Jim Lawrence
accessd at shaw.ca
Fri Feb 18 10:40:25 CST 2005
OT: Totally
Hi John:
Do you think they will have a 'universal' health plan in place in US in the
next ten years like some 'Democrats' have been talking about?
Jim
-----Original Message-----
From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
[mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of John W. Colby
Sent: Friday, February 18, 2005 7:58 AM
To: 'Access Developers discussion and problem solving'
Subject: RE: [AccessD] OT: What are you lot doing now and then?
Yea, the days of working for IBM for 40 years and retiring at X% of salary
and full medical are over. The kid graduating from college today will
likely have at LEAST 5 to 10 jobs over 40 years and in the not too distant
future will be damned lucky to have any medical, even while working.
I was reading on the internet (MSNBC) the other day that the company average
cost of medical per worker covered was $6000 / year in 2000, and is now
$12000 5 years later. That is a double in five years and the projection is
that it will continue into the foreseeable future.
Hmmm... $24,000 in 2010, $48,000 in 2015, 96,000 in 2020...
Seems rather likely that only the company execs will have medical coverage
by 2015.
I am an independent contractor. I pay $700 / month for just my wife and I.
I would pay an addition 200-300 if I had children. Will I be able to pay
for medical in 5 years? Maybe, but my rates will be a LOT higher. In 10
years? No.
I do have a plan though. I will pick some thing that happens to me, blame
it on a deep pocket, sue and retire on my 1/2 billion dollar settlement, and
SCREW the rest of you guys. ;-)
John W. Colby
www.ColbyConsulting.com
Contribute your unused CPU cycles to a good cause:
http://folding.stanford.edu/
-----Original Message-----
From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
[mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Lawhon, Alan C
Contractor/Morgan Research
Sent: Friday, February 18, 2005 10:38 AM
To: Access Developers discussion and problem solving
Subject: RE: [AccessD] OT: What are you lot doing now and then?
Randall:
Good luck on getting reemployed. I've been down the exact same road as you,
(i.e. laid off by a defense contractor), so I know where you're coming from.
After I was laid off, (along with a group of about 6-8 other people), it
took me nearly four months to get re-employed, during which time I managed
to drain nearly all of my savings. The strange thing about being laid off
was that this particular job was my first "professional" job after I had
graduated from college - and it only lasted about six months - so I was
blown away when the manager called us all into a small office and told us
the bad news. I remember thinking at the time, while he went on and on
about this not being "a negative reflection on any of you or the job you
have done," ("Yea, right!"), thinking to myself "Hey, this is NOT what I
spent six years struggling in college for - to be unceremoniously dumped!"
Fortunately, I was unmarried, so I didn't have to go thru the stress of
explaining to a "better half" that there was going to be a drastic slowdown
in the income stream.
I've been lucky since then in that I've managed to stay (more or less)
gainfully employed, but the business we're in is very up and down. As one
boss once told me, "Alan, in government contracting it's either feast or
famine. If you've got a contract, it's feast. If you don't, it's famine
..." (In government contracting, if you're a "worker bee" doing mundane
technical work - like computer programming or run-of-the- mill engineering
work - it's a mistake to ask for [or demand] too much money. They'll just
hire a younger worker willing to work for less. The reality is that on
government contracts neither the contractor (or the government) wants the
most efficient and/or "productive" workers. They want the "cheapest"
workers. (Nobody ever acknowledges this openly, but a defense contractor
maximizes profit by hiring workers as cheaply as possible since the
government pays a fixed hourly rate for each "labor category" - irrespective
of the competence and skill of the interchangeable "worker unit" that is
plugged into the slot.) It's really just a game ... <End of rant>
I've never forgotten the experience of walking the streets ("pounding the
pavement") trying to get a job interview where everybody you talk to says,
"Sorry, we're not hiring ..." (Just make sure that you have a new job lined
up before you make any "career change".) I long ago realized that there is
no "security" in life. Even Albert Einstein, the great physicist, once
complained about the "constant struggle" people have to go thru just to keep
food in their stomachs.
A funny thing about being suddenly (and unexpectedly) unemployed: You find
out (real quick) who your friends are ...
Alan C. Lawhon
-----Original Message-----
From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
[mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Randall Anthony
Sent: Friday, February 18, 2005 8:29 AM
To: 'Access Developers discussion and problem solving'
Subject: RE: [AccessD] OT: What are you lot doing now and then?
Steve,
I find myself in a position similar to yours, unfortunately I got laid off
in the process (lack of contractual funding, natch).
1. I was very much immersed in developing and maintaining dbases and
applications from Access2.0 through A2K, using SQL and ASP pages for some.
2. As the work slowed down, my access to developing new apps disappeared.
Consequently, when push came to shove, my skillsets deteriorated.
3. The company I worked for was a division of a defense contractor with a
small IT department. Last I heard that division's IT department is getting
smaller.
4. So, during this "sabbatical", I decided to bite the bullet. I've got
one class left, SQL Server 2K Implementation and Administration. I'm now an
MCP in ASP.Net development, I'm studying to pass the SQL Programming exam
next week, then I have two exams left to get my MCDBA. If I had achieved
this while working, that company would have given me a bonus and a pay
raise, however, even if I had accomplished this with them, I still would
have gotten the axe.
I have spoken with a number of professionals in the field when I was
contemplating getting my Masters degree. Most concurred that a Masters
would be beneficial if you were aiming for management type positions within
the IT world, but the return on investment would be negligible if I wished
to remain technical. Ergo, the next best thing to separate oneself from the
pack in IT is to get certified (in my humble opinion).
I'm starting to get more positive replies from companies I have submitted a
resume to, and I feel fairly confident that I will be affiliated with
someone soon. I think that could be attributed to my obtaining
certification.
Randy.
Dear Group,
Could you indulge me in a little survey?
1) What's your main line of work these days? Access development, SQL Server
administration/development, VB, ASP/ASP.NET, PHP...?
2) How does your work today differ from what you were doing a few years ago?
Is it only that you're using newer versions of the same tools, or are you
doing entirely different development work?
3) Are you independent or do you work for a company? If you work for a
company, what's the size of the company and where do you fit in?
4) Do you have any Microsoft Certifications? If so, do you keep current with
them, and/or have they made any difference in your current position?
Thank you very much. I'm approaching a career crossroads with the decision
to stay in business as an independent developer or not. I have picked up a
fair amount of .NET knowledge (the hard way -- is there any other?) but I
have no Microsoft certifications.
Regards,
Steve Erbach
Scientific Marketing
Neenah, WI
www.swerbach.com
Security Page: www.swerbach.com/security
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