Time and Work

[Peter Korsten]

Mikael Hansson schreef:

> I'm totally sick and tired about my job, teching grades 7-9, right now 
> so I've decided to try to make something about it. I'll either try to 
> get a job teaching grades 10-12, which I'm educated for or do something 
> completely different. Two of my closest friends are partners in a local 
> webfirm so getting a job there wouldn't be impossible.

Bear in mind that this is not a very good time to switch jobs. And 
things could change for the better - especially if you'd be doing what 
you've studied for, and presumably wanted to do in the first place.

Working for a firm run by your friends can work really well (I've done 
exactly the same thing), and you can still hang out with them, even 
though they're "the bosses". But should things screw up business-wise, 
that could affect your personal relationship, and likely would do so.

> I'm currently doing halftime studies in C++ along with my work so it'll 
> be less time for music this spring. After that I'm into some C# and .NET.

Ah, don't get blinded by all the glamour that comes with being a 
programmer. ;)

The thing is, unless you really got the mind for it, programming can be 
tedious and at times simply baffling. You could write something that 
appears to work well, has been QA-tested, been working for years, and 
then spectacularly destroys all data because somebody changed the date 
on his computer. (I'm not joking or even exaggerating.)

On the other hand, big companies are starting to realise that 
outsourcing to India isn't really as cost-effective as they thought, and 
so programming jobs in Europe are still in demand.

C# and .NET are good bets. But learn databases too, starting with MS SQL 
Server (since Microsoft shops tend to stick with their products) and 
perhaps Oracle and/or MySQL.

> Btw, what do you guys think of a swedish bar meeting? When would be a 
> good time?

About ten years ago, before I met my wife and could still fool around 
with some of those lovely Swedish girls. ;)

- Peter