Peter Madden

Mark,

I had considered this position as I was looking for some medical/healthcare domain knowledge along with programming experience. Right now I am making 40K and my wife 36K. The new job offers me 60K. I guess these are the upsides.

I have never been to any budget meetings etc. and so was looking to see if any experienced folks could guide me in this situation. I mean the company should have set aside funds to pay the 60K in the first place but then again they were honest about it (at least that's the information the HR gave me) so I am assuming that a few things were miscalculated and hence led to the chaos.

What would you do or how would you get more information from them in such situations?

Thanks,

I got an offer from a healthcare related company in sept. with a start date for mid oct. and last thursday they called me up and told me that their IT dept had to go thru some structural changes etc... and they are trying to reconfigure budgets and I might not be hired. They call back on monday and say everything is sorted out and that I can come as planned.

Please advice on if it would be wise for us (my wife and I) to leave two stable jobs and move 1000 miles for his job which pays about 20k lesser than our combined salaries right now.

Also, when i call up tommorow what questions should I ask to make sure that these changes/budget problems will not rise again.

I have an interview in Chicago for a web developer job that offers upto 60K. I have been told that the company would not pay for my travel expenses which is coming to a little over $400.

I am hesitant on paying that money as I have the following questions on my mind:

1. How common is this situation where the company will not pay to fly in their candidates for a second round interview for a perm. position?
2. Even if I get the job will I be able to survive (with my family) on a single income of 60000?

....what are some of the differences between the two?

If I ask someone to "Describe their project X in Company Z and the problems that were solved during that process"...which category would that fall under?

Originally posted by jim stone:
if you were offered a fulltime position at 85k with 5k year end bonus or a W2 contract to hire assignment at $56/hour, what would you take? Two different companies, both are strong players in their industries and the work would be fairly similar...J2EE development. Let's say your getting health benefits from your spouse so that's not a consideration. What are the pros/cons to consider.

Thanks.

It depends on your long time goal. If you'd like to be a developer all through life then go for the $56/hr but if you'd like to make a traditional career with promotions leading to management then you should be an employee (at least it helps being a permanent employee)

Nothing's bad or good, right or wrong ... its all based on GOALS.

To all the fathers/parents out there who have been taking pictures of their new borns and kids ... please suggest if this dad-to-be should
1. go for a digital camera or a camcorder
2. which one do you recommend?

Originally posted by mary jacobson:
Hi,

I just wanted to update on what happened..

I went for an interview, they gave me different scenarios and asked me how would I solve those problems. At the end of the interview, I got a very positive response and 2 days ago I got an offer and I accepted. They have offered 54K + $2500 as signing up bonus and 7% increase after 6 months depending on my performance, they will pay for my education (4 more courses to go, graduting in Dec 2005). Not sure if this is a good deal, but I like, what I am going to be doing. This company also provides salary increase based on performance review, so I am taking a chance just by believing in myself.

Thanks so much for guiding me through this process,

Congratulations! and Best of Luck.

Today, work is real slow at my end ... ofcourse there are no emergencies so my guilt is a little less but I wonder does anyone have "down" days like this or is it just me?

I have heard of people working for 15 hours straight for more than two days but it makes me wonder how much of that time is towards "REAL WORK" ... by real work I mean either you are directly working on an assignment like coding, designing, testing etc. or indirectly working on an assignment like thinking about ways to improve the process or the application itself.

I have never heard of people say "I worked less than 6 hours today" but I do see a lot of posts here (Non-Programming threads) during the regular work time...

Originally posted by Henry Wong:


I disagree. Objective measurements are important when that is all that is available. Intangible data is rarely available, but when it is, it should not be dismissed. It is the line manager that has to work with the person. Hiring should be part of his job.

Totally trusting the line manager is not a good alternative, but totally dismissing the line manager doesn't seem to be working too well either. HR should develop a better relationship with managers to find the balance.

Don't want to completely diss HR, as I have worked with many great people, but I have also worked with some stinkers.

Henry

Wong,

I second your opinion...HR must learn NOT to make decisions on certain things they are not good/trained at/in. These days every job description has a laundary list of things which no single person can have (only morons would claim to have experience in the complete list) and such lists are made when the technical manager is looking to fill a position with a view of both the present and the future of the company's direction in mind.

Originally posted by Kashif Riaz:


Ever heard of the saying, "Those who can't, teach!"

While I agree that many people in many countries get into teaching profession because of many reasons have you ever thought that there are many who wouldn't let go of their teaching professions for anything at all?

Think hard...over the 16 something years of your education you'll find at least one instructor/professor/teacher who was passionate about their job.

Originally posted by John Todd:
Which SUV you prefer :
BMW X5
VW Touareg
MB M-Class
Porsche Cayenne
And why ?

John,
If you are thinking in this league you are not amongst those worried about fuel mileage and gas prices etc. Perhaps you are not worried about resale values and future investments on the vehicle either so in your case it's only a matter of what looks best to your eye.

I'd go for the MB M-Class. Only because it carries MB's long and reliable history plus I think apart from the VW (VW actually is the odd man out in this class) all other's are more expensive.

Kusuma,
In today's job market it's more of WHO you know than WHAT you know to get a decent job (especially when changing professions). Based on your name I think you are pretty close to the city of Bangalore which is a software developer's paradise right now. An M.Tech from India says a lot about your learning and adaptability and you certainly will have an edge over other candidates. Also, your college professors should certainly be having contacts with industrial recruiters and this could be the best time to ask for their help. Afterall you're their colleague.
Just remember it's way easier to get Java Certified than to get an M.Tech in any field.

Nathaniel,
People should use full words if they want good answers but more importantly people should know how to communicate in a dignified manner. FULL WORDS like "begging for jobs" is no better than not so full words like "Plz".

Mark,
So is this a mandatory rule to post messages ?

I was looking for some advice on which one to go with...Bank of America OR Chase Group for regular banking.

I am sure both are great banks but I'd appreciate any experiences that anyone can share.

What's up with that?

In Sep03 we could buy .90 euro with $1 and now its only 0.75

You guys think it'll sink further?

I guess AnnualCreditReport is the answer to my question