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SSCrazy Eights
Group: General Forum Members
Last Login: Saturday, November 21, 2009 5:10 PM
Points: 8,401,
Visits: 7,823
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SSC-Enthusiastic
Group: General Forum Members
Last Login: Yesterday @ 9:44 AM
Points: 119,
Visits: 822
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Finishing school,
Not so much for any lack of knowledge on my part, but for the things I missed when I was young. I started working very early resulting in less social contact with people my own age that were still studying. Not that I was very socializing to begin with as I had very different interests from just about anyone else around me.
On top of it I was one of those early IT kids that back then was maybe even a decade ahead in the field compared to adults working in regular companies those days. It was hard to fit in a work environment, society was simply not adapted to it, education in the field was kind of non-existent and what existed was of abysmal level. People really had no clue at all, except those practicing it. You were only accepted for what you did if you came from high educational background as people then expect not to understand you in full. It was a time where everything was about having a diploma and to a lesser degree certificates.
This in turns affected everything from pay to career opportunities and subsequently I never ended up where I felt I would thrive and would be best utilized. Eventually I stopped caring in the sense that IT stopped to drive me forward to learn. Now it is just a Job like selling ice creams or shoes, I can still get passionate about it sometimes, but it’s fleeting.
These days I wonder if I ever find a company that can provide an environment that reignites the kid in me. I have become am more cynical and assertive to society due to my experiences then I was naive about some things when I was young.
From the heart!
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Right there with Babe
Group: General Forum Members
Last Login: Friday, November 20, 2009 7:15 AM
Points: 773,
Visits: 829
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soggie_old_soul (6/12/2009)
...but whenever I enter an HR department like begins to bare a striking resemblance to a Dilbert cartoon.
I think that's true for most of us, even with computer degrees and/or computer training. Alot of interviewers just don't understand enough to properly evaluate a candidate for a technical position. They look for buzzwords on resume's and are more interested in what tools you've worked with instead of trying to find out what your talents and skills are. Tools are easily picked up if you have the talents and skills.
Back to the topic at hand, I wish that I would have gotten into consulting earlier in my career. The few opportunities I've had where I have been a consultant or contractor worked out very well for both the company who used me and myself. It was also very liberating to not have the yoke of office politics on my shoulders. I also didn't have to deal long term with work I didn't like doing on the hope of getting a little bit of the kind of work I'm best at and enjoy most. In-house jobs I've had tend to result in me collecting a number of responsibilities that really shouldn't be a part of my job but that no one else was taking care of or wern't taking care of properly.
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Forum Newbie
Group: General Forum Members
Last Login: Friday, June 12, 2009 8:11 AM
Points: 4,
Visits: 11
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My only regret is that I did not jump out on my own sooner. Being self employed is where it is at.
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SSC-Enthusiastic
Group: General Forum Members
Last Login: Friday, November 13, 2009 6:23 AM
Points: 146,
Visits: 35
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| I've been working in IT for 12 years, on and off. In that time I've committed career suicide not once, but twice. First was an 18 month side trip to work in a bookstore. Second was a 2 1/2 year side trip to start a retail business (online and later brick-and-mortar). I've managed to salvage my IT career pretty well, and am thankful to be where I am. But I look back now (older, wiser, and with much less wanderlust) and wonder how much more knowledgeable I would be now if I didn't have those large gaps.
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SSC Eights!
Group: General Forum Members
Last Login: Today @ 2:34 PM
Points: 862,
Visits: 2,404
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I wish I hadn't blown five years of college on a Jazz Performance degree that I now don't use, as much fun as it was. (decided not to move to NY/Chicago/etc, and wanted to actually eat  ) Also regret that I didn't just finish the damn thing when I was there, 'cause now I'm still working on getting my first bachelors degree after work hours, and it eats into my family time something fierce.
Professionally, no regrets, I've been very lucky in that respect. Wish I'd found SSC sooner, I guess.
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For Best Practices on posting questions that get answered quickly, see http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Best+Practices/61537/
and
http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/SQLServerCentral/66909/
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SSC Eights!
Group: General Forum Members
Last Login: Today @ 2:34 PM
Points: 862,
Visits: 2,404
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Mr or Mrs. 500
Group: General Forum Members
Last Login: Yesterday @ 2:14 PM
Points: 591,
Visits: 710
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| I wish I had become a professional soccer (football for non-US residents) player. I'm not sure I would have made it, but I definitely would have tried.
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SSC-Enthusiastic
Group: General Forum Members
Last Login: Friday, November 13, 2009 8:27 AM
Points: 126,
Visits: 218
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Early in my career, I was never happy with my employer and changed jobs frequently. I didn't realize it then, but I was looking for a boss that agreed with me 100 percent of the time--an impossible goal.
I wish that, in the early part of my career, I was more respectful of the decision makers who I reported to. I hadn't realized that I was only responsible for giving my honest opinion (upon request) about decisions that needed to be made. I was stupid not to come to the logical realization that I'm not going to always agree with my superior's decisions. I wasn't belligerent with anybody, but I invested too much time being angry at my boss(es) for making business decisions that I didn't agree with.
I recently read on a church marquis that staying angry at somebody is like drinking poison and then waiting for the other person to die. It's true.
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SSC-Enthusiastic
Group: General Forum Members
Last Login: Monday, November 02, 2009 1:39 PM
Points: 159,
Visits: 67
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I got my BSCS back in '95 and have been in the IT industry ever since. My first job was doing a lot of Oracle DBA work but I hated being on the road for 2 years straight. So, I took a development job and did development stuff for the next 10 years. Then I started doing SQL Server DBA work part time, and I finally do it full time. It was a longer road than it could've been but it's always been database work that I've enjoyed, and I'm back at it again and probably better off because of the variety of things I learned along the way.
The only regret I have is that I should've spent more time honing my soft skills earlier in my career instead of focusing solely on 1's and 0's. Playing company politics and selling your ideas is a skill I've needed at every employer I've had. Unfortunately, I've always run into someone at those companies who was much better at it than I was/am.
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