FAQ

  1. Are you looking for permanent or temporary employment?  -  I am looking for either and sometimes neither.  Currently, I am not actively seeking either. I am available for jobs on a 1099 basis as an independent contractor.
  2. Are you willing to permanently relocate?  -  In general, at the present time, no.  This could change in the future.  For a position that would be highly compensated for its location, I would be willing to discuss the possibility.
  3. Are you willing to travel?  -  Yes, I am willing and able.  Please bear in mind that I consider travel a burden and expect the salary to reflect that.  Also consider that travel has been becoming more difficult and time consuming.
  4. Are you willing to commute?  -  No, I consider the time in commuting to be a loss of life.  If the position is further than twenty miles away from my residence, the salary will have to be such that it will support other arrangements.
  5. What are your salary requirements?  -  It totally depends on what the job demands.  I am a firm believer that a person should be recompensed for what they do and the contributions and sacrifices they make, not for the arbitrary pleasure of an employer.
  6. Yes, but what is the bottom line?  I don't want to waste your time.  -  I have had jobs that paid less than 20K and over 150K per year.  But don't expect me to be charitable to a corporation.  They can afford to pay for what they receive.  Any reasonable offer will be considered.  You are not wasting my time unless the pay is not commensurate with the job demands, location, etc.
  7. Do you have any requirements for contract remuneration?  -  Yes.  Since I am willing to work for variable amounts of money, the only way I have of ensuring that you aren't taking advantage of me is to demand a percentage of the customer bill rate.  On a W2 basis, I require a minimum of 75% of the amount the customer is paying you.
  8. Why are there no dates on your resume?  -  Well, actually, I relented and there are dates on my resume now. But I still believe that dates do not demonstrate anything about capability or experience.  In my opinion, dates are mainly used to support age discrimination. 
  9. The customer is requesting five years experience in <--->.  How many years do you have?  -  I am a proven professional, both as a systems programmer and a development programmer.  If I don't have confidence that I can produce the results the customer is seeking, I will tell you.  In my experience, I have been able to assist and many times out perform application programming professionals with "tens of years" of experience in areas where I have "no years" of experience.  On the other hand, there are times when ability and skills are no substitute for familiarity with the peculiarities of a particular product or set of code.  I will be quick to exclude myself in those cases because I have no desire to fail.
  10. Will you rework your resume so that it will emphasize the skill that the customer is looking for for this position?  -  In short, no.  If you or your customer are not capable of determining the level of my capability from the provided resume, then it most likely wouldn't make any difference anyway.
  11. Will you provide me with a list of references?  -  Yes, but not until I have a reasonable expectation that you are providing me with employment.  What better way to get a bad reference than by constantly annoying my references with the same old questions from well meaning recruiters.
  12. Will you come in to our office to meet with us?  -  Yes, but not until I have a reasonable expectation that you are providing me with employment.  If you can't tell I'm breathing by speaking with me on the telephone...

Things I have accomplished when not working on company projects:
    Rewired home telephone and installed CAT-5 LAN wiring throughout.
    Completed the CBT courses listed below.
    Completed course work to qualify for licensing as N.C. high school math teacher.
    Underwent training in Yoga instruction, Yoga for Joy Studio, Durham, N.C., continuing practice.
    Major home improvement projects (waterproofing basement, removing carpeting and finishing hardwood flooring, etc.).

 
 

RECENT TRAINING/REVIEW

Completed courses from SkillSoft (previously CBT Systems)

Technical Support

COBOL
Internet and Intranet Infrastructure
Internetworking Essentials
LAN Technologies
Microsoft Operating Systems Essentials
Networking Technologies
UNIX
Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 (Server and Workstation)
Miscellaneous Others

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