Schools Out For Summer...
Still here in Las Vegas. It is too friggin' hot! 105 degrees at last look. Oh wait, the temperature has just rapidly dropped, can only mean rain. Not your Seattle, sprinlky, misty, can function in type of rain, but that Southwest desert downpour that causes flashfloods. etc...type of rain.
A couple of notes from today:
After 20+ years I am becoming a student again. Not an earn credits and graduate type student, but a specialized certificate student. I need to make a change where I can be home more with my family and over the past 20 or so years I have been either in the electronics security systems industry or in I.T. I liked my time in I.T. but learned things on the fly, so I have experience with no certification. In the security industry I have a crapload of certifications and a crapload of experience, but, the people in this business want it to be 1975 for their employees and 2005 for themselves. Let me explain : Working in the security systems field back in the 70's required minute skill. The systems were little more than a giant loop that, when broken, caused a bell to ring. This whole deal was turned on when you turned a key that applied power to a relay that would ring the bell if the loop was broken. You could train a technician and send him out almost instantaneously. This made them cheap and easy to replace. Fast forward to now. Security systems are now sophisticated processor driven units. Multiple single loops or addressed polling points are now the norm. Systems can be monitored via the internet or at host PC's within an intranet. It takes very skilled employees to ensure a proper and professional installation. Most states now require testing and multiple licenses to become a security systems technician. Well, the problem is the owners of the installing companies have let the times pass them by and as managers, salesmen and supervisors try keeping up with the technology, they are handcuffed because these owners think they can still pay, and keep, these highly skilled techs at less than the price of someone serving you a burger at your local Mickey D's. So the cycle begins...one company hires a rookie, who gains some skill, who moves onto the next company who will pay him more, who moves to the next company who will pay him even more, etc...what ends up happening is the techs end up working everywhere, get fed up, and get a new career or pick the best situation and stay with it. Anyhow, being on the manufacturing side of the industry, we feel the pinch of the owners also, resulting in hand to mouth sales instead of bulk sales, and while this provides a more steady income for our owners, it creates an unstable environment for we representatives (I am a technical trainer) because we don't always have the money to fund our projects. Bottom line? I took a large paycut to work in this field. I have decided to certify and get back to where the money is. I like training, but I also like I.T. and a Cisco certification will certainly be beneficial to me and my family.
In other news...When the Toronto Maple Leafs foolishly gave up their #1 draft choice in 1991 to the New Jersey Devils for Tom Curvers, the Devils took Scott Niedermayer behind major league busts Eric Lindros and Pat Falloon. In his 13 years with the Devils, Nieds hoisted the Stanley Cup three times and most recently won the James Norris Trophy as the leagues best defenseman. Eric and Pat??? No Cups. Today Nieds turned down the chance to be the highest paid Devil and instead decided to play hockey on his brothers team in Anaheim for 1.8 Million dollars less. As much as this pains me, I wish Scott good luck in Southern California. We Devil fans will miss him. I figure his new salary might just afford him a condo in Orange County anyway. : )
A couple of notes from today:
After 20+ years I am becoming a student again. Not an earn credits and graduate type student, but a specialized certificate student. I need to make a change where I can be home more with my family and over the past 20 or so years I have been either in the electronics security systems industry or in I.T. I liked my time in I.T. but learned things on the fly, so I have experience with no certification. In the security industry I have a crapload of certifications and a crapload of experience, but, the people in this business want it to be 1975 for their employees and 2005 for themselves. Let me explain : Working in the security systems field back in the 70's required minute skill. The systems were little more than a giant loop that, when broken, caused a bell to ring. This whole deal was turned on when you turned a key that applied power to a relay that would ring the bell if the loop was broken. You could train a technician and send him out almost instantaneously. This made them cheap and easy to replace. Fast forward to now. Security systems are now sophisticated processor driven units. Multiple single loops or addressed polling points are now the norm. Systems can be monitored via the internet or at host PC's within an intranet. It takes very skilled employees to ensure a proper and professional installation. Most states now require testing and multiple licenses to become a security systems technician. Well, the problem is the owners of the installing companies have let the times pass them by and as managers, salesmen and supervisors try keeping up with the technology, they are handcuffed because these owners think they can still pay, and keep, these highly skilled techs at less than the price of someone serving you a burger at your local Mickey D's. So the cycle begins...one company hires a rookie, who gains some skill, who moves onto the next company who will pay him more, who moves to the next company who will pay him even more, etc...what ends up happening is the techs end up working everywhere, get fed up, and get a new career or pick the best situation and stay with it. Anyhow, being on the manufacturing side of the industry, we feel the pinch of the owners also, resulting in hand to mouth sales instead of bulk sales, and while this provides a more steady income for our owners, it creates an unstable environment for we representatives (I am a technical trainer) because we don't always have the money to fund our projects. Bottom line? I took a large paycut to work in this field. I have decided to certify and get back to where the money is. I like training, but I also like I.T. and a Cisco certification will certainly be beneficial to me and my family.
In other news...When the Toronto Maple Leafs foolishly gave up their #1 draft choice in 1991 to the New Jersey Devils for Tom Curvers, the Devils took Scott Niedermayer behind major league busts Eric Lindros and Pat Falloon. In his 13 years with the Devils, Nieds hoisted the Stanley Cup three times and most recently won the James Norris Trophy as the leagues best defenseman. Eric and Pat??? No Cups. Today Nieds turned down the chance to be the highest paid Devil and instead decided to play hockey on his brothers team in Anaheim for 1.8 Million dollars less. As much as this pains me, I wish Scott good luck in Southern California. We Devil fans will miss him. I figure his new salary might just afford him a condo in Orange County anyway. : )
posted by AndyP (Seattle, WA) at 6:00 PM
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