4.27.2003
Are You Just Like Everyone Else?
The Aquamarine Fairy tells me that since he acquired his PMP certification, they are not calling him for the low-paying lint-picking kinds of jobs anymore. He feels great about that. Better yet, now they are calling him for six figure jobs commensurate with his experience and background. He likes that even better. The lesson to be learned here is that if you have the same skills everyone else does, you are nobody special and they will rent you for whatever price they feel like paying. However, if you have unusual skills, those that are in high demand, or have particular knowledge in a specialized career field, then your pay doesn't suffer as much in a recession (if at all) and you're treated with some degree of respect in your job search. It pays not to be a commodity.
Good news and positive signs?I knew there was going to be some kind of delay in the hiring frenzy this year. I did not feel things start to pick up in March the way they usually do. (I've never seen it start this late before; mid-April?) I knew the war was going to be a factor, but I was not sure just how much of one it would be. Moreover, I did not think that it should have been.
I am profoundly irritated by the skittish, hare-brained mentality of "the market". It is ridiculous. Sure, the current conflict has some effect on us economically, but let us face facts here. The US is a huge country, not just geographically but economically. It is THE economic powerhouse of this planet. Moreover, we are so big in this regard that a conflict with another country the size of Iraq should not have had the market impact that it has had.
How are companies really going to benefit by delaying their hiring a month or so until the "uncertainty is resolved"? What it really does is help their bottom lines. The same work is done with more people. Of course, the people who work are stressed out, overworked, burnt out, or ready to snap like brittle twigs. They do not complain because they need their jobs. If they do become worn out, there are many unemployed willing to take their jobs for whatever pay they are offering.
Now, since we have "achieved" the "fall" of Baghdad, hiring is starting to go way up. I have been noticing 450 - 600 jobs available in the State of Colorado alone through dice.com over the past couple of weeks. How does the war in Iraq have any realistic causal relationship to the amount of jobs of the Colorado economy? You tell me. But at least things are improving.
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