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I've been doing C++ my whole career, including my share of very low-level stuff (e.g. I used to work at Microsoft, where one product I worked on in the early '90s was the Visual C++ debugger). I still love C++, but I am also coming to absolutely adore C# and .NET -- they just make it so ridiculously easy to do cool stuff.
I'm interested in finding a job doing client-side C#/.NET stuff using Windows Forms (server-side doesn't interest me much). I think probably in five years or so, after .NET has really taken hold, this will be easy to find; but for now, even if I could find ANY client-side .NET work, it would most likely be the kind of stuff that used to be done in VB, e.g. vertical-market software for filling out forms, accessing databases, etc. I'm more interested in working on the kind of stuff that's traditionally done in C++, such as shrinkwrap applications and tools.
Is anyone out there aware of companies doing interesting work using client-side .NET? I'm in Burlingame CA, so I'm looking as far north as S.F. and as far south as Palo Alto.
Any suggestions of web sites I should look at to try to find such companies? None turned up on hotjobs or Monster -- I want to take a different tack: Instead of going to job-search web sites and looking for .NET, I think maybe I should go to .NET web sites and search for jobs. E.g. I plan to check places like gotdotnet.com and msdn.microsoft.com to see if there are lists of companies working with .NET.
Mike Morearty
mike@morearty.com
http://www.morearty.com
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As you mentioned, I suspect the pickings will be slim on the job market for a while, due both to how new the product is and the current tight tech market. However, I think there was actually one possible solution embedded within your question.
Mike Morearty wrote:
I'm more interested in working on the kind of stuff that's traditionally done in C++, such as shrinkwrap applications and tools.
Instead of looking for another 9 to 5, why not spend your spare time figuring out what types of shrinkwrap tools you could put together for .NET developers? Remember when VB first hit? People like Dan Appleman (Desaware) did well because he was early to market with VBX bolt ons, and it turned out to be a huge market. He's much better off than he would have been had he just looked for a job writing code in the (then) new VB environment.
Anytime there's a paradigm shift in our development environment, there are opportunities to provide new tools to developers. While it may not be as obvious as the VBX market, I'll bet with your experience and a little creative thinking you could come up with some great shrink wrap products that you could, if nothing else, sell off your web site. If the tools are relevant & good and you're first to market, it might even make you enough to make your company your new 9 to 5.
I mean, if you're spending your spare time coding in .NET now anyway, why not write something you can sell?
Chistopher Duncan
Author - The Career Programmer: Guerilla Tactics for an Imperfect World (Apress)
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Hello, My name is Brad Cromwell.
I'm in the process of writing a
HS I-search report for English
over a possible future career.
If someone would take the time to
answer the following questions it would
help me out tremendously! Thanks in advance. (If you would rather e-mail the interview, send to: cyrad2@fourthempire.com
Personal info:
Job Title:
Company:
Your name:
Your e-mail:
Your city/state:
If you had to explain what you do(as a computer science professional) to a fourth
grader, what would you say?
What training/schooling would you recommend taking before entering the job field?
On a scale of 1-10, 10 being the highest, how would you rate the job availability in your area?
What three things do you dislike about your job?
How much could I expect to make anually as a beginner in your career field?
What rewards/benifits/perks does your job have to offer?
What kind of personal, as well as professional skills, are required from you?
Which computer related jobs do you think will be sought after most in the next ten years?
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My company has merged with another bigger fish.
As a result all our database systems are being moved from Progress to Oracle.
I have the option of free Oracle training (providing I stay for two years) but I'm not sure what to do... I guess that means no pay rises for two years! 
What is the jobs market like for Oracle programmers vs Progress? (particularly in the UK)
I can choose to specialise my training in Finance, HR or DBA. Which is likely to provide the most job demand and money?!
Any thoughts welcome...
--
The Obliterator
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Obliterator wrote:
What is the jobs market like for Oracle programmers vs Progress?
Well, I'm not a DB guy myself, but from what I've seen in America, Oracle is pretty high demand & good pay, particularly for DBAs. I don't hear much about Progress in comparison.
I don't know what their presence is in the UK, but maybe that'll help give you at least a little bit of an indication...
Chistopher Duncan
Author - The Career Programmer: Guerilla Tactics for an Imperfect World (Apress)
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Yeah I tend to agree, my research seems to show Oracle as offering more availability. Certainly the DBA does seem to be the most highly paid, I guess I'll have to look into the learning curves.
Anything bad about Oracle I should know anyone???? 
--
The Obliterator
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If you want to stay, I say train yourself on Oracle to become a DBA. You can download developer editions of their database software for free. At least that way if you want to leave you can leave without being penalized. Or figure out how much that training costs, so if you do leave you know exactly how much you're "going to owe them".
Good Luck!
Andy Gaskell, MCSD MCDBA
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Hi All,
Not sure if this is the right place for this question but here goes. I am planning to travel to Australlia and New Zealand in 6 months time. I plan to live and work there for a year. Could anyone living/working in these countries tell me what the current state of the Jobs market is like for contract developers. I have more than 7 years experience in building distribute apps using SQL2K/ASP/VB/COM+.
Cheers for any feedback
Adrian
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AdrianD wrote:
Could anyone living/working in these countries tell me what the current state of the Jobs market is like for contract developers.
Adrian, if you look at the jobs advertised it looks pretty good. The reality is not quite as rosey. I have been out of work since 8th November last year and have only got 2 interviews which I made the short list and then rejected.
They seem to want twice the skillset you have no matter how many skills you have.
I have been looking for permanent positions not contract. There seems to be less contract work available than permanent. Remember that you have to charge 10% on top of standard rates to cover the GST here in Australia.
Michael Martin
Australia
mjm68@tpg.com.au
"Don't belong. Never join. Think for yourself. Peace"
- Victor Stone
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I've also been interested in working/living in Australia or New Zealand for quite a while now. I'm currently in Canada. It seems to me that if I really want a job there, that I should pack up and go and look for work there instead of trying to get a job while I'm still in Canada. Is this a safe assumption or not?
Which citie(s) in Australia or New Zealand are considered the high tech centres? What resources or news papers are a good place to look?
Thanks in advance.
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What would be a good response to that classic interview question about your negative traits? In my case "procrastination" would be honest, but I'm not sure how to phrase it so that an interviewer would view it in a positive light.
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MarSCoZa wrote:
What would be a good response to that classic interview question about your negative traits?
Actually, while I've been known to shoot myself in the foot from time to time, I sure ain't gonna do it intentionally even if they are kind enough to hand me the pistol. I usually give an answer that is a positive trait from their perspective cloaked in a negative wrapper, such as, "Well, I'm a bit of a workaholic", "I probably focus too much on error handling", "I sometimes get more caught up in meeting the deadlines than in squeezing that extra three cycles of performance out of the code", etc.
Sounds like you're throwing out a negative trait in a candid manner (one of the things their looking for), but in reality you're just giving them one more reason to hire you by telling them what they want to hear.
A little devious? Absolutely! Interviews are a chess match. If they're going to play games, posture and position, you can bet that I'm going to do the same. I hate to lose. Especially when a paycheck is on the line...
Chistopher Duncan
Author - The Career Programmer: Guerilla Tactics for an Imperfect World (Apress)
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The best way to go about this is to talk about a negative trait that you had. But now of course you have turned that negative trait around and have everything under control.
Last interview (last week) I was asked about negative traits or bad habits (whatever they asked me). My answer was "That in my last job it was pointed out to me that I had a bad habit. It was that I was trying to do everything for everyone. I had to learn to say no to people and priorotise my work. I overcame it and eventually was handling multiple customer/issues raised by multiple consultants within my company and getting the work completed."
Of course I never had a problem saying no, just not in a business like manner with the ability to put management layers on hold when required.
Michael Martin
Australia
mjm68@tpg.com.au
"Don't belong. Never join. Think for yourself. Peace"
- Victor Stone
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NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Always phrase your "short-comings" as something that looks positive to the other person:
1) Mention something as a negative that actually is not. For example, "The main problem I have is that I fully throw myself into a project to the exclusion of all. I've had managers demand that I take a day off to prevent burn-out. The thing is that when I get rolling on a cool project, I'm all about the finish line." Obviously, this is thing that most manager want to hear!
2) Mention as a negative something that they don't want or care about. For example, if your applying for a position as a coder you might say "My only weakness is that I'm not a very good manager of other people. I'm really good at taking a project and working within a team to get the job done. However, I'm just not a person to boss others around. I expect that I'm working with professionals." This works great because you've just told the guy hiring you that you're not after his job and that you just want to be a part of the team.
Cheers,
Tom Archer
Author, Inside C#
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I read all this thread and I am wondering if in the US when you tell your interviewer some bullshit, he believes you everytime.
I mean, I come from Italy, and here there are no interviews, resumes, etc, no books on how to pass an interview, etc.
It works another way.
"Nelle cose del mondo non e' il sapere ma il volere che puo'."
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laphijia wrote:
It works another way.
hmmm.. .what way is that?
"When a friend hurts us, we should write it down in the sand, where the winds of forgiveness get in charge of erasing it away, and when something great happens, we should engrave it in the stone of the memory of the heart, where no wind can erase it"
Nish on life [methinks]
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Brian Delahunty wrote:
It works another way.
hmmm.. .what way is that?
Did you forget that mafia is an italian creation, it's sad for me to admit this, but if mafia comes from Italy this means that here the things are slightly different.
I write this because I studied in Italian School for years, and now I moved to Thailand and I will go to the american school.
And I found a lot of differences:
1- It's a private school.
When you go to a private school in Italy it's because you are lazy or stupid, and people that attend private school are generally seen badly.
But my new school it's private and they proudly say that not anyone can attend it, that they select the students, etc.
2- For being admitted I had to take some test. SAT or something like this.
Standardized tests, nationwide, multiple choice, etc.
So there seems to be some ANSI also in the school.
No, in Italy multiple choice tests don't exists, and sure not standardized.
You write something, an essay, and a teacher looks at it.
If that day she is nice you ar IN.
3- Maybe if your father knows somebody, that knows somebody, that knows somebody, that knows that teacher it's all more easy.
I don't know if you can understand what I mean, but I have the feeling that in the US all is standardized, so there can be books on how to pass an interview, etc etc.
And if you follows the rules for an interview, but you tell the interviewer some bullshit, you are OK.
I just add this.
If you want to get a VISA for US you give all the reasons, you fill some form, you take all the paper, and if everithing is ok you get the VISA, if something is missing, you don't get the VISA.
But somebody needs to get an Italian VISA, it's up to the EMBASSY to decide whether they can give it or not.
So if you have a work, the money in the bank, etc etc, but you for the empoyer in the embassy you look like somebody no-good, you don't get a VISA.
But if you have an italian friend that lived with you some time and he says to the embassy that you go with him on a vacation, you get the visa the next day, maybe without any money in your bank, nor a work in your homecountry.
After when you are in Italy, when your VISA expires you just wait till the next new law that says that all the people that are illegally in Italy from before..... 1,2,3 years ago, are given a Permit of Stay of 1 year, renewable.
And if this looks weird to you, if it looks that in Italy is impossible to live, etc etc.
For me, that new I am approaching the US system, it's just the same.
I hope that you undersand this.
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You can always say that you have no negative traits that you are aware of. Obviously they might express some surpise at this answer but you can qualify it by saying that if you had any negative traits that you knew of, you'd do evertthing possible to correct them. Perhaps then offer them some examples of what negative traits you've had that you "fixed".
I find that sort of interview question really annoying to be honest. I mean, what sort of answer do they want? Isn't it really just some question that they ask, not really knowing what sort of answer they want? I think they should show the candidate more respect. They should be concentrating on what the candidate can actually do. because once the candidate is in the interview, he is only really there to verify what he's claimed in his CV, unless the interviewers are just interested in some sort of conveyor belt approach - just wheel 'em past and they'll pick one they like.
I like turning questions around to interviewers, asking them things like "how do you think my skill set will benefit your company", "how do you see someone like me progressing within your company".
------------------------
The folly of man is that he dreams of what he can never achieve rather than dream of what he can.
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I need to relocate for my new job, I've been told that when I negotiate my salary I should ask for a relocation allowance. Could someone help me out with what I should ask for, in terms of pay-back and stuff like that?
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Jacksonh wrote:
when I negotiate my salary I should ask for a relocation allowance.
Well, of course, negotiate is the key word here. Often relocation includes the cost of the moving company, gas expenses for driving, sometimes temporary housing while you find a new house to buy, occasionaly even per dium (food, gas, etc. daily expenses). There's not really any strategy - it just comes down to how good your bargaining skills are, and whether or not you're bargaining from a position of power. In general, though, with any kind of negotiation, if they say yes to your first offer, you could have got more. How hard you negotiate will ultimately come down to how strong you think your position is.
Hope this helps...
Chistopher Duncan
Author - The Career Programmer: Guerilla Tactics for an Imperfect World (Apress)
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I'm getting into the speaking / seminar end of things, and I'm kicking around ideas for some additional sessions. The four that I'm teaching on an upcoming developers conference are all more closely related to the actual development process, and they cover requirements gathering, design, estimating and QA. No problem so far, the feedback I get tells me that programmers are interested in this sort of stuff. However, there are other things that I personally think are critical if you work in the business world and I'd like to do sessions on them as well. Before I invest any time trying to put them together, though, I could use some feedback as to whether programmers would actually be interested enough to make it worthwhile. Here's some of the things I'm thinking about -
Interviewing skills:
I've hired a lot of people over the years, and it's amazing the basic stuff that doesn't seem to be common knowledge among applicants. A lot of programmers think that their technical skills are all that matters, but in fact, it's only one small part of getting the gig. I'm thinking that this type of session would probably more important to mercenaries who change jobs a lot than to someone who gets a gig and keeps it for 5 years, but I could be wrong.
Coping with company politics:
Programmers don't want to do anything but code, really. However, most of the times we get screwed (somebody else got the sexy project, the raise, the office with a door, Bad Things happened to your project, etc.) it's because somebody else played the politics game well, and we didn't (or worse still, didn't even want to try).
Creating your own projects:
This would more accurately be "learning how to sell your ideas to management", but put the word "sell" in a title and watch the programmers run for the door. Nonetheless, I've extended a lot of contracts at cool companies because I pitched them on a project I wanted to develop, and they went for it.
These are a few of what I have in mind. There's more along these lines. I know, I know, it ain't techie and sexy like "Learn ASP.NET in 24 Minutes!" but there's a lot of really top notch guys doing that sort of thing already. I know from years of personal experience that programmers' lives would be better if they had these skills, but do you think anyone would actually go to sessions like this? If you do, are there other such ideas that working class programmers would see a need for?
In the end, it doesn't matter how cool or useful a session is unless people will actually sign up for it. I don't want to burn up all my midnight oil on a project unless it has some chance of being useful. You guys are the real programmers out there making a living. I figure you're a good reality check...
Chistopher Duncan
Author - The Career Programmer: Guerilla Tactics for an Imperfect World (Apress)
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Size of company is really going to drive the interest here.
In my case a good coverage of Coping with Company Politics definitely wins. So many hidden agendas exist. To be successful with Creating your own project you need to handle the politics. If you do not, even if you get started it is amazing how inventive people are in stoping good work. As far as interviewing skills at least in my area those that are found to never stay in one place very long (say 2 years max) are not even considered by the time they hit mid 30's.
Just my 2 cents.
Good ideas are not adopted automatically.
They must be driven into practice with courageous patients. -Admiral Rickover. ...
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Michael A. Barnhart wrote:
Size of company is really going to drive the interest here.
Yeah, it's been my experience that the bigger the company, the heavier the insanity.
Michael A. Barnhart wrote:
As far as interviewing skills at least in my area those that are found to never stay in one place very long (say 2 years max) are not even considered by the time they hit mid 30's.
Er, you're making a 44 year old guy very nervous, you know...
Michael A. Barnhart wrote:
Just my 2 cents.
Thanks, man. Just the sort of feedback I was hoping for!
Chistopher Duncan
Author - The Career Programmer: Guerilla Tactics for an Imperfect World (Apress)
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Christopher Duncan wrote:
Er, you're making a 44 year old guy very nervous, you know...
Only if you've had a bunch of jobs. Consultants / contract labor do not count in this comment, just those who were "employees".
Good ideas are not adopted automatically.
They must be driven into practice with courageous patients. -Admiral Rickover. ...
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