I think the problem with the new languages is really a problem with the instability of the PC environment. (In other words I blame Microsoft.) You and I have navigated IBM documentation, our problems are not about comprehension. The problem is that the languages are not well documented and don't do what they say they do. When I took Java last semester, there were times when I was coding right from the Sun documentation (which was awful) and things wouldn't work. It was so much trial and error. You have to be a 22 year old kid, with no life who spends their entire day programming to really get expert at this crap. One thing about the old languages, they did what the manuals said they did. It makes a huge difference. Well that's enough of my rant.
I think networking is the way to go now. That's what I'm starting to concentrate on. I'm in the Cisco CCNA program at the community college I'm going to right now, and I think it will be a good direction to go in. I don't think they'll be able to offshore network people cause you've got to be where the hardware is. So I think you're taking the smart road. (I sure hope so I'm on a similar one!)
I know how you feel about off-shoring, but I've made my peace with it. It's easier for me because I haven't lost a job to it. I'm grateful that I had time to see the writing on the wall and prepare, because I'm sure it was inevitable with the area my skills are strongest in. But like you, I find it hard to resent something that raises the standard of living somewhere else, and I do believe IT jobs do that. I think we can share the wealth and keep our own standard of living, it's just that we have to be adaptable and may have some lean times when we're in transition. I'm sure that when you're all done you'll have positioned yourself really well for the future, with all the work you're doing right now.
Hey, if we learned to love COBOL we can learn to love TCP/IP!
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I think networking is the way to go now. That's what I'm starting to concentrate on. I'm in the Cisco CCNA program at the community college I'm going to right now, and I think it will be a good direction to go in. I don't think they'll be able to offshore network people cause you've got to be where the hardware is. So I think you're taking the smart road. (I sure hope so I'm on a similar one!)
I know how you feel about off-shoring, but I've made my peace with it. It's easier for me because I haven't lost a job to it. I'm grateful that I had time to see the writing on the wall and prepare, because I'm sure it was inevitable with the area my skills are strongest in. But like you, I find it hard to resent something that raises the standard of living somewhere else, and I do believe IT jobs do that. I think we can share the wealth and keep our own standard of living, it's just that we have to be adaptable and may have some lean times when we're in transition. I'm sure that when you're all done you'll have positioned yourself really well for the future, with all the work you're doing right now.
Hey, if we learned to love COBOL we can learn to love TCP/IP!