So the past couple of weeks have been interesting for me regarding career options. Perhaps that’s not the right phrase, my career is the same (Software Development, or as we real mean in the trenches say, Programming), the difference is for whom I will be shilling (and I mean that in only the loving-est of ways 
)
But first, a little background. For the past 3 years I have been a contract developer (with the exception of a six moth stint at a marketing company that was a bad fit for me.) Some of that time I did some Independent contracting, but the rest is W2 work from various consulting companies in the vein of temp work (e.g. I was not an in house employee, there was no bench, I was on site at a client for them or I was in the unemployment line looking for the next opportunity.)
It’s not a bad life, however it also isn’t awesome. It used to be, most jobs in my field were full time permanent employee jobs and contractors were called in for special skill sets or to help out with important things that were time sensitive. You might only work eight out of twelve months, but you would charge a premium rate to hold you over when the contract ran out. With the economy as it is these days (years?) many of the permanent positions were removed and replaced with contractors. Of course this flooded the contracting scene and it’s hard to ask for $100 / hour when there are 20 other guys who want to eat and will do it for $30.
Don’t get me wrong, there are specialty contracting gigs that pay very very well, however you need to be a specialist in whatever sector that is. Specialization can improve your bottom line, but can also remove a lot of options because you only do one thing, albeit you do it very well.
I am what I consider to be a Programming “Generalist”. I know a lot of programming languages and technology and can get the job done across the board. Having said that however, I am not the guy you call when you want a security system for million concurrent users architected (although I could implement it given a designed system 
)
At any rate, very recently I received not one, not two, but three different offers from three different employers, and get this, all on the same day. I have never been in this position before. Hell, I have never been in a position with two offers in the same general time period that would have been close enough for me to actually pick one over the other. I have been very fortunate in being able to keep my unemployed time low, but never have I had to choose. I tend to work a job until I’m fed up and quit or downsized.
Well at first I was quite thrilled, it’s nice to have options. So I did what any analytical person does. I fired up excel and ran the numbers. So far so good, there is a clear winner.
Then came the hard part. The non-financial pros and cons lists. The creation of the lists is not really that hard. The difficulty is really having to weigh and prioritize what is important to your happiness and well being and then deciding the risk value of having to take up a con or give up a pro.
For example, maybe you need time flexibility to be able to get your kids where they need to be, maybe their mother could pick up the slack and it’s a non-issue. Maybe you like a longer commute to allow you to decompress after a day of working, maybe you would rather work from home.
Sometimes when comparing two pros and cons list, some of these items cancel each other out. When they don’t you have to decide what makes it worth while to you to overcome the risk of not having it.
And finally, the hardest part of all, actually picking one. I guess that I had come to rely on not having to make a choice and accepting whatever came my way because I have responsibilities I need to honor, and obligations to keep and it is easier accept what you need when you need it then it is to blame yourself for making a bad choice.
In the end, making a bad choice is fine, it happens, it is how we learn. Don’t be afraid of it, do the math, make the lists, make a call and move on. Maybe you’ll need to change course at some point down the line, but that is life. Rest easy knowing you’ve done your due diligence and did the best you could. The rest is the adventure!
I think my friend George hits the nail on the head with this blog post OODA Loop
Yup, I got down-sized :-(
John Minadeo
Summary
Experienced application developer that has been working in software development for the past 11 years with a strong focus on database and backend architecture and data transformations in Microsoft centric environments and strong familiarity with their languages and tools.
Skills
Can display proficiency with the following skills and in the following areas:
Industries: Insurance (Auto), Healthcare, Financial, Internet Development, General Software Development Contracting, B2B / B2C Web Site Development and back-end interfacing
Languages: C#, C/C++, VB (6 and .NET), Python, Perl, PHP, Java, JavaScript
Technologies: XML, XSL/T, HTML, ASP / ASP.NET, Web Services, COM / DCOM, Java Server Pages / Java Servlets, Relational Database Design, Firewalls / Network Security, Webtrends Reporting Package, PayPal Payment Integration
Development Methodologies: Object Orientated Design and Development, Test Driven Design, Agile Development, Waterfall Project Planning, Metrics Reporting
Source Control: Merant PVCS, CVS, Subversion, Visual Source Safe
Tools: MS Visual Studio (5, 6, 2003, 2005, 2008), Beyond Compare, Tortoise SVN, ReSharper
Back-ends: Active Directory / LDAP, MQ Server, DB2
Server Configuration: SQL Server 6.5, 7.0, 2000, 2005, RADIUS, IIS (3, 4, 5, 6) Web Server, Apache Web Server, MS VPN / DHCP, Exchange Server, NameD (DNS Server), Sendmail (Mail Server), Windows Network Administration, MS Certificate Server
Operating Systems: Windows 3.1/95/98/NT/2000/XP/Vista, Linux (Ubuntu, SuSE)
· Enthusiastic personality, Career motivated, Team player, Over 11 years of technical experience.
Experience
2008 – Present Insurance.com http://www.insurance.com
Solon, OH
Application Developer IV
Hired to fill a senior level developer position in the expanding Communication business unit. Primary responsibilities include design and implementation of various forms of customer contact primarily email. Maintained and enhanced the stand alone custom email queuing and sending services written in C#. Also maintained the email content testing system for use by the QA department. Additional responsibilities included enhancing the Quoting Interview application to support and modify queuing logic for the various customer contact types. All development used formal development procedures such as design documentation and implementation plans, design and code reviews, and included the creation of new and maintaining of existing application unit tests using the Nunit testing framework. Also aided in the development of stored procedures and data structures to accommodate new functionality to the system.
2003 – 2007 Progressive Insurance http://www.progressive.com
Application Developer Lead
Originally hired in to the Server Based Rating Platform Team to design, develop, and maintain applications and on-line services to facilitate the quoting and selling of vehicle insurance, primarily in the agent channel of business. Application development used C++ with the standard template library as well as some windows COM components. Created and maintained tools to support the creation and testing of internal applications. Participated in creating the new motorcycle product for use with Progressive’s Comparison Rater initiative piloted with Harley-Davidson/Buell in
2003 – 2003 Cobb Community Collaborative http://www.cobbcollaborative.com
Consultant
Converted existing site to a database driven website to ease future maintenance. Developed Microsoft Access database to fit the client’s lower budget grant-based not-for-profit environment.. Added a web enabled calendar to hi-light community events that can be maintained by the Collaborative and their associates. Provided training for their employees on maintaining the database as well as updating their site with Microsoft FrontPage and Macromedia DreamWeaver. Recommended new site host and migrated site to the new host.
2002 – 2003 Spellbuddy.com http://www.spellbuddy.com
Consultant
Designed and developed XML based website to showcase the client’s products. The site features an easily maintained news system, secure software delivery system, customizable user forums, as well as xml driven emailing subsystem. Database design in a Microsoft SQL Server 2000 environment. Produced in-house Visual Basic 6 and C#.NET tools to update content as well as aid in development of XML systems. Additionally wrote data import and export tools in C# .NET.
2002 – 2003 DrTango, Inc. http://www.drtango.com
Web Application Developer
Developed XML based replacement for the general payment server involving MS SQL Server 2000, in a load balanced clustered environment. Participated in the process to add multiple language capabilities to the flagship product. Documented existing procedures and internally developed components. Participated in switching T1 providers for both the site connectivity and the VoIP phone system. Participated in the design and implementation of the network after a second remote site was added. Administered multiple MS SQL Servers, and load balanced IIS clusters as well as internal development IIS servers. Created documentation for developer’s of the application as well as documented the various components that make up the application. Re-Developed HTML Newsletter mailer in C# .NET.
1996– 2002 NetForce Development, Inc. http://www.nforce.com (no longer in business)
Senior Systems Analyst
The company was relatively small (15-18 employees) and most of my duties were that of a Senior Systems Analyst, though technical policy also fell on my shoulders.
Active Server Pages scripting for websites including pulling data from and storing data to databases, NT network administration (installs/setups, configuration, Exchange Server, SQL Server, MSDNS, IIS, MTS), Custom applications using Visual Basic 5 and 6, Server Side Com component creation for use under IIS in VB and within administrative scripts. I also lead development efforts for Client Systems Analysis and Database Design. Aside from development, I also performed the following duties: Project Management, tutoring junior programmers, Security policy, Backup policy, Corporate Email Usage policy, devised / documented / implemented and trained staff in Programming standards and Best practices. I advised management in Company growth planning, procedures for client problem call tracking, virus scans, client contact tracking, backups, technology research and selection plans for adoption into production environments, and wrote client technical proposals.
Some projects I lead the development at used Project Plan and Timeline creation, deliverable schedule, and team member coordination as well as documentation for all stages of the development cycle. And include E-Commerce site for the Sewing Machine division of the international company Husqvarna Viking (http://ordering.husqvarnaviking.com/). An E-Commerce site which links authorized HV resellers and their customers to products available directly from Husqvarna. Integrated online sales with an AS400 at the
Team Lead during onsite project at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cardiology Department to develop a Clinical Study Tracking and Reporting System for internal and subscription use. Using a 3-Tier Architecture model and COM / DCOM on the Microsoft Windows platform.
Team Lead on in house development for commercial release of OLLA (OnLine Learning Academy (http://www.olla.net)). A Department of Defense funded research project of Lockheed Martin. My company took rights to the source, and repaired for production in D.O.D. schools. The
Team Lead on Extranet for Crystal Internet Venture Fund. A internal website for clients authenticated to their network to view status of venture capital considerations currently pending.
1994–1996 Cyberspace Construction Company
Programmer
Conversion of data and databases from DB2 to MS Access and flat files using the C programming language. Additionally automated routine repetitive (such as newsgroup processing, email sending) tasks with scripts and programs.
Education
1999 Develop
“Building Distributed Applications Using Visual Basic and COM”
1994 – 1996 Electronic Technical Institute
Associates Degree in Electronic Engineering
1993 – 1994 Cleveland State University
1 year of core college education with an un-named major.
Interests
· Music (both listening and playing). I play guitar, bass, drum machines, and a little keyboard.)
· Computer games development.
·
Recommendations available upon request.
References available upon request.
An unfortunate turn of events
So, apparently my company will be downsizing, with IT taking the brunt of the cuts… By rough estimation, it’ll end up being around 20%. Doing the math that ends up being 3.5 developers. I am the 4th newest, but the most recent fills a singular specific job that’s not going away, and my gut says he’s safe. Which puts me at #3 
My company is pretty choosy about the hiring process and it’s personnel, and truly, there is no chaff at all to cut. It seems that the only logical choice would in that scenario would be people with the least amount of connectedness which to me suggests “Last In, First Out” (pardon the programmer humor)
At any rate, a great bunch of guys and a very viable company, I hope they do well and that I continue my employ.
Cross your fingers for me folks, I’ll know July 2nd.
–Regards!