WARNING: "Memory Lane Post"!
How times have changed!
Last month it was my 3rd anniversary as a full-time, professional
Java programmer (or
developer as they call us now).
I have been a Sheriff here at JavaRanch for that long and the interested of you can read my "log" of what happened then, by reading the JavaRanch links in my page
Tony's Java Certification and Job-Related Stories.
The posts are self-explanatory but the gist of it is that in the Spring of 2000 "they" were hiring Java programmers without experience if they could spell J-A-V-A correctly in their resumes. OK, that one was a joke
If you had Certification (esp. with a very high score) and had written some non-trivial
applets and apps and placed them on the Web where your prospective employer could see them (I placed mine with source code and Javadoc pages!), you had a good chance of being called for an interview since that's what you really want initially.
At the interview you are on your own but at least you got called for one.
I remember the excitement of the moment which was shared with the readers of JavaRanch. I also remember the encouragement I received from
Paul Wheaton (owner), Frank Carver and Jim Yingst, (Sheriffs) and others too, too many to mention. You'll see their names in the posts mentioned above.
I feel somewhat guilty because about nine months after I started working, the layoffs began for some Java programmers that frequented JavaRanch, esp. those in the west of the USA (CO, CA). Since then I have been lucky to have had continued employment and at salaries that I find may be a little high when you count the bonuses etc.
Well, I don't want to give away the ending... Ha ha! There is none in sight. As the bachelor that I am, I am saving money like never before because
I don't assume that the future will be just like the present. Too old for that. I mean, wisdom comes with age
Best to all!
And
thanks to JavaRanch for being my own almost personal Java BBS during my studies!
[ April 11, 2003: Message edited by: Tony Alicea ]