What do you like?

Post #24,788 by Another Scott 1/17/02 11:43:37 PM Reply	What do you like? You need to answer questions like that to figure out what type of job you want to try to get. Just listing random jobs isn't going to cut it. Some more questions that only you can answer - there's no need to tell us the answers :-) - just figure them out yourself and act on them. What's most important to you? Money? Being appreciated? Helping people? Working with your hands? Working with people? Working by yourself? Spare time? Benefits? Growth opportunities? What are your constraints? We know you don't want to leave STL. Ask yourself what's more important - being in STL or getting the kind of job you want. Be honest about your needs and requirements and where you want to be 5 years from now. How will your next job help you get to where you want to be? Remember that someone isn't going to hire you because you're a nice guy, or because you know a lot about VB, or because you work hard, or because you know a lot about computers. They're going to hire you, if they hire you, because the job you do brings in more to the company than you cost. (Employees can cost 2.5 times their salary.) If you can convince them that you'll help them earn more than you cost, you've got a better chance of getting the job than people who can't make that argument. Understand what the company is looking for and sell yourself as a person who can do that job in a way that makes the company more successful. Look into Civil Service jobs in the city, state and yes even the Federal government. Having a steady income with good benefits and a fairly secure position isn't something to turn down out-of-hand. Don't veto changing careers if, after thinking about it long and hard, you find that IT won't help you get to where you want to be. Supposedly most people have about 4 careers before they retire. If things are tough, then you have to be even more persistent. Look into working 2 jobs if you need extra income. I worked as a typist during the day and as a clerk/data entry person at night for almost a year. It was hard, and added nothing to my resume, but it paid the bills until my ship came in. Look into taking night classes and working days, or day classes and working nights if you think that more education and training will help you reach your goals. I hope this gives you some things to think about. I think the hardest part about job hunting is figuring out what the most important issues are and holding out until those are satisfied - and knowing which constraints have to wait until later. Best of luck with your search. Cheers, Scott.
Post #24,815 by nking 1/18/02 10:05:33 AM Reply	I am limited, it seems I am not really sure what I want, my last employer kind of confused me by not showing me respect and paying me far under the salary listed in a survey as average for my position and experience. But anyway: Money is important, I want to be able to earn $50,000USD a year or more. At least I'd like to. I may have to settle for less, if I work in a video store or something. Being apreciated and getting respect are two things that I want, yet didn't get from my previous employer. I was just a human resource to them, that they could throw away like a used tissue. I want growth, yet didn't get it from my previous job. I like working by myself, yet I can work in a team. My wife doesn't want me to leave the area, or else she will leave me. So if I do, my marriage is gone. It is a good marriage and I want to keep it. I need stability, I need an employer who is willing to work with me and help me to do my job. That means no broken promises, real IT training (as IT technology is always changing, this will make sure that I stay on course with the latest tech), no managers changing requirements and features at the last momment, an employer that understands my illness and is willing to work with it (or around it), one that doesn't treat its IT staff like inhuman trolls or something, when other employees are harassing me I expect management to do something about it instead of being too much of a wimp to even talk to the other employee, etc. In five years I expect to be in a project leader or project management position, possibly a supervior or manager position. My previous employer promised these things, but never promoted me. Another developer got promoted, but promptly quit after a few months and went back down to being a developer. I wouldn't do that, I'd stick to it. That other developer brownnosed a lot to get the promotion, see what brownnosers do when they get some responsibility? They chicken out. I saved the previous firm over millions of dollars. The docket calendar alone, did that because lawyers would forget court dates and miss trials. It wasn't that I cost the company money, it was that they thought they could hire someone to replace me at a lower salary so they could save money. I hope they don't get another codemonkey that doesn't know what he/she is doing and produce sloppy code like we had for a few other developers. But apparently that is what they want, and what they will get. They IT department and management has developed a "Fast Food" mentality. Get it done in days or weeks instead of months, by any means possible. Which means cutting corners, no documentatation, no debugging, and sloppy code that causes memory leaks and other problems. "Will code Visual BASIC for cash."
Post #24,825 by Steve Lowe 1/18/02 10:52:26 AM Reply	Only by your own thoughts All these things you mention should be on your resume. Specific projects and specific cost savings are magic, your docket calendar app is PERFECT. I suggest checking out [link\|http://webtraining.infoworld.com\|webtraining] at infoworld or other similar services. They even have a course on Project Management. It's $55 and well worth the investment to able to add "Project Management" to the list of skills on your resume, if that's where you want your career to go. (In fact it's $55 to take any/all of the courses in the 'Business Skills' category, you have a year. Pretty good deal IMHO.) You're not doing anything else, right? Norm, I say this with all due respect and with no negativity intended: your only limitation is yourself. Stop blaming your previous employer for things like wrong pay, no growth, and lack of training. These are, truly, your responsibility. If you think you're not getting paid enough, look elsewhere. Growth and training is a personal issue. It's nice when a company supports that through tuition assistance, in house training and development, and the like, but certainly not their responsibility. Did your last job offer tuition assistance? Did you take advantage of that? YOU have to make things happen for you, that's the only way they will. Peace and luck ----- Steve
Post #24,828 by CRConrad 1/18/02 11:11:15 AM Reply	Limited by your own definition of "good", perhaps? My wife doesn't want me to leave the area, or else she will leave me. So if I do, my marriage is gone. It is a good marriage and I want to keep it. Huh?!? You call that "good"??? Looking at things objectively, we have: A labour market on the brink of depression Norm, in the same condition, and with rather specific requirements for a job Ergo --> A very real possibility that you'll have to consider moving somewhere else in order to get the kind of job you want/need We also have: Something called "marriage", which most of us would take to mean an equal commitment from both spouses... A history since time began of people, all over the world, who have, when the need arose, upped stakes and moved to where they could get a job -- talking it over with their spouses, and taking said spouses with them A history since time began of people, all over the world, who have, when the need arose, upped stakes and moved with their spouses, to where said spouses could get a job Ergo --> A readiness to up stakes and move with your spouse to where said spouse can get a job seems to be very much a part of the generally accepted ("common-sense") definition of "equal commitment from both spouses" And, finally: A wife that threatens to leave Norm if he has to move A husband, Norm, who calls this a "good" marriage. What's wrong with this picture? Or, in other words: Who the fuck is she married to, anyway -- you, or the St. Louis area? Christian R. Conrad The Man Who Knows Fucking Everything
Post #24,863 by ben_tilly 1/18/02 5:57:43 PM Reply	One small logical error there... The ability of one spouse to find employment is not always the only key attribute. Often there are other factors which must be considered before a move. There are many reasons that someone can be tied to a geographical location, including by having a job, taking care of a sick family member (often moving old people or moving them into an openly dependent position can trigger a downhill slide), or being enrolled in an educational program. In these cases the inability of the other partner to get a job there may not be more important than the existing tie. Put another way, being in an equal relationship means that either person's needs may take priority over the other's depending on a natural give and take. Now I don't know Norm's situation, but this one strikes home to me given that in the next year I may have to move 1-2 times for my wife, and if I can't find employment it is, "Oh shit, see if we can borrow money." (The issue here being that my wife's educational prospects trump my current employment as a concern.) Cheers, Ben
Post #24,867 by Steve Lowe 1/18/02 6:44:00 PM Reply	Re: One small logical error there... Yup, there can be other factors. My situation, for example, is my son. He lives with me currently and spends weekends with his mom in Colorado Springs. If I were to make a move to another state, that would essentially be taking my son away from his mother..or him staying here with her and me not being able to see him. Not a good case either way. I'm stuck here (happily tho :-)) ----- Steve
Post #24,876 by boxley 1/18/02 8:23:40 PM Reply	Dont forget Mrs Nking has a stable Job as well as family all over the area. thanx, bill My Dreams aren't as empty as my conscience seems to be
Post #24,883 by nking 1/18/02 10:49:06 PM Reply	Yes she does the same employer for over 15 years now. She worked her way up to a supervisor position. She has her father living here, her brother who hardly speaks any English that she has to help translate bills and stuff for, her grandmother's grave that she visits, her friends, my family (it is rare to find a woman that gets along with my mother and other family members), and other factors that makes us want to stay here. If I moved out, she would stay here and most likely file for a divorce or seperate from me. I also may not be able to make it by myself on my own, I could try, but I am not sure. "Will code Visual BASIC for cash."
Post #24,829 by Another Scott 1/18/02 11:11:51 AM Reply	You're confusing wants and needs. Hi, Money is important, I want to be able to earn $50,000USD a year or more. At least I'd like to. I may have to settle for less, if I work in a video store or something. You're confusing wants and needs. If your baseline expenses for a year require that you take home $25,000 a year, and you get a job that lets you take home $24,999 a year, then your needs aren't being met. You shouldn't take such a job because it doesn't meet your needs. You have to figure out what you need in a job. Needs must be satisfied. Wants are optional. If you think you need $50,000 a year, and you think you need to stay in STL, and you think you need to work in IT, and you're unable to find anything suitable, then something has to change. That's just the way job searches are sometimes. If you need a job to pay the bills while you wait for something else, then that's different from needing a good job to advance your career. You need to figure out what you're looking for. Saying "I'm looking for a job" isn't going to help you when you go on an interview if you're looking for more than something to pay the bills temporarily. Nobody here can tell you what you need. You have to figure that out yourself. Hang in there, and best of luck. Cheers, Scott. (Who's just trying to help.)

Welcome to IWETHEY!