MG>hopefully brief comment! > Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 09:19:56 -0400 > Subject: Re: Training > From: w...@wantii.com > To: user@struts.apache.org > > On Mon, Jun 8, 2009 at 8:51 AM, <stanl...@gmail.com> wrote: > [...] > > > > Great and effective training is expensive and time consuming. My > > step-father is a single proprietor plumber with one of those cool vans full > > of tools and we often discuss his investment in his business. If he does not > > dig deep into his own pocket to keep himself and his tool van sharply honed > > for his customers, his competitor will put him out of business. Does he > > like spending money no training and tools? He says its cheaper to pay his > > dues to remain a professional than it would be to buy a freeezer and convert > > over to an ice-cream and lollipop vendor. > > > > You decide -- professional or a clown driving a musical van. > > > > This analogy is one I often make... Compared to most industries, IT is > in its infancy. Plumbers, electricians, masons, etc. have unions. Not > that I'm pro-union, but the way these unions operate are different > than say the autoworkers union. For one, you can't just buy the van > and tools and expect to open up a plumbing business, these unions > protect their industry to the extent that you have to complete an > apprenticeship before being "in the club" that gets to bid on the jobs > that will put food on your table. Now, I could be completely wrong on > how it works, as this is my outside-view on it (I don't have any close > friends or family in one of these industries). But, the unions also > set pricing so that it is fair to the union members. You can probably > open the phone book and find a low-cost plumber, but its hard since > good plumbers (read - qualified to be in the union) want to retain > their status and ability to bid the big jobs, so they won't stab their > compatriots by undercutting them on price. MG>a subcontractor to a subcontractor to a subcontractror MG>100 iterations later no wonder why the agency only pays min wage! MG>i've worked with folks who wiresharked your email thru their router MG>and advertise their cutrate service to your client BEFORE you have a chance! > > Most of these practices seem unfair, MG>problem when leave the US border and copyrighted material becomes meaningless
> when you're on the outside > looking in, but in IT we spend quite a bit of time dealing with the > lack of governing body. MG>their is the JCP who create the JSRs but they dont enforce > I'm sure I'm not the only one who has had to > deal with some business owner's relative's mistakes. Heck, I even have > an uncle who fixes computers for a few neighbors and thinks I should > consult him on the book I'm writing. MG>getting feedback from the field always a good idea! >It's not that I think we should > start an exclusive club, but I work hard to avoid the situation where > I risk my reputation on a project/job that is doomed from the start. MG>try working for someone where the prev contractor sabotages the doc/code > Certifications became popular a while ago, but went out almost as > quick as they came in since it became easy to study for the test and > not learn the material. I would suggest that a college education is a > good start, but their are multiple problems there - 1) colleges can't > keep up with technology. MG>my biggest gripe of the brick and mortar schools ..they barely cover J2EE MG>most of the technology stacks involve heavy ide (DotNet) MG>and when they do venture to J2EE they teach 1.x versions including Struts > When a student declares a major, there is > sort of an agreement that the list of classes he agrees to take, if > passed, will earn him a degree. 4 years later, how many new features > have been introduced to Java (all of our favorite language), and Java > is fairly stable in this respect. MG>agree.. annotations and generic classes were the last 2 features i've seen 2) Some of the best engineers I know > weren't CS majors, or did not finish. I never finished school, I've > been to 4 different schools and had 4 different majors but career and > family obligations have caused me to postpone finishing over and over > again. I've also worked with English and Music majors that were great > programmers, beating the pants off of some of the CS Masters' I've > worked with. MG>yep.. dale and yourself comes to mind > Anyhow, it's a tough problem that we won't likely solve on this list, > but I eagerly watch the industry as it evolves. MG>competition is a good thing..but outright disloyalty needs to be mitigated MG>Good Analysis! > -Wes MG>MG > > -- > Wes Wannemacher > Author - Struts 2 In Practice > Includes coverage of Struts 2.1, Spring, JPA, JQuery, Sitemesh and more > http://www.manning.com/wannemacher > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > To unsubscribe, e-mail: user-unsubscr...@struts.apache.org > For additional commands, e-mail: user-h...@struts.apache.org > _________________________________________________________________ Windows Live™: Keep your life in sync. http://windowslive.com/explore?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_BR_life_in_synch_062009
