[rescue] Re: Unemployment on the Rescue List

[Patrick Giagnocavo +1.717.201.3366]

On Fri, Sep 26, 2003 at 11:15:51AM -0500, nimitz at ns1.nimitzbrood.com wrote:
> >On Fri, Sep 26, 2003 at 09:33.07AM -0500, Shannon wrote:
> >> The problem for a lot of us is that is the only skill we have that will
> >> pay the bills.
> 
 
> No offense but I've been doing I/T work for about a decade and a
> half and I'm finding a way to move on.  Don't let skills be a stopper
> for you.  There's always a way.  For instance if you live in CA there
> is better funding, from what I hear, for you to go back to school for
> something else.  In my case the county job training people are helping
> me find funding for things "in a growth industry".

The reality is the Dell/Intel/MSFT have sucked all the air out of the
room for anything else.  That is why there is no new innovation, lack
of innovation means slow growth. 

One company I am consulting at has basically gone proprietary though
they don't know it - they only buy Dell hardware and only use XP.
What is most stable for them?  The Linux server that handles all their
files that I set up for them :-)

> >> Locally, our economy was already struggling, and now we've got hundreds
> >> of millions of dollars in hurricane damage on top of it all.
> 
> 
> I'm thinking there's your extra money - do re-wiring work for
> businesses.  Offer to set up their I/T backbone again for a small fee.

Also offer off-site backup for their important files.  It won't be
expensive if you use rsync and you can make a few bucks (put
everything on a rented server in another state).

> There's _always_ a solution even if we don't always see it right away.

The MOST IMPORTANT thing is cash flow.  You have got to set things up
so that you get X dollars per month coming in, guaranteed.  If that
means cutting your hourly rate to get $350 a week for 10 hours work,
so be it.

--Patrick