Spent more time today looking for a job. Kind of ironic to that on Sysadmin Day I'm still looking for a job in IT. Years of sysadmin experience with Windows, Linux and even Unix, Master's degree, project management experience and even developer experience in most of the buzzword development tools and languages.
My job went to India four years ago and I'm still looking. Seems like there is a disconnect between jobs that are really available and the claim that businesses need more H1B visa workers. I've been told I'm too old and too experienced. Interviews?
I've started feeling lucky to even get an acknowledgment of a resume or application. Tired of getting asked "why is someone with your qualifications applying for this job?" - Answer is "I need a paycheck!". I've been applying for all kinds of jobs at levels from entry level to management. Last interview they popped up with a "test" that included questions about their internal procedures and internally developed tools. Obviously it was a "courtesy" interview because you don't ask someone from outside your company "How would you use our custom event log analysis software to track a problem with the Leonides network?" and expect any kind of rational answer. When I asked if I could see some documentation on the software and the network they just said something to the effect of "you're not qualified for this position" and that was the end of the interview.
There doesn't seem to be anyone hiring experienced IT workers in any category over 35 any in the eastern half of the country. Comparing my experience with some others who worked for the same company and talking to recent graduates in Computer Science and Systems Engineering it seems like the real unemployment rate for IT people in the southeastern US is pushing 20%, especially in the over 35 crowd.
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Spent more time today looking for a job. Kind of ironic to that on Sysadmin Day I'm still looking for a job in IT. Years of sysadmin experience with Windows, Linux and even Unix, Master's degree, project management experience and even developer experience in most of the buzzword development tools and languages.
My job went to India four years ago and I'm still looking. Seems like there is a disconnect between jobs that are really available and the claim that businesses need more H1B visa workers. I've been told I'm too old and too experienced. Interviews?
I've started feeling lucky to even get an acknowledgment of a resume or application. Tired of getting asked "why is someone with your qualifications applying for this job?" - Answer is "I need a paycheck!". I've been applying for all kinds of jobs at levels from entry level to management. Last interview they popped up with a "test" that included questions about their internal procedures and internally developed tools. Obviously it was a "courtesy" interview because you don't ask someone from outside your company "How would you use our custom event log analysis software to track a problem with the Leonides network?" and expect any kind of rational answer. When I asked if I could see some documentation on the software and the network they just said something to the effect of "you're not qualified for this position" and that was the end of the interview.
There doesn't seem to be anyone hiring experienced IT workers in any category over 35 any in the eastern half of the country. Comparing my experience with some others who worked for the same company and talking to recent graduates in Computer Science and Systems Engineering it seems like the real unemployment rate for IT people in the southeastern US is pushing 20%, especially in the over 35 crowd.
It's a hell of a way to celebrate a holiday!