what can i do next

[guowei zhang]

I have MS degree in CS,over five years
experience in states ( mostly in java)
got three certifications:SCJP,SCWCD,SCEA
I just got green card, hunting for
job for more than five months, without
a single direct interview, I am wondering
what I can do next, SCJD? no! i have
real word exprience of developing very
complex java application,heavily multithread,
(I have dig real deep into thread,all the
thread books, all the javaworld thread
articales) I don't even have a chance
to talk with someone on java,btw, getting
SCJD is not hard for me. i think it just
will not help me landing a new job. I felt
shamed that I take all the couse on OS,
AI,database,network, especially compilers
advanced course in school, and even can
design my own language) and now it is so
hard to get a position as a coder.

people can quantify human's IQ, systemized
cooking food into steps,school choose its
students based on GPA,SAT,GRE. being a doctor
means MD degree and license and certification...
but the process of hiring a programer is drastically different, experience is everything,
but how to compare it, quantify it, verify it,
ironically, programer are required to deal with
"if then else" every day. so i can say, the
process of hireing a programmer is really hard
to predict. and understanding that, hope I
know what need to do next.

[Rufus BugleWeed]

IBM has some interesting certifications.
You can write legislators and complain about
accounting fraud.
You can work an open source project.
Hiring programmer is often who you know and not
what you know. They pretty this up by calling it
networking.
Being in the worst bear stock market in 60 years is challenging.

[Mark Howard]

Take a 6-month sabbatical, go deep-sea fishing, try garden landscaping, ... The list is endless

[Charlie Sturman]

Today

Tomorrow

[Roseanne Zhang]

Joining a local toastermaster club, and become a good public speaker might be a good goal for you. I'm serious.

[guowei zhang]

who should call the shot, experienced midwife or less experienced MD, i think midwife will be the winer if IT manager make the decision,this could not happen today in real world,since medical industry is mature enough, but not IT industry,where as long as one is lucky enough everything is possible. my former company hire
someone from poland whose has only higher school degree, claim has sixteen years of experience( he count his school project experience when he is 16) and sounds like know everything Database,CGI,java, c( by showing us he can compile netscape source),....but he constantly made mistake when dealing with simple boolean logic, as long not, and , or comes together, he
need to argue with other for hours after other
point out his logic error, but that doesn't prevent him from talking about physics, to show
that his real interest is not computer, which is not challenging enough. for those techies, his trick doesn't work, but manager has no from hard core computer science backgroud, they both hate unix, and move everthing to window. but they like java, so when the manager is promoted to VP, the polish guy acts like a manager. I would say, miracle happen to midwife, this is a typical example of how IT industry head a wrong direction, hopeful,midwife and MD guy will find the proper position where they belong.

[Ron Moddesette]

I can understand your frustration with the job situation. I would suggest working on your communication and people skills. If you can't convey your technical knowledge to the people who are hiring, they'll never know what they're missing.
Your comments on the Polish guy are irrelevant to finding a job. The office politics you are describing are present in every industry as politics are just part of the human condition.
Good luck.

[Bob E. Lee]

I agree with Ron. You can't control others you can only control yourself. If the person is really that bad soon or later they'll figure it out maybe after a $1M project haa haa good luck.
Bob

Originally posted by Ron Moddesette:
I can understand your frustration with the job situation. I would suggest working on your communication and people skills. If you can't convey your technical knowledge to the people who are hiring, they'll never know what they're missing.
Your comments on the Polish guy are irrelevant to finding a job. The office politics you are describing are present in every industry as politics are just part of the human condition.
Good luck.