Options to IT career

[I D Shukhov]

My own plan is to to ride the downward spiral of our economy and the economic and social misery it's going to bring. 

That misery is going to spawn enormous opportunities in low-cost services that will be necessary but which local and federal governments will no longer be able to deliver because they will be bankrupt and won't be able to raise taxes.  I believe we will become more Third World-like, but will have no cultural infrastructure such as clans and extended families, to manage it.  Just the opposite:  the American tradition is every-person-for-themselves and to try to put as much distance between you and your family as possible!

I think the only solution will be computer-assisted cooperation -- something like Meetup, but smarter, with more computer-aided governance.  In the end, moderators should be replaced with expert systems.  In order for people to be mentally healthy enough to cooperate I think we will need mental prostheses to overcome the cognitive distortions and hard-coded schemas that make up our egos. 

IT security is another promising field, I think.

[PhilFromNY]

Talk of Thailand, Philippines, etc reminds me of the guy back in the 1970's who was afraid of WW III. He decided the best thing to do was go to the most useless place in the world. Figuring that if the place wasn't worth fighting for he'd be safe. He moved to the Falkland Islands.

[Aussie]

You know who benefited most from the Falklands War?  The birdlife.  Seems they're too light....usually....to set off the mines the Argies left behind.  But it keeps the humans out of there.


We have a similar bird sanctuary near where I live, where the Navy used to fire a lot of ordinance into a swamp.  "Newington Bird Sanctuary.  Danger - Unexploded Ordinance.  Trespassers will be blown to Kingdom Come."

[DarkHumour]

I'm seeing a farside styled cartoon where a fatter penguin suddenly learns how to fly after setting off a mine.

When I bought a screwdriver at Home Despot (heh heh) today I realized I don't think I dress like a stereotypically computer guy.

I wear black jeans and steel toed shoes every day.  I'm "blue collar"...ha ha ha. I just can't bring myself to go work for "Barely Road" for 50 cents above minimum wage on weekends...again... (I'd have to drive 20 miles out of my way before my real job on Monday to get my damn check unless they actually stay open to pay on Saturdays).

Hell, to save money I'm considering a move to a trailer park at this point but the slat rent is not much cheaper than what I already pay. Sure, gas is cheaper (if I move to the one 3 miles to work) but then EVERYTHING ELSE is far away. 

You'd think that "cutting expenses and saving money is worth the 'stigma' of living there."  I assume that salaries normalize *downward*, e.g. only the people who cut spending to ridiculously quasi homeless levels will survive.

Increase in pay or a better job prospect looks pretty bleak so I am still trying to cut expenses.. I even cut coupons (from paper and internet printouts) now and feel kind of stupid for not having done this while I have been struggling since 2003.

I've thought about nursing but the H1C visa will screw up that profession when the salaries reach some "forbidden" level. 

I started to study for a commercial drivers license and could have possibly passed the written test...but you still need to go to $chool for the physical driving test.

Before I started working again I thought of a lot of crazy jobs outside my comfort zone... Maybe I should look at who I consider the most unethical evil company on the planet and apply to work for their competitor ?

I wonder how many unemployed and desperate but normally law abiding citizens are inspired by the teacher on the show "Breaking Bad"

DarkHumour

[PhilFromNY]

I wonder how many unemployed and desperate but normally law abiding citizens are inspired by the teacher on the show "Breaking Bad"

That could explain why CNBC keeps airing "Marijuana Inc.".

[I D Shukhov]

Scr*w being a nurse.  There's already a shortage of GPs and it's going to get a lot worse:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100328/ap_on_he_me/us_med_healthbeat_primary_care

[appsdba]

I was out of town for interviews in Denver and Phoenix and just back from presenting at a conference in Vegas. No luck in the interviews
and few people attended my session. But hey, at least I gained some insight into my interview skills and made 50+ new business contacts in the conference! I will keep looking for work and do a part time MBA/JD program once I am back working.