Greetings from Massachusetts,
On the recommendation of Jeff Goldblum, I've bought an iMac. It is Graphite in color. I had a Mac Classic (40mb hard drive!) about 10 years ago, so returning back to Apple is refreshing. It's as if my life has been years and years of travelling the galaxy in a ragtag fleet of ships (Linux), all the while relentlessly pursued by the robotic Cylons (Microsoft), and finally reaching the lost 13th tribe of Earth (Apple) to discover that I have super powers! I can ask my iMac "What time is it?", and it will answer. I've already ditched Netscape for a speedy little web browser named iCab. It's a lot like Opera, except for Mac.
In the November 5, 2000 edition of the Boston Sunday Globe, on the front page, there's an article about Sun Microsystems' move to the East Coast. Many West Coast high tech companies are opening East Coast offices because of the tech talent pool.
Also on the front page, there's an article about the ever-growing gender gap on university campuses. At Boston University, 61% of the undergraduates are women. "Theater troupes are desperate for male actors." At BU's ballroom dance club, "'There just aren't enough guys to go around,' said Erimez, a slender blond junior majoring in English. 'They're dropping off like flies. Whereever you go on campus, there are more girls than guys.'" Although a survey ranked free dance lessons at the bottom of the list of desirable employee perks (as desirable as free haircuts), I recommend that computer science students take dance lessons-- check to see if they are being offered next semester (check under the ATH (alphabetically, it's listed under "D" for "Department of Athletics")). "The problem of declining male enrollments has even sparked talk of affirmative action for men." Maybe the CSE Department should think about starting an affirmative action program to increase male enrollment?
I've just learned that you cannot marry your first cousin in New Hampshire, but you can in Massachusetts. So much for New Hampshire being "God's Country".
Recently, there was an ad on WBZ. Woman's voice: "Look here in the paper, 'Computer Programmer, 2 to 4 years experience, $250,000.'" Man's voice: "What?" Woman: "Yeah, and here, 'Web Designer, 1 to 3 years experience, $375,000.'" Man: "Are you kidding me?" Woman: "Yeah, I know-- how do they expect people to live on these salaries?!" Narrator: "It's a different world out there, with different expectations." This was an ad for the Boston Sunday Globe's "Boston Works" help-wanted section.
Once again, some of the more notable and/or amusing advertisements from last week's Boston Sunday Globe's "Boston Works" section.
A new big ad from Cereva. Their slogan is (and, I'm not kidding) "You have never gone this way before". I'm going to adopt it as a pickup line. Another pickup line I've gotten from this ad is "You'll find adventure in the unknown, inspiration in first steps, passion in the journey." I'm not sure what Cereva does, but they're hiring.
Calix claims to be a "well-funded start-up with headquarters in the San Francisco Bay area and a satellite facility in the metro Boston area."
Lightbridge claims that "in ten short years, Lightbridge has taken global telecommunications by storm, sparking a compounded annual revenue growth rate of over 40% for the past five years! We were recently named one of the Top 10 Employers in New England."
Pyxis (www.pyxisit.com) is looking for e-Commerce and Web Developers. At a recent job fair, they were raffling off a Palm Pilot. By the way, Sun recently had a college student job fair on site, and we raffled off a DVD player and MP3 player, among other things. I advocate visiting job fairs as a way of getting free food and free stuff.
Ironbridge Networks (www.ironbridgenetworks.com) has an ad with a picture of young Germans climbing on top of the Berlin Wall in 1989. They claims that if you work for them, you will change the world.
Random companies using the buzzword "pre-IPO": (www.e-travel.com), (www.envoynetworks.com), (www.intonetworks.com)
MediSense (www.medisensejobs.com) says that their "products incorporate many technologies including embedded processors, Windows applications and high-precision electronics." Does that combination reassure you? They make blood-glucose monitors.
Empirix is looking for C++ and Java programmers to work in Waltham and Wilmington. They also want COM and VB people.
State Street (www.statestreet.com), which claims to be in the Top 10 of Computerworld's 100 Best Places to work in IT, was also raffling off a Palm Pilot at a job fair.
Avidyne will pay 50% of your flight training lessons as a perk. They make and program avionic displays. They also say, "H1-B visa holders strongly encouraged to apply!".
Commerce.tv (www.commerce-tv.com) does stuff with interactive television. They need Web Developers and C++ programmers.
NetScout Systems raffled off a $5,000 shopping spree at their job fair.
Brian asks, "How much should [an] offer from Mass be, to even break even with [a] NY offer? I'm guessing it would have to be 6 grand more in order to START to compare. Perhaps you would be able to offer a more accurate figure, since you are in Mass! The NY area has HOUSES for rent for around 650 a month (3 bed)."
My suggestion for comparing salaries in different areas is the salary calculator found at www.homefair.com. It can take salaries from one city and convert them into an equivalent salary in another city. You'll find that absolute dollar salaries in Buffalo must be significantly higher to match cost-of-living in other urban areas. For $650, you can get a studio apartment in Lowell, in a former housing project taken over by a private development company. $650 can probably also get you a 1-bedroom in Manchester, New Hampshire, about two hours from Boston.
Greg writes, "I am trying to find a web programmer job in Boston, and I am having a very hard time getting past the recruiters. Any suggestions ? 3 times I've been able to get past the recruiters for jobs in other cities, and I got 2 offers and 1 is still a maybe. It seems that the HR people just don't get it, while if I get to talk to the tech manager, then everything falls into place."
There are ways of getting past Human Resources, but the best way to do this is by avoiding them altogether. By this, I mean Networking-- meeting and using the resources of others in a way that is mutually helpful. Go to tech and industry events and meet people at the companies you want to work at. Ask everyone you know about the people that they know who work in the industries you are interested in. By doing so, you may be able to find, and talk to, the people who have the ability to hire you. For more tips, I recommend the book "Ask the Headhunter" by Nick A. Corcodilos. He has a web site (www.asktheheadhunter.com), so you can sample some of his wisdom before you buy the book (also, try asking at the Career Planning and Placement library to see if they have the book).
Several people wrote to tell me that Rational Rose is a UML tool.
If you have any questions about academics, job hunting, or the Boston area, please email me at (bfan2 "at symbol" yahoo "dot symbol" com) and I'll try to answer them.
Until next time,
Ben