Re: transition from contract to full-time

[Bruce Byfield <bbyfield -at- progeny -dot- com>]

Elna Tymes wrote:
> 
> I have a real problem with your statement that the dot-com industry has
> collapsed, 

I think you misunderstand me. When I said that the mania has
collapsed. I didn't mean just the fly-by-night companies that
thought they could be an overnight success by claiming to work the
web. I also meant the idea that any company that worked the web
would be a success and the sense of unlimited growth in high-tech
and the boundless investor confidence in this market sector.

Like you (I suspect), I don't miss the fly-by-nights. I think that
some common sense was long overdue. Many companies were ridiculously
over valued, and really had no place to go except down. However, the
failure or reduced expectations of the survivors clearly does affect
the whole industry. Look at the NASDAQ, and the truth of this
statement is too self-evident to require any comment.


> Secondly, I have a problem with your sky-is-falling statement about "resulting
> widespread layoffs."  There have been some layoffs.  I wouldn't characterize
> them as "widespread," although the publicity has certainly been widespread.
> What has happened, and is happening about now, are SOME layoffs, which in the
> context of NO layoffs and the extremely active recruiting environment of the
> last several years, certainly qualifies as news.  

Your point about the publicity is well-taken. 

However, it's a fact that established companies like Dell, Nortel,
and Lucent are laying off thousands. New companies like VA Linux
Systems are also making cuts. And, traditionally, writers are often
near the front of the firing line.

> But let's be fair - this
> isn't anything like the "widespread layoffs" of the last recession 

No, it's not. However, that may be because it's not over yet. 

And, even if the recession is mostly the creation of the media, that
in itself can be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Hearing that well-known
companies are laying people off, other companies start thinking of
doing the same. At the very least, they start thinking twice about
hiring. If the recession truly is mostly an imaginary event, it can
easily become a real one.

I'm not saying that disaster has struck. Actually, I think that the
verdict is still out, and any contractor would be very rash not to
consider the possibility. I would have thought that my wording made
the tentative nature of my remarks clear; if not, I hope that these
ones do.

-- 
Bruce Byfield 317.833.0313 bbyfield -at- progeny -dot- com
Director of Marketing and Communications,
Progeny Linux Systems

"It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle if
it's been through a liquidizer first."
- Les Barker

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