So the company I work for – a software development and business analysis company – has been having some trouble keeping its head above water lately. All around us we can see companies much like ours dropping like flies and filling for bankruptcy seems to be the newest craze. People all over the world must have noticed it, especially in the IT industry; we are in a recession.
Our company, having a fairly solid customer base have fared fairly well compared to some other companies out there, but with the recent bankruptcy of one of our customers, and the subsequent ass-rape of not receiving a substantial amount of money from them, things have become quite hairy around here. There is less work, and the work that is out there is harder to claim since the potential customers are worried about over-investing and are hanging on to their money. The fact that there are a handful of large IT companies out there that have the financial leeway to offer their consultants at significantly reduced costs, really doesn’t help companies like mine.
We have currently made it through the first month of not making enough money to break even and people are starting to worry. Gartner Consulting Group thinks that the recission might start to look up about halfway through 2003, while our company predicts that at this rate, they’ll have to file for bankruptcy in December. They have come up with three options;
1. Voluntary downsizing your workweek from 40 hours to 32 and thereby taking a 20% cut on all your pay [including all benefits.]
2. Lay-offs.
3. A combination of the two.
While I am not a cash-cow within my company, and I am fairly inexperienced, should it come to lay-offs, there will be a large chance I am going to be axed. They want to make a swift decision if they want to let people go, since then they’ll have some money to send them off with a good-riddance payment and end the relationship on semi-friendly terms and not tossing someone out in the cold. By friday April 26th they’ll have decided with what option to go, and will announce it to all people working here. By thursday April 25th, all people that will end up being fired will have heard.
So it’s not going to be very long until I know if I’m going to be laid off or not, and most likely they’ll give me a nice good-riddance payment that will help me through one or two months, however…what then?
You see, I don’t see myself tossing my unemployed ass on the great heap of job-seeking IT’ers that are out there at the moment. I’d rather wait until the time is a little better in order to start looking for a job that suits me a little better instead of taking whatever scraps I can get. But that might take a while, and in the meantime I’ll have to find something to support me and my expensive habits. I wouldn’t mind taking a hiatus from IT and working something completely different. Those who know me, know that I often think about what it would be like if I had chosen a completely different professional life for myself. Something like a Marine Biologist, or a bicycle repairman. Hell, I could even become a clown just like Crazy Elf…I often wonder.
Also, the thought has crossed my mind of going back to college, and getting a second degree. Although I have no fucking clue what I’d go and study, but I’d know it would be far removed from anything I know now. All this will most likely lead to a dramatic reduction in income at the least, perhaps a while of unemployment at the worst.
And while my tickets to the Bulldrek Gathering are bought and paid for by Mr. VISA, they are refundable and – if money gets tight – I might have to forego on the entire plan of coming over. Now this is all doomsday scenario thinking here, but something I have to keep in mind.
So, oh lovely Internet Community…what do you think I should do if and when I do hear that I’ve been axed?
Easy Depends on what you want most. Money, education, entertainment. Out of these there best be a priority.
For cash, and quick cash for the meantime, go sell yourself to a club or bar. Hospitality is easy work to get a hold of, if you can manage to throw yourself into the shitty hours that are asked of you. By doing night shifts you can also get a sizable paycheck if you’re on the books, and if you’re off the books then you get government benifits at the same time.
All is well in toon town.
Education is a matter of going to the universities and selling yourself to them, or at least getting enough back up material or lies to get you in. Shouldn’t be all that hard for you to do if you’re already in with a degree, but preparation makes perfect, so you best look into it, and figure out WHEN is the best time to do so.
If you want entertainment, then the solution is much much more complex.
Give, up, everything.
Hot Item Bad news, dude… I know that my company is breaking even at the moment, but they don’t have any heavy financial problems yet. You’re in a tight spot, I just hope your company makes it, because from what I’ve seen and heard you’ve learned a lot there, and you aren’t done learning yet.
I’ve had a big discussion about this problem last week. Seeing as how the really big issues that were crucial to companies have all been implemented (The Y2K problem and the € conversion) the so-called “false” market is now gone. The prediction as Gartner states it is what everyone is expecting.
But things will have changed. What large projects are coming up that companies of different branches of industry should invest in?? Wil the IT market create a new market or will it follow traditional comanies in their need and desires?
The answers to aforementioned questions might shed some light on what the IT sector could mean for you Deev…if you get axed that is. I don’t know if , on short notice, you’ll be able to find a new employer that can give you what Hot Item has given you. So a break from IT might be a good option.. Which way to go?? I’m afraid I cannot tell you… it depends on what you think is interesting. Just try to find something you’d like to do, otherwise you won’t keep it up.
If you need more input you can aways call, email or just post another reply… good luck and keep me informed, I’d like to know what’s gonna happen.