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In the 1600's a 12 year old girl was considered a grown woman and the average age of marriage was between 12 and 15

More like 25-26

Po? is that you?

I would suggest you read What Should I Do With My Life? by Po Bronson. He also wrote The Nudist on the Late Shift about life in the dot-com era.

Right now I'm on medical leave from my job because I had a nervous breakdown. Right now I avoid going outside because I might have to talk with my neighbours (who are nice, friendly people) and I can't deal with that stress.

After wasting yet another a month of my life dealing with my employer because of HR screw-ups, and knowing that I will not be working for them when I recover, I find myself asking if I should leave the IT profession entirely. While I still love technology and computing, I have never had an IT job that I've been reasonable happy with. Or am I doing something wrong in my job search for the right employer, that I can correct this time around.

I will be looking forward to reading the comments with interest.

I would suggest you read What Should I Do With My Life? by Po Bronson. He also wrote The Nudist on the Late Shift about life in the dot-com era.

Right now I'm on medical leave from my job because I had a nervous breakdown. Right now I avoid going outside because I might have to talk with my neighbours (who are nice, friendly people) and I can't deal with that stress.

After wasting yet another a month of my life dealing with my employer because of HR screw-ups, and knowing that I will not be working for them when I recover, I find myself asking if I should leave the IT profession entirely. While I still love technology and computing, I have never had an IT job that I've been reasonable happy with. Or am I doing something wrong in my job search for the right employer, that I can correct this time around.

I will be looking forward to reading the comments with interest.

• The Bond and Money Markets: strategy, trading, analysis by Moorad Choudhry
• Liar's Poker by Michael Lewis
• When Genius Failed by Roger Lowenstein
• FIASCO by Frank Partnoy
• Bombardiers by Po Bronson (fiction, but absolutely hilarious and well worth a read)

Obviously, these are all about the fixed income markets, as opposed to equities.

Anyway, having said all that, you can read all the books you want, but the best way of learning the business is to sit on a trading floor, next to the traders.

Jack

Someone should write a novel about this. ... Come to think of it, this is exactly the sort of thing Chuck Palahniuk would write (author of Fight Club).

Or Po Bronson.

What Should I Do With My Life?

It's a good read, especially for someone like you, who feels like he's just punching the clock every day, doing work that doesn't provide much interest.

Don't be too quick to judge. First off, freelance writer Po Bronson != Fast Company magazine. The piece is just an excerpt from an upcoming book.

Throughout the late 90s he covered the Silicon Valley ups and downs as an independent writer. If you read his book The Nudist on the Late Shift, you'll see he tells stories of both success AND failure. If you read The First $20 Million is Always the Hardest, you'll see he writes about people that favor intellectual ability over salary and stock options. (Good book, crap DVD.)

Before becoming a writer, he was chasing the Wall Street dream. He's walked away from the money on many occasions.

He's a good writer trying to convey the introspection he sees in his generation. Don't be so quick to toss him in the CNBC mix.

Don't be too quick to judge. First off, freelance writer Po Bronson != Fast Company magazine. The piece is just an excerpt from an upcoming book.

Throughout the late 90s he covered the Silicon Valley ups and downs as an independent writer. If you read his book The Nudist on the Late Shift, you'll see he tells stories of both success AND failure. If you read The First $20 Million is Always the Hardest, you'll see he writes about people that favor intellectual ability over salary and stock options. (Good book, crap DVD.)

Before becoming a writer, he was chasing the Wall Street dream. He's walked away from the money on many occasions.

He's a good writer trying to convey the introspection he sees in his generation. Don't be so quick to toss him in the CNBC mix.

Don't be too quick to judge. First off, freelance writer Po Bronson != Fast Company magazine. The piece is just an excerpt from an upcoming book.

Throughout the late 90s he covered the Silicon Valley ups and downs as an independent writer. If you read his book The Nudist on the Late Shift, you'll see he tells stories of both success AND failure. If you read The First $20 Million is Always the Hardest, you'll see he writes about people that favor intellectual ability over salary and stock options. (Good book, crap DVD.)

Before becoming a writer, he was chasing the Wall Street dream. He's walked away from the money on many occasions.

He's a good writer trying to convey the introspection he sees in his generation. Don't be so quick to toss him in the CNBC mix.

in fact, Jon Favreau (of 'Swingers' fame) is developing a screen play for "The First $20
Million...". i believe too, that the movie is to be called "Ironmen" (perhaps a working
title let's hope.)

some info on it is at po's site, as well as a copy of the first page of the actual script (if i recall correctly...). it deviates from the book a bit, as the book begins with the exit interview and the movie seems to start with a bit "before" that...

***

personally, btw, i loved this book. read it twice, in fact. it's fun, let it be fun! don't get anal over a book, for pete's sake!

I was able to pick up a copy of this book (on clearance for $3.00 at the local B&N!) about a month ago. From the opening description of ISA vs. PCI architecture, I could tell this was a book I wanted to read regardless of price.

Although somewhat roundabout at times, this book has many great moments ("...I havn't had a girlfriend in six years."). As I was reading it, I couldn't help but notice a certain delicacy with which Bronson treated the Iron Men, however comical at times. It was as if he truly cared about how the mainstream saw this world of hacker geeks by, in effect, presenting their perception of mainstream "reality" (see infinite loop). If these super-coders can be looked upon as saviors, maybe people can start to take notice of just how smart they really are.

So, my biggest suggestion in reading this book is to not focus in on the trials and tribulations of Andy, but to instead be aware of the lifestyle that has been portrayed here. Within regular media reports, the mythical hacker is largely misunderstood. They are not said to be intelligent as hell, but rather mischeivious or merely an outcast with no other choice. I was very impressed with the way Bronson laid it out here and gave credit where credit is due.

One note that I think is interesting- A screen play has been written by Jon Favreau (of Swingers fame) based on this book. You can read part of it at Bronson's site. Although this will likely cripple the overall genuity even more ("starring Matt Damon as Andy!"), I think the effort Bronson has made to reach a wider audience should be commended.