[ale] Career decision

[Ronald Chmara]

On Tuesday, September 30, 2003, at 12:14  AM, Willie Leave wrote:
> Ok.  For months now I've seen a foreboding front
> crawling across the horizon.  Programming jobs *seem*
> to be slowing disappearing or moving away, whatever
> the reason.

1. Dead dotcom projects are finally dying. These were the stupid 
3-million-projects... to show a ticker.
2. Pseudo-programming-level languages (procedural scripting, OO, etc.) 
are being replaced by bit-level programming, and RAD who can do a 
project in one night, winnowing out those in between.
3. Those who have jobs have nested, and created near-impenetrable 
environments. I'm on one gig, where a *single* SQL statement uses no 
less than 8 files, loading 12K of code! WTF!

> This is probably one of the most difficult decisions
> I've ever made.  I have a family to think about.

So, don't take too many risks...

>  I'm
> worried about being able to sell our house here, and
> worse yet, if something ever happened to my job (or
> when I want to move back, which I estimate about 2
> years out), trying to sell my Greensboro house in a
> worsening economy there.

Home improvement?

> So, I'd love to hear input from the group.  Is a
> "Director" label on your resume worth it in the long
> term?

Hell, no!

I've been a CEO, a VP.... who cares?

>   Will it add job security?  Is the management
> experience worth it?

Maybe. If you're cut from management cloth.....

Can you tell a room full of geeks to do the *wrong* thing, in order to 
improve stock value?
Are you willing to cut 300 people, because a firm in india says they 
are cheaper?
If MS infuses the company with millions, can you outlaw all other 
desktops without a speck on your conscience?

-Bop
Ronald Chmara
Ronin Professional Consulting LLC
678-530-9542
"Everything's running smoothly." --Hal.