Recession-proof your programming career?

by Michael Smith, Copyright 2001 Michael Smith and Hal Helms

Recently, Hal Helms wrote a piece titled "Why I Hope To See You At The Fusebox Conference." I was interested in the story he told about the best programmer he ever knew and I spoke with him further to discuss it.

MS:

So, this Bryan guy—he was a real guy?

HH:

Yep, but I think I misspelled his name. I think it was really Brian with an "i".

MS:

You know, there are a lot of people out there who are hurting right now. The economy is so different from what it was even a year ago.

HH:

I know. I recently traded emails with a hundreds of "Occasional Newsletter" subscribers and I heard over and over again about companies pulling in their horns as far as sending people to conferences, training budgets, etc. That's why I wrote the piece with Brian. When he told me that—that there are no poor .350 hitters—I don't know, it was like a light went on. Here was everybody else going down the path of least resistance ...

MS:

Including you?

HH:

Definitely including me. Griping about everything—projects, clients, boss -— and here was Brian on a completely different path.

MS:

Interesting.

HH:

Yeah, I think it's more than interesting. For me, it was a revelation. Michael, I know a lot of people in ColdFusion are young enough that they've never seen a recession in their working lives. But I have. They come. And they go. It's like the stock market. I read recently that the average mutual fund manager had never been through a bear market, so when the cycle comes around to down times, the tendency is to panic. It's the same thing with programmers. You should buy stocks when they're down —- not when they're up. And you should invest in yourself when the demand for your services is down —- so that when the cycle reverses ...

MS:

And it will.

HH:

Yes. It will. The question is this: When it does reverse, when boom times come again, are you going to be able to benefit from it? Have you invested in yourself or not? When I was a kid, one of the little stories they told was about two squirrels. One is industrious and gathers nuts for the winter. The other says, "Why worry? It's warm and sunny out and there's all sorts of time." Of course, the winter eventually comes and the smart squirrel is set, but the other squirrel —- hmmm, come to think of it, I don't think we ever actually found out what happened to him, but I suspect it wasn't good.

MS:

Well, that's a good argument for preparing for hard times. But for a lot of people, hard times are here. Right now. It's not a matter of laying up nuts. It's getting cold outside and people are starting to worry.

HH:

I know.

MS:

So what's the best strategy for surviving the winter -- to continue your analogy with the squirrels?

HH:

Well, worry and hope seem to me like flip sides of the same coin. Neither does much good. So, worry's a strategy —- a popular strategy, by the way -- that I wouldn't recommend. What else can we do? Well, one of the neat things about Fusebox is that it can make a huge impact on how productive a developer is, right?

MS:

Absolutely. You're preaching to the choir.

HH:

OK, so let's say you find yourself with lean prospects. You're unemployed, you're underemployed ...

MS:

Or you're just plain worried about being employed.

HH:

Sure. What do you do? Well, let me ask you: You're an employer. You've got two employees, or two job applicants. One of them has made an investment in themselves, in their skills, in their ability to do what you need done.

MS:

You mean in actually getting an application deployable.

HH:

Yeah, instead of deplorable. So, who are you going to keep, if you have to cut one loose? Or who are you going to hire if you're looking for someone?

MS:

Obviously, the one who's better.

HH:

Well, say they look the same on paper.

MS:

Then the one who has shown initiative, who's serious about programming as a career and isn't just looking for a job.

HH:

That's _exactly_ why I wrote the article about Brian.

MS:

But you're not saying that going to the Fusebox conference is going to ensure they keep their job, or get them one if they're looking.

HH:

No, of course not. But I am saying that luck seems to have a funny way of picking the people who have prepared themselves. And I'm saying that going to the Fusebox conference is a way of taking action instead of hoping or fearing. Going to the conference, committing to mastering Fusebox -—that's not going to change what will happen next month. But it can, and it should, affect what will happen next year and every year after that.

MS:

But you said it yourself—a lot of employers won't pay for that.

HH:

Yes. And have you seen airfares recently?

MS:

They are low! I just bought a roundtrip ticket between Baltimore and Orlando: $120. And it seems to me that with all the extra security that airlines are actually safer now than before ...

HH:

So, would it not be an investment in "recession-proofing" yourself to take a vacation day on the Friday before the conference, fly down to the conference, and go?

MS:

What about the price of the conference itself $225 —and the hotel—and the car?

HH:

Look, if you're on a budget, you can find a cheap hotel under $50 or share a room. I hope you don't have to—or else, I'm going to have to make up the shortfall personally at the Hilton, but if you do, you do. I'd way rather have you there than not. You don't need a car—you can get a shuttle from the airport. The cost of the conference? If you are seriously having financial difficulties, you can email me requesting a grant to cover part of the cost.

MS:

Putting your money where your mouth is.

HH:

This is serious stuff. It's serious for all of us.

MS:

You know I'm going to write up our talk for a mailing. Can I make that offer to anyone who responds?

HH:

Err…umm…well…

MS:

Ah, developing feet of clay, are we?

HH:

No, go ahead. I'm serious—if people need help with the conference price, I am here. I have seen the impact Fusebox can have on developers. More, I've seen the impact people committing themselves to excellence can have.

MS:

Recession-proofing developers, huh?

HH:

Whatcha think?

MS:

I think I better send off a mailing before you change your mind.

Details:
Fusebox Developers Conference, October 20, 2001, Orlando, Florida $225
http://www.cfconf.org/fusebox2/

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