This job is driving me insane!

[Vincent Panessa]

I currently find myself wondering if there is anything better out there, or if the doomsayers are correct with their "it is the same everywhere else" attitude.
I find myself on several "highest priority" projects all due "yesterday" with a supervisor that feels the need to pester me for an update on my progress every hour.
My supervisor also finds the need to promise people things without checking with us stupid little peons first to make sure we can actually DO it.
I am trying to decide if I should suffer here or look for greener pastures elsewhere.

[Rufus BugleWeed]

In my experience, IME?, management learns who can and will produce. Then they overwork that group and overlook the other subset of the work force.
Once they know you are capable, if you slack off, then your team player status is called into question.

[William Barnes]

My last manager would promise anything to anyone. It is a sign of a bad manager. One who doesn't know how to do their job. Doesn't know how to manage projects or people. Their inability to be able to do their job makes your life miserable.
If there is anyway possible change groups and get yourself a new manager. And tell this one you don't appreaciate their poor job performance.

[Mark Herschberg]

Vincent, I storngly recommend that you read book Death March by Edward Yourdon.
--Mark

[Kayla Richard]

Hi Vincent.
I recommend you do look elsewhere before it gets worse, you are probably underpaid as well. It's no fun working with someone like that, you don't need that stress in life.

[John Coxey]

Vincent:
- You need to do a cost/benefits list.
- Meaning. If you are getting paid US$100K/yr - then you grin and bear it.
- If you are getting US$70K/yr - then you work 9AM-5PM PERIOD!!! 40 hours a week baby!!!
- If you geeting US$50K/yr - and have the experience. Then go at your own pace and start looking for work elsewhere.
- if they are paying you US$30K/yr. Use their phone lines and office to conduct your job search and run your e-bay business on the side. Do minimal (if any work).
---------
Seriously, you need to decide if its worth it. Hopefully, you are just having a crap week. Everyone does. It's the emotional rollercoaster of being a programmer. Any programmer - not just Java.
--------
Advice. If you want/need to keep streesfull job - get yourself a cat/dog. Amazing how they relieve the stress. No matter how busy I am at work ... I MAKE TIME for my kitty.
If I don't get home until 10 or 11PM (happened once this week). I still find time to play with kitty for 20 minutes.
--------
BTW/ Kitty can be seen at:
http://members.aol.com/~jpcoxey
-------
Hang in there. Tomorrow things will be better.
John Coxey
([e-mail])

[prem saggar]

Hey John, your cat is gorgeous. Looks just like mine but yours is hairier. I think the fact that this guy is working is good enough. This industry is so bad for IT. I�m leaving IT. I�m a college grad with a Computer Science degree. There is no hope for college grads. So I�ll try something else. At least, I have my health and my heart. Thanks, Prem.

[Stephen Pride]

It has been my experience that a lot of the bigger IT corporations hire college graduates no matter what the economy is like at the time. The consensus, I've been told, is that big corporations are always looking for new blood, and have the deep pockets to do so.
I currently work for one of those big corporations, and I can tell you that they are hiring recent college grads. However, jobs for people who are not recent college grads just don't exist. Matter of fact, we just got a new college grad in our department recently. The only caveat - besides being a recent college grad - is that they need to be an above-average student (which doesn't necessarily equate into being a good employee all the time).

[Rufus BugleWeed]

The consensus, I've been told, is that big corporations are always looking for new blood, and have the deep pockets to do so.

New blood, what a nice term for age discrimination.

[prem saggar]

Large companies hiring college-grads in IT? Are you serious. You must mean Microsoft. IBM is flat, and besides IBM and MS are the only damn large firms left in this mess. Oops, sorry, Intel and Dell. By the way isn't Intel MS's hardware division, and Dell MS's store front? Anyhow, neither Dell or Intel are hiring IT/Computer Science grads. I have checked. I'm a recent college grad and I'm a very good student. None of my friends have landed jobs in IT and a few of them are outstanding.
Don't tell us who you work for. How about just disclosing a location and type of company. If you could.
In fact this guy must be in China, Russia, or India. Entry level jobs in IT are all in Asia now. How's the weather?

[Mike Gray]

Did you get the memo on the TPS reports ???
I 'll forward you a copy of the memo.
Yeahhhhh . . .we have a new cover sheet we are using for the TPS reports. So if you could go ahead and use the new cover sheet, that would be great. . . yeah.
--------------------------------------------------
Just goes to prove that some things in the corporate world are, unfortunately, universal.

[Mark Herschberg]

Originally posted by Stephen Pride:
It has been my experience that a lot of the bigger IT corporations hire college graduates no matter what the economy is like at the time. The consensus, I've been told, is that big corporations are always looking for new blood, and have the deep pockets to do so.

Very true. To the naysayers, I've seen plenty of these big corporations offer jobs, coming to job fairs as alocal universities. Last summer a program I was involved had an 88% placement rate for summer internships (and these were only for sophmores!) out of 70 students. There other 12% took jobs at the university. This summer we're only target to 100% placement rate for 160 students.

Originally posted by Stephen Pride:
However, jobs for people who are not recent college grads just don't exist.

Damn, I guess someone forgot to send a memo to the companies I know who trying to hire senior engineers. I'll let them to know cancel their hiring plans.
--Mark

[Thomas Paul]

Big Recruiters on Campus? Not This Year
Article from ComputerWorld:
http://www.computerworld.com/careertopics/careers/story/0,10801,77856,00.html?SKC=careers-77856

[Mark Herschberg]

Originally posted by Thomas Paul:
Big Recruiters on Campus? Not This Year

Maybe you can send that link to the companies found here, because they keep showing up to campus recruiting activities. Monstertrak also has listings of comapnies recruiting on campus, but you need special access to see those listings.
Seriously, is recruiting down from a few years ago? Well duh. But are there no jobs for seniors? or mid-level engineers? or senior engineers? Absolutely not.
--Mark

[Vitor Belfort]

I agree with the fact that there are no entry level jobs out there... It's beyond pathetic... I was riding the IT wave back in 99 but after I graduated in 2003 reality came back...
Right now I am still working on a contract I singed with a tool company back in November for 4000 dollars... Don't get me wrong I didn't care about the moeny(a complete joke for the amount of work-- it's more a formality), but I need the experience like mad... I'm finishing up the website and the back-end and it was a demanding project.... I used SWT (which is pretty cool stuff) for the back-end by the way...
Is it worth it to sign another contract with the same company for about $10,000? (this time for writing a custom invetory system). Or should I just apply for jobs like a regular person and concentrate all my energy into a hardcore job search?
My intuition tells me that a regular job is hard to come by these days and I should be thankful for any stupid contract I can land... What do you guys think?

[Stephen Pride]

Originally posted by Mark Herschberg:

Very true. To the naysayers, I've seen plenty of these big corporations offer jobs [...]

Yes, me too. As I said recent college grads who are above average students are finding jobs in big corporations. Just a month ago, I saw a party of about 25 students touring the facilities with a guide showing them around. That, coupled with the fact that I have seen recent college grads hired in my company only solidifies my assumption. Funny thing is, this same company went through a round of layoffs within the last two years. Hmmmmm.

[Vitor Belfort]

Well what you saw was subjective... The objective truth is that us recent college grads are becoming street sweepers... which isn't that bad but it's funny

[Aruna Raghavan]

Vincent,
I have been through the "I can't stand this job anymore" experience before. I was getting paid very well but the job didn't offer me any growth prospects. I ended up quitting it and taking up a lower paying job to improve my skills. I am on my way to make my previous salary $$. If it doesn't happen for any reason, I will know that I am in the wrong career and I will need to go find something better to do for a living...