Slow Train Coming
It's been a month or so full of transition for me, so I've been quite remiss in making entries here. But, due to all of said transitions, I'm pretty confident I'll have plenty to write about in the next few weeks.
Lots of personal stuff has been going on, which I'm somewhat loathe to discuss in this context as it's just so OT w/r/t Dev Dot Star stuff, but suffice it to say it's all been positive financially, mentally, and musically.
What's more germaine and exciting is the fact that I have finally left Business-X in the dirty past, and moved on to pastures new and, thus far, apparently greener. Thrilled to be in my new gig, and excited to get down to business as I move past the "orientation and desktop setup" phase of things. It looks like I'll be doing some WinForms coding in .NET 2.0, which is extremely satisfactory compared to my last set of assignments.
I should note, esp. to anyone who is at all familiar with just how much I disliked my previous job, that I was able to FULLY express my dissatisfaction to B-X when I left -- in several exit interviews/meetings and in my resignation letter. This was done without pulling punches, but also (I hope) without losing any professional grace or dignity. The place had problems, and I felt it professional responsibility to alert them. Beyond that, it's their grave to dig....
And finally, I will also mention that I passed (nay, "whooped up on") MS Cert Exam 70-315 with a score of 943-1000. I was pretty happy about that. Note my earlier post about exam prep materials if you have any plans to take this test.
More to come soon...
Hey, Donna!
Thanks for your interest. I can somewhat relate to your situation, or at least imagine the difficulty. Esp. given that fact that you had a personal relationship with at least one of "the departed."
I know I left B-X in a not-so-pleasant situation, as I was the 4th developer they'd lost in about 9 months. The difference is, their problem wasn't money related, nor did the developers relocate. The dept's long-standing resistance to moving ahead with new technology is doing them in. Of the 4 who left, 2 came and went in the space of weeks. All 4 of us left because we wanted/needed to get experience with the same newer technology (ASP.NET and related) that was hinted at but never implemented.
And, for my money,there's almost nothing as frustrating as interviewing software developers. It's like trying to audition a cake recipe without being able to taste the cake. The simple fact is that no matter how carefully you grill them w/ technical questions, work them through a sample project, quiz them on teamwork, etc, you're eventually forced to make something of a leap of faith. I wish you good luck as you weed through the applicants...
As far as band stuff, there are certainly parallels with software, but my thoughts there are as yet embryonic. As they coalesce more, I might have a post that's kind of a "sequel" to my Bach post from a few weeks ago.
Good score
I thought MS certification exam was too tough to score the goo marks. But you have done well. Very happy to see this. Await for your future posts.
Technology Loco (motive)
Interesting to read what's been up, Andy, for I've been silent due to being on the other side of the tracks (so to speak). In my group at work, we had already lost one developer about three months ago and the position was promptly frozen. Just when it was being thawed and we were posting the position, one of our star developers resigned (and that position was promptly frozen). It was a great personal and professional loss.
*sigh* So now I am crafting silly interview questions and perusing resumes of applicants ranging from those just out of high school up until...I think the oldest applicant so far was 65. More (as you say) about that later.
I am reminded of the posts here concerning why developers leave. Here, the two most recent to leave did so due to (1) desire to live in a bigger city and enjoy a job with more travel opportunities, and (2) for the money. The most recent one had been promoted once and acknowledged the best we could with what we had to work with (dual flat screen monitors, flex time, etc.), but in government you can only do so much and the pace does tend to be slow. He had a family to consider and often you can do better/quicker, financially, by jumping around a bit.
I'd love to hear more about the band. Surely you can find some way to work it into a discussion of software development. I'd also like to hear more about your transition into the new position.