[TriLUG] OT: PT One tech issue from tonight's debate

[Ron Kelley]

I have been silent thru this email thread but could not hold my breath any longer...

Wow - just wow!  So much negative sentiment from the posts below.  If you believe what these guys are saying, no one in the USA could every get a professional job because of a million reasons.  From "Screw educational degrees", to "...college degrees are little more than class warfare...", to don't become a scientist because "you don't want a wife and kids...".  LOL, what a bunch of garbage!

I have been in the IT field since the early 90s and have NEVER been without a job.  I started in the USAF, moved over to a government contractor position, spent +12 years working for the largest networking company in the world, and now work at the 2nd largest data storage company in the world.  During this time, I completed both a bachelor's and master's degrees and have busted my a$$ to get where I am.  Contrary to the opinions posted throughout the email thread, both my previous and current employers are constantly looking for qualified people in the IT industry (compute, network, storage, etc).  They offer a good salary and a great benefit package.  The problem is - most people who interview either lie on their resume or truly are unqualified for the position.  So, they are forced to get guys from "other places" because they need to fill these positions.

While the IT industry has changed over the years, one true value that has stood the test of time - "hard work and dedication".  Sure, it is easy to get any job and then "ride the wave" until you are no longer needed.  But, if you keep forging ahead learning new stuff and becoming indispensible, you will keep a job for a long time.  I compete with other IT-industry guys all over the world, buy my employer knows how hard I am willing to work to get the job done.  This is exactly what they want (and I directly benefit from this).  In addition, the people on our team are always encouraged to learn more and widen/deepen their technical expertise.  And, I suspect the average age of our team members is probably late 30s.

As far as our future generations - my son is in 7th grade.  He has been programming for a while and has a deep passion for robotics.   Will he be a professional programmer when he grows up?  Probably not.  Will I encourage him to grow his passion for robitics?  Absolutely!  The world needs great scientists and engineers - regardless of where you live.

In the end, *you* must be happy with your choice of study/field.  If you choose this based on money, you will be sorely disappointed.  But, if you have the commitment, desire, and passion to do the best job you can, I suspect you will be employed (US or other place) for a long time.


Please, please, please!  Take the quotes below with a grain of salt.  Saying things like "you don't mind being treated with disrespect", "you don't want vacations that require money", "you don't want your kids to get as good an education as you had" is absolutely untrue from my point of view.  

Work hard and make smart choices - you will be very successful!


-Ron


On Oct 18, 2012, at 9:40 PM, Joseph Mack NA3T wrote:

> On Thu, 18 Oct 2012, Jack Hill wrote:
> 
>> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
>> Hash: SHA1
>> 
>> Is is okay to do science because it is what one is passionate about?
> 
> sure, if
> 
> o you don't mind being treated with disrespect
> 
> o you want to live in the lower economic stratum.
> 
> o you don't want vacations that require money
> 
> o you don't mind moving at unpredictable times
> 
> o you don't want a wife and kids (if you're a guy). No woman who wants a family will want to live and raise kids living in your lifestyle.
> 
> o you don't want your kids to get as good an education
> as you had
> 
> o you don't want to contribute to a retirement fund
> 
> o you don't mind watching the people you work for being paid lots of money, having stable jobs, going on vacations where and when they want, living in the same house all their life and owning it, driving cars that don't break down and going home at 5pm.
> 
>> Surely the wages are at least livable
> 
> absolutely. They're approved by the US govt. We love having smart people like you applying for jobs, people who are passionate about your work. Step in here.
> 
> Joe
> 
> -- 
> Joseph Mack NA3T EME(B,D), FM05lw North Carolina
> jmack (at) wm7d (dot) net - azimuthal equidistant map
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