--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu <noozguru@...> wrote: > > On 03/04/2013 09:44 AM, turquoiseb wrote: > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu <noozguru@> wrote: > > > You're lucky at your age a company will hire you. In the > > > US you would be considered "over the hill" regardless of > > > how good you are. Hell, you would be "over the hill" if > > > you were even 20 years younger. That's how screwed up > > > jobs are in the US. They're rather hire someone cheap with > > > 5 years of experience than someone with 6 times even though > > > in the long run it saves money because the person with 5 > > > years experience might take 3 times as long to do the > > > project or screw it up entirely. > > > > I understand. The client would not be able to hire me as > > an employee, because the mandatory retirement age in France > > would forbid it. But as a consultant I'm fine. Go figure. > > > > I also come with a track record that the client values, > > because the project is so high-profile. I have a proven > > history of having a Protestant Work Ethic in a country that > > does not necessarily value them. I simply don't miss project > > deadlines; never have, in my entire career, and never will, > > even if I have to invest double the hours they're paying me > > for to achieve that. > > > > Plus, this is a team on which I will be the senior person, > > working with a number of less experienced people and at > > least one intern, so they're hoping I'll provide a bit of > > leadership. And *without* having to be a project leader > > myself, which is of interest to me, because I've been there > > done that with that, and I'm a really shitty manager. I'm > > best as a "hired gun" and as an advisor, and in this gig > > I'll get to be both, without having to get bogged down in > > endless meetings and red tape and bureaucracy. > > > > All good, as dem Chrisschuns say. :-) > > One thing I noticed though slowly after going back to working > at home after leaving the software company in the 1990s was > the lack of social scene. For one thing I only lived a couple > miles from the company where I had worked so was still invited > to things and often had a weekly lunch get-togethers at an > Indian restaurant. Even after some of the other folks who > worked there got laid off when a larger company acquired > the company we still got together. So noticing this was slow. > But eventually the large company closed that office and some > still working there moved closer to the large company way out > of this area. What also made it a slow transition was doing > projects for a friend who was a former worker there who had > his own software company located in Oakland. Though I did his > projects as a contractor he would often have some social events. > I still do projects for him but those are getting fewer and he > has started using offshore companies such as one in Brazil > (in fact talked of us flying down there to visit it).
I understand. I left the world of going to an office of my own volition, after having worked in the offices of ILOG in Paris for a few years. I still enjoyed the work, but an opportunity arose that I simply couldn't pass up (to move to the south of France and live next door to my best friend and Robert Crumb). So I threw myself on my French company's mercy and told them first that I was moving, and *then* asked if they'd allow me to telecommute and continue working for them. To my everlasting joy, they went for it. So I got to enjoy life in the south of France, and then Spain, and then here in the Netherlands, all while working from home, wherever home might have been at the time. That said, did I miss the camaraderie of the folks I knew in the offices back in Paris? You betcha. The whole social routine of logging out and going "off the clock" and then continuing to hang with the people you work with at a cafe or bistro or club or restaurant was WAY cool, and yes, I missed it to some extent. That's what I'll be going back to in Paris. I still have many friends there. [snip] > So maybe you might enjoy the social atmosphere of the company. > Personally I hate big businesses as they have "too many rules". This is definitely Big Business. But I know the rules, and have no problem following them because, as your acquaintance who later went to Microsoft said, sometimes the rules make sense. > Be sure to check out the season finale" of Enlightened. > Anyones guess at the moment if there will be a season 3. I've downloaded it but have not yet seen it. I have been thoroughly enjoying this season, and feel it's achieved a great deal more depth. I think Mike White is one of the most talented people writing for television, and I certainly hope it's renewed.
