Diary of a Network Geek

for awhile, I hope.

Well, if you’re a big geek like me and have been following my adventures lately finding a new job, you know that I have, in fact, found one. Here’s the update… I never did go to that last interview at the second place. I was ready, but the headhunter agreed that it was pretty much a waste of time, since I was 99.999% sure nothing could change my mind about the Oceaneering International job. Also, the client, who was a large law firm, said the same thing. Basically, a waste of time all the way around. So, I didn’t go.
Now, I still haven’t signed the papers. Why? Well, first I have to pass a criminal background check and a drug screen. Neither are a problem, of course, since my background was good enough to work for a relatively high-security business. I mean, an armored car company has to be careful, you know? So, that should take a couple of days to get done and processed. I would imagine that Friday, I’ll be doing the last of the “yes-I-want-the-job” paperwork. Which is also when I’ll give my “official” two-weeks notice. Of course, I’ve alreayd told them that I’ll be going, so I’ll actually end up interviewing my replacement. Interesting….

Oh, I also got a package from the headhunters that placed me. They sent a copy of Who Moved My Cheese? with a couple of notes. It was actually pretty nice, though a little out of place considering my particular situation. I mean, I was the driving force throughout all this personal change. Still, I’ve been meaning to read the book, and now I have. And, it was nice.

Soon, I’ll have updates about the actuall new job!

I’ve got the new job!

I got the call from the headhunter about 3:30pm yesterday telling me that Oceaneering International had met my minumum salary. So, in some respects it’s a bit of a lateral move, but the benefits are way, way better than anything I’ve had since I left Hyatt. And, of course, it’ll be a very interesting job and place to work.

The only small hitch is that, at the time of this entry, I couldn’t get the headhunter who lined up the interview I have this afternoon with the law firm on the phone. So, I may end up going to the interview, just to make sure no one looks bad. Crazy. But, whatever makes things look okay for both me and that headhunter is okay with me. After all, I may need them some other time!

Well, I’m sure there will be more details later, but this is the meat of it.
We now return you to your regularly scheduled Friday Fun Link…..

Sort of….

Okay, not really. I know I’m their “only candidate” and I know they’re talking to my head hunters, but that’s it. I’m fairly certain that the guy I’d be reporting to wants to hire me. We hit it off fairly well and he seems like a good guy. (He also has red hair like my current good boss. Coincidence?) So…
So, that must mean that it’s coming down to the “doh, re, mi”. The “cabbage”. The “green”. In short, MONEY. And, isn’t that always the way? I’ve actually tried three times now to get hired on at this company, because they’re a growing, dynamic, stable company that believes in technology and it all comes down to a few thousand dollars. The hell of it is, I’d work for less, if I could. I really would. The job is that good, at least on paper. But, honestly, I’ve given them my rock-bottom, “I’m starvin’ here!” price. God, I hope it’s low enough.

The real ugly part of it all is that now I find myself thinking,”What else could I possibly bring to the table to make me worth it?”. Like 10+ years of hard-core, hands-on experience with Novell isn’t enough, right? Like teaching myself PERL and Linux isn’t evidence of my ability to get in to it and figure it out? Like my years of supervisory experience doesn’t count for something? (Okay, maybe that actually doesn’t. I hated being a supervisor…)
Well, I do tend to play it low-key in interviews. I tend to not tout myself too much, lest I get in too far over my head. Besides, it’s the Scotty Factor. If I can surprise them the first week or two, I usually find that I quickly develop the reputation for being a miracle worker. You get more interesting projects when people think of you as the miracle worker.
So, here I am, to keyed up to do anything useful, questioning my own value as an IT worker, blogging to take the edge off.

God I want this job so bad I could vomit.

Or is that “blues”?

Well, I got a call from the headhunter today. No offer yet. Still, I’ve been told that I’m realy their only candidate anymore, so I’m not worried.
What was worrisome, however, was the fact that the headhunter kept pushing me to see how low I would go on salary. Apparently, I’m a little bit more expensive than the client wanted to pay. On the other hand, how many CNEs with 10+ years of hands-on experience, who also happen to be Linux+ certified, can there be floating around Houston? How many of them, assuming that there are more than one, have broken NDS, on purpose, and recovered it? Twice? What is that worth? I guess we’ll find out tomorrow….
The truly hard thing is that I’d really, really like to take this job. But, I just can’t afford another pay cut. We’re living at the bare minimum as it is. Another cut and someone around here has to stop eating! (Of course, I could stand to loose another 15 pounds, or so….)

Well, based on the way things were sounding, I did some follow up on two other jobs that had come my way. We’ll see if anything turns up there. And, on the “plus side”, they still haven’t set a date for outsourcing, so I’m ahead of the game. If I can just find a good job that pays at least what I’m making now, before the outsourcing starts, I’ll be a happy network geek!

Prospects look good!

The company is Oceaneering International and the job itself looks great. I’d be one of two guys rolling out a world-wide network solution using Novell products. And they’re using pretty much everything: Netware, Groupwise, Zen for Desktops, Zen for Servers, you name it. This is the big-time. The slowest links they have are fractional T1, but that should be enough to use RSync to synchronize data back to the corporate office for backups. Which is the plan. So, unlike the current gig, there’d be no chasing after users at remote sites to change tapes! They also have Linux and are looking to do more with Linux. They also seem to be pretty good about training and certification. I talked with one guy there who was telling me that they reimburse for books.
Also, the benefits look great. They match 100% of the first 6% on 401k contributions. They have a vision plan, which matters to a family of glasses wearing freaks like us. And, if I’m reading the benefits description right, I’d get three weeks vacation after the first year. So, the benefits are pretty damn good.
Perhaps more importantly, the guys that I’ve met so far seem pretty easy to get along with. They’re really easy going and always cutting up, so I think I’d fit in quite well. Oh, and one of them has a full beard, so I asked if I could grow mine back. Yes. Yes, I could rebeard myself. Huzzah!

The only thing now is for them to actually make an offer. And, if they will offer enough for me to live on… In the interview they tried to low-ball me. Frankly, as much as I love the job, I just cannot take another pay cut.
So, I guess the good news is there’s been a law firm sniffing around for a Groupwise admin…. Not my favorite pidgeon-hole, but it’s better than being outsourced! So, we’ll see how it goes.
I’ll post updates!

And, it’s good news, too!

I’ve been called back for a second interview!! Yea!
So, obviously, the interview last week went well. And, this could be a really good job. They’re a world-wide organization with offices in some really interesting places, like Singapore, London, Africa, and Equitorial Guinea. And, best of all, they’re building a big network all based on Novell products. Oh, and they’re rolling out a PeopleSoft solution on Linux. Score! So, I would get to use all my favorite skills, learn new things, travel to exotic locales, and the main office is less than 10 minutes from my house, even with bad traffic.
Well, anyway, I found this out yesterday, but I didn’t want to detract from my “fun Friday” posting, so I waited until today to post the update.
I’ll keep you posted!

Oh, God, how I hate interviewing…

But, it’s a requirement for change, so I do it. Well, both interviews I had this week went well. The first was with a search firm and was on Tuesday. It was fairly standard. They mainly had found someone with all the right buzzwords on his resume. (That was me, incidentally.) They ran me through the standard questions about where I’d been, what I’d done and why I was looking to leave. Then, they gave me the info about the job, as they understood it. And, too, they let me know about the environment and the person I was interviewing with, so I could guage my answers and so on. Standard stuff.

The second interview was with the actual job and was yesterday afternoon. I met with three people in IT. One was the person who I’d actually report to and the other two were people I’d interface with. One of them was a manager who was originally from Scotland and he was a hoot. He had a bit of an accent, but was easily understandable and was full of life and fun. Really, all the people there seemed really happy and in fairly good moods. I can’t say where it is just yet, but it’s an oil-related business that deals with ocean-based vessels and platforms. Very interesting stuff. And, their main headquarters are just a few miles away. My commute would be like 5 minutes, or less. Pretty good for Houston.
There is a bit of travel involved, and there would probably be international travel, which could be fun. But, they’re pretty tight on salary, so we’ll see what my headhunter can do for me. Of course, my resume reads like their job description and I know that the headhunter had someone in from San Antonio, so I think they might be flexible. I mean, how many guys can there be in Houston that have 10+ years experience with Novell and have Linux experience, too? Not many.

In any case, I think I made a favorable impression, so now it’s a waiting game. I’ll keep you posted!

Oy, where to begin…

First of all, you may have noticed that the blog has been a little quiet this week. In fact, it’s been several days since there’s been a real post. Okay, there are several reasons for that.
Chief among those reasons is some personal family stuff that caused a bit of chaos around the house. It’s rather delicate, so I won’t get into it, other than to say, it’s a reminder that kids are like the ocean. You’re never sure what’s coming on the next wave and don’t turn your back on it, because the riptide can suck you under. But, that being said, the problem is being resolved, so, no worries.
The next thing is all the outsourcing rumours at work. I know, I know, I haven’t mentioned this before, but only because it hasn’t been out in the open. Now that it is, I feel okay with talking about it. There’s nothing solid yet, but today, HP is in talking to people about their job and how they do it. Sounds to me like they’re getting ready to make it happen, though the official word is that nothing is set in stone. Yet. Anyway, folks were talking about their “meeting with the Bobs” all day yesterday. Me, I’m just looking for the guy with the red Swingline. (Oh, wait, that’s me!)
So, the last thing is that I’m not going to be the last rat on the ship, for a change, and I’m out there looking. And, in fact, I have an interview with a “placement agency” today and, most likely, a job interview through them tomorrow. A Novell position with Linux. Less than 5 minutes from the house. That could be cool.

Well, I’ll keep y’all posted.

people listen.

And, that, gentle readers, is no joke. Whatever you may think about Micro$oft and Chairman Bill, he drives the industry. So, what he thinks really does matter. So, what does Bill Gates think? Well, according to this article on eWeek.com, this year, he’s thinking about XML and webservices, wireless protocols, shockingly enough, security, XBox, and surprise, market domination. So, this is what’s going to matter for the next year, or so, in IT. You’d better learn about it and know it well enough to be relavent.
Thankfullly, I know a little about webservices of various kinds and I’ve got a couple of XML and PHP books lined up. And, I’m working on my Security+, still. And, I also have a book or two in my queue on security. Hmm, maybe I won’t be too bad off if I get outsourced….

How about you?

Where? How? How do I get one?

Well, as rumors at work fly about the potential of the entire network staff being outsourced, this seems like a timely meme. I’ve seen, and heard, several stories about how outsourcing somehow is making jobs and how it will help the economy. The most recent of these was this article on MSN.com. Well, that’s great, for the long run, but what about the guy who’s out of work right now? How is he going to take care of his family? What’s more, this is all potential economic growth. There’s nothing that says the people being put out of work are going to be able to find jobs in time to keep from going bankrupt! And, how many of the alleged jobs are the same kind of jobs that are being eliminated? If you replace all your network people and they go into sales, who’s going to buy anything from them?
Now, here’s the part that they don’t want to talk about: outsourcing may not even be working! According to University of Southern Mississippi professor David Butler, “”What CEOs don’t tell reporters is that outsourcing is still experimental and the experiment may not be working. Overseas call centers can cost more in customer goodwill than they save in staff salaries.”
They save that for the end of the article. It’s important, though, because it belies the idea that outsourcing is such a great idea.
God, for a change, I hope my boss is reading my blog….