Excruciatingly low contract rates

[To BI or not to BI?]

only if they have been dead long enough

[Ardesco]

you mean cadaver

Nope i mean Cadavar, although cadaver is an acceptible variation.

http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Cadavar

[To BI or not to BI?]

also in http://www.googlism.com/what_is/c/cadavar/

[scriptfromscratch]

It is a dead human (Normally elderly woman aparently) who has been preserved so that medical students can practice cutting up a dead one before they get onto a live one. There is a good chance that various parts of it will go missing and end up on the tube at some point as well

jesus mark that's awful

[Ardesco]

jesus mark that's awful

Lots of things in life are awful, doesn't stop them from happening though

And somebody I know, or somebody that has just grabbed my name from one of the many easy to find resources linked to my forum name?

[scriptfromscratch]

marky, we go way back!

[Ardesco]

marky, we go way back!

I'll take that as a not somebody i know then

[chicane]

To be fair PHP and ASP are not the hardest languages in the world to master.

Although your sentence is roughly correct, I believe that you're somewhat missing the point. Any grad monkey (like myself, back in my younger and better-looking days) can learn enough php/sql to write a few scripts to add dynamic news item functionality onto a site, repeat this pattern over several pages with subtle variations, and claim mastery of PHP.

It takes an individual with considerably more talent and experience to have the full range of HTML/JavaScript/XML/CSS/SQL/3-tier/design patterns/architecture/accessibility talent and experience to create an efficient, reliable, secure, maintainable and usable enterprise web solution that works across multiple browsers.

Having said all this, it is indeed true that the market dictates the rates, regardless of the ignorance shown by clients with respect to the business value of an experienced developer. It is on this basis that I've made the decision to abandon the world of PHP in favour of the shiny pointy clicky world of ASP.NET 2.0, in which contract work seems to be more plentiful and better paid - at least up here in the Desolate North.

Thankfully the majority of my existing skills (those listed above) will be transferrable to the world of ASP.NET, though sadly I'd never manage to persuade either an agency or a client of the value of this claim.

Such is life, eh?

[errorista]

Thankfully the majority of my existing skills (those listed above) will be transferrable to the world of ASP.NET, though sadly I'd never manage to persuade either an agency or a client of the value of this claim.

Such is life, eh?

Thats because ASP.NET is something you use to catch snakes with, innit?

[expat]

.... Any grad monkey (like myself, back in my younger and better-looking days) can learn enough php/sql to write a few scripts....
It takes an individual with considerably more talent and experience to have the full range of HTML/JavaScript/XML/CSS/SQL/3-tier/design patterns/architecture/accessibility talent and experience to create an efficient, reliable, secure, maintainable and usable enterprise web solution that works across multiple browsers....

I think I would put this another way:

Any fool can program.
Few can program well.
Few if any agents know the difference.
Muppets rule the market.
So: there's no percentage in being good.