RE: any junior positions?

[Alfreda Duffin <Aduffin@stratixcorp.com>]

I'm sorry an MIT doesn't impress you. But what an MIT really means, is
exactly what you say you are impressed with --> one who took the initiative
to go learn something new, earning the degree is a way of getting yourself
familiarized with the new technology so you can go further and pursue things
on your own (which you say, you are also impressed by). Earning the degree
helped me to see what all this new stuff was about, and what I liked about
it the most. And, in the process, I gained the degree, which I am very proud
of. 

You shouldn't look at it as just "oh, that person earned a degree" you
should look at the fact that they were disciplined enough to do it, while
working full time, that they had the capacity to learn, and can be groomed
to fit into an organization. The fact that one goes to school shows they
have a willingness to learn, I was actually "yearning" to learn new
technology.

-----Original Message-----
From: Ed Jenkins [mailto:digitalman2000@earthlink.net]
Sent: Thursday, July 05, 2001 4:33 PM
To: Alfreda Duffin
Subject: Re: any junior positions?


Ahh, you're asking the age-old question, "how do I get experience if all
jobs out there require experience?"  I have worked for some who will give
you on-the-job training, but most will not.  These companies are hard to
come by, but there is also a price to pay for getting on-the-job training:
they won't pay much.  Even after you prove that you have learned a lot and
are worth more.  Even if you get some kind of certification.  They will
stick to their rigid pay schedules.  Experience and certification seem to be
always worth more to a new boss than to an existing one.  If you're willing
to earn less than what you are worth, you can find a company who will hire
you with no experience.

If I were hiring, the MIT wouldn't impress me at all.  What I would look for
is this:  does s/he come into work every once in a while bragging about a
new technology s/he discovered or a new API they've been studying at home
and is now ready to unleash it on the job?  I find a willingness to learn,
combined with demonstrated enthusiasm to be irresistable.  This is the way I
have worked for the past 10 years, so if I saw someone else doing it too,
then I would be uncontrollably happy.  Too bad my business isn't growing
right now, because there are several people on this mailing list that I
would want to interview based on their comments on this thread.

Ed

----- Original Message -----
From: "Alfreda Duffin" <Aduffin@stratixcorp.com>
To: "'Ed Jenkins'" <digitalman2000@earthlink.net>; "AJUG"
<ajug-members@ajug.org>
Sent: Thursday, July 05, 2001 12:31
Subject: RE: any junior positions?


You make a good point. I agree, there's a lot to learn. I guess I didn't
make myself clear. I mean if you go to college to learn new technology and
can't get a chance. I have been trained in newest technologies and earned an
MIT. There is still a lot to learn, but I am ahead of someone who has never
worked in IT, or gone to school for it.

I agree with you, they need to look at our 'potential' and give us a chance.


-----Original Message-----
From: Ed Jenkins [mailto:digitalman2000@earthlink.net]
Sent: Thursday, July 05, 2001 12:04 PM
To: AJUG
Subject: Re: any junior positions?


>concepts and software doesn't change when you walk out of the doors of a
college and into a company. And someone who has been working in IT for years


Ah, but they do.  When I went to college, I learned how to write for DOS,
but a couple of years later, Windows was all the rage and DOS was dead.
Anybody going to college at that time would have learned Windows but know
nothing about the web.  Today there is a new level of web development
emerging as well as advancements in wireless and embedded technologies.  I
think we need to realize that things do change and we should be more willing
to take a chance on those programmers who are willing to stretch themselves
and learn new stuff.

I'm proud to have the level of experience that I have, but I also know that
other people with less experience may be just as well fit for a job if they
demonstrate potential.  In days like these where new technologies, new APIs,
and paradigm shifts occur more frequently, it seems like a man's (or
woman's) potential should be given more weight than it is currently given.

Ed