| Topic Name: |
Gen X Promoting |
| Message Name: |
Advancement |
| Date Posted: |
11/19/2000 |
| In Reply To: |
Because all of the baby boomers took all of the good jobs, where does that leave us?
I'm over 30 and still stuck in an entry level job, despite my education, skills, and good work ethic, I find the lack of advancement opportunities disheartening.
Any suggestions or discussion? |
| Message: |
Look - I don't mean to be cavalier to anyone that says he has difficulty getting the job he thinks he deserves. I don't know what your skills are (technical & political) so I cannot judge your situation. Therefore, I have to take what you say at face value. Finding "the lack of advancement opportunities disheartening" is an all too constant tale despite all the talk about so many "unfilled jobs" in IT.
First, there is NO WHERE NEAR as many "unfilled" jobs as the job sites suggest. Unscrupulous recruiters post phony jobs to troll for resumes (fraud don't you think?) and they often leave old jobs out there, rather than do the professional & ethical thing to remove the old/filled job. Again, they do this to troll for resumes. Keep in mind that they are CONSTANTLY prospecting for bodies. They will tell you otherwise. Talk to IT folks that have been 'recruited' and ask what they think. Don't let recruiters tell you or even suggest they are working on YOUR behalf - that is a LIE. They work first for their pocket book, and second for the client. Again, there is NO WHERE NEAR as many "unfilled" jobs as the job sites suggest.
That said, I have to dispel a myth in your message. Contrary to what you believe baby boomers DID NOT take "all of the good jobs". In fact, I suggest you check out the thread "Cheap H-1B labor and age discrimination sucks". In that thread we discuss problems we baby boomers have finding work due to the problems of age discrimination and the immoral use of companies using H-1Bs to break increasing IT salaries. If what you say is true, that you are "still stuck in an entry level job, despite my education, skills, and good work ethic" that could be due to the use of H-1Bs. Obviously, I cannot know that from your posting. But in other shops, at least one I see in New York State, there is HEAVY usage of H-1B visa holders. And frankly they are good. BUT - what about the number of Americans, in particular contract consultants, that can't find work locally (possibly due to H-1Bs) and therefore must travel across the country? I am one such individual. There are probably local programmers where I work that can handle that work, but don't get it due to the use of H-1Bs. The problem is not the visa holder (they just want a better life). The problem is the company that HIRES the H-1B, for less than an American, and sponsors the guy telling INS that they can't find an American. NO ONE WATCHES THESE FIRMS. THERE IS NO ACCOUNTABILITY. RECRUITERS SPONSOR H-1Bs ALL THE TIME BECAUSE THEY GET THEM FOR LESS THAN AMERICANS. And if you watch other threads you'll see that recruiters often overlook ethical issues, and in fact, there's one such looser that thinks ethics aren't relevant in business and that you are ancient & useless if you have ethics in business. He even brags about it!
Again, I'm not trying to rag on you and I DO wish you luck. But frankly, if the economy takes a downturn, which baby boomers through experience will tell you happens every decade or so, there will be an overabundance of workers to fill the few jobs open. If you are not happy find something NOW. My suggestion is to check out 'realrates.com' for the message boards. Though it's frequented by contractors no one AND I MEAN NO ONE knows agencies, consulting firms, borks (recruiters), and head hunters better than contractors because of how often we deal with them - which is to say about 10 fold more than full-time employees who change jobs about every 3 years.
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