Preserved Topic: General questions

Just some general questions for you all:

Seems like there's an abundance of students here, this question is to the actual paid professionals.

Q: Has the stock market downturn affected you? Are you receiving lower/less offers/ more competition? Are you getting offers that want you to know more, different stuff than before? (like back-end..etc.)

Q: Do you work for an actual dot-com? (either full time or contract) Or do you provide web services for more traditional companies? Which is the preferred employer?

I'm trying to break in, and right now, it seems kinda scary...alas, timing has been my downfall my whole life *sigh*

[edit] As an aside, anyone here actually invest in ADBE?{/edit}
Thanks

[This message has been edited by heddaLettis (edited 20-12-2000).]

The recent trials and tribulations surrounding the stock market haven't really affected me that much, but I was very wise in my investments; so that's all fine and dandy. However, I do realize that they have touched upon my company's workload, in that Internet startup campaigns are, and have been for quite some time, considered to not be a worthwhile investment. The recent numbers from the holiday crazes more than solidifies this belief, in that companies like Target.com have blown out the competition--save for Amazon.

I actually work for a software development company that has shifted focus to internet development; so, I get the opportunity to work with not only eCommerce sites, but also some of the traditional companies, whether in design or implementation. Honestly, I can't say I perfer one over the other, they're both pains in the ass.

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But in all actuality, I don't think you'll find much difficulty coming into the situation; especially if you're a talented designer or dedicated programmer. Both are in short supply to counteract the huge demand that is being requested of them.

And no, I don't invest in ADBE; I'm not an idiot. hehe

Well, I'm based here in Stockholm, one of the biggest centers in europe for this whole "e-consulting" thing. We've got Icon Medialabs, Cell, Framfab, Spray, all of these companies have thousands of employees, and this stock thing has hit them all *very* hard. In august I left the marchFIRST offices me and 5 others started here in Stockholm at the end of last year, and my timing couldn't have been better. Certain areas got closed down completely, part of the downsizing from corporate headquarters. (Branding was completely shut down, to be fair though, they also hadn't sold any jobs yet!) The Technology and Web Design departments are still holding on, but clients have gotten cheap, nobody wants to spend too much in this atmosphere.

In August I started my own internet startup, the plan for our business is to sell a back-end service to all the e-commerce and portals we saw as being in big trouble, and they were going to be needing things to give them an "edge". Heh, looks like we saw what was coming better than most! (Not enough, though, my personal stock investments got slammed, I made some stupid investments. Like marchFIRST, for example, which lost 98% of it's value. Ouch!)

Basically, your traditional internet startup is having a hard time nowadays, who wants to invest money when these companies are dropping like flies? If your business plan has anything to do with e-commerce or making money from advertising, you're in trouble. My own plan comes perilously close to this, but is slightly different in that I hope to make my profit from those "other folks" in the wrong end of the food chain, heh.

Many of the folks I know working for the big consulting firms are facing a constant threat of lay-off, regardless of whether they're profitable or not, it's easy to panic when you're down 98% of your value! Quite a few talented people I know are not waiting around for things to get worse, and are leaving to start their own small consulting firms. As the corporate belts get tightened, there's a good market for talented and experienced professionals to make a good living, freed from the burden of a huge worldwide infrastructure. Targetting a small but profitable company like this would be my first choice if I was in the job market today. (Actually, I've been around, and could probably extort a nice high-paying job from one of the big boys, helping them turn things around. Not sure if I'd want a job like that, but I could get one.)

Any help, was that? Hard times in this business, but not so much with the "finding of work", more with the "making of profit", heh. As twItch pointed out, there *is* lots of work still needing to be done out there, just as there's lots of stuff being sold over the internet. The biggest problem with the industry today is with the fact that nobody seems to be making much money from it! Ride the storm out, with a company that is actually making money, they will survive, and so will you.

Your pal, -doc-

I am an independent consultant and have had a contract all this year with a large ISP, BroadWing. The ride has been rather bumpy because they can't make up thier minds how long they want to keep me here. "We want you to stay nine months, no, no two months, no seven months, ..." I think they decide they need to keep me through the middle of next year before the stock market started to slide. So I have been a little more stable than usual.

Normally I plan to be out of work from mid-November to mid-January every year. I set aside money to allow for it and I use the time to work around the house and get computer project completed. I'm really missing that time off this year. But, the extra money is nice.

I don't think the slide in the stock market has affected me much. This is normally a slow time of the year anyway. I will know better by mid-January.

Actually I was affected more last year by the Y2K scare. Companies were laying consultants off early (mid-September) and didn't start hiring until late February because they were afraid of what would happen 1 Jan 2000.

As far as preferred employers go, I have worked as a consultant for fifteen years and prefer to work that way. I get to feeling clostrofobic when I work for someone as an emplyee. But that is just me. You have to consider your personal needs and how well you and your family will deal with life if you are working as a consultant. I would not have been able to work this long as a consultant if it had not been for the support my wife gives (emotional not economic).

Yes the market is a little soft right now and I haven't had many job enqueries in the last month, but I expect the market to pick up in January or February so that would be a good time to expect to land a job.

Too true, this has *always* been a tough time of the year in this biz. Most corporate sites have either spent all of their budget by now, and are waiting for the new year (and budget!), or are calling around right now to try and spend the last of this years budget with panic titmetable projects. January is usually where most people get lots of time for research and such, as companies decide how to spend the money they have allocated.

Your pal, -doc-