worlds, indeed. If it takes two years to get up to speed, that's a completely different animal than, for instance, what I'm currently doing. It took me no time to ramp up with the technology, and only a week or two to really feel what's going on. I've had nine jobs, ranging from 6 months to 7 years. The 6 month thing - they treated employees with no respect/reward so an old guy like me will stand up to them ... and get fired :) I've currently got a great situation that I hope to hold for many years, but ya never know. It's in the auto industry - any bets?
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In April, I will have been a professional developer for 26 years. I'm now working for my eleventh company as a paid employee (thus not counting all the contracts I've done.) Most the companies I worked for weren't very healthy and were having problems. Out of curiosity, I made a list of all the companies, whether I resigned or was laid off, whether they were profitable when I exited and if they are still around. Not counting my current position (a company that has always been quite profitable and still is), here are the results: Companies: 10 Resigned: 4** Profitable upon exit: 3* Still around: 4.5 (half for Novell which is a shadow of its former self.) * One company has a massive debt, but runs solidly in the black otherwise, so I counted it as profitable. Another has since recovered, but was losing money when I was laid off. I was laid off from a third the day it was bought. It was profitable and is still around, but the new owners have driven into the ground. ** One of the companies which isn't around is one I started and ran in the late 90s. On tax returns it made a profit until the very end, but only because I often didn't pay myself. After the CDROM-based infotainment market collapsed in 1997/98, I used the company for contracting. I made several thousand on my last contract and officially shut the company down at the end of that month. Still, I didn't count it as profitable. And, while I voluntarily exited, any other choice wasn't practical.
This is an interesting question. 30yrs, 10 Companies, but very skewed. 4 of them were "short" (in months) because the match was not good, or it was an internship. [I was hired to do OS/2 programming, but they cancelled that and put me in a mainframe group, LOL. This is just over 14months total time for all 4 of them. Once company hired me, and then merged with another company my first week on the job. I think it was rude of them to offer me the position, but the manager who hired me had no idea it was happening.] So that leaves 6 companies in reality, in roughly 28 years, which feels more appropriate. I tend to stick around a few years. 3 of the 6 companies are no longer around (one is dying slowly, having laid everyone but the owner off) Again, an interesting question.
