So I left my job, for a number of reasons I won't go into, and now I'm able to have time to actually.... be bored. Now while looking around for a new job I've run into some interesting problems. I've done a number of very different things in computing, and it's difficult to reflect that on a resume. Even bare bones, my resume is several pages long. Today I had a potential client ask about wether I could do something in particular, and it was something I have years of experience with - that's barely touched on in my resume.
When the market is saturated with people who have Java, etc. "certifications" and you have done everything from mass credit card processing for high traffic sites to implementing a massively parallel Renderman compatible rendering system, it's a little hard to make "wrote several 3D engines in ActionScript" stand out. Clients tend to think inside the box - sure, I wrote 3D engines in ActionScript, but can I do simple game scripting? Well, duh. But sadly, there are plenty of people out there who can't. And that seems to be what clients expect - a one trick pony. Fortunately I'm working with consulting companies that know me, and know that once I get in the door they'll be able to make quite a bit of money from me.
Something I've been getting asked a lot is "What would your ideal job situation be?". Frankly, if you can answer that, you're on a very different track than I am. I don't have an ideal, I have opportunities. Show me an opportunity that's worth taking, and I'll take it just as far as it will go.
Maybe they're hoping I'll say "Well, ideally I'd be doing twenty or more hours a day, working on a project with poorly defined specs managed by non-technical people, being paid next to nothing, and with as little resources as possible to support me". Hey, that's usually what you end up with anyway. Whoever told all the CS101 types out there that with a few certifications you can be rich should be shot. Nine out of ten jobs that come my way are from companies that tried to do it the cheap or easy way with inexperienced help overpromising and underdelivering that need rescuing.
Nobody out there, save for Google, seems to be doing anything new or interesting. Having a lot of experience under your belt is a double edged sword - on one hand, you have to knowledge to do it, and charge accordingly, on the other hand, well, you've done it before hundreds of time to the point where you barely have to think about what you're doing. [ 9/01/2004 05:31:13 PM ] [ ]
