Being unemployed
So.. I’ve been unemployed officially for 2 months and 7 days..
I’ve been perusing the popular websites (Monster.com, HotJobs.com, ComputerJobs.com, and Dice.com (I don’t like Dice too much.. way too many dupes)looking for a job. Granted I haven’t looked to heavily during the last week plus due to the holidays. The market doesn’t look too bad for us programmers/software engineers/developers … if you’ve got 5+ years of experience and are senior level or higher. Of course I have no idea what they pay at this time, but at least they’re hiring. Quite depressing for somebody who is not Senior level.
In addition to that, I recently read something that makes sense to me (and depresses me further). I think I read it on Slashdot. Software development is similar to traditional manufacturing in a sense. You have workers that work to make some product (versus providing a service). In our case that product has no physical manifestation. Instead it is just a series of bits. And with the Internet, that series of bits, and be “shipped” around the world nearly instantaneously. Like manufacturers that moved their plants overseas in search of cheaper labor, development companies can do the same.. but without little cost in “shipping” the product. Now I must also compete against some programmer from India (or other country) where cost of living is a magnitude lower. This is of course, not possible. True, in many cases, the foreign developers’ procedures and/or or their communication skill may not be up to snuff, but it will certainly get there with time. Maybe their cost of living will increase (due to their new income) and equilibrium will eventually be achieved across the globe. Unfortunately I can’t wait that long.
Where does that leave me? Well, really it is only the manufacturing aspect of the business that gets place-shifted. The initial design/genesis will not get place-shifted (or rather it has already achieved a sortof global equilibrium). No one location or group of people have a stranglehold on “good ideas”. So perhaps it is time to crawl my way out of the trenches..
My original intent when I said “I want to be a computer programmer” was always to come up with something cool and useful (and profit). The codemonkey step is more of a rite of passage. You must learn to walk before you run. Actually I think I’ve got some cool and useful ideas. I suppose now is a good time to work them out and try that (profit) part. I’m certainly not going to give up the whole “real job” thing. I’ll continue looking and hopefully I can find a good match that will give me some time to let me try some longer strides on my own.