[TriLUG] Not Linux: Anyone else feeling the pain?

[Steve Litt]

On Tuesday 25 November 2008 11:35:03 am Dave Sorenson wrote:
> Since I was mentioned by name 8-)
>
> Average at the community college I'm at is 45-50 hours a week... some
> weeks more some less. During registration/ first 3 weeks of class much
> more, middle of summer semester much less, but is a good time for
> projects. Also have a crackberry leash and am the on call guy if things
> go horribly wrong. Fortunately I have things pretty well in order here
> so much of what happens more frequently I can handle remotely. I usually
> end up having to race in only 1-2 times a year. (The Windows Admins are
> in closer to once a month... Thank you CentOS!)

Just to clarify, when I sung the praises of getting your masters so you can 
teach college, I did mean TEACH. Not admin or code. 

If you're a salaried IT worker, in a school or in a corporation, you're gonna 
get worked hard and put to bed wet. Sometimes you like it that way -- maybe 
you're a programmer and love to code. But once you get a family or start 
wanting less of an obsession and more of a profession, it can get brutal.

It's not hard to understand. You're the only one who knows how to fix it, it's 
your job to fix it, and the marginal cost of your time is zero, zilch, nada. 
Of course they're gonna call you to fix it before they even check to see if 
the printer's turned on. That's the way the incentives are stacked.

That's the reason that, as soon as possible, I switched from salary to 
contract programmer, charging hourly. Once my marginal cost was more than a 
secretary, I wasn't asked to deliver tapes. Once my marginal cost was more 
than in house programmers, I always got the equipment and software and 
passwords and cooperation I needed to do the job. One time a red hot project 
had us working 18 hour days 7 days straight. Very unhealthy for mind, body, 
and relationships, but at least I walked away $6300 richer, whereas the 
employees working right along next to me got nothing more than their salary.

Contracting isn't for everyone. You need to sell. And sell, and sell. You need 
to budget for inevitable time between contracts. And in this country, health 
insurance is a real hassle unless you're under 40 and a perfect physical 
specimin, and everyone in your family is the same way. But I sure liked being 
a contractor.

SteveT

Steve Litt
Recession Relief Package
http://www.recession-relief.US