Things Are Swinging My Way

[tippingthegaff]

Yesterday I went back to to Parsippany, New Jersey, for my technical interview for the Set Focus Master's Program . I'd be interviewing for a spot in the C# evening track of The Master's Program.

WARNING !!! Geek Speak follows...

Comments

.NET, etc.

[klausboop]

Sheesh, you are so much smarter than I am! You'll be a straight up frigging wizard at that stuff in no time. Here I argue with my boss that it's unreasonable to be an expert in SQL Server PLUS C#, ASP.NET and ADO.NET all at once and you're going to go and do it!

One thing to consider: from that jobs I've looked around for, if you go that route you'll almost certainly be a consultant rather than working for a single company for years (unless it's a consulting company)

Re: .NET, etc.

[tippingthegaff]

Well, I don't mean to toot my own horn, but that's why SetFocus is very selective. They want sharp people that can absord that much training in a short period of time, and can then go "direct to market" after completion of the program.

Check out The C# Master's program Curriculum here.

It's also possible that SetFocus could ask me to be a consultant for them, and turn around and offer me the training for free, in exchange for 1620 hours of consulting. That would be a good gig, because it would invlove travel, and I think it would be cool do do something like that for a year. I don't get out much like Ben does. As a matter of fact, it would be cool do get a consulting gig in the Bay area for 3 or 6 months, and teach Ben's son how to pull a finger. :-)

Did you see that Futurama Vol 3 comes to DVD in a few weeks ?

Congrats!

[drumzspace]

Congratulations, good job, etc. I just realized that I would have had my ass handed to me on a platter if I took the test you did.

IF TAKE.JAVA.TEST(BEN)
{
test = "fail";
interviewer.laugh = true;
}

I'll echo what Lerch said...you're on the way to consult. HOWEVER, this isn't necessarily bad for the following reasons:

1) Consultants usually work 4/10, which means you get Fridays off.
2) EXPENSES. Dude, if you were to get a credit card attached to a frequent flyer account & charge all your "working expenses" (lunch, travel, etc.) to that card, then get reimbursed, you'd be flying for free in a matter of no time.
3) Although you won't be in ONE particular company for years upon years (except a consulting company), after a while you can still see if you can get placed in a longer-term contract so you have an opportunity to settle down a little.

Re: Congrats!

[tippingthegaff]

Thanks Mike and Ben,

'm actually LEANING towards consulting work. Yes, it's less secure, but:

1) You don't work for a company like IBM directly that pays you for a 40 hour week, but expects 60 hours/week routinely, killing your family/social/personal life.

2) You don't get stuck in a dead end job. Here at IBM, you can dig a hole for yourself by becoming a world's expert at something nobody outside of IBM uses.

3) It's easier to keep your skills current, methinks... see 2) above.

4) Consultants get paid more, so I think it's possible to ride out short periods of unemployment and still be ahead.

4) You have to deal less with company politics. IBM is a pure political environment.

5) I think as a consultant, you have a better chance of writing your own ticket. I have come to realize in the last few weeks that I actually am a pretty sharp guy, and I might do better for myself as a consultant.

Re: Congrats!

[drumzspace]

You're right. You get paid a bit more because you actually bill what you work. And when you're a SHARP consultant, you DO write your own ticket. I've seen lots of complete loser consultants, but the real smart ones always get requested for return engagements.

Re: Congrats!

[tippingthegaff]

Well, I was given the option ahead of time as to what format I wanted the interview to be in... C++, Java, or VB. I'm sure you could have handled one of them. I chose Java because it's waht I'm most familiar with at the moment, as I want to get certfied in it.