The Vent and Rant Thread

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by cromag

Sure! I don't get out much, so I try to make the most of it when I do!

As you can tell...they don't let me out very often, either. ;-)

Hitch

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by wodin

As a vet, has he explored federal work?

Yes he has but most of those jobs are technical jobs and required a IT skills that he just doesn't have. He can do basic computer skills but I'm the one who has to help him with anything more advanced then that.

Originally Posted by Katsunami

What work did he do in the USAF? Someone who can be in the military/air force for 9 years, and can do a bachelor (in what field?) besides working a 40 hour job, must be worth something.

In the Netherlands, many people who were in the military before go into law enforcement, and if they have a bachelor or higher (*ANY* bachelor, just to prove that you can function on at least that level), they can get into command positions fairly quickly by doing courses.

Also, I've seen people do steps in between: military -> security guard (+study) -> law enforcement (+ courses) -> commanding officer

Could that be an option for your husband? He already did the studying part to get his bachelor.

I'm just throwing around some ideas around.

He was a radio troop which means he worked on/repaired ground radios and then they moved him to Job Control which was basically being a dispatcher for all kinds of different maintenance then the military turn that into a civilian job. It was peace time and the military was trying to downsize their force. He was Deployed to Korea and then they gave him the option to retrain into another field, join the Army or separate. He chose to separate something he now regrets but at the time it seemed like the best option. He has a useless associates degree in Electronic Technology from the Community College of the Air Force which is now pretty obsolete. His career field there is pretty obsolete now and most of it civilianized.

I don't think there would be a real issue if the job market wasn't in the shape its in. He would have a good job by now. As I said earlier. He is competing with young fresh out of college kids that companies would rather take a chance on then someone who has proven themselves time and time again.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

Please be careful ... an alleged dispute over parking spaces triggered last year's shooting in Chapel Hill, NC --

I remember that. People just don't seem to understand how important a parking space is.

As someone who has lived in apartments now in 5 different states. I know there is always assigned parking even if it's not official. When we move to a new apartment complex those already there has seniority to parking. We just pick a spot not in use and park there.

In Tennessee we had lived at our townhouse for 5 years when the neighbors from hell moved in next door. They had revolving doors which basically means people were always visiting over there all hours of the night. They always had 5 to 6 cars overs there. My husband got fed up and did exactly what that guy mention earlier in this thread did to get their attention when that didn't work one night coming home late from work. (He worked the second shift) He parallel parked behind the person in his spot. Early morning they were banging on the door and we didn't answer but had quite a giggle watching them move all their cars so their guest could leave. It never happened again after that.

Ah the joys of apartment life. The stories I could tell you. I am so ready for my own house. I am too old to be dealing with it anymore.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by Blossom

I don't think there would be a real issue if the job market wasn't in the shape its in. He would have a good job by now. As I said earlier. He is competing with young fresh out of college kids that companies would rather take a chance on then someone who has proven themselves time and time again.

The problem is the salary. Someone like your husband knows practical shit that works, and thus wants to be paid accordingly. The young kids only have an education, and know nothing of work in the real world yet. Thus, you can give them a fairly low salary, because of 'no experience'. Many companies only teach someone what they absolutely have to know to get their work done 'good enough', but the low salary often stays for a (very) long time.

At least, this is how it is in the Netherlands at the moment... the only thing I can say is good luck, because there's not a lot I could do to help.

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by ApK

Not for nothin, but getting eaten by a grue in the dark is from Zork, not Adventure.
Just sayin'....

Er, true. I was mis-remembering the time sequence. Zork was an adaptation of Adventure for things other then the original platform. The Grue was originally invented by SF writer Jack Vance, and picked up by Zork and used in the game.
______
Dennis
Who first played Adventure under Unix, and sibling Dungeon under RSX-11M+ on a DEC PDP 11/70

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

The young kids only have an education, and know nothing of work in the real world yet. Thus, you can give them a fairly low salary, because of 'no experience'. Many companies only teach someone what they absolutely have to know to get their work done 'good enough', but the low salary often stays for a (very) long time.

At least, this is how it is in the Netherlands at the moment... the only thing I can say is good luck, because there's not a lot I could do to help.

I've seen variants of it here.

Back when, a co-worker at the bank I once worked for told me about IT conditions at then prominent distiller Seagrams, who used the Golden Handcuff technique. Seagrams paid $5K more to entry level programmers than anyone else, and got the pick of the litter. The new hires soon discovered the impossible deadlines, psychotic supervisors, and generally impossible working conditions, but they were already adjusted to their salary levels, and couldn't afford to take the pay cut they would incur if they quit and went elsewhere.

These days, I see a lot of job postings looking for combinations of knowledge and experience that make me say "Good luck getting half of that." And it's made worse by the job postings coming from HR, whose understanding of the job and the requirements is, um, imperfect.
______
Dennis

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

The problem is the salary. Someone like your husband knows practical shit that works, and thus wants to be paid accordingly. The young kids only have an education, and know nothing of work in the real world yet. Thus, you can give them a fairly low salary, because of 'no experience'. Many companies only teach someone what they absolutely have to know to get their work done 'good enough', but the low salary often stays for a (very) long time.

At least, this is how it is in the Netherlands at the moment... the only thing I can say is good luck, because there's not a lot I could do to help.

Thanks and to you too. He would have no problem with entry level salary. He has been making $9.50 an hour doing temp work. His old job was about $15 an hour. So most jobs around here pay $10hr so he has been putting that when asked about wages. In Raleigh he was making $13hr on same jobs here that pay $8.50-9.50. Cost of living is about the same but the Electric rates here is really high in the summer. The rates like triple So instead of paying $50 for a 400sq foot apartment with only a 8000BTU window air conditioner you pay $150 in the summer. It's crazy.

He got a call about a state job so he has to call them tomorrow. This means he made it to interview stage. Things are looking up.

[cromag]

Good luck!

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

Back when, a co-worker at the bank I once worked for told me about IT conditions at then prominent distiller Seagrams, who used the Golden Handcuff technique. Seagrams paid $5K more to entry level programmers than anyone else, and got the pick of the litter. The new hires soon discovered the impossible deadlines, psychotic supervisors, and generally impossible working conditions, but they were already adjusted to their salary levels, and couldn't afford to take the pay cut they would incur if they quit and went elsewhere.

Fortunately, I only live a tiny bit above what is needed at the minimum. I always live as if I have no money. Therefore, I once in a while have the ability to excessively splurge on stuff I want, but I can also live with a salary cut when switching to another employer, if need be.

These days, I see a lot of job postings looking for combinations of knowledge and experience that make me say "Good luck getting half of that." And it's made worse by the job postings coming from HR, whose understanding of the job and the requirements is, um, imperfect.

LOL yeah. Don't get me started on that one. They often want people who are able to write software starting at (almost) the bare metal in C (think programming microcontrollers), up to and including a web-based user interface to control said microcontroller (HTML5/CSS, Javascript/JQuery, PHP....) and everything in between. Oh, and of course, some Linux knowledge regarding building custom Debian Stable distro's and Windows Server knowledge to get everything hooked up and online is required as well.

And then you get the complaints: "We can't find anyone to fill our vacancies." No, of course not. A software engineer working on firmware/driver level, one working on user interface level, a network engineer and a Linux expert can NOT the same person and have all work done at the same quality level.

Originally Posted by Blossom

He got a call about a state job so he has to call them tomorrow. This means he made it to interview stage. Things are looking up.

Great! Good luck

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

Fortunately, I only live a tiny bit above what is needed at the minimum. I always live as if I have no money. Therefore, I once in a while have the ability to excessively splurge on stuff I want, but I can also live with a salary cut when switching to another employer, if need be.

More IT folks should have that mindset. I had a conversation at a party a while back about the pace of change in the industry, and the nature of supply and demand. "You guess right in what area you dive into, and become a top expert in huge demand. You can write your own ticket...for a while. But it's not long before others say 'Hey! There's money to be made over there!', and jump in the pool with you. They aren't as good as you are, but they're good enough, and will charge half of what you ask. Sock it away while you're making it, and be prepared to pivot and go in another direction all too soon." One of the folks I was talking to agreed that the window was maybe five years before you weren't special and able to command an enormous salary because you had too much competition.

LOL yeah. Don't get me started on that one. They often want people who are able to write software starting at (almost) the bare metal in C (think programming microcontrollers), up to and including a web-based user interface to control said microcontroller (HTML5/CSS, Javascript/JQuery, PHP....) and everything in between. Oh, and of course, some Linux knowledge regarding building custom Debian Stable distro's and Windows Server knowledge to get everything hooked up and online is required as well.

I see lots of DevOps positions, which translate as "We want you to be the SysAdmin, the database administrator, and code the website and be one of the developers writing our custom software." My response tends to be "These are properly four separate full time jobs, but you don't want to pay four full time salaries and fringes, so you're trying to overload your people instead. Then you wonder why the results you get are unsatisfactory and you can't get people. You get what you're willing to pay for."

And then you get the complaints: "We can't find anyone to fill our vacancies." No, of course not. A software engineer working on firmware/driver level, one working on user interface level, a network engineer and a Linux expert can NOT the same person and have all work done at the same quality level.

I suspect the hiring managers are aware of that, but corporate HR and senior management aren't.
______
Dennis

[wodin]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

... A software engineer working on firmware/driver level, one working on user interface level, a network engineer and a Linux expert can NOT the same person and have all work done at the same quality level...

No? Try being an IT Project Manager in a functional organization.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by wodin

No? Try being an IT Project Manager in a functional organization.

Isn't that an oxymoron?

BTDT, got the t-shirt.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by wodin

No? Try being an IT Project Manager in a functional organization.

I was thinking the same thing, but the pm only has to have enough knowledge in all those areas to communicate effectively with the real experts. He can be broad, but shallow in some areas.
I got my current job when they realized they would never find the specific mix they originally asked for and they finally comprised on me. Like a reverse groucho marx, I figured I'd be happy working for some one smart enough to hire me.

[wodin]

Originally Posted by ApK

I was thinking the same thing, but the pm only has to have enough knowledge in all those areas to communicate effectively with the real experts. He can be broad, but shallow in some areas.
I got my current job when they realized they would never find the specific mix they originally asked for and they finally comprised on me. Like a reverse groucho marx, I figured I'd be happy working for some one smart enough to hire me.

Quite right, in a matrix organization, but when you don't have access to the resources (Subject Matter Experts) as usually happens in a functional organization it gets a bit dicey.

[covingtoncat73]

Arrgh! This is a genealogy rant. I got the old, old family photos out to take a stab at them again. Most have nothing to identify them. This one had writing on the back but it just give the old man's precise date of birthdate and the precise day the photo was taken but no name! That is worse than nothing at all!

The old guy

The back of the photo