Post #33,162
3/22/02 12:42:58 PM
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That's the problem I'm having.
I'm trying to make the jump to software development - and everybody wants a MINIMUM of 3+ years experience IN THE FIELD YOU'RE TRYING TO WORK IN. If not, tough shit, don't bother applying.
So, basically I've spent a lot of money getting a degree just in time for it to be worthless. :P
"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche
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Post #33,166
3/22/02 1:14:27 PM
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Me too, sort of
I have 4 and a half years at a previous job as a developer and 5+ years at the other jobs. But Despite having 5+ years in VB and ASP, they want that darn 4 Year degree and my 2 year degree doesn't cut it. Before the big market crash all they wanted was the 2 year degree or 3+ years of experience.
I cannot get most of the companies I have talked to to call me back, is this normal this time of year, or is my former employer (the law firm) saying nasty things about me so that I won't get hired anywhere else that has decent pay?
I am free now, to choose my own destiny.
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Post #33,173
3/22/02 2:17:58 PM
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Being nasty
Most of the managers I've talked to are very cognizant of the fact that they can be held legally liable for saying "Nasty" things about a former employee. I think things work a little differently than you suppose. The way to "get back" at an employee is to either not provide information about the quality of the work, or provide information that gives faint praise.
So instead of saying either (a) you suck; or (b) you rule, the manager will simply say (c) yes, you worked here; or (d) I don't have time to discuss this. In this age of legal liability, (a) is not really an option, but (c) & (d) can easily be interpreted as meaning the same thing for those looking for subtle clues. In not going out of their way to talk about an ex-employee, the person on the other end of the phone reads between the lines and builds their own impressions.
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Post #33,474
3/26/02 11:53:35 AM
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As a non manager
what restrictions are on me?
Let's say there is an ex-employee (or soon to be, on
his own volition) .
This person has causes me HELL, and will continue to
be painful for years to comes based on his idiocy.
He tells a good story, but hires idiots and leaves
huge chunks of "almost" working code behind. He jumps
ship 2 weeks before a project is due (after pushing back
the deadline MANY times), and we see that the past 2
years is almost a total waste.
If I "stumble" across his new employer, what I am allowed
to say?
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Post #33,484
3/26/02 12:34:54 PM
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Thank him profusely for taking him :)
TAM ARIS QUAM ARMIPOTENS
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Post #33,212
3/22/02 9:35:07 PM
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Hang on there, Thane.
A product development organization generally includes a test department. So, your testing experience should count as development experience. You should be truthful and say you didn't write the product code. But, you certainly understand the development process. That has relevance and value!
Alex
"Never express yourself more clearly than you think." -- Neils Bohr (1885-1962)
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Post #33,216
3/22/02 10:30:08 PM
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Find an intern spot.
The best scale for an experimental design is ten millimeters to the centimeter.
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Post #35,819
4/17/02 7:58:36 PM
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I did that
I got a degree in Petroleum Engineering - scheduled to finish it in 87 but the oil market crashed in 85 which had me in no hurry to finish college. Instead I joined a couple rock bands and had a great time playing around the Albuquerque bar circuit until my parents got fed up and insisted I finish any degree - marketable or not.
So I finished the PE degree and promptly spent 1.5 years doing menial jobs until I broke into a programming gig after a year taking heat for screwball hackers on a help desk.
College is only useful as an objection killer as its an arbitrary filter that gets used by HR doing a first cut on a stack of resumes. What you learn is usually not that valuable. A quick survey of adults out of college more than 5 years shows that maybe 10% are working in the field they studied in college.
The average hunter gatherer works 20 hours a week.
The average farmer works 40 hours a week.
The average programmer works 60 hours a week.
What the hell are we thinking?
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Post #35,828
4/17/02 9:55:43 PM
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Difference is...
...I have a wife hounding me to produce some income. :P Otherwise, I'd take a few years off, join a band or two... :)
"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche
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Post #35,830
4/17/02 10:21:21 PM
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If I hadn't married in my 5th year of college...
...I'd probably still be going to college. I'd have probably never had the motivation to actually get a piece of paper saying I had a degree. Of course, once I got out of school, I found that being in the jobforce was actually less work than studying. :-)
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Post #36,414
4/24/02 3:45:14 PM
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keep applying
The 3 years (it used to be 2 I think) is a number recruiters pull out their ass to mean "not entry level".
Write up all your work experience - send in your resume - you might conveniently leave your grad date off.
FWIW, when short time, emphasize accomplishments - do a topical set of things you've worked on and where you worked on them, then make a tiny little minimal chronology at the bottom.
The idea is to divorce time spent from experience gained.
The average hunter gatherer works 20 hours a week.
The average farmer works 40 hours a week.
The average programmer works 60 hours a week.
What the hell are we thinking?
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Post #35,877
4/18/02 10:58:03 AM
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So I'm a ten percenter?
A few of my computer courses in college basically taught me the proper names for things I'd already figured out on my own, such as linked lists.
Darrell Spice, Jr.
[link|http://home.houston.rr.com/spiceware/|SpiceWare] - We don't do Windows, it's too much of a chore
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