17 very long years ago I was at the top of my game, negotiating a turn around of a stalled PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) implementation between EDS and Alliance Gaming.
Haven’t worked much since then no matter how much I try, and all I can find for work are places like the VA that pay better than local jobs, but have supervisors who are verbally abusive and treat you like incompetent children with absolutely zero comprehension of the skills you could bring to the table if given the opportunity to do so.
Here is why I recently quit after my fifth attempt.
Here is why I quit after the 4th attempt.
Can I code?
Here is a sample of my latest project I’m currently working on.
Basically it goes through the daily data files for about 10,000 stocks and compares the day before against the current day to find tremendous jumps in volume in an attempt to beat the short sellers at their own game by getting there at the same time they do, or within a matter of hours after they pull the trigger.
Here is the code used to create that report above
While that site is still in its very early stages, you can see what I’ve done with it by clicking here.
You can view many of the websites I’ve developed this year by clicking on the links down at the bottom of the front page for other examples.
Here is a link to many of the Google Maps projects I’ve done over the last few years.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMH6c_1iwmjeAj3RgEqXfxw/search?query=maps
One thing I must say though for those not familiar with the software industry.
For the most part, small businesses do not need skills like mine.
It is primarily large corporations and large government agencies that move tons of data.
And coding is not the only game in that town as they need project managers, systems analysts, database administrators, business analysts, systems administrators, and many, many more.
So when they ask you if you can code, there are many possible answers.
Derrick says:
It is pointless posting samples of your work; you will notice that the interviewers now just bring their laptops to the interviews and Google for interview questions online.
My first experience of this was in a technology services global corporation in Silicon Valley:
At first I was in a business unit whose makeup resembled that of the Silicon Valley, but as time went on, more and more foreign nationals from China and India were brought in. Soon work was being sent to China and India, and then we were informed that our entire department would be shut down.
My next experience was with an IT department with a public transit business in Canada:
Again at first everything was fine, until one day the company brought in ICC (Indian Consulting Company) Deloitte. Soon they brought in lots of pretty consultants from India, all wearing suits, and they helped transform the IT department into an I&IT (Indian & Islamic Technology) department. Soon a bunch of foreign nationals from India were promoted into management, and the formerly diverse population of I&IT became its namesake. Then they coordinated with Deloitte to offshore all the software development work to InfoSys in India.
Derrick says:
As for interviews, I had one with a video chip company where one interviewer brought in his laptop, began searching for questions online, and asked me every obscure question Google could provide him. What BS! What’s the point of asking people questions that they can just look up the answers online.
Then I had another interview with a computer networking hardware corporation and the first interviewer, an US citizen, was very fair and asked me questions related to my work experience. However, I had enough interviewing experience to not have such high hopes; I was proven correct by my next interviewer, likely a H-1b foreign national from India. Much like most interviews I have been on, he brought in his laptop and Googled away questions. Of course he didn’t even bother to shake hands with me, as he clearly was looking for another foreign national from India to push around (and possibly get a cut of the candidate’s salary)
vbierschwale says:
I agree with you 100%.
I do this so that our politicians and media and businesses can no longer hide what is happening.
It is only by telling our stories that the general public will realize they are being lied to and light a fire under our government, and if we remain silent, we enable what is happening to us.
James Johnson says:
Sounds Like “Information Technology Blues” would you like a bit of cheese with your whine?
vbierschwale says:
Over time if one is willing to learn, they realize that silence enables what is happening to so many of us.
Apparently it has not yet happened to you, but that does not mean that it will not at some point.