January, 2009

NPR weighs in on re-employment: “Move where the jobs are”

My weekday morning wake-up routine always includes at least a half-hour of news from National Public Radio, and this morning was no exception. I did hear an interesting bit in their news coverage today, however: some very good advice about how to cope with a layoff. I can’t find the story on their Website just yet, but if the dates on existing stories are any indication it will post tomorrow or the day after.

The essential points of this story were these:

• Americans have become much more rooted in their locations than they were even 10 years ago
• If you get laid off, it makes sense to move where the jobs are, rather than staying put and hoping for the best

Though it may be tempting to wait and see if the economic recovery or stimulus bucks from the US Government help to alleviate job scarcity in some areas, the reporter made the excellent point that the longer one waits to get into a new job, the more profound the resulting impact on feelings of self-esteem and well-being, as well as the greater the financial impact involved.

At 56 this news hit me like a slap in the face. I already hate to move my household and that tendency has only increased as I’ve gotten older. But it’s undeniable that the best way to find a job if you’re out of work is to go where the prospects are at least positive, rather than “slim to none.” Obviously this has the biggest impact on rural or non-metropolitan areas where a small number of big employers can cause a savage impact on the local economy through layoffs or site/plant closure.

Upon reflection and a grim encounter with my own resistance to the idea, I have to agree that when jobs are scarce, the best hunting has to be in those areas where there’s still some “game” to be found. And although I would hate to have to sell my house, pack up all my wordly goods, and uproot my family, it would be a better strategy than staying where only luck or connections might possibly lead to a new job in my current location.

But hey, except for a few short periods (none longer than 9 months) I’ve been a self-employed freelancer since 1994 (it will be 15 years in May of this year), and I’ve had to keep confronting the possibility of under-employment (or at least, under-earning) through good times and bad over that entire period. So let me end today’s blog with a series of “Big IFs” that might offer an alternative to those determined to stay put where they are, come hell or at least, no ready full-time permanent job prospects:

• If you can fund 3-6 months of living expenses out of savings or other ready cash resources
• If you can stomach the idea of being self-employed
• If you can pay for health insurance out of your own pocket (it costs me over $1,000 a month for a family of three)
• If you have skills you can turn into ongoing cash flow
• If you have customers who will part with their money in exchange for your work

Then you might be able to consider self-employment as an option to moving for another full-time, permanent job. Otherwise, it may be time to start scouting those locations where IT work is still to be had. Hint: start with the top 20 metropolitan areas first: work is where the employers and markets are most concentrated, and that’s where to find them.

Don’t forget “other sources” when funding IT training

As veteran blogger and commenter Suzanne Wheeler (she writes “Views from the PIT-People in IT” blog here) noticed about my previous blog, it’s important to factor other sources of financing into the equation when job loss, underemployment, or other circumstances lead people to ponder the suitability of and financing for continuing adult education. Thus, I am very nicely reminded to point out the following potential sources of funding for those in need of additional support for a training, skills development, or “back to school” adventure:

• Federal Student Loans, about which information is available on the Web at http://studentaid.ed.gov/. See also this nice third-party overview of available programs at SallieMae’s CollegeAnswer.com.
• State employment or unemployment programs (use the search engine on your state’s Website, or Google something like “Oklahoma education assistance” or “Oklahoma employment assistance” for more information). See also the State Unemployment Insurance Benefits page from the US Department of Labor.
• Be sure to ask at local employment or workforce centers about available training benefits, vouchers, or programs as you apply for benefits, or otherwise interact with such offices.
• Check with local community colleges to see if they have any free or discounted training offerings for unemployed or underemployed workers: many do. Community College Week Magazine sponsors an active an informative Website that you can use to find such resources in your geographical area.

If you can’t come up with the money for continuing education, IT certificaiton, or skills and knowledge development entirely on your own, please don’t be bashful about looking for–and, more important, asking about–other sources of help and funding. This is a case where some persistence and lots of knocking on doors can really make a big difference.

CompTIA Lets New Network+ Loose on the World

With the organization’s decision to hew to ISO9000 requirements regarding training and certification, it looks like CompTIA will be refreshing and updating its credentials on a rather less leisurely schedule going forward. The latest Network+, released on January 9, is a good case in point. Though the previous version is called Network+ 2007 (it was refreshed in that year) it actually launched in 2005. Expect to see CompTIA on a pretty rigorous 2 to 3 year exam refresh cycle from here on out, though.

What’s new in Network+ 2009? Here are some random factoids:

• Exam ID: N10-004 (JK0-016 Education); previous N10-003 (JK0-012 Education)
• Number of questions: 100; previous 90
• Cut score (minimum passing score): 720 (80%); previous 554 (62%)
• A formal “Bridge Exam” for individuals who hold the N10-003/JK0-012 Network+
• Substantially revised exam objectives, and a rebalancing among exam domains with new (and welcome) security, devices, and tools domains.
• Lots of new/modern networking coverage, including IPv6, APIPA, authentication and encryption, wiring standards, WAN technologies, network performance optimization, and security topics galore.
• The Acronym list is up to a full four pages and gives a pretty good idea of what you need to recognize and know.

I’ve always thought Network+ was a pretty good exam and credential, and this one continues solidly in that vein. Highly recommended for entry level IT workers seeking to demonstrate some basic but useful networking chops. Members pay $191 for the exam, non-members $239; the bridge exam costs $135/170 (members/non-members).

Don’t forget “other sources” of IT skills development funding

As veteran blogger and commenter Suzanne Wheeler (she writes “Views from the PIT-People in IT” blog here) noticed about my previous blog, it’s important to factor other sources of financing into the equation when job loss, underemployment, or other circumstances lead people to ponder the suitability of and financing for continuing adult education. Thus, I am very nicely reminded to point out the following potential sources of funding for those in need of additional support for a training, skills development, or “back to school” adventure:

• Federal Student Loans, about which information is available on the Web at http://studentaid.ed.gov/. See also this nice third-party overview of available programs at SallieMae’s CollegeAnswer.com.
• State employment or unemployment programs (use the search engine on your state’s Website, or Google something like “Oklahoma education assistance” or “Oklahoma employment assistance” for more information). See also the State Unemployment Insurance Benefits page from the US Department of Labor.
• Be sure to ask at local employment or workforce centers about available training benefits, vouchers, or programs as you apply for benefits, or otherwise interact with such offices.
• Check with local community colleges to see if they have any free or discounted training offerings for unemployed or underemployed workers: many do. Community College Week Magazine sponsors an active an informative Website that you can use to find such resources in your geographical area.

If you can’t come up with the money for continuing education, IT certificaiton, or skills and knowledge development entirely on your own, please don’t be bashful about looking for–and, more important, asking about–other sources of help and funding. This is a case where some persistence and lots of knocking on doors can really make a big difference.

What about spending money when you have no money?

I just did a follow-up phone interview with TechTarget news writer MIchael Morisy, who raised the question with me “Will people really spend money on certs in a down economy?” Notice carefully the use of “people” in this question: we’re talking about individuals spending their own hard-earned money, perhaps from a dwindling pool of savings, perhaps from a severance check that is being pulled in Lord knows how many directions for how long is anybody’s guess. It’s not  a pretty pictures, particularly for those facing the question of how best to get back into the word force in the wake of job loss.

My take on this situation has evolved a bit, thanks to my conversation with Mr. Morisy, to include the following perhaps essential points:

• Don’t look for the unemployed to be rushing out to spend any money on training or certification at all, unless they believe it will make a big difference in their prospects for another job, or the speed into which they can slot themselves into a new position.
• If the unemployed (or underemployed) do decide to train and certify as a bootstrapping or prospect enhancing strategy, look for them to stretch whatever dollars they do spend all the way to the breaking point. This is good news for publishers of self-study materials, practice tests, and training simulators, but won’t do anything to improve the bottom lines at top-dollar training companies such as Global Knowledge, Fast Lane, New Horizons, or Learning Tree, nor will it do much for top-flight vendor training programs like those at Cisco, Microsoft, IBM, RedHat, and so forth.
• In an uncertain economy with an indeterminate amount of time to devote to skills and knowledge development, individual goals are likely to be single-point and very focused. Though some may go back to school to finish a degree, or pursue a more advanced degree, most IT professionals will be looking for programs they can finish in a few months. Likewise, most will shy away from time horizons that span more than six months, let alone a year or more.
• Online training sources may experience a bump in business during this time of rising unemployment and rising job uncertainty. Those barely hanging onto questionable or doomed positions will probably join those already out of a job in droves on Websites where they can obtain study materials to prep for valuable certifications, interact with experts and other students, and practice for or simulate real-world and/or exam conditions to help them prepare for a trip to a test center nearby.

The last time I did the analysis of what a typical certification  cost, the breakdown looked something like this:

• Cost of the exam: usually $150 to $500 (only a very few exams cost more than that, but some go into the thousands, such as the Cisco CCIE Lab exam, various RedHat lab exams, SAP consultant exams, and so forth)
• Cost of reading/study materials: $30 for an Exam Cram, $50-60 for an All-in-One Prep tool for many exams, up to $400-500 for a more complete library for more demanding exams (CISSP, CCIE, SNIA, and so on). You’ll also find flash cards, command references, exam reviews, and other prep materials readily available, mostly for very poplular credentials (CCNA, MCSE, MCSA, A+, Network+, Security+, and  so forth).
• Practice exams: $90-150 per set, with one or two sets typical for most self-study exam candidates.
• Other sources of expense: travel to/from test center, access to online labs or simulators, exam retakes. This can add as little as nothing to overall costs to over $1,000 when air travel and lab or simulator time are essential to passing exams.

In this economy, especially for those out of work or contemplating same, the tendency will be to low-ball expenses to the point of absurdity. Under the circumstances, this is not a criticism: it’s simply the application of common sense to a difficult situation.

Foote Partners Pinpoints 10 Top IT Jobs for 2009

My old buddy David Foote at IT compensation specialist firm Foote Partners, recently shared with e-week the results of his latest compensation data in a slideshow named “10 Hot IT Jobs for 2009.” Here;s a list of what he came up with in “David Letterman Top 10″ (reverse) order:

10. Storage Directors: coordinate storage, reduce overall hardware outlays (consolidated storage usually costs less than decentralized, distributed storage). Relevant certifications include SNIA, plus offerings from ECM, HP, Dell, IBM, Cisco, Sun, Oracle, and many others

9.AJAX Developers: Microsoft’s ASP.NET technology that support Web 2.0 interactivity and media on Web sites, using browser-neutral ECMAScript/JavaScript and dynamic HTML. Relevant certs: ProCert, Microsoft, Brainbench

8. Security Architects: somebody’s got to design security policy and implementations to match; that’s what these people do. See our infosec cert survey for plenty of pointers.

7. Virtualization experts: everybody’s doing it, and certs are starting to pop up in this area, primarily from VMWare and Microsoft, but also IBM, and probably other big vendors (HP, Sun, Dell, and so forth) soon

6. ITIL Managers: with governance interest and participation at an all-time high, and growing further, ITIL and business process expertise are increasingly valuable. Check the ITIL site for more info and pointers.

5. Enterprise Architects: These guys get tagged to “automate and streamline processes and infrastructure,” and can save organizations big bucks. Related certs: Sun/Java, IBM, Microsoft, EACOE, Institute for Enterprise Architecture, ITAC/Open Group

4. Outsourcing and Vendor Managers: Project Management Specialists who run existing vendor relationships. Related Certs: PMP plus items from number 3.

3.  Vendor Procurement Specialists: in a tight economy VPAs and other vendor agreements will be reworked. Foote says “…companies are going to be renegotiating contracts like crazy.” Related certs: American Purchasing Society, Institute for Supply Management, Senior Professional in Supply Mgmt (SPSM)

2. Resiliency Services Professionals: A new buzzphrase for BC/DR, these services are gaining major traction in the middle of the marketplace (enterprises are pretty mature in this respect, but there are a lot more medium sized businesses in need of such things right now). Related cert programs: See “Cert Programs“

1. Business Intelligence (BI) Experts: help organizations keep up with customer thinking, market makeup, pricing, services, and other key aspects of the target audience. Related cert programs: IBM, Microsoft, TDWI/CBIP

Let this be an inspiration to those looking for more ways to fill their personal development and training dance cards for 2009.

Out of an IT Job? Then what?

In some e-mail with a fellow certification market follower recently, my correspondent opined that those who find themselves out of work in IT can look for a silver lining in such dire circumstances. The sudden change of work status creates a fabulous opportunity for study, learning, training, or other activities that can sharpen current IT skills or help to develop new ones.

Of course, the recently unemployed don’t usually have nothing but time on their hands, so this will take some effort, some ingenuity, and above all, some motivation to keep digging into something that isn’t paying very well at the moment. Don’t forget to file your job loss paperwork, make your unemployment claims, and go through whatever motions your local job placement authorities may require of you. Obtaining more income must always come first. But pursuing IT skills and knowledge should come a close second, because it may open more doors for your job search,. It could also broaden the field of positions you could fill, thereby increasing the odds of finding something new, and hopefully shortening the time it takes to get into a new job.

Given that unemployed people are rightfully wary about spending money on anything, you’ll want to be creative in finding materials for your hurry-up and unexpected learning adventures. Ask around to see who’s got books and study guides. Check out your local library to see what’s there (if you can’t afford Internet access at the moment, you can often sign up to use Internet-connected PCs at that same place). Surf the Web for good, free materials. You’ll also want to check out local community colleges for classroom training: these are the most affordable adult education providers around, and your (un)employment status may even qualify you for reduced- or no-cost training.

While you’re looking for that next job, this might be a perfect time to pursue that credential you’ve always been interested in, but never had the time to go after. It could also give you the opportunity to investigate interesting technologies or platforms that you never had time to dig into before. Think about high-demand IT specialties, such as storage, information security , ERP software, software architecture, databases, identity management, and so forth, and pretty soon you’ll have a wish list that’s at least enough to keep you busy, if not enough to last a lifetime.

As the old saying goes, a problem for some is an opportunity for others. Turn your employment (or underemployment) problem into an opportunity to learn more, and pretty soon you’ll be doing more, too!

Dancing About Software Architecture

Every now and then a book comes along that reshapes how people look at the world in which they live and work. Surprisingly to many, a work of traditional architecture by Christopher Alexander called A Pattern Language, ultimately led to the seminal software architecture book by Erich Gamma, et al called, Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software. This latter book has spawned countless imitators in many different areas of the software development world from business software to database to programming languages galore. Interestingly, this is more than just a “me-too” phenomenon: Alexander’s original insight that certain elements of design repeat in many different places and ways (which defines what he calls a “pattern”) actually works as well, or better, for software where pattern is rampant and visible almost anywhere someone with an analytical bent might care to look.

The latest entrant in the Design Patterns parade comes from Microsoft, in the form of a free e-book. It’s called patterns & practices Application Architecture Guide 2.0. It does for .NET Framework based applications what the other books do for different niches: explain how to identify, codify, and use recurring patterns in an interesting and productive way when it comes to creating software architecture, designing applications or services, or building such things (for .NET-based code, this usually means working in Visual Studio with a suitable programming language and add-ins galore to help speed and manage the development process).

If you want to get a deep insightful look into the notion of pattern and how it shaped a genre of software books, read Alexander in the original. If you want to understand why it had such an impact on the software biz, check out the Gamma Design Patterns book. If you want to put this metaphor and method to work with .NET grab the patterns & practices e-book: unlike the other two titles, it won’t cost you anything, either. Whoda thunk you could say something like that about Microsoft?

Microsoft’s Take on Planning a Career in IT

In my ceaseless trolling of the virtual byways and highways on the Internet, I keep digging up interesting sources of  IT career planning information. I can now cheerfully confess to needing a laugh rather badly today, having just elicited a few chuckles from this earnest and well-meaning Microsoft Web page: “Prepare for an Information Technology (IT) Career.”

Before I reveal the sources for my mirth, let me make a few additional framing remarks. First and foremost, I don’t mean to ding on Microsoft too much here: this page includes plenty of useful, worthwhile information and shows plenty of evidence of careful forethought and editing. Second, I must confess that my Dad is a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the US Army. Thanks to him, I grew up to this mantra: “There are three ways to solve any problem. There’s the right way, the wrong way, and the ARMY way!” As I read over this Microsoft Web page, that mantra marched across my memory, for reasons that you will soon see if you visit this page for yourself.

The bulk of the page is a table that describes resources for IT job descriptions, roles, and information; career planning and development; continuing adult education and learning; and even your local chamber of commerce to obtain pointers to career centers and employment offices in your vicinity. There are an even dozen types of resources described in the table. Can you guess how many of them include a link to Microsoft?

If you guessed less than 3, don’t forget whose Web site this page is on. If you guessed 6 or more, you may be more prone to “Evil Empire thinking” when it comes to assessing Microsoft’s motivation and information delivery skills. The real answer is 5, or 4 if you don’t want to consider a link to Microsoft Certified Partners for Learning Solutions a Microsoft link (I do, FWIW). Shoot! They even include a link to their own career site, where the company posts all of its open positions.

My favorite bits of advice on this page are these:

• “Network through coworkers, family, friends, and instructors to contact people currently working in the IT career you are considering and request informational interviews with them. This will help you to find out more about their professions and the types of skills they had to develop.” [For those already employed and for full-or part time students]
• “Talk to counselors, teachers, or instructors in your school’s computer department about your career goals, and the training required to reach them.” [For full- or part-time students]

The funniest items on this page have to be:

• “Talk to your manager and human resources department about your career goals and the training opportunities available to you. In addition to internal training, your organization may provide support for you to pursue external training.” [For those already employed] What? You’re not grateful just to have a job in this economy? Begone! Begone!
• “Review employment ads in newspapers and online, to learn more about available positions in IT and the skills required to get them.” [For those already employed and for full- or part-time students] Newspapers!? We don’t read/need no stinkin’ newspapers! And alas, every blasted one of the online job sites is completely awash in resumes.

Chuckles aside, this page is worth a gander, and probably worth recommending to your favorite underemployed or soon-to-be employed offspring, relatives, friends, offspring of friends, and so forth. All I can say to Microsoft is “Thanks!”

When Certifications Retire, What Happens Next?

I recently ran across an interested article by Lynn Haber at ITCareerPlanet entitled “When IT Certifications Retire.” It got me to thinking about what IT professionals can and should do to keep their knowledge, skills, and credentials fresh and up-to-date.

First, let me explain what retirement means in the contect of IT certification. A great many IT credentials–including those from Cisco and MIcrosoft’s latest crop (MCTS, MCITP,  and so forth), plus countless vendor-neutral certifications like the CISSP, PMP, SANS, and more–come with what can only be described as maintenance requirements. Typically, this either means meeting yearly continuing education and professional development milestones, or repeating certification examinations at two or three year intervals. This all comes in the name of keeping current.

But when a certification stops being tested, or is no longer available to newcomers–the older Microsoft certs such as MCSA, MCSE, MCDBA, and MCSD are good examples, as are older versions of CompTIA credentials–what then? The answer depends on how relevant those credentials remain to the tasks still at hand, and the jobs that IT professionals perform on a day-in, day-out basis, as opposed to their perceived value and persisting ongoing name recognition.

For IT pros with lots of alpabet soup on their transcripts, I recommend a dual-labeling strategy for resumes and face-to-face career discussions or interviews, including annual reviews, performance reviews, and so on. Divide your certs up into “Current Certifications” (those that remain valid, up-to-date, and still enjoy relevance and name recognition), and into “Certifications Earned” (those that are now out-of-date,  expired, or that no longer enjoy name recognition).

That way, you can concentrate on what remains relevant to your current job, or the job you’re going after, while still presenting your entire certification history to those who may be interested in seeing your previous accomplishments and activities as well as your present focus, skills, and knowledge bases. It’s not exactly the best of both worlds, but it is a strategy that lets you demonstrate your understanding of current market needs and requirements, as well as enumerating your professional development and activities over your entire working life in IT.