Job Responsibilities
This is the work that I did for almost 20 years before receiving
my MBA. I was responsible for design and programming of computer
systems for mainframe, mini and PC systems. My full time was
spent on creating systems for companies on a temporary contract basis.
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Job Requirements
I had two levels of education. First I went through a computer
'trade school' to just get a job. Later I received my bachelors
in Computer Information Systems. For the trade school training,
it was a six month intense course, every day for 5 hours. For my
bachelors, I earned that over a course of several years. Some in
classroom, and some through an internet degree program. I
eventually had units earned from 7 different sources.
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Uppers
The best part was the constant new challenges as each job was different. And
meeting new people. I had the chance to make many, many friends with all the
companies that I worked with. And you don't have to worry about office politics
since you're an outsider. If you really can't get along with your boss, you find
another job and it's not a black mark, since as a independent you're expected to
keep changing jobs.
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Downers
When you're independent, you're all alone. No medical insurance.
No vacation pay. And when you're out of work, you're out of
work. That means constantly hustling for the next job.
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Lifestyle
Because I worked for so many companies, it was different for each employer.
Some jobs had quite a bit of travel, most did not. Some allowed for very casual
dress, others required shirt and tie every day. It did require that I consider
where I lived very carefully. I always made sure I lived near a freeway, because
sometimes I was looking at a 1 hour commute each ways.
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Compensation
Pay was straight pay per hour, nothing else. When I started I was
making about $20/hr. When I left the business it was around
$$70/hr.
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Advice to Jobseekers
If you're going to be indepedent, you have to do several things.
First, you have to save money. You can't live paycheck to
paycheck if you might go a month without one. You must be a self
starter. You are going to be pointed a problem and the people
will say "fix it" and you're on your own to figure out how to do
so. And you must get along with others, since you'll be working
with many different kinds of people. But it can be exciting and
challenging and very lucrative if you're good.
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