Good thought going there.

Too bad the economy is in the shape it is. Because of it, some of these individuals in the position to use us "old geeks" will not. Instead, they will continue to outsource/offshore as much as possible or that they can get away with - as long as they don't raise the ire of the American public.

If they do not go the route of outsourcing / offshoring, then they will look to younger individuals at a much reduced payscale.

Age and experience are highly valuable areas not to be lightly disregarded. Look at Chesley Sullenberger, the US Airways pilot who safely crash landed his Airbus in the Hudson - PURE EXPERIENCE!!!
And the airlines are forcing (I believe they still are) older, more experienced pilots to retire. Even if they have no disabilities or diminished capabilities.

Staying in a legacy state is not the best solution going forward for anyone (I know that this is not the intent of this article). However, going with the latest, greatest and glitzeist is not always the best solution.

So, yes, great thought, great initiative. I will note though, a few of these individuals in a position to change policy might just look at the 'Geek Registry' and do something about the legacy culture and grab a few of the ol' Geeks...

Good luck all,
Patrick
(another old geek but with recent degrees)
MBA MSIA CISSP-ISSEP

Globalism, like any new paradigm, works for some while hurting others. Politics is the arena where those who benefit fork over cash to buy continuity of policies from government and those who are hurt gather up signatures to beg for protectionist relief. History teaches that the politics of economics is modernity's substitute for traditional empire-building warfare, and therefore a more genteel way of dispensing Social Darwinism. Capital seeks exploitable labor & resources, labor seeks maximum compensation, and new laborers will slave away for mere survival wages. The Great Leveling is underway, and after the deflation we will live in a different World. Maybe us Old Geeks will have value in unexpected places, in newly formed niches in a Global Ecosystem. Hang in there and look for opportunities...

Unfortunately, corporate and wisdom are an oxymorion, when conjoined as a term.

Our national identity is linked with speed, at the expense of effectiveness; price, instead of actual value; and lusts for the newest, latest and greatest bells and whistles, instead of a reasoned plan of achieving goals.

In the early days of my career, it was never permitted to deliver code with bugs of any kind. We worked in a smaller overall code space, and had to develop systems that functioned perfectly, every time. Patch releases woulld have been treated like Frankenstien's monster.

When we got an operating system update, it was a real upgrade, which worked as it was supposed to. Programmers placed copious notes in their code to help users work more effectively with it, and projects were built when it made sense to do so. We actually spent more time building projects than fixing bugs, because we started out with the idea that only the best was acceptable.

Now our busieness practices say close is good enough, and an error here and there is ok. We take the view that 80-90% is good work, worthy of an award or praise.

We also discard people who have, through life, garnered a good deal of practical wisdom, and a lot of valuable experience. We are possibly the only nation that fails to properly recognize the battle scars that appear through the process of age and experience. Our nation does not value the wisdom that can only be acquired through life experience. In out lust for youth, and cheap labor, we forget that it sometimes costs many times as much as simply hiring good, dependable, effective people with a few stripes on their chests. I have been in this game a lot longer than all of the certifications that have sprung up, and coded in object oriented formats, long before someone coined the term. I have used ebrythign from symbolic languages, to assembly coding.

It is amazing what the youger set missed. the tools may have beecome more graphic, but the strange thing is that the youger set simply doesn't really understand things at a truly granular level. they are too impatient to actually take the time to learn, and think of all of us old-timers as washed-up has-beens. How unfortunate for them and for the companies who employ them.

I can remember a young guy who ran the IT, while I managed the telecom for a commpany saying that without IT, the telecom didn't matter. How odd, considering the structure of the OSI model. Who can name a netwowrk that will work without telecom? Even Wi-Fi connects to the Internet through telecom, and no VOIP works without a pipe, which comes from telecom.

This is the kind of thing that causes me to have nightmares, because it is these same short-sighted, self-serving individuals who will crearte errors, and worse yet disasters of immense proportion at some time in the future. Outages in the power grid, or telecom networks will be causd be this type of stupidity and brashness.

Speed may be good in an auto race, but when coding and products have to deliver quality of life, or in some cases keep someone alive, it is mandatory that the product be treated with a reverence toward perfection. Younger poeple for all of their enthusiasm cannot match wits with those of us who have been around the block a few times. We have the years it takes to step back and consider the perspecties of a situation, and take a thoguhtful look at what the contingencies are and how bes to prepare for them.

Employers would be wise to venerate tradition and experience, instead of trying to hire the cheapest labor they can find. Sometimes it pays to consider the higher price of that "bargain" brand...

Uh-huh...good luck...

Take a look at the guys 'leading' us...like the CxOs at northern Telecom and Merrill Lynch for two...they are why we are where we are...skill and experience be dammed...just give me some more of that cheap overseas labor, a big fat bonus for eliniating all those american overpaid workers, and a million dollar office and a few corporate jets so I can commute to work!

The politicians come in a close second...memememe... thats all they are worried about...themselves and their wealthy friends and lobbyists...TARP is the perfect example...leave the people who caused this mess with their jobs... give-em a trilion or two to save themselves and the politicians who are invested with em...

The rest of us can drop dead!! Nothings changed and likely will not till the guns come out again like 1776!!

Most of us who have come through many of the generations of IT technology could learn something from the surfers. They have basic skills that are useful no matter the venue, but they also learn to identify the productive waves as they come along and hop on those. Above all, don't ride the waning wave into the beach, as that results in sand rash and a bad attitude.

The only way we can combat the off-shoring and like initiatives is to integrate ourselves and our skills into the fabric of the organization. This also involves ensuring that the "deciders" comprehend the value that we add. Learning a little something about the organization/industry in which we operate can't hurt either.