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Marc Clifton wrote: Actually, that's what I found surprising - most of the jobs required only 1-2 years of experience
And how well are they paying?
For the right customer - your experience, and productivity, should be worth well above the average. At least that's my view of your skills, and from what I've seen, you know how to develop decent software, and you know how to document your work - which is often at least as valuable, especially when you're doing contract work.
I really wish you the best of luck, and I really think you deserve it 
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Espen Harlinn wrote: And how well are they paying?
Most of the contract positions are paying $75/hr. Obviously the headhunter takes a cut (when I worked for a consulting agency in NYC, they were taking an additional $40/hr. Money in the bank.) Must be making a lot of Indians some money. 
Espen Harlinn wrote: I really wish you the best of luck, and I really think you deserve it
Thanks! I'll keep folks posted. Right now, I'm wondering why I shouldn't get in on the other end of the business. Clearly there's a need for a professional job placement website, and I bet employers have as many complaints about places like Monster from their angle as well. Currently, I'm poking around The Ladders to see if it's more professional.
Marc
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Marc Clifton wrote: Espen Harlinn wrote: I think that is a part of the problem
Actually, that's what I found surprising - most of the jobs required only 1-2 years of experience
Really. I'd've expected half of them to demand at least 20 years of experience with Ruby itself and a decade using Rails. 
Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, waging all things in the balance of reason?
Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful?
--Zachris Topelius
Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies.
-- Sarah Hoyt
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Espen Harlinn wrote: What really impresses me is that everybody seems to be honest
Espen Harlinn wrote: all of the team I'm working with is actually d*mn good at what they're doing.
The latter explains the former. If they're good, they don't need to lie.
Politicians are always realistically manoeuvering for the next election. They are obsolete as fundamental problem-solvers.
Buckminster Fuller
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Jörgen Andersson wrote: If they're good, they don't need to lie.
That's probably true - but it's still refreshing 
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Jörgen Andersson wrote: Politicians ...They are obsolete as fundamental problem-solvers.
Well, that explains ObamaCare.
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25 years in the IT industry, all in Finance - Pensions, Banking [Retail and Corporate], Asset Management, Trading, Market Data, etc, etc, etc. Pretty damned good across the .Net and Java stacks. Development, Implementation Project Management and Product Management.
Recent examples include would I go to Brum* for £40k as a dev? FOAD.
I know we're old fecks, but that means we know our shyte and not that we are worthless. Rule of thumb - born after I started work === not worth speaking to.
*Birmingham, Alabama's is a lot nicer and more tolerant. Imagine the worst of Soviet deprivation, then take away the style and taste.
speramus in juniperus
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Nagy Vilmos wrote: FOAD.
Had to look that one up. I'll be sure to use it in the future.
Nagy Vilmos wrote: I know we're old fecks, but that means we know our shyte and not that we are worthless.
Exactly.
Marc
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I'm 26, giving you've had 25 years in the IT industry, I'm safe? 
Simon Lee Shugar (Software Developer)
www.simonshugar.co.uk
"If something goes by a false name, would it mean that thing is fake? False by nature?" By Gilbert Durandil
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Nagy Vilmos wrote: born after I started work === not worth speaking to.
What's your birthdate? 
Bastard Programmer from Hell 
If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^]
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Clarification - I'm talking about management types on the whole, but it is funny when a grad tries to tell me how trading software should work.
speramus in juniperus
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Nagy Vilmos wrote: it is funny when a grad any developer tries to tell me how trading software should work.
Not many knows how to do this, even after many years of practice ... and even if you did really good quantitative work last year, you're seriously outdated today.
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Espen Harlinn wrote: and even if you did really good quantitative work last year, you're seriously outdated today.
..as a rule of thumb, of course. Which is how this thread got started
Bastard Programmer from Hell
If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^]
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Nagy Vilmos wrote: 25 years in the IT industry, all in Finance - Pensions, Banking [Retail and Corporate], Asset Management, Trading, Market Data, etc, etc, etc.
£40K??? 
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Nagy Vilmos wrote: *Birmingham, Alabama's is a lot nicer and more tolerant. Imagine the worst of Soviet deprivation, then take away the style and taste.
Oi! Oiu hayle from Brumidgum, and it's roit grate, k? I amn't goan tayke that from sum suthenner!
MVVM # - I did it My Way
___________________________________________
Man, you're a god. - walterhevedeich 26/05/2011
.\\axxx
(That's an 'M')
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I've also been in the *the game* for a long time and until recently I've always been busy, I find myself back job hunting and can't believe the people you have to deal with in your quest for a contract, a typical advert is something like this
Senior .NET Software Engineer, minimum 5 years experience, must have: TDD,AGILE,SCRUM,RUBY,PHP,POSTGRE,SYBASE,INGRESS,BDD,FU2,C#,VB,C++,SQL RDBMS, etc..., then the killer line WOULD SUIT GRADUATE !!!!
WTF ?
We can’t stop here, this is bat country - Hunter S Thompson RIP
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Nagy Vilmos wrote: Rule of thumb - born after I started work === not worth speaking to.
Well, they definitely are impacted by growing up through the internet age but I think it is more about maturity of experience. When I was 21, I didn't feel like an adult, but was kind of insulted and then missed getting asked for my ID every time I went into a bar about 6 years after that.
First off, you get exceptions. My nephew at 15 was difficult to talk with, knew very little about general conversation, but left me in the dust with computers. I felt like an idiot about a field I had been in longer than he was alive. That hasn't changed, he recently turned down a $2M offer for his source code.
Anyway, my rule of thumb is >=28. (My nephew has several years to go, to reach that ripe old age.)
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Marc Clifton wrote: it's my understanding that it is illegal to require on-site work unless it can be demonstrated that the work can only be done on-site
You are absolutely correct.
They want contractors so they can avoid the hassles of withholding taxes, paying SSI/Medicare, paying FUTA, providing Workman's Comp insurance, and paying for health benefits; these cost 55% to 75% of the employee salary. In theory, that's why contractors are paid so much more than employees, since they are presumed to provide these things for themselves. But any employer who attempts to dictate the hours or location of work is violating Federal labor and tax laws. If you have nothing better to with your time, you should accept one of these positions, then file criminal charges against the company.
Will Rogers never met me.
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Roger Wright wrote: But any employer who attempts to dictate the hours or location of work is violating Federal labor and tax laws.
Can you point me to a DOL site that specifies this? Thanks,
/ravi
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Ravi, I think this is mostly in the Revenue Code, and case law over the years. Specifically, though, the IRS dictates who is an Independent Contractor, and the Labor code (or other labor specific laws) require things like FUTA and workman's comp. I don't have the particular references handy, but any decent HR representative ought to have that info handy.
Will Rogers never met me.
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Marc Clifton wrote: word of mouth is the best,
Amen to that, Marc. Have been doing that for 25+ years and never looked back.
Marc Clifton wrote: it's my understanding that it is illegal to require on-site work unless it can be demonstrated that the work can only be done on-site.
Wow, that comes as news to me. I've often worked in shops where the terms of the contracts offered to contract devs stipulated on-site development (along with other sundry requirements like proven knowledge of technology XYZ, etc.)
/ravi
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Ravi Bhavnani wrote: Wow, that comes as news to me.
Read Roger's response above. He verifies that issue.
Marc
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Yes, awaiting his reply.
It was my understanding that corporations were getting away with evading taxes by hiring contractors for long periods, thereby essentially substituting them for full-time employees. That was deemed illegal and several well-known large companies were taken to task about 5 years ago. But I had no idea that a short term contract couldn't stipulate on-site work.
/ravi
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Ravi Bhavnani wrote: thereby essentially substituting them for full-time employees.
Yeah, I got bitten by that in reverse. A company I had a multi-year contract with wanted me to become an employee, but I didn't want that because it would have been a significant pay reduction, and I also would not have been able to take advantage of the health care package because I'm in NY, not CA. It caused a bit of a stir, but the legal dept. sort of looked the other way. What eventually happened though was that I was let go of because (in my opinion, and my intuition / opinion is usually correct!) I was getting paid more than the senior manager - some new guy they brought in.
Marc
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Did that company contract with an insurer that didn't have national partners or just not care enough to do the minimum legwork to offer one?
Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, waging all things in the balance of reason?
Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful?
--Zachris Topelius
Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies.
-- Sarah Hoyt
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