what you describe does sound like it worked out well.
my opinion is that there is enough demand for good programmers for the market to determine good wages/benefits. the usps union in question is working on a new contract. rumor has it they are agreeing to a whopping 3.5% raise spread over 5 years. the last annual raise was 1.2%!
there are a large percentage of "obsolete" CoBOL programmers that weren't transitioned properly to web applications. many of whom perform non-technical/light-duty tasks. the mostly younger folks carry the majority of the load. it's mostly a result of incompetent management whom never enforce accountability.
For wages I agree, but I think things like changing what's "normal" in employment contracts and working conditions are one thing that you often get from a union which tech has been lacking. I'm not sure of the overall pros/cons, but to make significant pushback on things like noncompetes (where "significant" means more than a small % of people managing to write them out of their contracts) would require collective action of one sort or another imo--- either some kind of union, or else directly via government (like CA's law on the subject).
The IRS has unionized workers. 5 weeks vaca, 3 weeks sick pay, overtime.. It's a sweet gig and deserves to be - they control the biggest money collection in the world.
The benefits are great at the USPS. However, salaries aren't great. It's difficult to witness much of the waste of deadbeat full-timers and even some incompetent staffed contractors. Outsourcing to Accenture and IBM are often just massive give-aways with no-bid contracts. It's a demoralizing environment along with finicial state of the Postal Service.
Managers have the same benefits. Plus, they get to telecommute 2-3 days a week! Since that benefit was given a year or so ago many of the managers have become even more disconnected with their job.
Managers also get bonuses which they deny. The bonuses are called "pay for performance". That's a joke because the metrics used for the PFP bonuses are ridiculous and encourage micromanaging which creates resentment towards supervisors. The entire workforce is demoralized. For most, it's difficult to leave the benefits.
Nope, no job. Interviewing now, pretty much an interview a day right now. Already got two offers.
Nope didn't lose anything on the sublet, other than the fact I had to stay in a hotel for a few days.
Yep that would be a problem. I didn't have anything holding me down. I'm big against home ownership unless you plan on staying in one place for 10+ years or the market is liquid and priced under the rental rate.
Any variables created in the method are cleaned up when the thread leaves the method. I've never heard of clean up being done after execution leaves a try-catch block. Does anyone know the answer to this?
I see too many programmers that get in it for the money and not the passion. Having passion removes the need to be formally instructed. Passion gives people the drive to excel and be the best. However, you do get a big picture view of what's going on having earned a degree. The slackers tend to be the non-self-teaching among us.
It's also how formally educated programmers learn. The ones that deny this just haven't realized exactly where their professors build their lectures, which is just a spoken book format in itself.
Bubble Smubble. This bubble has a long ways to go before it pops. We're coming out of a recession! We have a few years left before we should be concerned.
my opinion is that there is enough demand for good programmers for the market to determine good wages/benefits. the usps union in question is working on a new contract. rumor has it they are agreeing to a whopping 3.5% raise spread over 5 years. the last annual raise was 1.2%!
there are a large percentage of "obsolete" CoBOL programmers that weren't transitioned properly to web applications. many of whom perform non-technical/light-duty tasks. the mostly younger folks carry the majority of the load. it's mostly a result of incompetent management whom never enforce accountability.