Can't resist. First thing that came to my head!! (And a mantra that I can very much relate to)
Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’99 If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience…I will dispense this advice now. Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind; you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded. But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked….You’re not as fat as you imagine. Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday. Do one thing everyday that scares you Sing Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours. Floss Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind…the race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself. Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how. Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements. Stretch Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life…the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t. Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone. Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children,maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary…what ever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either – your choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s. Enjoy your body, use it every way you can…don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own.. Dance…even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room. Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them. Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly. Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future. Understand that friends come and go,but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young. Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft. Travel. Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders. Respect your elders. Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out. Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will look 85. Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth. But trust me on the sunscreen… On Aug 17, 2008, at 8:44 PM, John Hornbuckle wrote: > When I look at the number of IT people I know—really good people > with great expertise—who put in a ton of hours for mediocre pay, I > can’t help but conclude that it’s just not that easy to go out and > negotiate more pay. My sense is that jobs like yours are few and far > between. > > I absolutely agree that it’s all about supply and demand; there’s a > healthy supply of IT people willing to let themselves be screwed. I > encounter them on a regular basis. If they quit, someone else will > be willing to take their place. > > As for education… I scored in the 74th percentile on the GMAT, and > my Master’s classes start on the 25th. > > J > > > > From: Ken Schaefer [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Sunday, August 17, 2008 8:13 PM > To: NT System Admin Issues > Subject: RE: So, Why Do We Do It? > > From: John Hornbuckle [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Monday, 18 August 2008 12:27 AM > To: NT System Admin Issues > Subject: RE: So, Why Do We Do It? > > I’m not so much concerned about the specific titles used as I am > about sysadmins, as a group, being paid well for their expertise and > time. Call me an administrator, call me an engineer, call me a geek— > I don’t care, so long as you don’t ask me to work 60 hours a week > for 40-hour pay. > > Well, if you want more pay, then go out and negotiate more pay. > There are places that will pay for good staff – but proving that you > are actually good can be the tricky part. > > If you don’t want to work 60 hours, then don’t, or find a new job. > > Salaries are, at the broadest extreme, determined by supply and > demand. If you want to be able to demand better conditions or higher > wages, then you’re going to need to move yourself to a market niche > where you skills/knowledge/experience command a premium. > > FWIW, I’m on a nice six figure package. But I have two degrees (inc > a Masters in business), a bunch of current certs (3 x MCITP, MCSE > +Security, MCBDA), track record at my company, Microsoft MVP, > written a couple of books, spoken at plenty of tech.eds/conferences > etc. I do this other stuff because I like helping people, but it > also helps career-wise. People are much more likely to approach you > to work on a large, enterprise, project for $1000/day or $2000/day > *if* you have a reputation as one of the leaders in the field. > > There are too many crap people in IT – people who don’t really > understand what they’re doing, and have no interest in doing so. > They think they’re going a good job technology wise, but really they > deliver poor business outcomes (compared to what they could > potentially deliver if they used technology better). I think that’s > one reason why a lot of smaller companies aren’t willing to spend > big dollars on IT salaries – too much risk of getting someone > rubbish. But if you go to somewhere like a large bank or technology > company – companies that depend on technology and understand how > technology is vital to keeping their business running, then you can > certainly earn a lot more. > > Cheers > Ken > > > > > > > > > > > If this email is spam, report it here: > http://www.OnlyMyEmail.com/ReportSpam ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~
