March 12, 2013 at 10:06 am
I've encountered the problem of not being able to find further employment as a SQL Server programmer/admin in my area, strangely (or perhaps not quite!). The major issue is that it seems that, in this area (Chattanooga, Tennessee, US), hardly anybody is searching for programmers in general; the ones that are tend to be looking for people with much more experience than I have (almost two years; general requirements are 5-7 years or more). On the other hand, I've found two jobs to date where my experience is sufficient, but in both cases, I've been turned down, along with all the other applicants, or so it seems; the jobs were re-posted with much higher experience requirements on the second go-round, and they're still being reposted each month.
At this point, I'm not quite sure what to do about finding further employment; my current workplace is rather toxic at all levels, and I'd much rather leave here as fast as I possibly can. I don't have quite enough money to simply leave it and search for a job afterwards (since the pay here is slightly better than minimum wage), but I'm honestly not sure how much longer I can tolerate being in this environment. Moving away from this city is one choice, but because of my medical history and current living conditions, I'd have to move out on my own, which could be a bit risky for me.
I know what I'm asking is essentially a gigantic shot in the dark, but does anyone have some advice on a situation like this? I feel like I'm fast approaching my wit's end, and my efforts don't seem to be pulling me out of this situation very efficiently 🙁
- 😀
March 12, 2013 at 10:25 am
The requirements on many job descriptions are more of a fishing exercise than a statement of reality. You'll probably find your two years' experience qualifies you for quite a few jobs that say they want five to seven. Don't let it put you off applying.
John
March 12, 2013 at 11:03 am
Hm, I see. That certainly would make things seem quite a bit less grim overall; to be honest, I was a bit worried that such a job would take me on board and I'd simply crash and burn, but, on second thought, they'd have butchered me in the interview before that would happen, hopefully! Alright, I'll see what I can do with that, and thank you for the suggestion!
- 😀
March 12, 2013 at 1:00 pm
John Mitchell-245523 (3/12/2013)
The requirements on many job descriptions are more of a fishing exercise than a statement of reality. You'll probably find your two years' experience qualifies you for quite a few jobs that say they want five to seven. Don't let it put you off applying.John
I strongly agree here. It goes along with the idea that "The answer is ALWAYS "No"... unless you ask."
--Jeff Moden
Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.
March 21, 2013 at 7:58 am
Just thought I'd update this... After tossing out some more applications to places that were a bit out of reach experience-wise, I've managed to get a contracting job with one local company :-). The contract could lead to full employment, so I'll give everything I've got and see if I can get hired there. Thanks a lot for the advice; even if it was probably a bit obvious, it definitely helped!
- 😀
May 20, 2013 at 3:02 am
hisakimatama (3/21/2013)
The contract could lead to full employment, so I'll give everything I've got and see if I can get hired there.
Don't do that; contractors rake it in! 😛
Dird
May 25, 2013 at 2:16 pm
Dird (5/20/2013)
hisakimatama (3/21/2013)
The contract could lead to full employment, so I'll give everything I've got and see if I can get hired there.Don't do that; contractors rake it in! 😛
Dird
It depends. Just like FTEs, contractors only make money when they have a job to do.
--Jeff Moden
Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.
August 22, 2013 at 12:09 pm
Agreed, both the most and least lucrative weeks of my career was when I was contracting. It's feast or famine.
August 22, 2013 at 12:30 pm
Networking is key. Go to user groups, talk to others. That will be a better avenue, IMHO, than searching ads.
August 22, 2013 at 1:50 pm
hisakimatama (3/21/2013)
Just thought I'd update this... After tossing out some more applications to places that were a bit out of reach experience-wise, I've managed to get a contracting job with one local company :-). The contract could lead to full employment, so I'll give everything I've got and see if I can get hired there. Thanks a lot for the advice; even if it was probably a bit obvious, it definitely helped!
Congrats I guess.
Realized you posted this 5 months ago while I was typing this reply 🙂
How's the job going?
Need an answer? No, you need a question
My blog at https://sqlkover.com.
MCSE Business Intelligence - Microsoft Data Platform MVP
August 23, 2013 at 5:27 am
Oh, this job is great :-D. It's a similar "style" of job as my old one, in that I'm troubleshooting a third-party vendor's software, but the people here are much more accommodating than my old employer. They're willing to listen to me and consider my approaches in altering functionality and implementing new utilities, which has lead to me developing alternatives to the software's functionality that save tons of time for the users.
I've added a new method for transcription and case alteration that functions in a set-based manner rather than an RBAR manner (users originally had to do one record at a time if they were transcribing; I've implemented an intranet site that allows them to transcribe as many patient records at once as they'd like), and that's increased worker efficiency many times over.
Thanks for asking about my current situation, and many thanks to Mr. Mitchell and Mr. Moden; if I'd limited myself to only trying for jobs that exactly met my abilities, I'd have been stuck in a rut forever. This job was over my head originally, but I've grown into it quite rapidly, and things are looking good 😀
- 😀
August 23, 2013 at 5:30 am
hisakimatama (8/23/2013)
Oh, this job is great :-D. It's a similar "style" of job as my old one, in that I'm troubleshooting a third-party vendor's software, but the people here are much more accommodating than my old employer. They're willing to listen to me and consider my approaches in altering functionality and implementing new utilities, which has lead to me developing alternatives to the software's functionality that save tons of time for the users.I've added a new method for transcription and case alteration that functions in a set-based manner rather than an RBAR manner (users originally had to do one record at a time if they were transcribing; I've implemented an intranet site that allows them to transcribe as many patient records at once as they'd like), and that's increased worker efficiency many times over.
Thanks for asking about my current situation, and many thanks to Mr. Mitchell and Mr. Moden; if I'd limited myself to only trying for jobs that exactly met my abilities, I'd have been stuck in a rut forever. This job was over my head originally, but I've grown into it quite rapidly, and things are looking good 😀
This is fantastic news. Glad that everything worked out eventually.
Need an answer? No, you need a question
My blog at https://sqlkover.com.
MCSE Business Intelligence - Microsoft Data Platform MVP
August 23, 2013 at 5:49 am
hisakimatama (8/23/2013)
Oh, this job is great :-D. It's a similar "style" of job as my old one, in that I'm troubleshooting a third-party vendor's software, but the people here are much more accommodating than my old employer. They're willing to listen to me and consider my approaches in altering functionality and implementing new utilities, which has lead to me developing alternatives to the software's functionality that save tons of time for the users.I've added a new method for transcription and case alteration that functions in a set-based manner rather than an RBAR manner (users originally had to do one record at a time if they were transcribing; I've implemented an intranet site that allows them to transcribe as many patient records at once as they'd like), and that's increased worker efficiency many times over.
Thanks for asking about my current situation, and many thanks to Mr. Mitchell and Mr. Moden; if I'd limited myself to only trying for jobs that exactly met my abilities, I'd have been stuck in a rut forever. This job was over my head originally, but I've grown into it quite rapidly, and things are looking good 😀
You bet... and it sounds like you've really hit the ground running. Well done. Thank you for the kind words and the feedback.
--Jeff Moden
Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.
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