if you had opportunity to start again what mistakes would you avoid ?

[Gibbon]

I agree with that. I usually think that I have had a good run with contracting but as I reach the end of my "career" I find that I am doing nothing interesting, the rates are lower and the time between contracts longer (I have started calling that "semi-retirement"), and looking back over my life gives me no sense of achievement.

How have other people I know fared in different careers? My brother and one of my oldest friends have worked in computing in Silicon Valley, and both have made a mark: some things about computers and communications and the internet are down to them and you can find their names on google in discussion groups (usenet!) from as far back as the 1980s. Brother retired over 10 years ago with (AFAI can see) well over 1m in houses and plenty of money. Old friend hasn't retired yet because he spends loads of money. But could any time he wanted.

Many of my oldest friends became teachers. All have by now become principal teachers or headmasters. They are making decent if not flash money, and they have done so all their lives, without any of the low periods that I have had, and which take a long long time to recover from. Also the pension is good and the time off, while not as much as some people think, is OK. And reskilling is built in.

Some of them stayed in universities. The 2 that I am still in touch with are now professors. Neither will get a Nobel but they are doing worthwhile and interesting work, and again have income, pension and holidays, not to mention sabbaticals.

One or two of my friends have done something less obvious and more independent. One publishes an arts magazine of some reputation in its circles. Another designs aspects of rides for Disney parks. Another, the most left-wing of us ironically, ran a successful business and also became involved in politics as well as in writing. A cousin became a teacher, then owned a shop, then taught kayaking.

There are a few doctors in there, and one heart surgeon in the US. Also one of the teachers reskilled as a lawyer and became a chief prosecutor.

Without bulltulip, only a couple of them were as intelligent as I am (was?) and I should have been able to do any of those things. But instead I have sold my intelligence to make minor tweaks in some companies' IT systems and so perhaps help them to move stock around or sell things to customers. Someone has to do it but neither the doing of it nor having done it makes me feel that my life has been well spent.

I thought that in contracting I was free, but much of that is illusory, it's just employment without modern social protection, excused only by high rates of pay. The supposedly high rates of pay are not so great either - we all know that 500 a day does not give you 125,000 a year to spend (especially if you have to work abroad). I thought that I could take time off to travel, and I did. But other people got the employer to pay for travel, or for time off. You can do a lot in the school holidays, and as for a sabbatical...)

In short, I have done nothing more than a slightly up-market version of what a promising 16-year-old does when he leaves school to work and get a little money as soon as possible: thrown away a life for a quick paycheck.

I would advise anyone to consider whether this is really what they want to do with their life. I didn't really want to do it with my whole life, but it looks as though I have. It is hard to get out of. If you do want to do it, I would strongly advise building up a huge warchest and then savings. At least then you will have choices later, when you may want them (out of boredom) or need them (out of failing market).

Blimey mate, cheer up.

It's never too late to change, Ok you're not going to be a prof etc, but you can get into something that interests you, even if it's volunteering during bench time.

I'm hoping to finsh my OU degree and then do a full time masters, if that goes ok then a Phd supported by the odd contract. Then I'l just see where I am.

Do something though, don't let life pass you by!

Good luck.

[SupremeSpod]

Blimey mate, cheer up.

It's never too late to change, Ok you're not going to be a prof etc, but you can get into something that interests you, even if it's volunteering during bench time.

I'm hoping to finsh my OU degree and then do a full time masters, if that goes ok then a Phd supported by the odd contract. Then I'l just see where I am.

Do something though, don't let life pass you by!

Good luck.

WGS.

[sasguru]

I agree with that. I usually think that I have had a good run with contracting but as I reach the end of my "career" I find that I am doing nothing interesting, the rates are lower and the time between contracts longer (I have started calling that "semi-retirement"), and looking back over my life gives me no sense of achievement.

How have other people I know fared in different careers? My brother and one of my oldest friends have worked in computing in Silicon Valley, and both have made a mark: some things about computers and communications and the internet are down to them and you can find their names on google in discussion groups (usenet!) from as far back as the 1980s. Brother retired over 10 years ago with (AFAI can see) well over 1m in houses and plenty of money. Old friend hasn't retired yet because he spends loads of money. But could any time he wanted.

Many of my oldest friends became teachers. All have by now become principal teachers or headmasters. They are making decent if not flash money, and they have done so all their lives, without any of the low periods that I have had, and which take a long long time to recover from. Also the pension is good and the time off, while not as much as some people think, is OK. And reskilling is built in.

Some of them stayed in universities. The 2 that I am still in touch with are now professors. Neither will get a Nobel but they are doing worthwhile and interesting work, and again have income, pension and holidays, not to mention sabbaticals.

One or two of my friends have done something less obvious and more independent. One publishes an arts magazine of some reputation in its circles. Another designs aspects of rides for Disney parks. Another, the most left-wing of us ironically, ran a successful business and also became involved in politics as well as in writing. A cousin became a teacher, then owned a shop, then taught kayaking.

There are a few doctors in there, and one heart surgeon in the US. Also one of the teachers reskilled as a lawyer and became a chief prosecutor.

Without bulltulip, only a couple of them were as intelligent as I am (was?) and I should have been able to do any of those things. But instead I have sold my intelligence to make minor tweaks in some companies' IT systems and so perhaps help them to move stock around or sell things to customers. Someone has to do it but neither the doing of it nor having done it makes me feel that my life has been well spent.

I thought that in contracting I was free, but much of that is illusory, it's just employment without modern social protection, excused only by high rates of pay. The supposedly high rates of pay are not so great either - we all know that 500 a day does not give you 125,000 a year to spend (especially if you have to work abroad). I thought that I could take time off to travel, and I did. But other people got the employer to pay for travel, or for time off. You can do a lot in the school holidays, and as for a sabbatical...)

In short, I have done nothing more than a slightly up-market version of what a promising 16-year-old does when he leaves school to work and get a little money as soon as possible: thrown away a life for a quick paycheck.

I would advise anyone to consider whether this is really what they want to do with their life. I didn't really want to do it with my whole life, but it looks as though I have. It is hard to get out of. If you do want to do it, I would strongly advise building up a huge warchest and then savings. At least then you will have choices later, when you may want them (out of boredom) or need them (out of failing market).

Did you not enjoy programming?

[MyUserName]

I wish I could have learned earlier that managers in companies cannot be trusted and will lie through their teeth to you and tell you what you want to hear.

I would have become a contractor years and years earlier. I am sorry I ever bother with that permie rubbish. Although the market is looking shakey and I am looking at my first period of bench time within 6 months or so, I might feel differently then.


I would like to retrain, you do not get professional fighters in my hobby so that is a no go. I would like to be a chiropractor but I am not sure I could handle the degree course and training ... there must be something I can do. I will come to it eventually!

[expat]

Did you not enjoy programming?

Funny you should ask that. When I started as a mainframe programmer, I actually did enjoy programming. It was work, I enjoyed it, then at the end of the day I left it behind, as one does with a mainframe.

When PCs came along I was delighted, thought they were great, and taught myself to program in C. But strangely, it lacks something compared to mainframe programming. Or rather I suppose, programming was interesting to me when it was new to me.

I guess that's it: nothing I do with computers is new to me now, and I'm just whingeing because it's not giving me much else either. It's just a job. Life could have been more interesting.

[expat]

Do something though, don't let life pass you by!

Good luck.

Thanks for the encouragement, but I'm not doing nothing and letting life pass me by. I'm getting up at 4:20 on Monday mornings to get to work, and getting back home at 23:30 on Fridays. My life is full, just not of fun or interest.

[Gibbon]

Thanks for the encouragement, but I'm not doing nothing and letting life pass me by. I'm getting up at 4:20 on Monday mornings to get to work, and getting back home at 23:30 on Fridays. My life is full, just not of fun or interest.

I meant do something other than work, but that's a punishing schedule. I hate the way when working from home your life gets crammed into a weekend. I know there's stuff to do when away, but's it's not the same.

[Mich the Tester]

Funny you should ask that. When I started as a mainframe programmer, I actually did enjoy programming. It was work, I enjoyed it, then at the end of the day I left it behind, as one does with a mainframe.

When PCs came along I was delighted, thought they were great, and taught myself to program in C. But strangely, it lacks something compared to mainframe programming. Or rather I suppose, programming was interesting to me when it was new to me.

I guess that's it: nothing I do with computers is new to me now, and I'm just whingeing because it's not giving me much else either. It's just a job. Life could have been more interesting.

Are you sure it's a lack of interest in computing that's getting to you? Personally I've never found the computer itself particularly exciting, but I do enjoy working with developers to make software that does useful or innovative things. What gets me down in the IT business is that we seem to spend less and less time doing useful or interesting techy stuff and more and more time writing reports for managermen, conforming to protocols and procedures, carrying out ritual testing according to the corporate template instead of really finding out about what a product can and can't do, shielding ourselves against those who are more skilled in, and indeed only skilled in office politics etcetera.

From time to time a fun project comes along, but I guess that's the problem. I used to say 'from time to time a tulip project comes along'.

[sasguru]

Funny you should ask that. When I started as a mainframe programmer, I actually did enjoy programming. It was work, I enjoyed it, then at the end of the day I left it behind, as one does with a mainframe.

When PCs came along I was delighted, thought they were great, and taught myself to program in C. But strangely, it lacks something compared to mainframe programming. Or rather I suppose, programming was interesting to me when it was new to me.

I guess that's it: nothing I do with computers is new to me now, and I'm just whingeing because it's not giving me much else either. It's just a job. Life could have been more interesting.

I feel much the same. As a teenager I loved programming, it was a challenge - then doing it for commercial orgs it became a chore, there was no challenge- at some point I could knock out elegant and correct code without thinking.
So I did an MSc and moved directions. Can you not do the same?

[d000hg]

I count myself incredibly lucky that as well as the satisfaction of creating something tangible I can see running, I genuinely enjoy the actual programming itself. Even in a crap company or on a boring project the work itself lets me zone that stuff out.

I don't think that many people can say that.