We now return you to our regularly scheduled thread...
The IT job market is hurting right now, as much as Clinton might have done wrong, it was congress that opened the Visa flood gates after the panic that there would not be enough IT workers in the coming years and America would lose its technological edge.
What they did not factor was that as the computer and software tech improves, you can support more systems with fewer people.
In the old days, a software roll out was a bunch of guys staying late with CDs, running to every computer and sitting down to install it. Now one guy can push the new software out with a script.
Combine that with the fact that you can get some highly educated and intelligent Indian nationals to do a lot of your programming and support for 10% of what an American IT worker costs and us techies are in a land of hurt.
I would be happy to make 15-20 an hour which would have been unthinkable 3 or 4 years ago and I have over 8 years experience.
The thing I see right now is that you cannot export support for small business. There are lots of companies that are too small to do the kind of mass scale management that makes sense for large companies. Places with 50 or less PCs cant really afford a full time guy, nor do they need one. A sharp guy can go and sell his time for so much an hour and hopefully make a decent living.
At least, thats my plan. I have seen VERY few computer jobs since I got here. Its frankly a little scary although I knew this was not a hi-tech area. Still, there are a lot of very large companies here and they have to have people supporting them and they have to have some level of turn over. I think most jobs are filled by networking, not by newspaper and internet ads but thats all I have access to right now until I can make some contacts in the area.
So next week, I am printing business cards, getting my website online and I am just going to go for it. Its really the best time - I can collect unemployment while I beat the streets looking for clients.
Setting our on your own is simultaneously exhillerating and terrifying but at least when I get my TX CHL, I won't have to worry about getting busted for CCW on the job.
Is there anyone out there who maybe works in an office or goes to different offices and CCWs? I think a snub would be no problem, maybe with a 1911 in a comparment in a briefcase. Heh, use the snub to fight to your 1911? hehe.
I suppose some offices could have 30.06 signs, but I am guessing most just have a policy that employees are not allowed to CCW - ths would not apply to consultants AFAIK.