But where the hell do you think I should plug in a few dozen dongles?
Joystick port on a Commodore 64. I had a piece of software from -- OMG! 30 years ago! -- that required a dongle to be plugged into the 9-pin joystick port. The modern day version would be a special USB stick. You can get a USB hub if you need more places to stick your dongles in.
As a contractor, I will always be replaced by someone else. I make 80% more money than someone who stayed in the same position for years and accepts 2% raises as being normal. Hoarding documentation will only make my job harder and add to the corporate dysfunction I was hired to fix.
I was out of work for two years (2009-2010), underemployed (working 20 hours per month) for six months, and filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2011. I took whatever job I could get after that. For three years (2011-2013), this meant physically demanding labor (i.e., deploying 3,000 computers, assembling racks in a data center, replacing wireless cards in 300 laptops, etc.). Most recruiters complained that my resume "lacks focus" because I haven't done the same kind of job for the last three years.
I'm now doing security remediation for a company with 80,000+ workstations and studying for the Security+ certification. The nice thing about security is that requires 10+ years of background experience in IT. A difficult hurdle for someone out of college or an H1B applicant to overcome.
if you're a plug n' play IT guy who needs to follow written documents to do your job properly, then yes, you're getting replaced.
I can't tell you how many times I've been in an IT shop where there was NO WRITTEN DOCUMENTATION. Why? Because the information was locked away inside the heads of IT employees who been there for 10+ years. As a "plug n' play IT guy," the first thing I do is write documentation to make sure that I'm doing my job correctly and consistently. Sometimes my documentation lives on after I'm done with the project.
I had a weird job interview at one Silicon Valley company. The recruiter said $25/hr, hiring manager said $15/hr. I said no dice. The recruiter later called that the hiring manager wanted to hire me but at $10/hr. Still no dice. I'm not going to work for pay that is less than my unemployment benefits.
I.T. support work: help desk, desktop support, security remediation, etc. I did several PC refresh projects to replace 3,000+ PCs and built out a data center in Silicon Valley. I'm now back in an office doing remote support.
From 2009 to 2011, there was seven applicants for every job opening. Last year it was three applicants for every job opening. A normal economy has two applicants for every job opening. I read this morning that the country will need another two years of strong job growth (i.e., 130K per month) to return the economy back to 2007 levels.
I'm not a programmer. I do I.T. support work for $50K per year, work 40 hours per a week (no OT allowed), get paid federal holidays and 20 PTO days per year. My current tech job is the best job I've had in years.
I was out of work for two years (2009-2010), underemployed (i.e., working 20 hours per month) for six months, and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2011. I applied for thousands of jobs but only had 20 interviews. Hiring managers told me that I was overqualified for minimum wage jobs and recruiters told me I was unemployable for anything else. The day after my bankruptcy was finalized I got a new tech job.
I was laid off prior to the government shutdown last year, and was out of work for eight months. I applied for hundreds of jobs, but this time I had 60 interviews before getting a new tech job. I'm paying down debt, studying for new certifications, and preparing for the next layoff.
A manager at one company I worked for made a big deal out of giving me a 2% raise. He got mad when I pointed out that I previously got 50% raises, which meant I hit the salary cap three years before he did even though we were hired at the same time. Although he had a reputation for getting the numbers, I had a reputation for exceeding at all the odd jobs that no one else wanted.
Look at Apple and Google's illegal manipulation of the labor market.
That was to prevent each company from poaching their top talent. Those people would have gotten top dollar anyway. It had nothing to do with the general tech market.
Unless we organize we will continue to see declining wages and more demands placed upon us by management.
As a contractor, I work at all kinds of different companies. But I'm paid 80% more than someone who stayed at the same company for years and accepted 2% raises as normal. My contract also prohibits me from working overtime.
Anybody in the SV sticking to 40h/week is pretty likely to get laid off, if not fired, pretty quick.
As a skilled I.T. technician, my contract prohibits me from working overtime. I haven't worked overtime in 10+ years. Being a contractor, I've gotten laid off plenty of times. However, I make 80% more than those who stayed at the same company for years and accept 2% pay raises as normal.
My contract specifically states that I can't work any overtime at all. I can only work from Monday through Friday during normal business hours. That's fine with me.
When I took Amtrak to visit my parents in Sacramento in the 1990's, the kids in Oakland would put debris on the track to see what would happen when the train comes though at 65MPH. I don't mean a penny. Debris broke the brake airhose on the carriage underneath my seat on one trip. The trian slowed to a stop. The engineer spent 15 minutes repairing the airhose. Lasers should vaporize those little rascals off the track.
I bought many programming door-stoppers in the 1990's and 2000's. Most were tossed as the technicial information became obsolete over time. This is especially true for new programming languages that are still maturing at a rapid pace. The only reference books I still have are for C/C++, Python 2.6 and data structures from ten years ago.
Much better than cutting a tree, that you replace, and printing a book, right?
Unless the publisher is using a manual hand press to produce the book, printing, storing and shipping the books still requires energy. I find programming ebooks more convenient as they don't take up physical space and are easier to search through. Physical books, however, are still useful as firewood if civilization ever goes to hell in a handbasket.
Slashdot Mirror
But where the hell do you think I should plug in a few dozen dongles?
Joystick port on a Commodore 64. I had a piece of software from -- OMG! 30 years ago! -- that required a dongle to be plugged into the 9-pin joystick port. The modern day version would be a special USB stick. You can get a USB hub if you need more places to stick your dongles in.
Humor - def. Laugh, it's funny. Ha, ha, ha.
That's so 1976-ish.
We don't need no stinkin' Windows! Get a Mac!
Caliber. Some of my coworkers like to take old hard drives down to the shooting range and shoot the spindles out.
It's called living a society. We all chip in to help our neighbors because that's the right thing to do. Otherwise, the alternative is anarchy.
Nah... I make too much money to bitch.
As a contractor, I will always be replaced by someone else. I make 80% more money than someone who stayed in the same position for years and accepts 2% raises as being normal. Hoarding documentation will only make my job harder and add to the corporate dysfunction I was hired to fix.
I was out of work for two years (2009-2010), underemployed (working 20 hours per month) for six months, and filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2011. I took whatever job I could get after that. For three years (2011-2013), this meant physically demanding labor (i.e., deploying 3,000 computers, assembling racks in a data center, replacing wireless cards in 300 laptops, etc.). Most recruiters complained that my resume "lacks focus" because I haven't done the same kind of job for the last three years.
I'm now doing security remediation for a company with 80,000+ workstations and studying for the Security+ certification. The nice thing about security is that requires 10+ years of background experience in IT. A difficult hurdle for someone out of college or an H1B applicant to overcome.
For example specialists in an obscure aspect of an obscure technology.
Like HR requiring five years of experience in a new technology that came out six months ago? That's a pretty obscure specialist.
if you're a plug n' play IT guy who needs to follow written documents to do your job properly, then yes, you're getting replaced.
I can't tell you how many times I've been in an IT shop where there was NO WRITTEN DOCUMENTATION. Why? Because the information was locked away inside the heads of IT employees who been there for 10+ years. As a "plug n' play IT guy," the first thing I do is write documentation to make sure that I'm doing my job correctly and consistently. Sometimes my documentation lives on after I'm done with the project.
I had a weird job interview at one Silicon Valley company. The recruiter said $25/hr, hiring manager said $15/hr. I said no dice. The recruiter later called that the hiring manager wanted to hire me but at $10/hr. Still no dice. I'm not going to work for pay that is less than my unemployment benefits.
I.T. support work: help desk, desktop support, security remediation, etc. I did several PC refresh projects to replace 3,000+ PCs and built out a data center in Silicon Valley. I'm now back in an office doing remote support.
From 2009 to 2011, there was seven applicants for every job opening. Last year it was three applicants for every job opening. A normal economy has two applicants for every job opening. I read this morning that the country will need another two years of strong job growth (i.e., 130K per month) to return the economy back to 2007 levels.
I'm not a programmer. I do I.T. support work for $50K per year, work 40 hours per a week (no OT allowed), get paid federal holidays and 20 PTO days per year. My current tech job is the best job I've had in years.
I was out of work for two years (2009-2010), underemployed (i.e., working 20 hours per month) for six months, and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2011. I applied for thousands of jobs but only had 20 interviews. Hiring managers told me that I was overqualified for minimum wage jobs and recruiters told me I was unemployable for anything else. The day after my bankruptcy was finalized I got a new tech job.
I was laid off prior to the government shutdown last year, and was out of work for eight months. I applied for hundreds of jobs, but this time I had 60 interviews before getting a new tech job. I'm paying down debt, studying for new certifications, and preparing for the next layoff.
A manager at one company I worked for made a big deal out of giving me a 2% raise. He got mad when I pointed out that I previously got 50% raises, which meant I hit the salary cap three years before he did even though we were hired at the same time. Although he had a reputation for getting the numbers, I had a reputation for exceeding at all the odd jobs that no one else wanted.
10 print "Goodbye, World!"
20 goto 10
Look at Apple and Google's illegal manipulation of the labor market.
That was to prevent each company from poaching their top talent. Those people would have gotten top dollar anyway. It had nothing to do with the general tech market.
Unless we organize we will continue to see declining wages and more demands placed upon us by management.
As a contractor, I work at all kinds of different companies. But I'm paid 80% more than someone who stayed at the same company for years and accepted 2% raises as normal. My contract also prohibits me from working overtime.
Anybody in the SV sticking to 40h/week is pretty likely to get laid off, if not fired, pretty quick.
As a skilled I.T. technician, my contract prohibits me from working overtime. I haven't worked overtime in 10+ years. Being a contractor, I've gotten laid off plenty of times. However, I make 80% more than those who stayed at the same company for years and accept 2% pay raises as normal.
My contract specifically states that I can't work any overtime at all. I can only work from Monday through Friday during normal business hours. That's fine with me.
When I took Amtrak to visit my parents in Sacramento in the 1990's, the kids in Oakland would put debris on the track to see what would happen when the train comes though at 65MPH. I don't mean a penny. Debris broke the brake airhose on the carriage underneath my seat on one trip. The trian slowed to a stop. The engineer spent 15 minutes repairing the airhose. Lasers should vaporize those little rascals off the track.
Perhaps the non-basement crowd haven't gotten the memo that they can find everything on Google these days?
I bought many programming door-stoppers in the 1990's and 2000's. Most were tossed as the technicial information became obsolete over time. This is especially true for new programming languages that are still maturing at a rapid pace. The only reference books I still have are for C/C++, Python 2.6 and data structures from ten years ago.
Much better than cutting a tree, that you replace, and printing a book, right?
Unless the publisher is using a manual hand press to produce the book, printing, storing and shipping the books still requires energy. I find programming ebooks more convenient as they don't take up physical space and are easier to search through. Physical books, however, are still useful as firewood if civilization ever goes to hell in a handbasket.
Can't you just look it up in the encyclopedia? For all practical purposes it has replaced the human brain.
FTFY