You know what they say: “It’s a recession when your neighbor loses his job, a depression when you lose yours, and an armageddon when Frank J. is unemployed.” Really, if a genius engineer and programmer like me can’t find a job, what chance does anyone else have? I’m this close to becoming a mad scientists and using my tech skills to “show them all.” So, yes, the free t-shirt still goes unclaimed. I’ve gotten a lot of leads, though, from readers, so hopefully something will pan out soon. If you have any other tips or contacts to help me get tech employment in Boise, please e-mail.
In the meantime, I’m going to work on web programming skills since everyone seems to love web programming. Now that my rater seems to be working fine, I need to write some scripts to parse the SQL data for different purposes. So what’s the way to go? A CGI script or something? I’m completely clueless, so please point me in the right direction. I want it to print out information for my own edification as well as make some scripts to generate HTML for things like a “Most Popular Posts This Week” feature. I want to write these from scratch and just need to know what realm in which to start.
And, if I don’t find a job soon, I will begin soliciting tips on being a hobo and what boxes make the best shelters.
shoulda moved to Texas. Even if you are homeless, at least it’s warm. BTW, our unemployment rate is about 3% in Austin. Lotsa geeks.
Or you could become a political assassin like me. You really think Castro “stepped down”?
Well then, according to Barrack Obama, you now have every right to be an angry racist. You’ve earned it by your inability to find a job at some point in your life. Even long after you get a job, you’ll still be entitled to that. Congratulations! Enjoy it.
How about this in the Bay area?
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2008/03/make_is_hiring_in_bay_are.html
[There are very important family reasons for me to be in Boise right now (beyond that this is the place SarahK and I would really like to settle down in). -Ed.]
Hey, Frank, what are the gun laws like in Idaho?
[There aren’t many redder states. -Ed.]
No idea what your current platform is, but PHP is a pretty easy way to futz around with SQL. I use Ruby on Rails, but it abstracts SQL away and therefore shouldn’t be used to get a foundation in what’s behind all the wizardry.
The other plus with SQL is that there is an insane amount of sample code on the net, given that almost everyone uses it for web stuff. The flip side is that there is a proportionally insane amount of bad sample code given that it’s “pretty easy” as I stated above.
Not sure how helpful that is, but if you figure out where to go I might be able to give you some pointers. I agree that web programming is a good thing to focus on. It’s common now and it’s more likely that you can work a serious job remotely than if you were doing something like desktop apps or mainframe, just because web shops are often already used to the idea of having no idea what their employees look like. I’m exaggerating a little.
You could also vote for Barack, who wants to make it harder to send all those tech jobs to India, per his recent speech (and the Phillipines and these days even more to the former Soviet countries and to the hot new outsourcing hub Brazil, with it’s increased cultural similarities and time zone overlap). Sorry, had to throw that in in your moment of weakness, admitting that he did a decent job 😉
I hear working under Elliot Spitzer pays pretty good!
In the Minneapolis market if you want to make serious coin the best skill to have right now is SAP (any module, any skill). There are 4 or 5 huge implementations going on and they can’t hire enough people. One shop is employing 900 people for 10 years…
How about a feature that suppresses name calling? Then the mccain campaign would be eager to hire you.
Can’t SarahK simply get another job? That way, you could create more IMW and Hellbender posts…either that, or get used to Harvey’s entries getting all the high star-ratings.
In retrospect, moving 3,000 miles across the country and just hoping you could find a highly-specialized job when you got there seems a bit risky.
There are basicly two big camps for web programming, the PHP/Linux/Apache camp (friendly to people who don’t own their servers, don’t like paying for software, and/or think IDEs are for losers), and the ASP.NET/Windows Server camp (largely the domain of mid-sized companies who don’t want to bother with mixed Unix/Windows environments, but do have their own web servers). You’ve also got JSP/J2EE flying around, mostly at big companies with a lot of Unix infrastructure, and Ruby on Rails and other small stuff at the more cutting-edge/cool corners of the web. And some Perl and classic ASP still living from back when dinosaurs ruled the web…
Me, I’m an ASP.NET guy.
OK, here are your choices:
1) Linux/Apache – Use PHP (mod_PHP Apache module) if it is just pure web development. Use the more general purpose Perl (mod_perl for Apache) if you want to build web pages and reports and other non-webby components.
2) Windows/IIS – Download Visual Studio Express and start learning C#. Ignore VB.NET, not because those jobs are worthless, but because C# gives you a better understanding of the .NET/ASP.NET platform and you can easily pick up the syntax of VB once you know the plumbing.
Personally, I choose both paths, though I now work in a Microsoft only shop.
Technically, a recession is two straight quarters with no growth in the GDP (one of the benefits of taking Macro-Eco as Independent Study is you learn these things). 3rd quarter 2007 was 6.5. 4th quarter 2007 was 0.6, but still growth.
The media wants a recession so bad, they’re hyping it up so they can blame it on Bush.
We won’t know if we’re in a recession until after the 2nd Quarter of 2008 ends, at the very earliest. Of course if the 1st Quarter even shows any growth at all, the recession is still off.
…and I must add that the only people who think this is a recession are the media and people who took out risky home loans. Thanks to them, they’ve been forclosed, are now entering the rental market, and thus increasing rental demand and driving MY rent up. A**holes.
Double-wall refrigerator boxes are a good choice. Set it up under some kind of overhang, such as a highway bridge. Note- do not set up in a dry wash, you’ll end up somewhere down the Snake river.
The Jinxmedic
Best of luck to you, Frank. I’m another ASP.NET dude, although I’m working on improving my Javascript.
ObToryRant: If the media gets to call the period of climbing out of negative growth a “recession”, then they don’t get to call a slowdown in positive growth a “recession”. You can use calculus in your definitions, or you can exclude calculus; but if you do both just to “prove” that BUSH $UX0RZ you’re a @#$% weasel. /rant
Stay away from the n-times recycled boxes that all the “made in China” crap comes in. One drop of rain on one of those and it’ll collapse and wilt like Chris Dodd’s campaign.
Screw tech – the growth phase is over (unless you live in Bangalore and have a Hindi accent). Open a gun shop!!!
#5
Kids in Idaho commonly take firearms to school. not because they want to kill their classmates but because they’re hunting on the way there.
More and more applications (BMC’s WAM Web Access Manager) for example are dropping support for .NET if that tells you where things are headed. If I were still technical I would be learning JAVA! If you want to make money, however, don’t be technical…learn to manage the technical people! Move to Project Management! I was making 65K when a Sr. VP with USBank gave me that advise 12 years ago and I currently make $100 per hour as a PM consultant. You can either be a “code monkey” the rest of your life or become a manager. You decide!
More and more applications (BMC’s WAM Web Access Manager) for example are dropping support for .NET if that tells you where things are headed. If I were still technical I would be learning JAVA! If you want to make money, however, don’t be technical…learn to manage the technical people! Move to Project Management! I was making 65K when a Sr. VP with USBank gave me that advise 12 years ago and I currently make $100 per hour as a PM consultant. You can either be a “code monkey” the rest of your life or become a manager. You decide!
Sorry for the double post! When you are a tech head you think you have life by the balls…when you get into management you discover that the shaft is firmly planted up your ass and is pumping with vigor!
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IT security manager job. Probably not what your looking for but the pay not bad and at least its IT. Besides you have guns and they need there servers protected. Sounds like a match to me.
My company is hiring engineers for their plant in Panama City, Florida. They are hiring for subsea umbilical designers, but they hire outside of the specialty they are looking for. Write me if that is close and you are interested. Just an idea.
Dude, sorry, I didnt see that you moved to Boise.
Software Engineer (C++/Java)
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I have also found LinkedIn to be very useful in finding jobs and employees – http://www.linkedin.com
I heard that the Army is still hiring. You don’t have to be an infantryman like me, but if you aren’t then you don’t get to learn about IEDs and mortars first-hand. Plus you get to expend all captured weapons and ammo at the range before you run them over with heavy equipment.
learn javascript. everyone’s talking all about how wonderful this new ajax thing is, but it’s just really a fancy new name for dhtml which was just a fancy name for javascript.
oh… and learn c#, too…
I’m a dual major (Comp Sci and Graphic Design) so I’m a web programmer/designer. Yeah… a stretch to see that as my occupation huh? 🙂
Web is big right now. Will it stay that way? Maybe so.. maybe not. If you are going to dinker around with a technology, it may as well be one that is flexible to your needs.
I prefer ASP.NET/C# because the .NET Framework has a nice object model. Plus, if you get transitioned to working with Windows app development, the language and techology is virtually the same. You just need to learn a couple differant namespaces.
IMHO, Java is way too bloated and PHP seems like classic ASP’s “spagetti tag-soup” younger brother.
You might try asking around on the Joel on Software forums: http://discuss.joelonsoftware.com/?joel
They also have a job search there.