Re: AS/400 job market

Joe,

This would probably be better served on the consulting forum, but as it 
impacts full-timers as well, here goes RANT MODE(*ON):

In a message dated 1/26/00 7:52:46 AM Eastern Standard Time, 
joeteff@earthlink.net writes:

> A few months ago, there was a thread that discussed the lack of work
>  in the AS/400 consulting marketplace. I've noticed this since last
>  summer. As consultants came off of contracts, fewer and fewer were
>  being placed again. This got really bad in the 4th quarter. There were
>  many reports of consultants leaving the consulting business or even
>  being laif off. So far January doesn't seem to be reversing this trend.
>  I think it's due, at least in part, because of the former consultants
>  taking full time positions, thus reducing the need for consultants. I'd
>  be interested in hearing from others on thier thoughts, concerns and
>  expectations on this.

The market last summer was bad, _REALLY_ bad, for consultants.  January has 
not been much better, but then again, it never is.  Plans are being made, 
budgets are being finalized, and there's just not that much going on.  My 
whole _COAST_ is shut down due to snow right now!

Number one, consultants that didn't deserve them had jobs due to Y2K.  Guess 
what?  It's _OVER_!  Poor consultants and those that got in it "for the 
money" aren't being asked back, and I say good riddance.

Those in "the private sector" that moan about how much money we make 
consulting have never checked into paying their own expenses, training, 
doubling their FICA here in the US, usurious business taxes, paying 100% of 
their own insurance, planning their own retirement, or saving enough money to 
"ride it out" when things get bad.  This is _NOT_ a business for the faint of 
heart or the ignorant of money management.  Consulting is not a job to take 
while you're finding a job, nor is it the "cash cow" that most imagine.  If 
you're griping about the hours you work in a full time position, try being 
considered practically slave labor and forced to perform the duties that 
"regular" employees won't "because you get overtime".

Those getting out of consulting because of the current _ANNUAL_ (not 
_MILLENIAL_) downturn either shouldn't have gotten into it in the first place 
or should have delayed that BMW purchase until they had at least three 
months' salary and expenses (including estimated tax payments in the US) 
built up.  In this economy, former consultants taking full-time positions 
shouldn't have been consultants in the first place, IMO.  They're not 
eliminating jobs for us, just creating _MORE_ once their new employers figure 
out how much work they're _REALLY_ doing.

Packaged software with custom development tools presents a problem if the 
client declines to purchase those tools and subcontract to the vendor, but 
vendor contracts are available to good consultants -- you just have to be 
able to stand fast on your rate.  But why bother with kludgy corporations 
remiss in remittance?  In my case, why would a client pay $1,600+ per day 
plus expenses for BPCS work to SSA when they can pay a one-time fee for the 
tools and have me for less?  I _average_ three more years' experience with 
the development tools and the product than most people SSA sends out!  Why 
pay IBM's "Global Services" big bucks to tune your machine, when I've been 
doing the same thing for less since many of _their_ people were in elementary 
school?  Some companies just hire based on names, but many more do not.  If 
they want to trade on longevity, I've been in business longer than most of 
the ".COM's" in their stock portfolio and have consistently shown a better 
profit ;-)!

I don't think that asking for a long-term contract should necessarily 
automatically disqualify someone from consideration for a consulting 
position.  Us "little guys" would simply prefer to keep the marketing to a 
minimum, but most are more than willing to work a couple of weeks in an 
interesting assignment.  However, anyone that expects to automatically 
"extend" at the end of that contract _IS_ just looking for a job and needs to 
find one.

Which leads me to my final point.  This is a quote from me, rather than my 
usual sources:  "The difference between a consultant and a contractor is that 
a consultant's job is to ultimately eliminate the need for their position, a 
contractor's job is to perpetuate that need."  I spent nearly four years in 
one place because they couldn't keep talented staff, and the staff that 
stayed was either new or incapable of learning what I was trying to teach 
them.  The smart ones left with their knowledge once I passed it on to them 
because the client didn't pay well, was in a bad location, and had lousy 
benefits -- the ones with "ten years of AS/400 experience" yet still didn't 
understand positional parameters stayed.  Not ten years, the same year ten 
times.  Said client _FINALLY_ reviewed their IS salary policies, promoted a 
few folks on my recommendation (and some not), and hung on to a core group of 
employees long enough to let me go.

In closing (ooooooh, just heard a big _YAY_! on the surround-sound), 
consultants can provide an invaluable service to your company _IN THE SHORT 
TERM_.  Don't let one bad experience turn you off forever.  Small accounts 
are more vulnerable to those of us that are "fast talkers" and charge a low 
rate only to work on other client's projects using your machine while 
charging BOTH you AND them, but that ain't all of us.  Heck, I specialize in 
large clients and have watched some of my so-called "peers" being hauled off 
by the police at more than one -- that didn't mean that the client threw the 
rest of us out.  Sometimes you get what you pay for, sometimes you don't.  
More often though, you do...

RANT MODE(*OFF)

JMHO,

Dean Asmussen
Enterprise Systems Consulting, Inc.
Fuquay-Varina, NC  USA
E-mail:  DAsmussen@aol.com

"A friend is a lot of things, but a critic he isn't." -- Bern Williams
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