Jason’s Log

It’s been a rollercoaster of a week. Orientation on the first day was intimidating with all the security protocols and strict rules, etc. I met with my team (at least most of them) and I really like them. However, I’m not at all excited about the “current” state of the application I’m supposed to help support and eventually re-write. What I can say is — I completely understand why they want to rewrite the entire application — it desperately needs it. Besides that, the “ramping up” is going slowly since I don’t have all the proper access I need (to my local system and the Internet). Hopefully next week will be better.

Well, today was my first day at Blue Cross/Blue Shield of South Carolina. Short story — I survived orientation. It was a bit interesting. They are very strict (for good reason) since they have some government contracts and department of defense projects in addition to the normal health care related overhead. In fact, very few employees/contractors have access to the Internet and the ones that do are closely monitored. Besides the security stuff, it seems like a decent place to work.

I have officially resigned my post at Wachovia in order to pickup a contract in Columbia, SC. I’ll still live in Charlotte, but I will commute back and forth every day (except for bad weather nights). Considering the “per-diem” involved, it will be a great improvement from where I am now.

The transition will be interesting for me. I will miss all the nice time off and other perks of full time employment, but the contracting rates are so good right now — it is difficult to resists. I’ll also be able to get market rate as my skils develop and I move between contracts.

My last day at Wachovia will be February 23rd.

I’ve been hired to do some technical screening for a technical recruiter. I will call candidates for Java/J2EE positions and ensure information on their resume is accurate and they are qualified for the position they are applying for. Since I have a lot of experience conducting technical interviews, this is a great way for me to earn some extra cash.

It has occurred to me how my television habits have changed since getting a TiVo nearly a year ago. Instead of being tied to a predetermined schedule, I watch what I want when I want — and can fast forward through the commercials. Even my wife can easily use TiVo to pause live TV, record her favorite shows, or any other features available.

Does anyone else have a similar story or experience? Place a comment below and share!

One of my many bosses responded to gripes about outsourcing with the concept being a “corporate citizen”. I’m not entirely sure what he is trying to say. My bold reply was that the funeral for the corporate citizen was years ago. Perhaps my frank thoughts were being expressed a little too freely and that’s another issue, but the question remains about the concept to employee-company loyalty.

I wasn’t trying to be particularly disloyal, but honest on my opinion on the subject. The 50’s era “intern to retirement” employee (and employer) have died off. I have mixed thoughts about it — it is nice to think you could graduate from college and go to work for a company that you would eventually retire from. The problem is on both sides of the coin — companies no longer show any real loyalty to their employees — willing to outsource them to save a buck or make their stock go up a bit. Even before outsourcing companies often laid off employees for various accounting reasons. In response, many workers in high demand job functions display no particular loyalty either. Job hopping once was a major negative on one’s resume is now more accepted as “career building” moves.

One major disadvantage to the dead corporate citizen is the instability of the communities as a result. For example, if a set of companies hired live-long employees from the local community — the employees would form the foundation for a stable community. Lifelong friendships could develop and people in the community would feel more invested in their area. This rock-solid foundation helped established many of the towns and cities we have today.

On the flip side, folks that like a new challenge or environment every few years will find it easier to get new jobs in the future (removed or diminished job hopping stigma). Also, the more fluid nature of the current job market opens entirely new industries. The real estate boom of late was probably fueled by the high number of people moving for job relations (in addition to many other factors). People feel less locked into the location of the current job. Just look for a new job in a location that better fits the current desire. Also, because of this, the job market is pushing salaries and incentives higher and higher for certain jobs. Basically everyone in that profession is “in the market” — whether they are actively looking or not.
Only time will tell if this is a good thing long term. Certainly, certain jobs won’t fair well and there are the social issues to figure out. I reckon their are some smaller towns that are dominated by a single employer that the old rules might apply — however, most folks can simply move to a more favorable market. For those not interested, they will just have to be content with the local choices.

What to do about IRAQ seems to be a constant question in the news. My personal thoughts are basically we should increase our troop levels in order to quickly secure out of control areas and step up the training of IRAQ’s own security forces. I certainly don’t expect overnight changes, but it is a step in the right direction. If in doubt, go in with overwhelming force to ensure victory. However, I know insurgents will constantly be a problem — people change slowly.

I don’t think we are losing. We have constant problems from insurgents, and that will continue. I don’t it’s time to all convert to Islam and speaking Arabic.

I would like to wish everyone a happy new year!