Starting to wonder...

[Felonious Monk/Fignozzle]

Is it me?

I'm pleasant, I'm kind, I'm conscientious, diligent and dedicated.
Does my breath stink?  I shower regularly.  I don't fart in meetings.
Have I deceived myself into thinking that I'm a competent IT professional, when I'm NOT? (I don't think so.)

Or have I just had the worst run of luck in the WORLD professionally?

They downsized me out of Oak Ridge in '03.  Since this had happened 3 times in 4 years (subcontract companies get swallowed up by larger ones), I moved to Alo-Bammo to get a fresh start, away from the "churn" of gubmint contracting.  

They roll out the red carpet for me in Mayberry, AL; wining, dining, and making sure I was given the royal treatment...until they got me to accept their offer.
Then, they change the job description-- drastically-- 3 months into the process.

So, a couple of months later, I kiss them goodbye, go to work for the biggest utility conglomerate in the south (albeit as a contractor; many IT departments hire through contract-to-perm arrangements these days), and managed not to make it 90 days before being told my contract was no longer renewed.

I've got a family to provide for, and I know I'll get another job, but son of a GUN, I am sooooo tired of having my livelihood toyed with.

This time, I ran afoul of a 30-something Gen-X mommy of toddlers, whose background is in HR.  She got the IT mgmt gig as her first foray outside of HR, and who expected contractors to bow and scrape and kiss the ring as she passed.
I treated her like any other co-worker, with respect and cordiality, but never kissed up.
As a result, I'm gone.

What do I have to do to maintain personal integrity and still keep a job?
I'm feeling very very old before my time at this point.

Thanks for letting me rant.  
Fig

[Sylvilagus Aquaticus]

I thinkyou have run across what sometimes can be a common experience, especially in IT. When I first worked for Big Blue, the contractors were cannon fodder. Of course, they still are, but that's another story. Every .gov contract I've worked on as a contractor, the 'use them up and throw them out' rate was about 3 months. When there's a surplus of applicants, qualified or not, that seems to be the case.

That's why I chose to specialize in my IT field.  For every one of me, there's 40 guys who do Brand X...or more. Even though I'm working a comfortable open-ended contract now at Blue, I decided to fish my resume out about 2 months ago. I get a couple of emails a day and maybe 4 to 6 phone calls a week. Most are from guys who don't speak understandable Engrish or Bengrish/Hingrish and they want me to drop everything and take a 2 month gig in Moose Snot, Michigan or somewhere equally attractive.  Currently, my contract manager works from an office in Austin. Never seen him in meatspace. I get a phone call from him every couple of months and he leaves me a voice mail- invariably, I don't answer my cell at work unless it's an emergency- and I email him back. He has no clue what it is I do, just that he gets a nice cut from my labors.

Only once was one of my managers technically astute, but he was an ActiveX guy. Pffft.

It's the nature of the beast. They bring you on and tempt you with temp to perm. If it goes perm, then the job/rules/climate can change. Maybe good, maybe bad. Never had one go perm for me. Haven't worked anywhere that I really *wanted* to go perm, actually, since I've been a contractor. The money is too good as a contractor, from my perspective.

Reload your resume on Dice and stick it out there. It gets better. I have a phone interview for a perm position tomorrow afternoon for a shop 4 miles from my house.

Regards,
Rabbit.

[charby]

Fig

Shoot for a State Government or Public University Job. You won't make as much but you get the cadillacs of benefits, job security and not hassled too much.

-C

[Leatherneck]

Fig,
Two suggestions:
1. Stay far, far away from any HR types--they have no real skills and think they run the world.
2. Check out military/DoD IT contractors. Military organizations tend to exhibit something called leadership, which the civilian world by and large has forgotten. Here in the Pentagon, we treat our in-house IT contractors like part of the team--and they act like they are too.

HTH
TC

[280plus]

I'll never forget when I applied for in house HVAC at the local JC Penney warehouse. The HR lady had no less than SIX years worth of consecutive perfect attendance awards hanging on her wall. I figured maybe JCP might not be the place for me after I saw that. .

Then there was the one at J.M. Ney that immediately decided I had problems working with women, even though I had really never worked with them before so even I didn't know how well I worked with them. I can't recall what her reasoning was. If you ask me, I'd say SHE had a problem with men, but I didn't get into it with her.

Good luck Fig!

[Felonious Monk/Fignozzle]

Thanks guys.
I'd really be happy with a DoD or State Gov job, but all of the DoD stuff I've seen out there is 'active clearance REQUIRED', no others need apply.

State Gov stuff might be much more attainable, just need to check the current listings, update the rez (a-GAIN ) and mine the contacts I have out there.

What a life.  
I basically need a gig *now* that's going to take me through to retirement (another 15-20 years).  Even if it's several $k less than I'm used to, but guarantees me some semblance of security (something obscure, like an Exchange Admin for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, or a Network Admin for the U.S. Dept. of Mine Safety, or the No. Dakota Dept. of Agriculture, or the like), I'd be happy as a pig in slop to find such a gig at this point.

Just throwing stuff on the wall to see what sticks: Anybody got a contact like the above mentioned?
Or, anyone familiar with IT openings in the Spartanburg SC area?

[charby]

Most Univeristies and Colleges have job listings on their websites, pretty much if you got the talent they are looking for you'll get an interview.

-C

[280plus]

What's IT BTW?

[Felonious Monk/Fignozzle]

IT=Information Technology.

'Puter stuff.

[BozemanMT]

Stay far, far away from any HR types--they have no real skills and think they run the world.

truer words were never spoken
HR is a pox upon productivity.

Couple thoughts, nobody is an employee anymore, everyone is a contractor, maybe their paycheck comes from the company, maybe not, but basically everyone in IT works per contract/project/whatever
Nothing is gauranteed anymore, no matter how good you did on your last project, it means nothing now.
Get used to it.
Save lots.

It's harder for older IT people, sorry, but the bias is there.  After 50, it's pretty much impossible to get a good job in IT (sure, it exists, but it's hard)
Think about changing careers by 50.

Everything is skill based nowadays, you need top notch skills just to get an interview.

Ok, this is going to come across snotty and I don't mean it too.  But i'm a hiring IT manager and I read in your letter that you want a company to take care of you for 15/20 years.  That attitude comes across in interviews.  Get the attitude that you are the best at what you do (whatever it is) and that you could be employed tomorrow because you are so good.
Those people get kept on (of course, they have to really be good too), those people get raises, etc.  Be irreplacable and know and project it.

Just my advice, worth what you paid for it.
But expect to move on every little bit nowadays.

[RevDisk]

Being a DoD contractor has its ups and downs.   I worked for the DoD, specifically DISA.   Most govt employees were nice enough, a handful thought it was a perk to abuse the contractors.   Don't expect things to be any less cut-throat, though.   I had the fun experience of walking blind into the DISA job.   Most of the real job description was actually classified.  I thought it was secret level work as I was told it was secret level, instead I got put in for a TS clearance.  Ugh.    So I worked at secret level rates doing TS level work.  (To you non-DoD folks, TS clearance work typically pays a LOT better than S.)

Some DoD contracts are fairly long term, most ain't.  Don't expect much in the way of job security.  And most big name contractors are very shady characters.   Be sure to check out the contracting company in depth before you sign the dotted line.   If you get a bad feeling, walk quickly, don't wait for things to get really bad.

I landed a perm IT job at a helicopter company.  Pay is ok, workload is very high paced.   I'm just thankful I have a decent boss.  Get as much training and education as possible.  Try to save up for a rainy day.  Try to find a speciality or a niche market.

[Felonious Monk/Fignozzle]

Stay far, far away from any HR types--they have no real skills and think they run the world.

truer words were never spoken
HR is a pox upon productivity.

Nothing is gauranteed anymore, no matter how good you did on your last project, it means nothing now.
Get used to it.
Save lots.

It's harder for older IT people, sorry, but the bias is there.  After 50, it's pretty much impossible to get a good job in IT (sure, it exists, but it's hard)
Think about changing careers by 50.

Ok, this is going to come across snotty and I don't mean it too.  But i'm a hiring IT manager and I read in your letter that you want a company to take care of you for 15/20 years.  That attitude comes across in interviews.  Get the attitude that you are the best at what you do (whatever it is) and that you could be employed tomorrow because you are so good.
Those people get kept on (of course, they have to really be good too), those people get raises, etc.  Be irreplacable and know and project it.

Just my advice, worth what you paid for it.
But expect to move on every little bit nowadays.

I genuinely appreciate the advice.  Couple of thoughts on it: I'm currently 44, that's why I want to get "embedded", if you will, before hitting the big 50.

Also, you didn't read in my 'letter' that I want 15-20 years w/ a Co.; you read that in a forum post, amongst friends and family, which is what I consider this forum to be.  I make sure I don't project that in an interview; I try to make it clear with potential employers that I am keeping up with new industry trends, interested in continued professional development, and will continue to be an asset throughout my time with the company, be it short-term contract, permanent, or somewhere in-between.

I'm looking for advice from said friends and family.
Communication with potential employers is a totally different matter.

[BrokenPaw]

Fig,

My company's always hiring.  If you want to move back to the NoVa/DC area, we've probably got openings in my group.  For all my bitching here and elsewhere, it's not a bad place to work, and the bennies are so good they border on scary, ocnsidering we're a beltway bandit with delusions of grandeur.

We may also have some work coming up in our Huntsville office, if you want to stay in the wondrous state of Alabama.  I'll look around and see what's available.

Active clearances are a plus with my company, but are not essential.  The ability to be cleared is essential.

Let me know.
-BP

[Felonious Monk/Fignozzle]

BP,

Thanks.  We can talk some more in the coming days at our 'other', slightly smaller hangout.

It's greatly appreciated!
Fig

[charby]

Fig

Don't like the prospect of working at a University?  

-C

[Felonious Monk/Fignozzle]

Charby,
Oh, I very much DO! In fact, Just before moving to Alo-Bammo, I applied with the U of KY Ag extension svc, to do pretty much what you and I do over a 6 county area for Ag offices in W. Ky.  

They were slow on the draw in their processes, and in the midst of the interview process I got the fateful offer call from the co. down here in Mayberry BFE, AL.

[charby]

Since your looking for a place to work at until retirement or near retirement a univeristy will keep you as long as your half way productive and funds hold out. If funds don't hold out you are usually first in line for any similiar position you apply for on campus.

-C

[Chris]

You might also want to look into local/county level government, especially in the court systems.  Most of the court systems are working in antiquated operating systems, if not still using index card filing boxes.  At teh same time, the highest courts are making leaps and bounds technologically speaking, and starting to mandate that lower courts catch up.  Not a bad gig if you can catch one, and most of judges and clerks only care if you can make their jobs easier.  Do that with some modern hardward/software, and they will love you.

[Guest]

You might also want to check job opportunities at regional level. In NoVa and DC it's called "Council of Governments" and in the Kansas City Area it's known as the "Mid America Regional Council". All of the defined metropolitan ares in the country have such regional bodies. The nice thing about working for an organization like that is that they have lots of money, enormous clout and are out of the main stream political infighting you find at local and state government level.