Forgive my foray into science fiction last month. As a writer first and
foremost, I sometimes get an idea in my head and it won't leave me alone until I
put it into words.
True, not every wild fantasy deserves to see the light of day. But in
addition to my quirky writers' obsessions, I also have the deep-seated notion
that sometimes the best instruction challenges the reader to think in ways the
writer never considered, rather than laying everything out in crystal-clear
prose.
That was my intent with last month's fictitious nightmare. Now I ask you,
what did I imply? E-mail your answers to me at james@computeruser.com and I will
print the best ones in our Feedback section.
Now back to my usual colorless (if not crystal-clear) prose. For unfamiliar
readers, this is the part of my column where I make some segue over the chasm
between its lead and its main point.
Sad to say, no segue could do that this month. So, I'll just say it: I'm sick
of all the whining from out-of-work programmers who can't find jobs despite being
more qualified than many applicants in a supposedly talent-starved market.
The stories all sound similar: The programmers follow all our instructions
about getting work, including posting résumés on all the job sites and following
leads on career sites, and they watch as companies hire kids fresh out of college
or foreign programmers on H1-B visa status at substantially below-market wages.
My natural response to the first several letters from people in these straits
was sympathy, and disgust at the sad state of affairs that is made manifest in
discrimination. But the more I think about it, the more I begin to doubt that
discrimination is the whole story.
The stories all involve 40- or 50-something programmers who have done fine by
writing code in one language or database environment, but watched as the market
shifted and the demand for that type of programmer slowed down with it. Add to
that above-average salary expectations and they always come up short for jobs.
Don't get me wrong; I do think this class of applicants is at an unfair
advantage for two reasons. First of all, legal departments are wary of forty-plus
workers. Once you hire someone in a affirmative action-protected class, it is
very difficult to lay off or otherwise terminate him or (especially) her. This is
an example where affirmative action works against applicants.
Second, as is explained in Don Fitzwater's feature in this issue (which you
can find on our Web site if it's not in the print edition
you're holding), Congress raised the number of H1-B visas granted each year even
though thousands of qualified applicants are out of work. For better or for
worse, this led to a preference for cheap, foreign programmers.
But even though discrimination is, ironically, aided by affirmative action
and more bluntly helped along by other spurious governmental actions, there are
no other institutional pressures toward hiring youth.
Besides age, the only single thing this class of applicants possesses is a
reluctance to keep their skills fresh. Almost all the people who have written to
me with their stories worked in mainframe environments. Some of them had
experience with client/server systems, but none of them had Internet-related
skills.
Forgive me for saying this, but if you're not successful finding work in one
area, it's time to quit whining about it and get back to school. It doesn't take
a brainiac to figure out that the job search will go better if you learn some
Internet technologies. As several of our other On Topic features show this month,
there is no shortage of such training available.
Perhaps my opinion is influenced by my friend George, who programmed in
FORTRAN for Control Data Corp. for 20 years before the PC revolution. When
Control Data couldn't keep up with the times, George lost his job.
Rather than whining about it, George went back to school and got a degree in
electrical engineering. He then accepted a job as a tech writer, where he not
only proved his ability to document circuitry and code, but also developed boards
for the company after hours.
George's willingness to learn and prove himself has made him a hot commodity.
George is now a lead engineer for a small but growing motion-control firm. He
never rested on his laurels, and neither should you.
The truth is, no one can rest on his laurels in IT. The hardest part about it
is that the minute you stop learning, you put yourself at a disadvantage in the
job market. This wasn't always the case, but as the pace of technological change
has quickened, it has left in the dust those unable to adapt. No sense whining
about it. It's the nature of the beast.
The good news is, because everyone is in the same straits, as soon as you
start learning again, you will be on level ground with everyone else. And you
certainly can't complain about the market for people who keep their skills fresh,
young or old.
James Mathewson is editorial director of ComputerUser.com.
