I ran as a contractor through a managed services company for about six years before taking the plunge myself. Whereas now I find myself counting the amount of extra tax I spent the last six years paying in disgust.
It may have been the aforementioned man-in-Alaska mentioning how he could work for 48 hours a day once he'd struck out on his own that possibly contributed to convincing me to do the same. On 6 February 2012 15:47, Michael B. Smith <[email protected]> wrote: > I put off starting my own business for YEARS because I was afraid of what > I already knew. :-) Whereas, in retrospect, I wish I'd done it much earlier. > > I can think of someone else on this mailing list (who is in Alaska this > week) who waited even longer than I did. :-) > > Regards, > > Michael B. Smith > Consultant and Exchange MVP > http://TheEssentialExchange.com > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Maglinger, Paul [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: Monday, February 06, 2012 10:28 AM > To: NT System Admin Issues > Subject: RE: OT - ugh! > > I remember reading something awhile back stating that the reason that some > "non-college educated" people were able to start successful businesses was > the fact that they were not "educated" enough to realize the risks > involved. An interesting thought, isn't it? > > -----Original Message----- > From: David Lum [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: Monday, February 06, 2012 8:33 AM > To: NT System Admin Issues > Subject: RE: OT - ugh! > > No, you don't need a degree to start a billion dollar company, but you do > need brains and a lot of hard work. Of course if it's something you love, > it's not work at all it's a passion, and folks that are passionate about > what they do are what you're looking for. We're better than our less > passionate IT workers simply because we ENJOY the work, learning new ways > to do things, learning how the mechanics of something works, and seeking > out others who have the same passion. I feel I'm better at Windows > administration than my fellow SE's simply because my passion for it is far > higher. > > "Sneaking Out to Write Code: You already know how Microsoft was founded. > Bill Gates and Paul Allen dropped out of college to form the company in > 1975. It's that simple: Drop out of college, start a company, and become a > billionaire, right? Wrong. > > Further study reveals that Gates and Allen had thousands of hours of > programming practice prior to founding Microsoft. First, the two > co-founders met at Lakeside, an elite private school in the Seattle area. > The school raised three thousand dollars to purchase a computer terminal > for the school's computer club in 1968. > > A computer terminal at a university was rare in 1968. Gates had access to > a terminal in eighth grade. Gates and Allen quickly became addicted to > programming. > > The Gates family lived near the University of Washington. As a teenager, > Gates fed his programming addiction by sneaking out of his parents' home > after bedtime to use the University's computer. Gates & Allen acquired > their10,000 hours through this and other clever teenage schemes. When the > time came to launch Microsoft in 1975, the two were ready." > > http://www.wisdomgroup.com/report/10000_hours_of_practice/ > > And another recommended read: > http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/12/a_fast_track_to_10000_hours_of.html > > Dave. > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Ben M. Schorr [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: Saturday, February 04, 2012 6:19 PM > To: NT System Admin Issues > Subject: RE: OT - ugh! > > Apparently you wouldn't HAVE to get a degree to work at Microsoft or > Facebook. Well...at least not to be CEO of either... > > Ben M. Schorr > Roland Schorr & Tower > www.rolandschorr.com | www.officeforlawyers.com | Twitter: @bschorr > > -----Original Message----- > From: David Lum [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: Thursday, February 02, 2012 7:30 > To: NT System Admin Issues > Subject: RE: OT - ugh! > > "This position requires a degree. Sorry. Click." > Wow. I can see the college degree being a tiebreaker, but I can only guess > the person making that statement doesn't fully understand the tech > industry? Or, maybe not having gone to college myself I don't understand > that thinking. > > It could have also been their way of backing out, instead of saying "we > changed our minds on our needs" or "we hired from inside". I've heard of > that kind of thing before - where what the person not getting hired wasn't > told what was really happening. > > Dave > > -----Original Message----- > From: Webster [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: Wednesday, February 01, 2012 5:16 PM > To: NT System Admin Issues > Subject: RE: OT - ugh! > > Last year I was in the final interview for a Citrix Architect position for > a very large company in Nashville. IIRC, it was like interview #6 or 7 in > the process. I had been talking with the executive for over 45 minutes > when "all of a sudden" he says "Oh, I'm sorry I didn't realize you had no > college degree. This position requires a degree. Sorry. Click." > > I then took MBS' advice and went solo. I say screw FTE! :) > > > Carl Webster > Consultant and Citrix Technology Professional http://www.CarlWebster.com > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: MMF [mailto:[email protected]] > > Sent: Wednesday, February 01, 2012 6:43 PM > > To: NT System Admin Issues > > Subject: Re: OT - ugh! > > > > Assuming they're being honest, it tells me that they are not very > > strong in background checking. How could they have missed the fact > > that you've been with one company for more than 10 years. I've NEVER > > ever heard of a company offering a job and then withdrawing the offer, > > period, much less before total background check. I believe that I can > > fully understand the idea of wanting IT staff that has a varied > > background which would include more than one job over a decade. I > > think you are fortunate that you didn't take the job because it sounds > > to me that the organization isn't of the highest quality, if you catch > > my drift. Sometimes things happen for the best in spite of your best > > efforts. They didn't vet you, but how well did you vet them! It's also > obvious that they don't recognize talent when they see it! > > > > Murray > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: James Hill > > Sent: Wednesday, February 01, 2012 6:09 PM > > To: NT System Admin Issues > > Subject: RE: OT - ugh! > > > > I feel for you. > > > > But try and look at this way. If they can't see the value you can > > offer now then it would only be a continual uphill fight if you were > > employed by them. > > > > You are better off with an employer that shares your values. > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Jacob Kisner [mailto:[email protected]] > > Sent: Thursday, 2 February 2012 9:52 AM > > To: NT System Admin Issues > > Subject: Re: OT - ugh! > > > > "Because we feel you are not diversified enough to address our issues." > > > > Same issues I have addressed over the years poor issue management, no > > project management, no documentation, crashing servers, IT staff > > treating the network like a high school lab.. etc. Not only can I stop > > the bleeding and stabilize the patient (gave then how I would do it), > > I can implement a more proactive approach to IT management and stop > > the fires (also gave > > details.) > > > > I guess they rather have the fires... > > > > > > On Wed, Feb 1, 2012 at 3:27 PM, Don Kuhlman <[email protected]> > > wrote: > > > That makes no sense - why do they care where you were for 15 > > > years...Sorry to hear that Jacob. > > > > > > I just started a new position - temp for 9 months, nice place - nice > > > people so far. > > > > > > I'm getting into MAC/Linux support so it's a stretch for me (windows > > > background), but it's a job and a chance to learn. > > > > > > Good luck! > > > > > > Don K > > > > > > ________________________________ > > > From: Jacob Kisner <[email protected]> > > > To: NT System Admin Issues <[email protected]> > > > Sent: Wednesday, February 1, 2012 5:19 PM > > > Subject: OT - ugh! > > > > > > Nothing sucks more than being interviewed for a position at a > > > different company last Tuesday, then being called Thursday to say we > > > are going to offer you a position and finally being told today that > > > we changed our mind... "We did not realize you were with the same > > > company for 15 years..." WTF? > > > ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ < > http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ > > --- > To manage subscriptions click here: > http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ > or send an email to [email protected] > with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin > > > ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ < > http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ > > --- > To manage subscriptions click here: > http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ > or send an email to [email protected] > with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin > > > > > ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ < > http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ > > --- > To manage subscriptions click here: > http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ > or send an email to [email protected] > with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin > > > ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ > ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ > > --- > To manage subscriptions click here: > http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ > or send an email to [email protected] > with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin > > > ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ > ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ > > --- > To manage subscriptions click here: > http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ > or send an email to [email protected] > with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin > > > ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ > ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ > > --- > To manage subscriptions click here: > http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ > or send an email to [email protected] > with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin > > -- "On two occasions...I have been asked, 'Pray, Mr Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' 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