We're actually on the same page, Doug, thanks. What was on my mind is that while everyone "knows" they need to diversify, too many do not actually diversify. I know some very smart, highly expert BASIC people who have known for many years that they need to do something beyond BASIC, but they don't. With the recession at its peak people were being sacked everywhere and BASIC-only people were in a panic about what they would do if they lost their job. What did they do? Some went looking for more BASIC-only jobs, though some people cross-trained, and others took the opportunity to retrain themselves completely out of the industry. I don't want to be anecdotal, I'm citing a general flaw that many of us share to some degree. My last four blogs discuss in various ways how MV people cling so dearly to MV-only, to their own detriment and that of this industry. http://Nebula-RnD.com/blog/
Keeping this on-topic, it's not enough for an individual to know that they need to cross-train. A valued employee will do some of it on their own, off-hours, because that's how professionals hone their craft. And they'll ask their company for classes and time to practice on app modernization that the company values. They'll get books and spend time on websites for JavaScript and .NET and HTML5, etc. They'll mention other technologies that can be used to satisfy current business requirements. They'll take initiative on their own behalf, as a matter of their own survival. When they get a new job they'll ask about how they're going to improve their skills in addition to how they're going to use their current skills to help the company. This is the kind of person who distinguishes themselves as a long-term contributor compared to someone who's just selling time for money. Unfortunately our industry doesn't have enough of these people, both in end-user shops and in the VAR channel, and this is why we have a high attrition of end-users leaving to other technologies. (I'm hoping some of our colleagues out there are now thinking about how to open a new discussion with their managers.. If you'd like some help with that, please feel free to email me off-list. TG at-remove-this-anti-spam-mungeNebula-RnD.com.) Best, T On Tuesday, October 8, 2013 3:56 PM, doug chanco wrote: Tony, I agree with everything you said except one thing ..... "And I'm going to alienate about 70% of our colleagues here, but I think a modern interview needs to favor those who have current knowledge of a variety of technologies. A BASIC-only developer isn't going to cut it anymore and people who are BASIC-only are holding onto their jobs because they know their current applications, not for their technical skills ......" I think you have it wrong and that 70% agree with you and 30% will disagree, I don't want to get to far off topic on this off topic topic, but most if not all know that just being a pick basic developer doesn't cut it anymore, pick talks to all kinds of "modern" technologies and the "green screen apps" are going the way of the dinosaurs, so one would have to have their head in the sand to not see that you need more skills than just knowing pick basic and how to create dictionaries and write prok's, having said that your post was well said "as usual" dougc _______________________________________________ U2-Users mailing list U2-Users@listserver.u2ug.org http://listserver.u2ug.org/mailman/listinfo/u2-users
