Re: [school-discuss] Re: Re: [IIEP] Retraining initiative

[Les Richardson <les@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi All,

On Tue, 10 May 2005, Karsten M. Self wrote:

> I realized in the early/mid 1990s which way things were headed, and
> decided to hitch myself to technologies which _weren't_ tied to one
> specific company's fortunes.  From a "keeping current with skills and
> minimizing lossage / turnover" it's been a pretty good strategy.  Rarely
> the top paying gigs, but generally speaking, marketable skills.

I just got tired of the 'moving target'. I'd buy a compiler or some 
software, learn it a bit, and then out would come the next version or 
something with new changes, etc.  Learning the windows API, etc. was just 
a joke.  There was no learning with any kind of 'shelf life'.

The unix/linux, etc. culture isn't like that. Skills continue. Knowledge 
has a much longer shelf life. Plus it's a much richer culture. That's what 
impressed me in the mid 90's with Linux/Unix/GNU and it's associated 
culture, tools, etc.

These ideas, practices, viewpoints have enduring value, IMO.

> > We have a big pool of IT talent unemployed and we see headlines that
> > students do not want to go into tech careers in college. So, we need
> > "retraining" or "skill enhancement" or something.

IT Talent are just the new tradesmen. By having lots of tradesmen around, 
you can ensure that prices for labour costs are kept low. Same thing with 
all the contract work. Hire a 'unit of labour'.

If you want a real job, avoid the trades. (My son is apprenticing as an 
electrician).


Les Richardson