[at-l] Finding employment after a thru

[jbullar1 at twcny.rr.com (Jim Bullard)]

Actually the most significant change is the job market. During the tech 
boom there were jobs aplenty and the universities and tech schools couldn't 
churn out techies fast enough. In the "downturn" lots of techies found 
themselves out of work. Although the broad economic indicators are 
generally positive the job market hasn't rebounded. I.E. Economic 
forecasters had predicted that there would be 150,000 new jobs created in 
December 2003. There were only 1000. Unemployment went down primarily 
because so many people gave up looking. The techies that lost their jobs 
(or left them to do a thru) are having to compete with new grads that have 
fresher skills and lower expectations. To top it off most employers take 
adim view of gaps in your employment history. Never mind whether that's 
"fair" or "rational" or "right". It's a fact and you have to deal with it.

There are jobs out there but you might have to be willing to go absolutely 
anywhere to get them and in the tech fields, which do change significantly 
in a matter of months, you might have to do something about updating your 
skills. At this point I go into my old DOL mode.

TrailR, find out where in your area is the Dept of Labor/Employment 
Commission State/County career resources center. This is an initiative that 
was begun 6-8 years ago to consolidate state and local employment/training 
programs under one roof. It should be pretty much on track in most areas by 
now. Under the newest legislation training funds are available even without 
showing that you meet any economic guidelines. Go there and ask for help 
setting up a plan to update your skills and there's a chance (if the money 
for the fiscal year isn't already committed) that they can help pay for it. 
Don't get discouraged. I know. That's easier said than done but make a plan 
and keep plugging away.

Employment counselor spiel is now over. Apologies to anyone who was 
bothered by it.

At 12:29 PM 1/14/2004 -0800, Kelly Whitman wrote:
>I see what you're saying, I just didn't think technology changed so much 
>as to make you unqualified in that short amount of time, I would think it 
>has more to do with the psychology changes than technological advances, 
>which I think someone else pointed out.
>
>Kelly Whitman
>iN*TP*
>-----------
>"There ARE no other women like me."  -- 7 of 9
>
>> >I
>> >don't
>> >feel as qualified as I used to, to go back & do my old job as a Software
>> >Test
>> >Engineer. But I'm not qualified for anything else either.
>>
>>Why do you no longer feel qualified to be a software test engineer?
>>Hike the trail and stay out of work for 17 months... See how much you
>>remember of
>>the technical side of the "real world" when you get back. I'm very rusty.