ilovecode

The job search process has been pretty interesting so far. I am fortunate that I have experience in both PHP and .Net so that widens the job possibilities. Some of the position descriptions have got to be written by people who aren’t directly involved in the position. They can be very cryptic that you have no idea what the job is you are reading about:

• Maintain a broad and continuous assessment of the organization’s information environment
• Take on moderately complex projects
• Refine the architecture based on changes in business strategy and technological advances to suit the corporate strategies
• Articulate architectural decisions clearly to the client
• Ensures that all business models are integrated into the IT architecture
• Coordinates the information architecture with the other organization’s technical architectures and data architects

Those are the essential duties and responsibilities for a programming job. I am the type of person who tailors a resume to each job and writes a unique cover letter, well for this job, I didn’t bother applying because it tells me absolutely nothing about the position.

Sometimes I think when people are on the hiring end, they assume they don’t have to show their best side too. Well, I know personally, even when I am being interviewed, I am interviewing the company. I know I have to show up and be ready to sell myself, but the employer also has to do the same. I’ve had 5 interviews so far. A couple of the jobs paid extremely well, but the work sounded absolutely boring. I had 3 interviews with one company and had a video conference scheduled for Thursday (dec. 20) which ideally would have been the last interview but they never called. Come to find out they decided that since I didn’t have 10 years experience, they weren’t interested in me for the job. Seriously, WTF? You can easily read my resume and see that I have just over 5 years experience. I guess I think, don’t waste my time if you could have made that disqualifying decision before the first call was ever made. Maybe I’m being idealistic but I want the interviewer to be just as interested in me as I am in them. This would give insight as to how they would be as an employer.

So far I have a couple of options but I am waiting until next week to decide anything. What it’s going to come down to is this

• Will I make enough to pay the bills and maintain our current lifestyle? - Yes, I have a bottom dollar figure that I need to work with. Surprisingly the jobs I am applying range from this dollar figure to 40k plus. The biggest difference in what they pay is the size of the company, whether an active security clearance is required (appears to add 15k-20k to your net worth), and if they are a private or publicly funded company.
• Am I excited about the job? - This is very important to me. I enjoy working in general but I really want to be excited about what I do. It makes it all worth it! There is one job that has put an offer on the table but the job just doesn’t sound that great. Now I spoke to someone recently about a different job opportunity and that job sounded really cool. The 2nd job pays 30k less (and I don’t have an offer at this point) but I would lean more towards that one than the first just because I think I would enjoy the job much more.
• How’s the quality of life? - Something else that is important to me. I am at a stage in my life where I’m not trying to make as much as I can make. I am instead focused on the quality of life (quality of the job plays a role in this) the job provides me. I’ve been working from home for the last 3.5 years so it will be an adjustment to get back to an office environment. But does the position offer good benefits (time off, flex time, telecommute opportunities, etc.) For example, if my son got sick today and had to go home, I would pick him up and I would still be able to get my work done. Would a job allow me to do this or would I need to take it as a day off?
• What are the advancement opportunities? - I’m not looking for a job to pay the bills, I want something that will provide opportunity and growth!

What do you look for in a job?

Well, I’m back on the job market. In my last post about entrepreneurship, I mentioned that I may have to get a “real” job versus what I’ve been doing for the last year and a half. By real job I mean, actually showing my face in a public office. Grooming would be involved. Daily grooming at that.

I haven’t sent out so many resumes since 2003! We are moving to Washington, DC and to say that the jobs are plentiful would be an understatement. The process so far has been interesting. I daily check CraigsList, The Washington Post, and many more. Because there are so many jobs out there, I can be picky and choosy and apply to only the ones that sound interesting. I’ve been in the position before where you apply for anything you qualify for just because it pays the bills and you don’t care if you enjoy it. Fortunately, I’m not in that position right now.

When we first found out we were moving a couple of weeks ago, there was a mix of excitement and regret. I was stoked to be going back to the states but what about all I have tried to accomplish over the last year and a half? I’ve created something I can be proud of definitely and it’s not something I will just stop doing. I will quit working on client’s sites but will continue to grow my own. The web is my passion and luckily I have a really understanding family who support me in that. Because we are moving to a place with a higher cost of living, I can’t continue to do it as I have been because I don’t make enough to sustain the life we want to live in DC. So, instead of seeing it as a setback or seeing it as failure, I see it as an opportunity. I will get to work on projects I never would have before. I am applying to jobs where there is a possibility to learn more skills. I think the thing I am looking forward to the most is working with new people. I have always learned the most from the people I work with. It’s great to surround yourself with people who may have different outlooks or perspectives than you; it challenges your way of thinking and shows you other options.

So, where does this leave all of my personal projects? Well, it’s really no different than how it is now. Right now my full-time job is to work on clients sites. The job will replace this. I built up my personal sites in my free time which will continue. And heck, if the salary is good enough, it may actually let me hire someone to help me out on some of the ideas I have for my sites that I don’t always have time to implement! Unfortunately there is never a shortage of ideas and an overabundance of time.

I was just reading a question on Slashdot where someone is looking for Advice For Programmers Right Out of School.

“I recently graduated from school with a CS degree, and several of my classes were very theoretical in nature. There was some programming, but it seems not as much as in other schools. I’m currently working at a company where I’m doing primarily c/c++ app development on unix. But as I read slashdot, and other tech sites / articles, and realize for some of the software being written nowadays, I would have absolutely NO IDEA how to even begin writing it. I remember first time I saw them, I thought console emulators were really cool. After my education, I have no idea how someone would begin writing one. With the work I’m doing now, it doesn’t seem I’m going to be using (or creating) any of the really cool technology I hear about. How did everyone here begin learning / teaching themselves about different aspects of programming, that they initially had no clue about? How did you improve? Programming on your own? Through work?”

I think when people go into the computer science program, you often think you will come out knowing how to write these grand applications, but that just isn’t the case. I went to two different schools and studied computer science at both and the programs were very similar; just the language of choice was different — one was c++ and one was Java. But the core curriculum focused on teaching theory and good practices and then you were given programming assignments to demonstrate your comprehension of what you learned.

Most bachelor level computer science programs teach you the fundamentals, essentially giving you tools for your toolbox. Once you graduate, it is up to you to use those tools and gain experience building your masterpieces.

As far as learning new technologies and languages… buy a good book, search the web, sit down in front of your computer and try it out. ou can’t wait for things to fall in your lap; you need to make it happen.

Related Link: Computer Degrees and Majors Get Your Computer Science Degree!

A couple of months ago I was contemplating if I should look for a job once I got to Belgium. I’ve lived here for a couple of months now and have evaluated my options. My only immediate employment options are to work for NATO and there are some positions that I would qualify for. I don’t want to work out in town because I would be taxed 55% and considering I don’t know any of the national languages, that is definitely a handicap. So, i tried to decide… do I want to work for NATO or wait for the Army contract to become active again (the one i’ve worked for for the past few years). The NATO option is not appealing as I have no desire to work a 9-5 job right now. The Army job is a great job, but I feel now may be my time to really give my all to my business.

I’ve worked for the government in some form for the last 13 years and I think now may be my time to stop..at least in the current capacity. I have this gut feeling that now is the time for me to make my move into the business full time and I think I’m ready for it. I’ve thought about this for the last couple of months and as scary as it says, it’s time.

We are getting steady business now, and the projects continue to get larger. I would be taking a serious paycut, but making enough to get by. My priority is taking care of my family, so as long as that isn’t an issue, I’ll be a full-time business owner. I look forward to this wild ride! Wish me luck!

I know, you are probably saying..of course you should! Let me give you some background. I currently have two jobs and one of them is about to end on Monday. It is a contract that expires. It should get renewed, but the funding won’t be available until december or so. The problem is, this job provides at least 3/4 of my income; and that is where my predicament is.

We have been living on two salaries for quite a while now and are accustomed to a comfortable lifestyle. By comfortable I mean we don’t have to live paycheck to paycheck and if we want to buy something, it’s relatively easy to do depending on the cost obviously. Well, we are moving to a foreign country where they don’t speak English and my income will be a fraction of what it is now. We haven’t sold our house here so we will be making two house payments. I do have my business, which is pretty steady right now, unfortunately we haven’t been paying ourselves yet and are just putting money into the company. It may be time to do that though. It isn’t busy enough to replace my current income but it would help.

I have been pretty spoiled lately with my jobs. I am allowed to work from home and my schedule is flexible. That means if I want to pick up my kids at 3 and take them to the beach for a couple of hours, I can, as long as I do my work. I tend to spread my work out throughout the day and work around my families schedules. It is certainly a luxury but I like being able to go on field trips. or if my son is sick, I can put him in bed and not miss work.

Drew is already in Belgium and has already talked to a few people who are interested in me. But I really have no desire to go work in an office right now. I realize if we need the money I will have to. But should I be selfish and try to work from home with my other contract as well as projects that come from my business? Money will be tight I think, but we shouldn’t be needing anything. Last month we were too busy that we sent away 8k worth of business.

I’m leaning towards the selfish part unless we need the money. The other contract should return later in the year.