posted 07-06-2001 11:43
I graduated (barely) from H.S in
Pennsylvania and moved to northern California two years later. I went to the local community college (Diablo Valley Community College, I think) with a major in Frisbee. Needless to say academics came last on my list of priorities. I attempted to attend school full time and work full time, and dropped out of school in favor of the money (very short sighted).
At 21, I was awarded a certificate of “DUI” from the local authorities (at least I was of legal drinking age). Basically, I was a punk. I had not done anything productive since gradating H.S. I was feeling pretty down on myself and decided that I needed a swift kick in the ass, so I joined the U.S.M.C. HUGE wake up call for me. I went to electronics school, and became an electrical equipment repair specialist (board swapper). I learned a few important things while in the service:
1) Get up early in the morning and do an honest day’s work.
2) Shut up and listen
3) Get along with whoever I report to
4) Take orders and follow instructions
When I left the service the state of California offered me 1 of 2 options: 1) Unemployment compensation 2) Pay for me to go through C.D.I. (control data institute). I opted for the school (this time I attended all classes) and graduated 1.5 years later. I got a job as a computer repair specialist (board swapper) my territory was northern Ca. and western Nevada. I started to work with a VERY early version of UNIX used at Pacific Bell call centers. I was married, brought a house, got divorced, lost the house, lost everything. I came to Ohio in January 1990, penniless and about 10K in credit debt. My first job in Ohio paid 26K, I was thirty then and had wasted a lot of time. I began to job-hop with mom and pop consulting companies. Starting with UNIX admin, this led to a multitude of DBA jobs (Sybase v4.2, Oracle 7, DB2). In the last 10 years my salary has gone from 26K to over 115K. There are a lot of well paid I.S. professionals who went the traditional college route who probably did not have to spend the all-niters that I did to resolve the issues. But then again, I was being paid by the hour. For what it’s worth, here’s some observations I have made along the way:
1) If you REALLY want to speed your career along – take jobs that are SUBSTANTIALLY over your head and grow into them.
2) Get along with EVERYONE. The techno-nerd that you can’t stand may be your boss a few years from now.
3) Try to develop and nurture interpersonal relationships with your direct superiors (male or female). It’s good to associate with success.
4) Set realistic goals for yourself, weekly, monthly, yearly. Take frequent check points.
5) When negotiating for salary: Remember, an offer is just that, you SHOULD counter offer with at least 5-10% (they can always say no).
6) Contract / Consulting work is a great way to gain a lot of experience in a limited amount of time.
7) NEVER burn bridges.
I have setup and contribute to college funds for my kids. My hope is that they will be more mature that I was when they graduate High School. The college path would have been much more desirable (probably quicker) than the Military/tech-school route. But some of us have to learn the hard way.
- marcel
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posted 07-05-2001 05:13
