Several Months ago, I decided to take science classes. It was a multi-purpose decision. The biggest reason was probably to have something to occupy myself with as the job market collapsed into nothingness. I started pre-req classes this summer. The funny thing is, when I told my friends I had a weak science background, they were like "but science is all around us." It's one of those typical things people say, like "biology is all around us," or physics, or math.
But after a few months, it's ironic that I have discovered that law is all around us. Invariably, every time people find out I'm a lawyer, they will bring up current situations in which they are dealing with an attorney. I guess the most predictable is the professor dealing with patent issues. But there are so many other random things as well. Contracts issues, liability, employment. Perhaps it shouldn't surprise me, but it did. The bright side is that there seems to be a pretty decent demand for legal services. Of course, the sad caveat is that the supply of attorneys still overshadows that demand.
If it is of any consolation to the out-of-work coders out there, even recently minted Master of Science graduates are having a tough time in the job market out there.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Jumping into the fire?
Many former coders are now in fields outside of the law. They seem happy. I'm glad they found something different that they love.
Truth be told, I have often dreamed of doing something different as well. In fact, in the summer of 2007, I left a coding gig and prepared to enter another field. Whatever the reason, I did not foresee the disaster that was about to strike. Late summer of '07, I had a potential position in line at a major investment bank in New York. It wasn't a trading position; it was a compliance position. Sometime in the midst of the interviewing process, the subprime credit crisis struck, and the job position disappeared. Wonderful! I waited a few months to see if things would get better. Alas, life wasn't as kind as I had hoped. By winter, I had returned to coding. The economy hadn't collapsed yet; coding gigs were aplenty. In fact, like I said in a previous post, there seemed to be a nice amount of money being thrown around at coders.
Are there any other coders out there who have tried to jump out of coding but it didn't work out? Jumping from the frying pan into the fire? I know of at least two people who have tried to go into law enforcement only to find that now, government budgets are being squeezed and that is no longer a viable alternative. One person graduated from the police academy but then couldn't get a job!
Where should coders "jump" to? In this economy, almost all fields are contracting. Becoming a doctor isn't exactly something a coder can do with ease. Shifting gears is easier said than done. :(
Truth be told, I have often dreamed of doing something different as well. In fact, in the summer of 2007, I left a coding gig and prepared to enter another field. Whatever the reason, I did not foresee the disaster that was about to strike. Late summer of '07, I had a potential position in line at a major investment bank in New York. It wasn't a trading position; it was a compliance position. Sometime in the midst of the interviewing process, the subprime credit crisis struck, and the job position disappeared. Wonderful! I waited a few months to see if things would get better. Alas, life wasn't as kind as I had hoped. By winter, I had returned to coding. The economy hadn't collapsed yet; coding gigs were aplenty. In fact, like I said in a previous post, there seemed to be a nice amount of money being thrown around at coders.
Are there any other coders out there who have tried to jump out of coding but it didn't work out? Jumping from the frying pan into the fire? I know of at least two people who have tried to go into law enforcement only to find that now, government budgets are being squeezed and that is no longer a viable alternative. One person graduated from the police academy but then couldn't get a job!
Where should coders "jump" to? In this economy, almost all fields are contracting. Becoming a doctor isn't exactly something a coder can do with ease. Shifting gears is easier said than done. :(
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Best Coding Gig Ever?
As former coders are waiting to be called back to potential coding gigs, perhaps it's time to look back and have some nostalgic feelings of past gigs. I'm sure there were many that were awful. Were there any that you liked? Or at least tolerated? Perhaps there were gigs which were awful in general but had one or two fun aspects.
While I haven't been on many gigs, it definitely seemed like some were better than others. I've never had the pleasure of working at the "deuce." I've heard mixed things. The one fun thing I've heard (maybe even on some other blog) is that there is a snack cart lady that walks around.
As for my favorite coding gig, it was hands-down the Hudson/McCarter "biggest coding project in the history of mankind." I can't see how any gig could have been more chill than that one. I wasn't there from the start. My first months there actually consisted of work. Lots of it. In fact, so much work that they had to basically bribe people into overtime. I believe the first incentive was double overtime. There was this crazy scheme where hours worked over 55 were 1.75 times overtime and then hours worked over 70 were double overtime. Then, they tacked on the whole lottery with iPhones and flat screen tvs. And then, the craziest thing ever, a $1000 bonus for anyone who could crush in 80 hours in the 5 day span prior to their deadline. Oh, the insanity. Of course, once the deadline passed, it was chill time. Docs flowed in at a trickle. If I had to imagine what a firefighter's boredom was like, I would've guessed something like McCarter, where you're sitting "on-call" for a total of maybe a few hours of actual work a week. But hey, those were fun times if you could find a way to entertain yourself. All good things come to an end, but that gig was fun while it lasted.
How were the other gigs in the past years? Stradley? Pepper? MLB? Dechert? Any fun memories?
While I haven't been on many gigs, it definitely seemed like some were better than others. I've never had the pleasure of working at the "deuce." I've heard mixed things. The one fun thing I've heard (maybe even on some other blog) is that there is a snack cart lady that walks around.
As for my favorite coding gig, it was hands-down the Hudson/McCarter "biggest coding project in the history of mankind." I can't see how any gig could have been more chill than that one. I wasn't there from the start. My first months there actually consisted of work. Lots of it. In fact, so much work that they had to basically bribe people into overtime. I believe the first incentive was double overtime. There was this crazy scheme where hours worked over 55 were 1.75 times overtime and then hours worked over 70 were double overtime. Then, they tacked on the whole lottery with iPhones and flat screen tvs. And then, the craziest thing ever, a $1000 bonus for anyone who could crush in 80 hours in the 5 day span prior to their deadline. Oh, the insanity. Of course, once the deadline passed, it was chill time. Docs flowed in at a trickle. If I had to imagine what a firefighter's boredom was like, I would've guessed something like McCarter, where you're sitting "on-call" for a total of maybe a few hours of actual work a week. But hey, those were fun times if you could find a way to entertain yourself. All good things come to an end, but that gig was fun while it lasted.
How were the other gigs in the past years? Stradley? Pepper? MLB? Dechert? Any fun memories?
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Class of '08: Did you fill out NALP forms??
Many contract attorneys have probably seen the line graph of the "Bi-Modal Distribution" that represents the starting salaries of newly minted attorneys. It's sometimes called an "upside down bell curve." If you look at the graph, you'll see that there are two peaks, representing the modes (most frequent) of salaries. The graph has looked pretty similar for the past three years. Created by Indiana's Professor Bill Henderson, the charts are pretty insightful. Of course the charts cannot possibly reflect the salaries of those that do not answer NALP forms.
The most recent chart can be found here:
http://www.elsblog.org/the_empirical_legal_studi/2009/06/the-end-of-an-era-the-bimodal-distribution-for-the-class-of-2008.html
Class of '08 on top, the classes of '07 and '06 can be found if you scroll further down.
The chart tells us that the bottom 42% or so are earning in the lower range of between $40k to $65k. I wonder if this includes any contract attorneys, or just the people working in government and small firms. It's hard to believe that 23% are earning $160k.
The most recent chart can be found here:
http://www.elsblog.org/the_empirical_legal_studi/2009/06/the-end-of-an-era-the-bimodal-distribution-for-the-class-of-2008.html
Class of '08 on top, the classes of '07 and '06 can be found if you scroll further down.
The chart tells us that the bottom 42% or so are earning in the lower range of between $40k to $65k. I wonder if this includes any contract attorneys, or just the people working in government and small firms. It's hard to believe that 23% are earning $160k.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Does this site need to exist??
Hello. I am Coder Emeritus. You may know me under other "rotating stupid names" such as Jar Jar Binks or Lance Basstronaut.
Some coders of Philly have lamented that Mr. Black Sheep no longer seems to post new entries. I will try to post new entries once a week. Though, who knows if they will be blank or perhaps off topic. But, I figured that since the last "Wolf Block Dead" entry exceeded 200 comments, perhaps an alternative site might be useful so that people don't have to scroll down tons of comments or whatever.
I doubt this site needs to exist, and will take it down in a month if nobody comments or whatever. Note: I retain the right to delete crazy comments.
Okay, let the games begin.
Some coders of Philly have lamented that Mr. Black Sheep no longer seems to post new entries. I will try to post new entries once a week. Though, who knows if they will be blank or perhaps off topic. But, I figured that since the last "Wolf Block Dead" entry exceeded 200 comments, perhaps an alternative site might be useful so that people don't have to scroll down tons of comments or whatever.
I doubt this site needs to exist, and will take it down in a month if nobody comments or whatever. Note: I retain the right to delete crazy comments.
Okay, let the games begin.
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