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Try asking in here[^] instead.
Steve S
Developer for hire
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Maybe I've been contracting too long and haven't dipped my toes into the water lately. i'm very happy where I'm at, pay and people are very good. But, take a look at this contract offering. This firm wants to pay, are you ready? $35/hour for this skill set. Now, Ada is very specific and represents a niche market, but still, the broad systems and software engineering they are asking for - 35/hour seems very, very low. Note: it isn't like this job could be offshored - it's for a US Defense contractor...
Opinions?
Purpose:
a major aviation software company has a need for an Ada Developer for a 4 month contract. The candidates shall have the following skills:
- A proficiency in a UNIX (Solaris 8) development environment
- Proficiency in Ada development language (5+ years recommended)
- A working knowledge of SPARCWORKs (1+ years recommended)
- A proficiency in embedded software systems
- A proficiency in Ada compilation and link
- A proficiency in C/C++ compilation and link
- A proficiency in Serena Dimensions and software configuration management principles.
- A working knowledge of Serena Dimensions.
- Experience with database administration (Ingres preferred).
- A proficiency in script writing (SQL, PERL, etc)
- A basic understanding of MIL-STD-1553 databus architecture and protocol
- Experience in aircraft Avionics and Propulsion systems Integration (5+ years)
- Experience in developing real-time, safety-critical software using DO-178B (3+ years)
- A basic understanding of aircraft avionics and propulsion systems maintenance
- Experience in Rational Apex/Testmate development configuration environment (1+ years)
- Proficiency in C/C++ development language
- Experience and understanding of Open Road 4GL development environment (2+ years)
- Experience in Object Oriented Analysis (OOA) / Object Oriented Design (OOD) methodology (2+ years)
Charlie Gilley
Will program for food...
Whoever said children were cheaper by the dozen... lied.
My son's PDA is an M249 SAW.
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I live in the UK, so cannot comment on the mental processes of US equivalents, but until recently, recruiters didn't tend to score too highly on the 'thinking' front.
Heck, most of them seem to have trouble reading. I contract (as a limited company, which has two employees, and I'm married to the other one - not a tax dodge, we both go out and bring in business and more importantly, the money for it), and my CV (or resume) clearly states this. I've lost count of the number of times a recruiter has asked me what it would take to get me away from working for that company and be interested in a job with some other company...
Like the phrase 'I am interested in contract vacancies ONLY. A permanent opportunity would have to be extremely special (not just well paid) for me to consider it' doesn't make things any clearer...
That said, the company that placed me on my present contract seems to be able to cut it - they matched my skills to their client, and I'm midway through a second extension to the original contract.
Steve S
Developer for hire
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charlieg wrote: $35/hour for this skill set
Yeah, sure over my dead body.
What has this "recruiter" been smoking is more like the question 
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Hi all,
I'm presently working for a mid-sized software co. learning .NET/C# and involved in their latest UI effort. Company prospects look good long-term, but the pay is terrible (and they have a history of this...). Additionally they're embarking on outsourcing projects to China and India at an increasing rate, so long-term employment with them is looking shaky.
I've been offered a position with a very small software co, working with old technologies that I'm very familiar with. Job revolves around supporting their major client. Pay is significantly better, but obviously there is little inducement to update their product. This MAY happen in several years time. General working conditions are comparable between the two companies.
The pay situation is of particular importance as I barely make it through a month, as well as support 3 kids...
So what do you think?
Am I selling out if I opt for the pay and security, or should I just continue on the present path and hope things improve?
Regards, mi160800.
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One thing that I always try to keep in mind is that you have to do what you have to do for your family. Family is first.
Some of the things to think about are..... Does the new position have better benefits? Does it offer better 401K? Are the hours flexible? Is it more stable? What would happen if they lost that major client?
Personally I think that you should go to your existing companies management and talk to them about your concerns. Tell them that you are worried about the growing outsourcing and that you are not comfortable with it. Depending on their answer you could decide that staying would be a good idea or leaving is better for you.
I was at a great job once and then my son had to start taking some expensive tutoring/classes abnd I told my contract company about that. They then went to the company and asked for ALOT more money for me and the company said no. The new position that I took was a 45%+ raise in pay, so it covered all of my new expenses. After I talked to the manager he said that he would have given me enough to cover the classes if that was all they had asked for. So talk to them about things and how you feel there. Its the only way you can tell if they are willing to talk about it or would be glad to see you go....
Remember, it's your career and not others. Think about how it would look on a resume. Have you been there for at least a year? (that is a time limit that people generally accept at a place) If asked on a future interview would you tell them that you left for more money or about the job security?
Good luck.
Steve Maier, MCSD MCAD MCTS
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Thanks Steve,
advice much appreciated. I think you hit the nail on the head with your comments on communication being the key. My gut feel is my present company will be neutral on my staying or going. I tend to rock the boat a bit by always questioning why we do things the way we do, and not exploring better options.
Of course there are often legitimate financial or commercial reasons, but they don't tend to openly discuss them. This only infuriates someone like me...
Regards, mi160800.
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When I worked at a large Fortune 500 company they outsourced some code and once they found out what crappy code it really was, they brought it all back. But it sounds like that is not happening for you. Keep in mind that management will not share everything with everyone. There are some things that us lowly developers don't really need to know. But its hard for management to understand what you really want to know. I have left a couple companies for lack of communication. It definately hurts the trust where there is little communication.
Steve Maier, MCSD MCAD MCTS
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Well - you've been given some good advice, so I'll water it down  .
First, family, family, family.
Second, it isn't easy distinguishing between career and family, they are intertwined.
Unless you are independently wealthy and can walk from your current position... not me...
Okay, back to your original post - you do know that you are contradicting yourself, right?
First you say "Company prospects look good long-term" and then you say "so long-term employment with them is looking shaky." I'm going to conclude that you are like most developers - very easy to succomb to wishful thinking. Plus, the pay is terrible. What the heck is keeping you? Fear? I have news for you - the only times I have ever made more money is when I (a) walked out the door and (b) pushed my manager hard for a promotion. In the latter case, the manager I had I could *trust* and he knew what the heck he was doing.
Based on what you indicate about your current management - outsourcing, infuriating, and very low pay, why in hell would you want to stick around? .net? jeesh, by a book, work for a lot more pay, be happy. Otherwise, if you do choose to go to mgt, I'd be very careful....
I would suggest you be a bit more brutal in your assessment of your current situation....
just my 10 cents...
Charlie Gilley
Will program for food...
Whoever said children were cheaper by the dozen... lied.
My son's PDA is an M249 SAW.
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Thanks Charlie,
yeah I thought I might have worded my original post unclear.
What I meant was the companies' prospects were good.
They've got some strong footholds into the Asian (China, Japan) market in the specialized field they're in.
Since my original post I had a straight talk with my manager.
Surprisingly it was quite positive, and expect some answers in a day or so.
I've done the list of Pro's and Con's for each job, and of course there are unknowns on the other side. At this stage if I get positive answers back from my current employer, I'll probably stay.
One thing I do know (in my experience anyway...), there is not THE perfect job.
Thanks for you views, mi160800.
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my pleasure... good luck to whatever your decision is....
Charlie Gilley
Will program for food...
Whoever said children were cheaper by the dozen... lied.
My son's PDA is an M249 SAW.
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I want some .pdf materials for the 70-315 Subject.
Any body has this material?
Plases send me on: Harikrishna@Quest-Software.com
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 Hai HariKrishna. I am also looking for 70-315. If u have, can u send me.
Srihari
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Hi All,
Anybody know about the certification in VC++, how to register and what are the study materials available and where to get them.
Thanks in advance
Srinivasan
srinivasan
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Are you talking about the old VC6 C++ exams (I hope not) or the newer .NET 2.0 C++ exams? For the new .NET exams you are given a choice of what language to do the exam in. It is asked at the beginning of the exam. Before with the .NET 1.1 exams you had a VB and a C# exam and it was different. Are you looking to get a Windows, Web, or distributed certification?
Steve Maier, MCSD MCAD MCTS
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Hi, does anyone have any comment about 70-228 course for MCDBA? Is it to old technology now?
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Microsoft is replacing their MCDBA with a couple of new ones. MCTS: SQL Server 2005, and the MCITP: Database Developer and MCITP: Database Administrator. If you have not started down the MCDBA path yet, I would go with the SQL Server 2005 certifications. If you want to be certified with SQL 2000 then the older MCDBA is great. I personally am trying to get my company to move up to SQL 2005 so I got my MCTS and am working on the MCITP.
Steve Maier, MCSD MCAD MCTS
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Thank you very much for your comment. Now I already took MCDBA (70-228) and now I set my plan that I'm going to take an exam on the next 4 month. So it is possible for me to tak another exam such as 70-229 and exam 70-305... Is it going to be out of date or not?
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Those would work, but you also would need a 70-290 or 70-291 unless you already had passed 70-215. 70-215 is already discontinued so I don't think you can take it but it still counts toward MCDBA if you had passed it. There is no exams scheduled to be retired in the near future. And even after that you get a year after the exam is retired to take other exams to keep the certification.
Steve Maier, MCSD MCAD
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Thank you very much for your comment.
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hi all ,
i am facing a problem while displaying 2 byte japanese characters in web page.
actually what i m doing is reading the japanese string as a string and then writting it to xml file and then use the xml file to fill the web page .
so what i m getting is single byte characters corresponding to the the japanese chracters.
If anyone has any answer then please reply
Surendra Vishwkarma
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This question might be better suited for the ASP.NET forum[^].
Have you checked the xml file to see if you can see the Japanese characters correctly there? I am seeing a similar thing with an installer that we are trying to put Japanese into. You might want to look here http://www.opentag.com/xmli18nfaq.htm[^] for some help.
Steve Maier, MCSD MCAD
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Hi everybody, currently I'm study and prepare to have an exam on 70-290 topic at the end of next month. Can anyone suggest me what should i do for my preparation for a success exam?
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What I do for all of my exams is to get a couple of the training books. Usually you will need two because one might not have everything for the actual exam. And since 290 is for Windows 2003 Server setup and admin, I would either get a system with 2003 on it or where you could intall it to play with or use VMware or Virtual PC/Server. Virtual Server is free and if you have 2003 server then you should be good there.
Nothing helps more than experience with the thing you are testing on.
Steve Maier, MCSD MCAD
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