Lost my job

[Nullifidian]

Haven't posted in awhile, mostly because I've been bummed out. I lost my job a few weeks ago. My boss had wanted me gone since before he was my boss. Likely it had something to do with the fact that I repeatedly called him on things when he was bullsh***ing using buzzwords. HR knew he was full of it. Unfortunately, our HR contact changed departments and the new HR contact had no history with us so couldn't argue with him. Thus I was canned.

Now I'm out of a high paying job.

Anyone here know of any openings in the NJ/PA area that need Java programmers that might be able to hook me up with a good word?

In PA I can go as far North as Scranton, or as far south as Philly. In NJ, I can go anywhere that is fairly close to I-78, though I'd all the way to the Parkway; that'd be way too much of a commute.


Oh, and if you do know something, don't tell them I was fired, please. If they ask, just tell them I left to look for something with more growth opportunity. In all honesty, I was planning on doing so but not until I had actually landed something.

Yes, obviously I'm talking to a number of folks and looking at a number of places in the area. However, as most know, getting an interview typically relies on knowing someone, even if it's just someone recommending that my resume be looked at and that's all. I tend to be good with interviews, so I'm confident that as long as I'm qualified for a job, and I get an interview, then I'll get an offer.


Anyway, just putting this out there. Gotta try all the angles. Don't want to wind up losing my house too.

 

[Jayhawkk]

Damn man, i'm sorry to hear about that.
If you have military/federal types near you then you could try usajobs.com and cpol.army.mil

Might not pay as well but they usually have very good benefit packages.

 

[methusaleh]

Why not become an IT trainer and simply pass on your skills to others? No experience is needed, a friend of mine was in the exact same situation as you, and now he makes a killing traveling all over and teaching and setting his own schedule. The company he went to is The Training Associates, they are located right here in MA, but they do things all over the world. He can choose to travel as much or as little as he wants and loves it.

If you need more info, let me know, I bet they have a site...actually give me a second let's see...

Yup, it's The Training Associates - Expert Trainers On Demand

Good luck!

 

[Nullifidian]

A little background on my skills:

Been programming since I was 11. Started with Pascal, and moved on to C when I was 13. Learned C++ in highschool. Senior year of highschool, I got an internship with a small game company and learned Visual Basic. Did work for that game company all through college for the most part.

Right after college, I was hired by Novartis Pharmaceuticals. I worked on the development of their primary application used for electronic data capture for clinical trials. It's a software suite that includes an application which builds electronic case report forms, a browsing application used to view data but not change it, a recording application used by investigators to enter data and by data managers to make obvious corrections, a monitoring application for Clinical Research Associates to flag data, write queries, etc. as well as for data managers to freeze or lock data as well as also write queries, and a server application to handle all the communication. It was an online/offline system which means, investigators could enter data while not connected. As a result, conflicts in data frequently resulted where data or status for a field would change at 2 locations before data synchronization occurred. One of my favorite accomplishments was I designed the system used to handle and detect such conflicts.

I also worked on numerous reports and utilities used in conjunction with this system.

I worked for Novartis for 5 years. EXACTLY 5 years to the month.

Due to hiring restrictions, we did not have any business analysts in our group. Also, until last year we had no validation experts or test engineers. As a result, not only have I worked in design and development, I have also done business analysis, written validation documentation, and written and executed official test scripts for use in validating software. This has forced me to become well versed in knowledge of nearly all aspects of clinical trials. That includes all aspects fo trial design, as well as aspects of running a trial. In fact, I took it upon myself to request a personal site visit so that I may find out other information such as site selection process, and how exactly sites typically are run. You can't truly know about something without seeing it firsthand.

Anyway, so while my expertise is PRIMARILY Java programming and programming in general, I'm also qualified to act as a business analyst in pharmaceuticals in general as well as branch into stuff like CRF and eCRF development, etc.

 

[ArnoldIsMyIdol]

Sorry to hear about your misfortune. I'm not an expert on programming but it sounds like you know your stuff. I'm sure lots of places would want to hire you :thumbs:

 

[kwyckemynd00]

Bummer man...sorry to hear that!

Best of luck finding a new position! I'll ask some of my internet buddies who program if they know anyone.

 

[Mrs. Gimpy!]

im sure you'll find another position im sorry though. losing jobs is always tough. keep us posted.

 

[Ziricote]

That really sucks how it happened, there have been quite a few java programmers and job vacancies of that kind around here but yeah...that would be a bit too long a commute.

 

[tattoopierced1]

sorry to hear that null..keep your chin up though, you'll find something soon.

 

[Gumbo]

Keep your head up and pound the job boards. There are always jobs for programmers. I've been working with Cisco Systems for the past 6 years and we are always hiring programmers (not in NY/NJ thought). I believe that UPS has a huge headquarters in northern NJ which houses most of their IT and Application Developers. They have great bennies.

Good luck.

Gumbo

 

[Apowerz6]

Bro, Keep your head up! It does not rain forever.

 

[Nullifidian]

Keep your head up and pound the job boards. There are always jobs for programmers. I've been working with Cisco Systems for the past 6 years and we are always hiring programmers (not in NY/NJ thought). I believe that UPS has a huge headquarters in northern NJ which houses most of their IT and Application Developers. They have great bennies.

Good luck.

Gumbo

Can't work for UPS. My mother works there and they have very strong anti-nepotism policies. As in, you cannot be hired by UPS if a relative works for them.

 

[yeahright]

Sorry to hear about this. Best of luck to you.

 

[CDB]

That blows. I do have a couple of java openings from clients but they're on Long Island. What's your experince like? The position I'm working on now is for a J2EE Adminstration Specialist. Needs to have experience with Unix, Websphere, WebLogic, some SQL and Oracle database admin experience, etc. The position is a decent one, salary range is 70-80K annually I believe. I can check if they're willing to help on relocation. Though I have to caution you the cost of living here is, well, pretty ****ing high is one way to put it. I have friends pulling 70-80 here that are having problems. They are flakes though.

Got to keep the client confidential, especially in a forum like this, but if you want to take a shot at it you can email your resume to my work address or I can check and see if they've posted externally on this one and you can handle it yourself, I'll just email the client site to you. Will check tomorrow and let you know if it is posted or is going to be, and check on rellocation.

Haven't posted in awhile, mostly because I've been bummed out. I lost my job a few weeks ago. My boss had wanted me gone since before he was my boss. Likely it had something to do with the fact that I repeatedly called him on things when he was bullsh***ing using buzzwords. HR knew he was full of it. Unfortunately, our HR contact changed departments and the new HR contact had no history with us so couldn't argue with him. Thus I was canned.

Now I'm out of a high paying job.

Anyone here know of any openings in the NJ/PA area that need Java programmers that might be able to hook me up with a good word?

In PA I can go as far North as Scranton, or as far south as Philly. In NJ, I can go anywhere that is fairly close to I-78, though I'd all the way to the Parkway; that'd be way too much of a commute.


Oh, and if you do know something, don't tell them I was fired, please. If they ask, just tell them I left to look for something with more growth opportunity. In all honesty, I was planning on doing so but not until I had actually landed something.

Yes, obviously I'm talking to a number of folks and looking at a number of places in the area. However, as most know, getting an interview typically relies on knowing someone, even if it's just someone recommending that my resume be looked at and that's all. I tend to be good with interviews, so I'm confident that as long as I'm qualified for a job, and I get an interview, then I'll get an offer.


Anyway, just putting this out there. Gotta try all the angles. Don't want to wind up losing my house too.

 

[jmh80]

I work for a company that is pretty damn cold hearted. I feel for ya bro.

Good luck. (I don't know anything about programming - ours locally is done by fellow chemical engineers...)

 

[CDB]

Anyway, so while my expertise is PRIMARILY Java programming and programming in general, I'm also qualified to act as a business analyst in pharmaceuticals in general as well as branch into stuff like CRF and eCRF development, etc.

Deployment and tuning? Any financial background? I can also check on PA and NJ openings tomorrow when I have access to my database. Any position I would come up with would be related to banking and/or corporate audio/video systems as that's what we do.

 

[jecko29]

Damn Null, sorry to hear that on the bright side though with your intellect, knowledge and experience you'll bounce back quick

jecko

 

[Hankes64]

Null, you are a very intelligent person with great skills. There is no reason an HR person would not need you for their organization. You will fit right in anywhere.

I'm sorry to hear about this bro.

 

[Ronin13]

If you are willing to commute into Manhattan or even Jersey City, I could probably hook you up. Need to see a resume ASAP though. Send it to me via PM. Best investment bank on the Street and packages are ridiculous.

 

[Nullifidian]

This is where living in Allentown blows. I'm too far away from the city to work there. I used to live in Summit right near the Gladstone train line. NYC was only a 1 hour train ride away then. Then again, my old job was a 15 minute drive away then.

Allentown is about 120 miles from NYC. The commute simply isn't possible. Likewise unfortunately with places like Jersey City. I really don't want to relocate because my wife and I love this house and neighborhood. We had been planning on raising kids here.

As for other technical experience, the application we used worked with an Oracle DB, so I have SQL, PL/SQL, and Oracle experience. Regarding Java APIs, I've worked with Swing, JDBC, J2EE, Java 3D (yes, you read that correctly; used it for game work for a previous job), and a bunch of others I can't think of off the top of my head. I've done Unix scripting, Ant scripting, batch scripting, but not Pearl. I hate Pearl. Oh, and I've done a lot of work with XML, and a decent amount with HTML. I know I've forgotten to mention a number of skills but, I just woke up. Yes, I know it's almost 1PM. Can't I enjoy at least 1 benefit of not having a job?

 

[CDB]

Yes, I know it's almost 1PM. Can't I enjoy at least 1 benefit of not having a job?

I certainly do when I'm between jobs. If Allentown sucks that bad, any chance of relocating? 70-80K will get you decent up here, unless you have a family and it'll hold you over but your wife better work to make things comfortable. Haven't heard from my client yet on relocation availability, but it's certainly possible for a job on this level. Right now the only positions I have near Allentown would be install techs and design engineers in Philadelphia, not programmers. Plus Phili is pretty far too considering.

If you want an idea for an industry to enter into, try banking. Specifically companies that specialize in electronic funds transfer programs. It's getting to be big and there's a lot of growth potential there. One of my clients has already gobbled up a few smaller international companies. Designing the funds transfer programs is what my clients always need people for, and then administering them when companies source to them for that service.

 

[Jayhawkk]

Reps to you CDB. You don't see a lot of people trying to help others out unless it benefits them in some way. Thanks.

 

[CDB]

Reps to you CDB. You don't see a lot of people trying to help others out unless it benefits them in some way. Thanks.

Well, if he did send me his resume and I got him a job, I would get paid for doing so. It's my work. I ain't all heart, though I appreciate the comments.

I sacrifed a great commission for a decent base so my extra pay ain't as good as other people's. A 70-80k job placement like this would land me 400-500 extra at the end of the month. For people who go straight commission they can get anywhere from 3-20% of the total salary of the job placed. So for them placing Null in the job I mentioned could gross them anywhere from $2100 to $16,000. Just laying numbers out for anyone who was ever wary about using a headhunter or a recruiter to find a job. It's in their interest big time to get you something and at the highest pay rate too. A friend of mine recently got a placement that grossed her ten grand. Unusual for her given her company's focus, but she got lucky and ran with it.

Of course the taxes kill the check a bit. )c:

 

[Jayhawkk]

Ahh good ole taxes. I smile everytime I see my paycheck...Mostly because it comes with a fantasy of me going Rambo on the IRS.

 

[Iron Warrior]

Sucks to hear Null, you're a good man with some smarts. Good to see you seeking help at AM though and nice to see you helping CDB, that's what makes this a great community :cheers:

 

[jmh80]

You checked out Air Products??
Got a friend that is moving to Allentown to work at their HQ (he was in Houston at a hydrogen plant).

 

[CDB]

You checked out Air Products??
Got a friend that is moving to Allentown to work at their HQ (he was in Houston at a hydrogen plant).

Speaking of Air Products, not related but similar, look up the AIRS Directory, Null. It's a database of job boards and the like that recruiters like me use a lot. You can find a lot of job boards, sometimes pretty ecclectic ones, which can be sorted by industry and specialty. It includes resume databases and job postings, etc. Go to Home, then set up your own profile. Once you get to log in go to My AIRS and then Directories, then Job Boards. You'll find a ****load of them, sortable by region and industry and function, top traffic, diversity boards if you are a minority, etc.