Topic: Sucky job market

Well I made a gamble and quit my job, took a severence package, and moved from Houston to Indiana (where I was born and raised). Jesus H. Christ my chips are down!!!

This market absolutely sucks for web designers to find fulltime jobs in. I've found freelance work here, fortunately! If I knew it was going to suck this bad I would've stayed in Houston.

Anyone care to come over and cry in some beer with me?

I can sympathize my market sucks also. I get the occasional freelance job but almost all the companies in my locale suck bad. I would almost be insulted to be affiliated with them. There is just such a tragic talent vacuum here...

I live in Southern NY state (40 minutes north of the NewYorkCity) and it sucks here as well. Silicon Alley in NYC is experiencing the same drought. I have been attending pink slip parties in Manhattan and people are saying that September there should be signs of increased hiring...but who really knows.

CRO8

Man everything sucks lately.


_________________
Fall into the D a r k

saturation...desaturation...these words mean something?

You wonder why it's tough to get a nice, comfy job? Well, it sure does make sense to me. The market is OVERLY saturated with no-talent hacks (no implications, please) and many don't need twelve of them on staff. Layoffs? I call it stabilization. We're reaching towards an equilibrium, not a weak market.

Jobs are always tough.

The moment I got my current job (which has been over a year now) I started looking for another one. Keep your options open, keep your backdoors close at hand, and always make sure there is a bottle of Scotch around when you really need it.

You want to talk difficulty? Talk to me about the twelve year-olds that are fairing better because they work cheaply. Tell me how it is dissimilar to sweat-shop work.

Then we'll talk about how sucky things are.

Then we'll talk about how difficult it is to get a job.

Then we'll talk about the Net and where it's going. Let me put in this motion: it's not going where you want it to go. Chances are high that if you don't have a job now, you aren't going to get one without a specialized coup d'etat. That's the way it's going, and that's the way that keeps me happy.

Break some necks, take some pay-cuts, but keep food on the table...the Mantra of the new Economy.


s t e p h e n

Twitch, as you know from some e-mails I respect your opinion, really, but here are my points:

What market are you in???
I am a Systems Administrator for a huge ( hint: founded by Ross Proze in 1964) consulting company and I see no layoffs or anyting even come close to that. I see no job cuts for a looooooooonnnnngg time ( if any ) So I guess my position is pretty stable. My company is ALWAYS hiring for various positions from Acounting to Rocket Scientist ( I am serious on the last one )

Web design or as nice you call a person in your position " web developer". It's tough... let's face it. There is SO MANY "web designers" out there. it's sick. Did you ever try to go to www.google.com and try to do a search on web designers??? try it.. you will see what kind of shit design you get.

From my experience.. I learned this... if you are an artist of any kind, musician, painter, web designer, you are always limited, there is not as much money as it suppose to be...

Want more money? It is a time for a career change..

Twitch.. with all due respect.. how many hours do you work per week? Honestly... you get home from your "day job" how many hours is that? and how many hours do you spend working on clients sites after your " day job"???

Count all the hours divide them by the money you acctually made.. But I guess if you like what you do... can't bitch about job market or money... right???

So here are my points...

"IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU DO AND DON'T CARE ABOUT MONEY... KEEP DOING IT... IF YOU WANT MORE CASH... LOOK FOR A NEW CAREER"




:: Max ::
Simplified.E.Solutions

uh-oh.....

hmm...

Re-reading what I had to say, I don't recall saying anything that even resembled *me* complaining. I think it was more giving reasons why people *shouldn't* complain.

So, umm...

Hi!

The hours and hours I spend in front of a machine making things for the 'Net (or for print, which I also do a wealth of) is put into the category of Time Well Spent, because I love it.

...I think that is pretty evident.


s t e p h e n

For once I agree with you twitch

_________________________________________________________________

I just felt that I'd quote this comment of twItch^'s, because it was just so *right*. Do what you love, and be happy, dammit! What's so tough about that to understand?

quote:

---

The hours and hours I spend in front of a machine making things for the 'Net (or for print, which I also do a wealth of) is put into the category of Time Well Spent, because I love it.

---

When I was 30, (lo, these 13 years past now) I had my own design company in Manhattan, designing and building custom furniture for rich new yorkers. My office was out of my home, and I had a factory out in Queens. I made good money but spent most of it just making ends meet, and paying the cabinetmakers. Here's the point though, I HATED IT!!! I was a whore, I designed crappy, ugly, (well-made! =) things based off of specifications of people who didn't know what looked good, and I got paid for it. I had a "crisis of confidence", some kinda mid-life crisis, maybe 10 years early.

So! I sold my company at a loss, took my money and moved to Minnesota where I had some friends. I took a job paying $5.50/hour as a junior printers asistant in a big printing company, had access to millions of dollars of cool toys on my off-time, and tried getting back to my art. Along the way, I ended up with some IRS difficulties and instead of having a big nest egg, I was now broke. But still, oddly enough, happy. (Go figger.) I stayed with this firm for 7 years, eventually becoming general manager. Along the way I got back into computers, and in 1994 left them to get into this whole "web design" thing.

Why am I telling this story again? The whole point is, MONEY IS SHIT, and happiness is everything. Do what you want, don't worry about the pay if you don't have a family to feed and clothe, and count yourself lucky if you get to do what you like to do. Givne enough time, you'll make the big bucks if that's what's important to you, but for now, don't count on it, the market really *is* kind of tough, you're not imagining it!

Your pal, -doc-

Tho I wouldn't put it quite the same way Doc did I completely agree, it's not about the $. If it is you don't want to be a designer, hang on for a bit and see what follows "computer animator" and "web designer" as the next hot profession

I spent some time in a very low-end dot-com job where I made decent money for being straight out of school, then went to a consulting firm where I did pretty well and bailed to do my own thing for a year. After running my own company and freelancing I decided I needed to learn more and I've ended up in about my dream job, a true design firm that does all kinds of design work (print, web, multimedia, video) in an awesomely laid-back creative environment. I work with incredibly talented people who don't have egos and love sharing their knowledge and I love going in to work. I work longer hours than I did at my last job, and I'm making a bit less than when I started at the consulting firm, and I could give a flip less about that. Truly enjoying what you do is pricless...

Chris


KAIROSinteractive

I forgot how to enjoy what I do used to love designing in the automotive industry... last several years it has lost its 'fun' part..

*goes back to mopping the west wing*

~Vp~