You said it was a job you held while getting your degree. Most employers wont think anything wrong of a student who went to university and DID NOT hold a job during that time.
Just don't list it.
If you think that is what is really holding you back, then don't list that as a previous position. Employers don't care if you held a job outside of your degree in regard to employment. I don't hire recent college grads because they list their summer supermarket jobs - I hire them because they are cheap, disposable, and 30% of them will actually both know what they are doing, and show a willing-ness to kick a hole in the sky. I expect to lose about 1/2 of the ones we hire to other jobs, and then I expect to fire at least 30% of the ones who don't leave by themselves. The ones that do work, get promotions and better pay, instead of the door.
SO.. if you honestly believe that having tech support on your resume is whats holding you back - 30 seconds in your word processing program should get you the keys to a new job.
If that doesn't work.. try telling your prospective employers these three things :
1) If I don't know what you need me to know, by the end of the day I will learn it.
2) If my project isn't done by the end of my workday, then my workday doesn't end.
3) I want this job, and am willing to work my ass off to get it.
*THOSE* in my opinion are the three main distinguishing features that makes me pick certain graduates over others. You certainly are not going to get hired on the basis of a two week lab program.
Yeah.. this is a newer table.. I took that 1.5k number from what she told me a year or two ago.. it looks like it will get her closer to 3k more a year when she gets her doctorate. Inflation is wonderful.
Still... anyone ELSE I know with a doctorate makes quite a bit more than $53k a year. I know IT guys who barely finished high-school that make $80k a year racking servers.
You don't go up ever year in pay grade, you tend to go up every other year (on average) - as teacher's don't get a raise every year. Sometimes if you move from a VERY hard school, to an 'easier' school - you will drop a paygrade. As they bump positions an extra pay grade in really bad schools to try to keep teachers there. Its jokingly referred to as 'Hazard Pay' at teacher parties.
My wife moved from Middle school to elementary school for a few years hoping it would be better. She took a pay grade drop to do so. When she moved back to middle school, she would have gotten a pay grade increase, however that year there was a moratorium on raises. So.. Essentially since she took an 'easier' job instead of quitting, for a number of years she was stuck at a lower pay grade.
There is 0% effort involved in salary grade increases.
My wife.. a teacher of 15 years.. makes $48k a year. She has a Masters Degree and is 2 classes away from her Doctorate. When she gets her Doctorate she will earn another $1500 a year. She teaches in the GHETTO of Baltimore County. [My words, which she would be horrified to hear me use, but its the truth.] In this area of the district, they are seriously considering PAYING students to come to school. There are metal detectors, 30% attendance rates, stabbings in her class room. This is all part of daily life. Her classroom, AFTER only 30% of her students coming to school are still overcrowded (30+ students). On the mandatory 'Back to School' night that the teachers were forced to come back to work for, three parents showed up. *THREE*. She gets up at 4:30 am every morning, because she has 'breakfast' duty at school - for kids who's families can't (or will not) give them breakfast. She works until 4:30 pm every night as there are after school programs because many parents complained that they didn't get free babysitting - err.. I mean that they had to work later than 3:00pm - teachers are assigned to them if they don't have enough other duties. THEN she comes home and needs to prepare lesson plans and compile grades.
This year, she actually brings home less money, because the costs of benefits went up, but there was no cost of living increase. How many jobs have *you* stayed at where you make less money in successive years instead of more ?
I would call her dedicated. In the county that she teaches in, most teachers burn out inside of 10 years. Primarily because the stress of the job and the stress of being broke all the time eventually make them not care. Yes, some teachers slack - but in my experience - so do many IT workers, police officers, doctors, firemen, postal workers, web developers, etc etc etc. People slack, its not fair to say that only certain job descriptions do.
I'm not sure about where you live, but My wife works more than 9 months a year. The CHILDREN go to school for nine months, she stops teaching mid June, and goes back to work Mid August. Something else you seems to miss out on, is teachers don't get PAID for summer vacation. If they want money then, they need to save it prior - or find other work for six weeks. You ever try to find a job that pays more than $7.00 an hour and will let you work for six weeks ? Trust me, teachers not working during the summer is not THEIR idea - its a way for the school board to save millions by not having to pay salaries for six weeks. Also, that is the only time they get off all year. There are no 'personal' days in the education system. If you have to take a sick day, you literally need a doctor's note. Got the flu ? Need a doctor's note. You mom died ? Three days bereavement, oh, and we need a note to prove it. No note ? you are immediately put on suspension with no pay until you get one. Have more than five sick days in six months ? You are immediately put on academic review. So if you are sick with the flu for 3 days WITH A NOTE from your physician, and then four months later, are sick with something else for three days WITH A NOTE from your physician. You automatically are on observation - meaning you get reviewed once every other month for six months. If you miss a day of work, you can be suspended.
Teachers don't work hard ? Do you have a kid ? How do you feel at the end of the day.. well rested ? Now try raising 700 of them a day. Most of the parents are not doing it. Teachers are expected to. Your 7 year old doesn't know the alphabet - is that the parent's fault or a teachers ? Your 15 year old can't read ? Parent or Teacher's fault ? Your darling child has failed every class this semester ? Teachers or Parents ?
Its easy, and politically correct, to blame the teachers. But most of the time the actual blame lies on the parents. Kids learn, thats what they do. If a kid is going to school, and even paying partial attention in
As a CTO.. rest assured, I'm one cynical motherfucker when it comes to this stuff.
My sys admin is going to steal my passwords !!? oh no.. I better install your magical software, which his department will be responsible for maintaining, and have full access to.. THEN.. and ONLY THEN.. will my pr0n filled smut email be safe.
Unless he steals that password FIRST I guess.
well shitmonkeys, good thing you saw through his nefarious plan, and have ANOTHER layer of software to protect my new purchase, of course.. his department will have to set it up and maintain it....
Game Publishers Andrew Sheerin and Andy Tompkins from a small company in Cambridge UK, have been reported to have been seen laughing hysterically as they walked into a local bank branch.
Their beer and pretzels game 'War on Terror' which was doing moderate sales from timely novelty value recently was under the world spot lite, generating MILLIONS of sold copies for the surprised anarchists.
'We were pleasantly surprised' said Mr. Topkins, 'we had thought the British Police force was actually trying to hinder sales, thankfully, they did the opposite. I take back every nasty thing I have ever said about them.'
In other news, Britain is now in the midst of a balaclava shortage which has caused several riots in south London, with a fatality count of fifteen and climbing.
My bag was opened and searched. my cigar case (which contained everything) was opened, the lighters were examined (but not lit.. the torch was a zippo with a torch insert..) and then re-closed.
On the trip BACK from the same caribian island, I managed to bring four of the above cigars and the normal lighter into the plane and through customs. [The torch lighter was either lost or stolen on our trip]
On previous trips, we have brought both cigars, and bottles of absinthe back with us, occasionally being searched.
Personally, I'm grateful that the TSA is so fixated on electronic equipment now, as it lets me support my exotic cigar habit:P
I'm thinking they were more worried {pissed off} about who was selling their free tickets. 'Security' being the code word for 'whom should we exclude next year, because we don't like scalpers.'
You know.. similar to what the NFL did a year or so ago with the tickets they give players.
fair enough.. my previous post.. like most of my posts was 'off the cuff' so to speak.
I think . honestly.. that Welfare itself is certainly not 'helpful'. At its ideal form, as 'help' when things are at rock bottom.. its still dubious as to how useful a program it is.
Of course, i doubt that its EVER used as a 'last' resort anymore. Instead its become a crutch that allows people who are not willing to work, the ability to exist off the tax money of people who ARE willing to work. [Often while they have side jobs, or other unreported sources of income.]
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for people helping others who are in dire straights. But the second there are 'laws' around it, those laws can be gamed, exploited, or 'worked around' to one's advantage.
My point, actually, could probably have been better summed up as 'Idle hands make the Devil's work.' on the surface a Horribly christian thing to say, but still a good axiom.
People who don't have a *fear* of not being able to support themselves, have a higher potential of having less drive to do so.
So.. more along the lines of.. 'kids who have jobs, or have 'things to do' - are less likely to join a gang / a criminal life style. And people who are forced to have a job because there are no safety nets, one would assume, have a higher motivation to actually kepe that job.
my whole crime vs a job thing was more of an inward ramble turned outward. I was puzzling over in a semi monologue if the general populace knew they needed to work to survive, how many would risk the potential gains of crime. IE: how many people would be willing to bet their future on risky gains - if they KNEW for certain that it was an all or nothing chance.
Still not sure of the answer on that - but I'm betting *heh* that given no safety net, self-interest would cause most to not risk it.
Killing welfare, special interest funding, and 'help' groups for people that willingly fuck up their lives - might go a long way too.
Basically, reinstate accountability.
'Gee, if I don't go to school, I'll be working at McDonald's forever.' Tough break kid.
One would think its a lot easier to make a bad decision if your fairly sure that someone will help you out if your REALLY in it up to your neck.
Its pretty hard to 'keep it real' when your starving because you have no visible source of income.
Yes,yes, you can turn to crime, but (and this is an honest question) HOW many people are actually going to go to hard-core crime ? I mean, you have to really turn off the 'this is not right' warning light in your head - and while its possible, you would have to be raised in a moral vacuume to do that easily.
I mean, its a hell of a lot easier to get a job, than it is to become a hard-core 'gangsta' with assult weapons, knocking over banks.
There is a reason the US military shifted to weapons that do *NOT* have full auto.. but at most a 3 round burst.
Any round fired after the 3rd successive round has a massive decreasing chance of actually being on target.
Granted.. if you don't care.. or your target is a 50X50 square of people, those statics don't mean a hell of a lot. But normally, against single or non-massed targets, 'full auto' is just another way to say 'miss a hell of a lot'.
How is that any different from the 5000 lines of spaghetti code I will be forced to write over two days myself, instead of spreading it out over 5 Indian contractors.
People very seldom outsource purely because of money, normally its done because its a cheaper way to get speed.
When you tell every student, no matter how they perform academically, that they are special... you are really sending the message that no one is special.
The Japanese school system is the perfect example of where we are headed. They study and cram for exams, granted.. to get into better universities.. so essentially most of lower education is spend learning how to ace the exams. This of course has NOTHING to do with actual learning, or learning that is required to produce innovative and imaginative minds anyways.
In the past 20 years, there has been a huge rise in suicides, and what we might be considered odd and violent behavior. Japanese children are burning themselves out, and from time to time someone snaps spectacularly, murders their parents, an entire classroom of students etc. etc. etc.
No child left behind bears striking similarities to this process. Students schools are granted (or withheld) funding based on their schools test scores. So teachers are expected to teach to the tests, instead of the curriculum. In the end it makes dumber kids, who can't handle higher education, with the added benefit of ignoring the high potential children's growth.
So, in order to give a kid who is not mentally apt enough, an almost infinitesimal shot at becoming a doctor, we ignore the group of children who could become very GOOD doctors with only minimal additional effort.
Square peg, round hole syndrome. In the end of the day we either have NO doctors, or a few very very unqualified ones. [You only need a C to pass!]
Can someone explain to me how this makes the employment base of our non-manufacturing country stronger ??
There is tonnes of cable and wireless coverage
on
Dealing With Dialup
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· Score: 3, Funny
My Mom lives in Foulmouth, and my Sister lives in Mashpea - both of which have cable internet. I know my business wireless internet card (from Verizon) works up there.. There is internet and cable all over the place in both P-town and the Vinyard.. so if its just a matter of coverage in your area due to bad equipment, you can always fork over the $60 a month for a wireless broadband card.
Otherwise, what about ISDN ? or possibly a wireless directional antenna ? (a can) if there is anything tourist related near them.. chances are it will have wireless internet now adays.
a) Astrologer girls are 'freaky' in the sack compared to scientist girls. b) Astrologer girls are cuter than scientist girls c) Astrologer girls are more willing to invite their other cute astrologer girl friends over one night.
In order to determine this, I will need a sample study of 100 scientist girls and 100 astrologer girls to participate in a double blind test on these questions. [Scorpios need not apply]
If this is just a complaint that you were 'held down' by the man.. then don't read any more - nothing I say will chance your mind that you were 'screwed over'. However, if you are honestly asking 'what happened'..please.. read on.
First, in your situation you said your company grew 100% then brought an outside manager in.
I'm going to guess that you went from a team of 3-4 developers, to a team of 7 or 8 developers, and were previously managed directly by upper management. [who was providing most of the technical guidance for the projects you were working on.]
I must pose the question first: Why do you feel as if you were passed over on this promotion? Did you ask them for a promotion? Have you been actively involved in choosing the direction of the projects assigned to your group? Have you been tapped, often, by the current management to give them an idea of how to solve a problem that the business is having? How much experience do you have in your current role? Are you, and be honest here, exceptionally good in your field? Is your company going into a new round of funding? How has it been performing fiscally over the past few quarters, and have you done anything to help improve its performance.
These are a lot of pointed questions, and any of them being answered in a 'negative response' [or causing you to say 'huh??!'] could have caused you to be passed over.
They also have to consider the rest of the developers, are you all the same age/tenure/work level? are you all friendly? these are also reasons to bring in outside management. If you have a functioning team, that is very productive and works well together - you do not break that up if you do not have to.
I will make the assumption that your a great guy, who codes well, and has asked for more responsibility, often - and when given more, has stepped up to the plate. In that case, chances are they brought the other guy in because he has actual management experience.
A manager, even in IT, isn't about being 'awesome' at your job. You should be competent, but folks who are exceptional in their field - have a certain laser-focus that actually makes them horrible in management roles. A manager needs to step back from the fine details of a project, and manage the workload and the people. Depending on the company, an IT manager might be reasonable for making decisions that affect the growth of the company. Normally.. managers are not asked their opinion on if something can be done, but told to do it, and figure out how it gets done, on time, under budget. [If its any consolation, its like that all the way up the food chain, ESPECIALLY if your VC funded.]
So - back to your real question : How does one become a manager.
First ask yourself why you want the role. If its for more money, or as a natural progression, or because you see it as a promotion.. reconsider. To successfully manage anyone, you need to understand that its a completely different skill set than what might make you good at your job now. A somewhat weak example would be comparing it to the jump from a.NET programmer, to a DBA. Sure, most applications now use a DB as a back end, and there is a certainly more cross over between the two roles, but a programmer probably can not maintain a DB as well, and a DBA probably doesn't write code as efficiently.
An IT manager has to be good with people, potentially weird introverted people with intelligence and strong conviction on how to do things. [read:stubborn know-IT-all]. They have to be able to manage multiple time lines, projects, deadlines, and report all this information back to upper management - in NON IT terms most of the time. They have to be able to motivate their teams to work, and know how to help them work smarter, not just crack the whip. They have to be willing to put their ass on the line - writing checks based on the future performance of their staff (who will hate them
As always, it is the Looters that expect to get money for nothing. The telco's have every right to charge whatever they want for wire-taps. Regardless of whatever kickbacks they have gotten before. To not due so - would be giving up even more rights that the people who's lines they are tapping.
A situation such as this is the result of poor financial planning. I think that this is the biggest failing of US secondary education--that no personal finance courses are required or even available. If you don't have 6 months' living expenses in a liquid account somewhere, what is your plan for an involuntary job separation?
Wake me when you own your own business. Until then, don't try to "correct" me on how employers behave.
I certainly have more than 6 months cash on hand, I think you are confusing the issue. I am not saying *I* need to do this, I am saying most employees do not live this way. I can identify, because I have a child. Kids are expensive. Something I don't see you mention. You see, what you fail to notice is that a two year old doesn't *WANT* a new video game console, they want mom or dad to hug them. What your also forgetting is that the highest factor of work related stress is actually stress from the home - significantly - not being there enough.
What I will go so far to say is that employers, like myself, and yourself - know that most people live like this, and take advantage of it. Employers LOVE the idiots that live from paycheck to paycheck, because they can never quit. What you also forget, is that if a person never earns a high enough income, they will live like this for decades. Not everyone HAS the option of having six months cash on hand. I know people making over $130k-$150k a year who certainly do not. [of course, law school and medical school are quite expensive.] So yes, i give you the point that people should live like this. Although, I will counter that point with the idea that if you actually keep six months of living expenses liquid, then your dumb with your money - better to have it in short term investments that you can borrow against, than to have it sit there NOT working for you. Cash in hand is a suckers game with the interest rates over the last four years.
Now, for some reason, you seem to want to direct these questions at me personally, so let me respond.
I am moving on to my *THIRD* business.. So.. let me 'wake you' now. My first business I started at 20 years of age, and sold it.. at a significant profit after two years. I actually financed the sale to the buyers myself, for additional profit. I am in the process of selling the second business now (just waiting on the lawyers), its currently valuation is at roughly $3000000 - and the purchasing company has already obtained VC funding for growth based on the development of the company.
What your missing in your 'plumbing' example above is economy of scale. Yeah, when you have three guys working for you, its a lot easier to ask one to work a little more. What you are also forgetting is things like office furniture, computers etc. are considered assets of the company, and depreciate annually. Asset depreciation can be directly deducted from the bottom line. Additionally, assets don't get sick - or get fired (although they sometimes break I suppose - but then they become a write off.) Also, it sounds like your talking about two to three extra hours a week, not the average 10-20 that your typical IT worker does. No one is going to complain about a little extra money a few hours a week, but have them do that extra 80 hours a month, for free, for six or nine months and see how they feel about it.
So what's the point? The point is, when an hourly employee works hour #1, he's making his employer money. When he works hour #40, he's still making his employer money. Assuming that the employer is behaving rationally, the same will hold true for hour #50, and hour #60.
This leads into a continuation of my last sentence. And your reasoning is flawed. Have you ever sat in front of a computer and programmed for 14 hours straight ? Or.. ignoring computers, have you ever hung drywall for 14 hours straight ? Hows that last sheet look compared to the first one ? just as perfect ? I doubt it. People
'You can always quit, you know' is a b.s. and cop out answer. No, most people can't just quit. Especially not if you have a family that depends on you. 'Sorry kids, we can not have lunch today, because dad couldn't stand work anymore.'
Actually, I'm going to have to correct you on this. Being non-exempt WOULD give you more face time with your kids. When your employer has to pay you overtime, IE: anything *OVER* 40 hours a week, they have to pay you your hourly rate + 50%. So.. if you work someone 60 hours a week, IE. not changing their time in the office one bit, you are almost doubling the salary annually. If someone earns 70k a year for a 40 hour week, and you have to pay them time and 1/2 for 20 hours a week, you are paying them an additional 52k a year. so your paying 3/4 the cost of an additional employee, but only getting 1/2 the hours.
Effectively, you are nearly doubling your salary expenses for your business. If the majority of a day's overtime occur after 11:00pm, they are forced to pay 2X the employees hourly rate for *ALL* overtime that day. So, lets say you work 2 hours at the office, then get a 2:10 phone call that lasts for two hours and five mins. thats all at 2X rate.
They only thing an employer might save on is duplication on health insurance benefits. Otherwise, they are effectively paying a full employees salary to someone, and getting 1/2 the hours of of them. [20 hours overtime instead of 40 hours normal]
So, long story, as soon as accounting figures that out.. your back to 40 hours a week, with 3 extra folks in your dept to pick up the slack, and yeah.. you get to see your kids again. [Or your salary doubles overnight.. and things stay the same, but your kid's college education is payed off by the time they are 6.]
The funny thing is, I never picked up on this when I was a slave to the keyboard. It wasn't until I moved to management that it all became apparent. Its basic, basic math. And thats before you factor in that people who don't work 20 hours overtime a week are generally better motivated, happier, and hate coming to work less. So they are on average, more productive.
In management, of course, i'm exempt again - but I get to hold my own hours, and my job is judged on my achievements, not by my hours. I try to keep my guys on a 40 hour schedule, so they don't burn out. If there is a crunch and they stay more, I try to let them off early when its NOT crunch and they are caught up. As an example of how well that works, just last week, I had a guy who left for a better paying job, send me a [gift], thanking me and the other management staff for not only teaching him a boat load of stuff, but for being good folks to work for. [He learned more here in a year straight out of college, than most of the kids he graduated with will learn over the next three years.]
When your x-employees send you gifts.. AFTER they leave.. you must have done something right:P
Sounds like heaven compared to sitting down at my desk at 7:00 am. Then working until noon, taking 5 mins to get my lunch from the refrigerator and heating it up, then eating it at my desk. Followed by working straight through until 6:00 PM or so. Only to be on call if anything 'comes up' that evening.
$70,000 a year is based on a 40 hour work week. If your working 60 hour weeks or more, you are probably worse off THAN a custodial worker. With more stress, and less family face time.
Do not try to make us think 'exempt' is better until you have not seen your kid for three days due to 'crunch' time.
Show me a Harvard Student that is paying for their own tuition, and not mooching off mom and dad (or financial aid, or student loans) and maybe you have a point. maybe. Otherwise last I checked, Poor College Student still applies.
They are not stupid, as they are still in office with the lowest public opinion rating EVER. Stupid people do not gain control of a first world country, no matter how much people want to believe that. Stupid people flip burgers at McDonald's for a living, conniving and deviously smart people can retain control of an entire country after systematically removing huge swaths of the populous' rights.
The current administration is not stupid. Morally bereft maybe. Hugely self interested maybe. But not stupid.
Slashdot Mirror
A docking station
http://www.patents.com/Docking-station/USD578110/en-US/
A Clasp
http://www.patents.com/Clasp/USD577990/en-US/
A user interface (the dock)
http://www.patents.com/User-interface-providing-consolidation-access/US7434177/en-US/
Method of controlling clock signals
http://www.patents.com/Method-apparatus-generation-control-clock-signals/US7434083/en-US/
Image Scaling Arrangement
http://www.patents.com/Image-scaling-arrangement/US7433546/en-US/
Thermal contact arrangment
http://www.patents.com/Thermal-contact-arrangement/US7433191/en-US/
And a Method for displaying pixels on a user interface
http://www.patents.com/Method-apparatus-displaying-pixel-images-a-graphical-user-interface/US7432939/en-US/
Apple gets several new patents a week :
http://www.patents.com/patents-by-company/Apple/0/50/
You said it was a job you held while getting your degree. Most employers wont think anything wrong of a student who went to university and DID NOT hold a job during that time.
Just don't list it.
If you think that is what is really holding you back, then don't list that as a previous position. Employers don't care if you held a job outside of your degree in regard to employment. I don't hire recent college grads because they list their summer supermarket jobs - I hire them because they are cheap, disposable, and 30% of them will actually both know what they are doing, and show a willing-ness to kick a hole in the sky. I expect to lose about 1/2 of the ones we hire to other jobs, and then I expect to fire at least 30% of the ones who don't leave by themselves. The ones that do work, get promotions and better pay, instead of the door.
SO .. if you honestly believe that having tech support on your resume is whats holding you back - 30 seconds in your word processing program should get you the keys to a new job.
If that doesn't work .. try telling your prospective employers these three things :
1) If I don't know what you need me to know, by the end of the day I will learn it.
2) If my project isn't done by the end of my workday, then my workday doesn't end.
3) I want this job, and am willing to work my ass off to get it.
*THOSE* in my opinion are the three main distinguishing features that makes me pick certain graduates over others. You certainly are not going to get hired on the basis of a two week lab program.
no offence.
Yeah .. this is a newer table .. I took that 1.5k number from what she told me a year or two ago .. it looks like it will get her closer to 3k more a year when she gets her doctorate. Inflation is wonderful.
Still ... anyone ELSE I know with a doctorate makes quite a bit more than $53k a year. I know IT guys who barely finished high-school that make $80k a year racking servers.
You don't go up ever year in pay grade, you tend to go up every other year (on average) - as teacher's don't get a raise every year. Sometimes if you move from a VERY hard school, to an 'easier' school - you will drop a paygrade. As they bump positions an extra pay grade in really bad schools to try to keep teachers there. Its jokingly referred to as 'Hazard Pay' at teacher parties.
My wife moved from Middle school to elementary school for a few years hoping it would be better. She took a pay grade drop to do so. When she moved back to middle school, she would have gotten a pay grade increase, however that year there was a moratorium on raises. So .. Essentially since she took an 'easier' job instead of quitting, for a number of years she was stuck at a lower pay grade.
There is 0% effort involved in salary grade increases.
You sir, are an idiot.
My wife .. a teacher of 15 years .. makes $48k a year. She has a Masters Degree and is 2 classes away from her Doctorate. When she gets her Doctorate she will earn another $1500 a year. She teaches in the GHETTO of Baltimore County. [My words, which she would be horrified to hear me use, but its the truth.] In this area of the district, they are seriously considering PAYING students to come to school. There are metal detectors, 30% attendance rates, stabbings in her class room. This is all part of daily life. Her classroom, AFTER only 30% of her students coming to school are still overcrowded (30+ students). On the mandatory 'Back to School' night that the teachers were forced to come back to work for, three parents showed up. *THREE*. She gets up at 4:30 am every morning, because she has 'breakfast' duty at school - for kids who's families can't (or will not) give them breakfast. She works until 4:30 pm every night as there are after school programs because many parents complained that they didn't get free babysitting - err .. I mean that they had to work later than 3:00pm - teachers are assigned to them if they don't have enough other duties. THEN she comes home and needs to prepare lesson plans and compile grades.
This year, she actually brings home less money, because the costs of benefits went up, but there was no cost of living increase. How many jobs have *you* stayed at where you make less money in successive years instead of more ?
I would call her dedicated. In the county that she teaches in, most teachers burn out inside of 10 years. Primarily because the stress of the job and the stress of being broke all the time eventually make them not care. Yes, some teachers slack - but in my experience - so do many IT workers, police officers, doctors, firemen, postal workers, web developers, etc etc etc. People slack, its not fair to say that only certain job descriptions do.
I'm not sure about where you live, but My wife works more than 9 months a year. The CHILDREN go to school for nine months, she stops teaching mid June, and goes back to work Mid August. Something else you seems to miss out on, is teachers don't get PAID for summer vacation. If they want money then, they need to save it prior - or find other work for six weeks. You ever try to find a job that pays more than $7.00 an hour and will let you work for six weeks ? Trust me, teachers not working during the summer is not THEIR idea - its a way for the school board to save millions by not having to pay salaries for six weeks. Also, that is the only time they get off all year. There are no 'personal' days in the education system. If you have to take a sick day, you literally need a doctor's note. Got the flu ? Need a doctor's note. You mom died ? Three days bereavement, oh, and we need a note to prove it. No note ? you are immediately put on suspension with no pay until you get one. Have more than five sick days in six months ? You are immediately put on academic review. So if you are sick with the flu for 3 days WITH A NOTE from your physician, and then four months later, are sick with something else for three days WITH A NOTE from your physician. You automatically are on observation - meaning you get reviewed once every other month for six months. If you miss a day of work, you can be suspended.
Teachers don't work hard ? Do you have a kid ? How do you feel at the end of the day .. well rested ? Now try raising 700 of them a day. Most of the parents are not doing it. Teachers are expected to. Your 7 year old doesn't know the alphabet - is that the parent's fault or a teachers ? Your 15 year old can't read ? Parent or Teacher's fault ? Your darling child has failed every class this semester ? Teachers or Parents ?
Its easy, and politically correct, to blame the teachers. But most of the time the actual blame lies on the parents. Kids learn, thats what they do. If a kid is going to school, and even paying partial attention in
As a CTO .. rest assured, I'm one cynical motherfucker when it comes to this stuff.
My sys admin is going to steal my passwords !!? oh no .. I better install your magical software, which his department will be responsible for maintaining, and have full access to .. THEN .. and ONLY THEN .. will my pr0n filled smut email be safe.
Unless he steals that password FIRST I guess.
well shitmonkeys, good thing you saw through his nefarious plan, and have ANOTHER layer of software to protect my new purchase, of course .. his department will have to set it up and maintain it ....
Game Publishers Andrew Sheerin and Andy Tompkins from a small company in Cambridge UK, have been reported to have been seen laughing hysterically as they walked into a local bank branch.
Their beer and pretzels game 'War on Terror' which was doing moderate sales from timely novelty value recently was under the world spot lite, generating MILLIONS of sold copies for the surprised anarchists.
'We were pleasantly surprised' said Mr. Topkins, 'we had thought the British Police force was actually trying to hinder sales, thankfully, they did the opposite. I take back every nasty thing I have ever said about them.'
In other news, Britain is now in the midst of a balaclava shortage which has caused several riots in south London, with a fatality count of fifteen and climbing.
SO .. in a recent trip to a caribian island this past week I managed to carry the following through TSA and onto a plane :
10 Cuban Cigars
1 Torch Lighter
1 'regular' lighter
1 cigar cutter
My bag was opened and searched. my cigar case (which contained everything) was opened, the lighters were examined (but not lit .. the torch was a zippo with a torch insert ..) and then re-closed.
On the trip BACK from the same caribian island, I managed to bring four of the above cigars and the normal lighter into the plane and through customs. [The torch lighter was either lost or stolen on our trip]
On previous trips, we have brought both cigars, and bottles of absinthe back with us, occasionally being searched.
Personally, I'm grateful that the TSA is so fixated on electronic equipment now, as it lets me :P
support my exotic cigar habit
I'm thinking they were more worried {pissed off} about who was selling their free tickets. 'Security' being the code word for 'whom should we exclude next year, because we don't like scalpers.'
You know .. similar to what the NFL did a year or so ago with the tickets they give players.
i guess its better phrased as 'sex outside the vows of marriage'
Point of note :
Catholic Priests take a vow of celibacy.
A vow of celibacy is the act of abstaining from marriage.
The reason catholic priests are supposed to abstain from sex is because in the catholic church its a sin to have pre-marital sex.
Unless of course, they have taken a vow of chastity - which is a vow to abstain from sex.
Either way, I hope more people take both vows, gives me more room to work in.
fair enough .. my previous post .. like most of my posts was 'off the cuff' so to speak.
I think . honestly .. that Welfare itself is certainly not 'helpful'. At its ideal form, as 'help' when things are at rock bottom .. its still dubious as to how useful a program it is.
Of course, i doubt that its EVER used as a 'last' resort anymore. Instead its become a crutch that allows people who are not willing to work, the ability to exist off the tax money of people who ARE willing to work. [Often while they have side jobs, or other unreported sources of income.]
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for people helping others who are in dire straights. But the second there are 'laws' around it, those laws can be gamed, exploited, or 'worked around' to one's advantage.
My point, actually, could probably have been better summed up as 'Idle hands make the Devil's work.' on the surface a Horribly christian thing to say, but still a good axiom.
People who don't have a *fear* of not being able to support themselves, have a higher potential of having less drive to do so.
So .. more along the lines of .. 'kids who have jobs, or have 'things to do' - are less likely to join a gang / a criminal life style. And people who are forced to have a job because there are no safety nets, one would assume, have a higher motivation to actually kepe that job.
my whole crime vs a job thing was more of an inward ramble turned outward. I was puzzling over in a semi monologue if the general populace knew they needed to work to survive, how many would risk the potential gains of crime. IE: how many people would be willing to bet their future on risky gains - if they KNEW for certain that it was an all or nothing chance.
Still not sure of the answer on that - but I'm betting *heh* that given no safety net, self-interest would cause most to not risk it.
who knows.
Killing welfare, special interest funding, and 'help' groups for people that willingly fuck up their lives - might go a long way too.
Basically, reinstate accountability.
'Gee, if I don't go to school, I'll be working at McDonald's forever.' Tough break kid.
One would think its a lot easier to make a bad decision if your fairly sure that someone will help you out if your REALLY in it up to your neck.
Its pretty hard to 'keep it real' when your starving because you have no visible source of income.
Yes,yes, you can turn to crime, but (and this is an honest question) HOW many people are actually going to go to hard-core crime ? I mean, you have to really turn off the 'this is not right' warning light in your head - and while its possible, you would have to be raised in a moral vacuume to do that easily.
I mean, its a hell of a lot easier to get a job, than it is to become a hard-core 'gangsta' with assult weapons, knocking over banks.
There is a reason the US military shifted to weapons that do *NOT* have full auto .. but at most a 3 round burst.
Any round fired after the 3rd successive round has a massive decreasing chance of actually being on target.
Granted .. if you don't care .. or your target is a 50X50 square of people, those statics don't mean a hell of a lot. But normally, against single or non-massed targets, 'full auto' is just another way to say 'miss a hell of a lot'.
How is that any different from the 5000 lines of spaghetti code I will be forced to write over two days myself, instead of spreading it out over 5 Indian contractors.
People very seldom outsource purely because of money, normally its done because its a cheaper way to get speed.
When you tell every student, no matter how they perform academically, that they are special ... you are really sending the message that no one is special.
.. to get into better universities .. so essentially most of lower education is spend learning how to ace the exams. This of course has NOTHING to do with actual learning, or learning that is required to produce innovative and imaginative minds anyways.
The Japanese school system is the perfect example of where we are headed. They study and cram for exams, granted
In the past 20 years, there has been a huge rise in suicides, and what we might be considered odd and violent behavior. Japanese children are burning themselves out, and from time to time someone snaps spectacularly, murders their parents, an entire classroom of students etc. etc. etc.
No child left behind bears striking similarities to this process. Students schools are granted (or withheld) funding based on their schools test scores. So teachers are expected to teach to the tests, instead of the curriculum. In the end it makes dumber kids, who can't handle higher education, with the added benefit of ignoring the high potential children's growth.
So, in order to give a kid who is not mentally apt enough, an almost infinitesimal shot at becoming a doctor, we ignore the group of children who could become very GOOD doctors with only minimal additional effort.
Square peg, round hole syndrome. In the end of the day we either have NO doctors, or a few very very unqualified ones. [You only need a C to pass!]
Can someone explain to me how this makes the employment base of our non-manufacturing country stronger ??
My Mom lives in Foulmouth, and my Sister lives in Mashpea - both of which have cable internet. I know my business wireless internet card (from Verizon) works up there .. There is internet and cable all over the place in both P-town and the Vinyard .. so if its just a matter of coverage in your area due to bad equipment, you can always fork over the $60 a month for a wireless broadband card.
.. chances are it will have wireless internet now adays.
Otherwise, what about ISDN ? or possibly a wireless directional antenna ? (a can) if there is anything tourist related near them
I think more research is needed to determine if :
a) Astrologer girls are 'freaky' in the sack compared to scientist girls.
b) Astrologer girls are cuter than scientist girls
c) Astrologer girls are more willing to invite their other cute astrologer girl friends over one night.
In order to determine this, I will need a sample study of 100 scientist girls and 100 astrologer girls to participate in a double blind test on these questions.
[Scorpios need not apply]
One where the lumber yards obviously think its easier to work with 'metric' wood .. because its easier to multiply with :P
If this is just a complaint that you were 'held down' by the man .. then don't read any more - nothing I say will chance your mind that you were 'screwed over'. However, if you are honestly asking 'what happened' ..please .. read on.
.. managers are not asked their opinion on if something can be done, but told to do it, and figure out how it gets done, on time, under budget. [If its any consolation, its like that all the way up the food chain, ESPECIALLY if your VC funded.]
.. reconsider. To successfully manage anyone, you need to understand that its a completely different skill set than what might make you good at your job now. A somewhat weak example would be comparing it to the jump from a .NET programmer, to a DBA. Sure, most applications now use a DB as a back end, and there is a certainly more cross over between the two roles, but a programmer probably can not maintain a DB as well, and a DBA probably doesn't write code as efficiently.
First, in your situation you said your company grew 100% then brought an outside manager in.
I'm going to guess that you went from a team of 3-4 developers, to a team of 7 or 8 developers, and were previously managed directly by upper management. [who was providing most of the technical guidance for the projects you were working on.]
I must pose the question first: Why do you feel as if you were passed over on this promotion? Did you ask them for a promotion? Have you been actively involved in choosing the direction of the projects assigned to your group? Have you been tapped, often, by the current management to give them an idea of how to solve a problem that the business is having? How much experience do you have in your current role? Are you, and be honest here, exceptionally good in your field? Is your company going into a new round of funding? How has it been performing fiscally over the past few quarters, and have you done anything to help improve its performance.
These are a lot of pointed questions, and any of them being answered in a 'negative response' [or causing you to say 'huh??!'] could have caused you to be passed over.
They also have to consider the rest of the developers, are you all the same age/tenure/work level? are you all friendly? these are also reasons to bring in outside management. If you have a functioning team, that is very productive and works well together - you do not break that up if you do not have to.
I will make the assumption that your a great guy, who codes well, and has asked for more responsibility, often - and when given more, has stepped up to the plate. In that case, chances are they brought the other guy in because he has actual management experience.
A manager, even in IT, isn't about being 'awesome' at your job. You should be competent, but folks who are exceptional in their field - have a certain laser-focus that actually makes them horrible in management roles. A manager needs to step back from the fine details of a project, and manage the workload and the people. Depending on the company, an IT manager might be reasonable for making decisions that affect the growth of the company. Normally
So - back to your real question : How does one become a manager.
First ask yourself why you want the role. If its for more money, or as a natural progression, or because you see it as a promotion
An IT manager has to be good with people, potentially weird introverted people with intelligence and strong conviction on how to do things. [read:stubborn know-IT-all]. They have to be able to manage multiple time lines, projects, deadlines, and report all this information back to upper management - in NON IT terms most of the time. They have to be able to motivate their teams to work, and know how to help them work smarter, not just crack the whip. They have to be willing to put their ass on the line - writing checks based on the future performance of their staff (who will hate them
As always, it is the Looters that expect to get money for nothing. The telco's have every right to charge whatever they want for wire-taps. Regardless of whatever kickbacks they have gotten before. To not due so - would be giving up even more rights that the people who's lines they are tapping.
A situation such as this is the result of poor financial planning. I think that this is the biggest failing of US secondary education--that no personal finance courses are required or even available. If you don't have 6 months' living expenses in a liquid account somewhere, what is your plan for an involuntary job separation?
.. So .. let me 'wake you' now. My first business I started at 20 years of age, and sold it .. at a significant profit after two years. I actually financed the sale to the buyers myself, for additional profit. I am in the process of selling the second business now (just waiting on the lawyers), its currently valuation is at roughly $3000000 - and the purchasing company has already obtained VC funding for growth based on the development of the company.
.. ignoring computers, have you ever hung drywall for 14 hours straight ? Hows that last sheet look compared to the first one ? just as perfect ? I doubt it. People
Wake me when you own your own business. Until then, don't try to "correct" me on how employers behave.
I certainly have more than 6 months cash on hand, I think you are confusing the issue. I am not saying *I* need to do this, I am saying most employees do not live this way. I can identify, because I have a child. Kids are expensive. Something I don't see you mention. You see, what you fail to notice is that a two year old doesn't *WANT* a new video game console, they want mom or dad to hug them. What your also forgetting is that the highest factor of work related stress is actually stress from the home - significantly - not being there enough.
What I will go so far to say is that employers, like myself, and yourself - know that most people live like this, and take advantage of it. Employers LOVE the idiots that live from paycheck to paycheck, because they can never quit. What you also forget, is that if a person never earns a high enough income, they will live like this for decades. Not everyone HAS the option of having six months cash on hand. I know people making over $130k-$150k a year who certainly do not. [of course, law school and medical school are quite expensive.] So yes, i give you the point that people should live like this. Although, I will counter that point with the idea that if you actually keep six months of living expenses liquid, then your dumb with your money - better to have it in short term investments that you can borrow against, than to have it sit there NOT working for you. Cash in hand is a suckers game with the interest rates over the last four years.
Now, for some reason, you seem to want to direct these questions at me personally, so let me respond.
I am moving on to my *THIRD* business
What your missing in your 'plumbing' example above is economy of scale. Yeah, when you have three guys working for you, its a lot easier to ask one to work a little more. What you are also forgetting is things like office furniture, computers etc. are considered assets of the company, and depreciate annually. Asset depreciation can be directly deducted from the bottom line. Additionally, assets don't get sick - or get fired (although they sometimes break I suppose - but then they become a write off.) Also, it sounds like your talking about two to three extra hours a week, not the average 10-20 that your typical IT worker does. No one is going to complain about a little extra money a few hours a week, but have them do that extra 80 hours a month, for free, for six or nine months and see how they feel about it.
So what's the point? The point is, when an hourly employee works hour #1, he's making his employer money. When he works hour #40, he's still making his employer money. Assuming that the employer is behaving rationally, the same will hold true for hour #50, and hour #60.
This leads into a continuation of my last sentence. And your reasoning is flawed. Have you ever sat in front of a computer and programmed for 14 hours straight ? Or
'You can always quit, you know' is a b.s. and cop out answer. No, most people can't just quit. Especially not if you have a family that depends on you. 'Sorry kids, we can not have lunch today, because dad couldn't stand work anymore.'
.. if you work someone 60 hours a week, IE. not changing their time in the office one bit, you are almost doubling the salary annually. If someone earns 70k a year for a 40 hour week, and you have to pay them time and 1/2 for 20 hours a week, you are paying them an additional 52k a year. so your paying 3/4 the cost of an additional employee, but only getting 1/2 the hours.
.. your back to 40 hours a week, with 3 extra folks in your dept to pick up the slack, and yeah .. you get to see your kids again. [Or your salary doubles overnight .. and things stay the same, but your kid's college education is payed off by the time they are 6.]
.. AFTER they leave .. you must have done something right :P
Actually, I'm going to have to correct you on this. Being non-exempt WOULD give you more face time with your kids. When your employer has to pay you overtime, IE: anything *OVER* 40 hours a week, they have to pay you your hourly rate + 50%. So
Effectively, you are nearly doubling your salary expenses for your business. If the majority of a day's overtime occur after 11:00pm, they are forced to pay 2X the employees hourly rate for *ALL* overtime that day. So, lets say you work 2 hours at the office, then get a 2:10 phone call that lasts for two hours and five mins. thats all at 2X rate.
They only thing an employer might save on is duplication on health insurance benefits. Otherwise, they are effectively paying a full employees salary to someone, and getting 1/2 the hours of of them. [20 hours overtime instead of 40 hours normal]
So, long story, as soon as accounting figures that out
The funny thing is, I never picked up on this when I was a slave to the keyboard. It wasn't until I moved to management that it all became apparent. Its basic, basic math. And thats before you factor in that people who don't work 20 hours overtime a week are generally better motivated, happier, and hate coming to work less. So they are on average, more productive.
In management, of course, i'm exempt again - but I get to hold my own hours, and my job is judged on my achievements, not by my hours. I try to keep my guys on a 40 hour schedule, so they don't burn out. If there is a crunch and they stay more, I try to let them off early when its NOT crunch and they are caught up. As an example of how well that works, just last week, I had a guy who left for a better paying job, send me a [gift], thanking me and the other management staff for not only teaching him a boat load of stuff, but for being good folks to work for. [He learned more here in a year straight out of college, than most of the kids he graduated with will learn over the next three years.]
When your x-employees send you gifts
Sounds like heaven compared to sitting down at my desk at 7:00 am. Then working until noon, taking 5 mins to get my lunch from the refrigerator and heating it up, then eating it at my desk. Followed by working straight through until 6:00 PM or so. Only to be on call if anything 'comes up' that evening.
$70,000 a year is based on a 40 hour work week. If your working 60 hour weeks or more, you are probably worse off THAN a custodial worker. With more stress, and less family face time.
Do not try to make us think 'exempt' is better until you have not seen your kid for three days due to 'crunch' time.
Show me a Harvard Student that is paying for their own tuition, and not mooching off mom and dad (or financial aid, or student loans) and maybe you have a point. maybe. Otherwise last I checked, Poor College Student still applies.
I would say just the opposite.
They are not stupid, as they are still in office with the lowest public opinion rating EVER.
Stupid people do not gain control of a first world country, no matter how much people want to believe that.
Stupid people flip burgers at McDonald's for a living, conniving and deviously smart people can retain control of an entire country after systematically removing huge swaths of the populous' rights.
The current administration is not stupid. Morally bereft maybe. Hugely self interested maybe. But not stupid.