Further Thoughts on the "End of Days"
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Agreed.
We're philosophical about power outages here. A.C. come, A.C. go.
Prepare your escape plan now.
We're philosophical about power outages here. A.C. come, A.C. go.
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In an earlier post The Lounge[^] I noted that a useful member of IT staff was abruptly terminated and, as of yesterday, they grim reaper harvested another. Meanwhile, some thoughts: IT, per say, was put on notice by the New Kids on the Block that are reorganizing the company, that if a certain program isn't completed by a (demanded) hard date than we're all history. Personally, I think they were simply setting up a pretext, but let's assume not. OK - so these guys come around (and they're IT-clueless, unlike the predecessor), demand a hard deadline and make threats. Two scenario's open up. 1 - we don't make their deadline - and we're replaced by "smarter younger programmers" 2 - we do make this deadline. Now we've set a precdedent that the seriously understaffed development group can be intimidated into results. So - now I can look forward to a slightly early retirement or working continuously under the gun. That does not go well with my personality in the least. The other 'real' developer is quite good and wouldn't bat an eye at seeking employment elsewhere. About half the company's operations are running on the stuff we built. We'll both go on making the best stuff we can while we can. But - thrown out to you lot - comments?
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein
"If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010
If you make it, it'll only postpone the execution for 6 months. Don't kill yourself trying to achieve it, work as normal and start applying for jobs. Don't quit (unless you find another job). Employers like you to be already employed when you apply as it shows that you are employ_able_. Someone who has been out for 6+ months might mean bad luck or it might mean that you're trouble, and you have to undercut your competition to be given a chance.
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In an earlier post The Lounge[^] I noted that a useful member of IT staff was abruptly terminated and, as of yesterday, they grim reaper harvested another. Meanwhile, some thoughts: IT, per say, was put on notice by the New Kids on the Block that are reorganizing the company, that if a certain program isn't completed by a (demanded) hard date than we're all history. Personally, I think they were simply setting up a pretext, but let's assume not. OK - so these guys come around (and they're IT-clueless, unlike the predecessor), demand a hard deadline and make threats. Two scenario's open up. 1 - we don't make their deadline - and we're replaced by "smarter younger programmers" 2 - we do make this deadline. Now we've set a precdedent that the seriously understaffed development group can be intimidated into results. So - now I can look forward to a slightly early retirement or working continuously under the gun. That does not go well with my personality in the least. The other 'real' developer is quite good and wouldn't bat an eye at seeking employment elsewhere. About half the company's operations are running on the stuff we built. We'll both go on making the best stuff we can while we can. But - thrown out to you lot - comments?
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein
"If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010
I was once serious about a career in programming (been programming as a hobbyist since my early teens which was so far in the past I used assembly, BASIC and machine code) and took a few courses, including at degree level, to give me a boost up and bring me up-to-date. I even started applying for jobs and generally did well (getting to the final round on several occasions to fall down in the end due to some small gap in my knowledge and/or experience) but I quickly lost interest when I saw what was on offer, in particular the working conditions and the somewhat 'psychopathic' methods used for recruitment. However, I do code as a small but interesting part of my current job as a self-employed academic and I have no regrets about deciding against a programming career. Coding increases my current earning potential and job satisfaction. My point is: there are more ways to enjoy coding then a '24/7' job.
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I was once serious about a career in programming (been programming as a hobbyist since my early teens which was so far in the past I used assembly, BASIC and machine code) and took a few courses, including at degree level, to give me a boost up and bring me up-to-date. I even started applying for jobs and generally did well (getting to the final round on several occasions to fall down in the end due to some small gap in my knowledge and/or experience) but I quickly lost interest when I saw what was on offer, in particular the working conditions and the somewhat 'psychopathic' methods used for recruitment. However, I do code as a small but interesting part of my current job as a self-employed academic and I have no regrets about deciding against a programming career. Coding increases my current earning potential and job satisfaction. My point is: there are more ways to enjoy coding then a '24/7' job.
My world, the opposite: Programming is just something I fell into because it was fun and it seems I've some degree of aptitude for it. With time, it blended in well with my then vocation. Circumstances were such that it was necessary to do it deliberately for money. That, by the way, is a true "Wooo-hoo!". As far as it goes, I've all but continuously been paid to do stuff I love to do. So it will remain, and should my programming days here, conclude, then I might concentrate on photography - for which I never seem to have a fraction of the time I want - and will do as I did in the past; programming for fun (instead of profit), perhaps teaching (chemistry? coding? photography? some new-found fun?). Some time to exercise, as well. And there's the book I wanted to write - who cares if it's ever published?
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein
"If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010