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(Cliff note: Some excellent threads, discussions, and philosophical musings on computer consulting and the business end of software development.)
Subj: Why a consultant?
There's a reason that people who can sell make a lot of money - it's hard work and takes real skill! However, I believe that anyone can learn to do it. There's a lot in that statement, all of it true. I was branded as a techie from the very earliest days of my employment in the data processing field - not necessarily a good candidate for employment in a small business. But that's all I ever worked for, and they never provided me with the ivory tower (or rubber room) I always thought was what I really needed. I've had my immediate boss tell the big boss, "don't even talk to Andy... you won't understand him and if you did, you'd probably fire him". Funny, the more these guys tried to shield me from the clients (and other real people) the less good it seemed to do them. Most of the time my relations with my clients were excellent, while the boss's relations with virtually all clients was somewhere between strained and all-out hostile. I figured it was all because I was the good guy who did the work, and the boss was just the salesman. You see, I hated salesmen; they were all liars and thieves and any answer they gave to any question was either something they made up in total ignorance or an outright lie. Better to be a techno-geek than something I hated, right? But there were other reasons I hated the SOB's. One of my bigger customers today provides a generally terrible working environment, from the sales department on down to the plant and other office personnel. Their turnover is very high, their pay is low, raises and reviews are practically nonexistant. Yet they have not one, but two salesmen who make over a million dollars a year in commissions. The top salesman makes more money that the controller, VP admin, VP ops, VP sales, and all their department heads and top management put together. Not only were they all liars, they were some damn rich liars <g>. So out I went to start my own business... without any sales skills. Word of mouth, that's the ticket - my customers would love me so much that they'd tell all their friends. You see, somewhere along the way I developed some pretty good people skills. Not BS people skills, but a real relationship with my clients. I don't have to play Mister Happy Face with them, I can tell it like it is. Clients that can't get used to that don't stay my clients - I don't compromise and I don't patronize, not even a little because once you start doing it you're committed to living that way, and it just turns my stomach. Not too surprising that my first two attempts to go out on my own failed; I figured you just had to be a liar to sell, and the only way to ever make any money in the world was to be a crook. But somewhere along the way I began to see things differently; I got older, worked, got more experience, got more confidence in my own abilities, and realized that I had a lot more than programming skills at my disposal. My business is not exactly Fortune 1000 at the moment, but I'm making more money than I ever made at a straight job, and I'm enjoying myself. I have more "bosses" than I ever had before, but keeping customers happy has never been hard for me ... only the politicking within my own company that forced me to pretend that the other people I worked with actually knew what they were doing. And somewhere along the way I learned to sell. I'm not a cold caller, and I still rely heavily on word of mouth and repeat business. But every so often I add another customer, and learn new skills at each turn. I didn't realize how much I had changed until I was at a social gathering among mostly people I didn't know. Someone overheard my conversation and asked me what business I was in. I told him and he said, "I could tell you have the gift of gab, and I knew you had to be in sales". That's one of the best compliments I could have ever recieved ... although ten years ago the guy might have been rewarded for his geniality by a punch in the nose <g>. So I admit it ... I'm a BS artist ... but I don't feel I'm a liar and a thief. I know the liars and thieves, because they don't have a whole lot of repeat business. For me, repeat is the best kind because it's far easier to sell. Rather than trying to find someone that doesn't know me to rip off, I prefer to make myself available to serve those that DO know me to the best of my abilities. And I do make some cold calls now and then, and I receive some now and then. In my entire stretch of independence I've only lost one customer, and it's one I'm not sure I ever really had. In any case they were no great loss - the trusting relationship was never there from the beginning, and it just didn't develop. I spent my twenties listening to my boss make promises, keeping his promises with my sweat, and watching him keep the money. I hope to spend the rest of my thirties, forties, and beyond making and keeping my own promises. And money. And if computers lose their allure... I don't care. I know I can sell, so it really doesn't matter what I sell - I know I'll never be out of work.
Subj: Taking the Plunge!
I shouldn't reply to this message, you're really the competion. But I have been a consultant in the DC area for the past 5 years. I took the plunge last year, 3/1/94 as a sole Pro as well. I went completely broke and was eating cat food. "If you do doubt your courage or your strength, go no further. For death awaits you all, with big pointy teeth." Monte Python and the Holy Grail. To be honest, the last year has been unbelievable. Business has been far better than I could have ever hoped. I have about 12 strong clients that keep me real busy. Right now, five of them are hotter than hell. I started out with about 6 of my old clients and 2 other referals. When I decided to go on my own, this is what I did. 1) Made a list of everyone I know, and I mean everyone. Even old girl friends, High School friends, and even people I did not wish to talk to ever again. I had a 45 second speech that I developed to tell them about the new company I was founding. I told them that this was going to be my full time job, from here on out. (Don't want them to think that your taking a shot in the dark and are going to fold up at the first sign of trouble). I then asked if they knew anyone that would be interested in my services. I followup on those people regularly. 2) You may need a home occupancy permit to do business out of your home. 3) Got a Voice Mail pager mail box. This allows my clients to get in touch with me. It also differentiates me from my old employer. When his clients called me up to see if I could help them do what my old employer was unable to do, I was able to respond faster to their problems. 4) Called a friend that had recently formed his own business doing almost the same thing I do. I set up an arrangement with him to fill in for me if I was out of town. I explained to my clients that this was what doctors do and they would be covered if I was out of position. Makes my company more stable, like bigger companies are perceived to be. 5) 6 months into business I purchased a notebook computer and portable printer. This is my new office, demo machine and shows that I'm on the cutting edge of technology (I don't know why people view Car Phones and notebook computers as so high tech but they do.) 6) Every 6 months I take a good hard look at my company. What I do well, and more importantly, what I do badly. I then fix the bad things and start talking to my clients about what I do well. 7) Read, read, read. In particular the Washington Business Section of the Washington Post. This is important because this is what my clients are most like going to read, and ask me about, out of no where. I have an accountant and lawyer. Both are just starting their own business so their rates are great. If you are interested, please tell me and I'll pass on there names. I also worked with a company called Advantage Consulting on my approach to marketing. These guys gave me some great insights into who to meet, win and keep my clients. Give me a call, we can talk further. Joseph P. Barron - Barron System Integration, Inc. (703) 519-5024
Subj: Hackers with Attitude
Hackers with attitudes is probably a reference to the type of programmer that can dig into the guts of things, but can't understand why everyone else doesn't appreciate their superiority for doing so? (There's an old saying: "Application programming is for feebs that can't do systems programming".... Obviously first said by a "Hacker with an attitude" <g>.) The REAL PARADOX HERE is that anyone who can do all the things required in the technical AND the creative part of the job description is probably more expensive than they anticipate. Anyone who can ALSO interact with both software non-software professionals and is comfortable with starting under contract probably has enough business experience that they wouldn't be interested in starting under contract with the idea of becoming permanent. (They'd require too much under the contract in the first place!) To top it all off, anyone with commercial app experience that can write VBX and DLLs, can come up with C++ classes without breaking a sweat, has the experience and wisdom to walk through a design in an interview, AND has been through the "hell" of a shrinkwrap product release cycle will CERTAINLY be more interested in using that experience to develop THEIR OWN product! The only way to interest this level of individual is to offer them a large enough piece of the pie (stock, etc) that the company will generate resentment in all the current employees that feel their efforts as "the best minds in the business" have just been rewarded to someone else! I must say this happens more often than you'd expect, so if anyone DOES qualify for the position, they'll probably do well... for a while... (until people realize that the majority of the time, anyone THAT GOOD who DOESN'T have their own company by now must not be THAT GOOD after all! This isn't ALWAYS true with techies that prefer letting others run the business so they can have fun programming, but I know it sure is true with top management!). NOW, THAT'S THE PARADOX!
To: jonathan huang, 75033,737
Sunday, March 10, 1996 9:32:05 PM
If I have enough experience, I would choose system programming instead of end user apps. But I will work my way up. Funny, I've always noticed that the more experienced programmers knew more about the system details, and the up-and-coming developers were too busy concentrating on writing great apps. Thus, I've tried to stay in the app side, because I felt it was more useful to the average person. I understand that if you develop code long enough, you're eventually going to run into problems that can ONLY be solved by "getting down on the bare metal" and walking through the deepest parts of the OS (or even the hardware/firmware!). But, I've historically resisted doing that. I finally figured out why I've resisted giving up app development in favor of system experiences! As the newer technologies (C++, OLE2, etc) have leapfrogged the implementations within the projects I was working on when those new tools were released, my "work experience" became dated. Since that project was behind schedule, the emphesis was placed on getting what we had working, rather than moving into new technologies before we released the stuff we already had built! Thus, the general approach to development evolved, while my existing experience made me more valuable working in areas where I had expertise. Therefore, I wound up getting deeper into those areas, supporting the old stuff, and didn't have the oppertunity to grow with the times. Once that project was DONE, I was outdated. Nobody wants to pay someone with all my years of experience to learn new technology, so the only oppertunities presented to me that would justify my previous level of income were ones that pushed me even DEEPER into the areas of my expertise. That's when I realized why I'd avoided getting deeper into the system in the past. As an up and coming programmer, I saw that the experienced developers had been pushed into this same trap that I now face, and I subconciously felt that when an app developer turns to systems programming, that indicates they've grown older.... and it's true... <g> I am starting my own software house alone at this moment because I trust myself and want to bet everything I have on this project. Boy, that's a GUTSY MOVE these days! Of course I am working at home. My problem is nobody around me truly acknowledges my courage. And, they never will until you're successful. Sad, isn't it? I talked to a potential investor about my project. In return, he comments that if I try to open a cyber cafe, he will pour in some money. But the software project won't make sense to him. This really hurts. That's because the cost of TODAY'S SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS is TOO HIGH, compared to the RISKS of return on investment. Ten or fifteen years ago, you COULD write PASCAL in an apt. above a garage, and turn that into a company like Borland. Today, you've got to spend a year or so just to get all the trendy "buzz words" supported in your app (OLE, ODBC, DDE, EMAIL, LAN, etc,etc,etc) and when you're done, a dozen other people have also released or will soon release similar products! The chances of an individual writing a million-selling software program are MUCH SMALLER today than they were a decade ago! If you DO find a new niche, the very fact that you're making sales will catch the attention of the "big boys", who are feverishly looking for new oppertunities and avenues to expand their income and support the size of their staff. Take NetScape. New product, great hit, stock skyrocketed. But along comes Win95 and MS gives you a browser for free to increase the attraction to their new OS products and new online services! So, even when you DO hit, the chances of longevity are thin. And, you can bet NetScape wasn't totally written "at home"! OTOH, a service-oriented business like a Cybercafe WILL provide some sort of return on investment in the near term, and then the investor can judge if this is a wise pursuit or not BEFORE investing enough to "buy the farm" and build an entire app, then face marketing costs and distribution battles! (Getting an app placed in a retail store or picked up by a distributor is EXTREMELY DIFFICULT! So is getting an app onto the "approved purchases" list of large corporations or the govt. These days, finishing the code means you're only HALF-WAY THERE, and that the REAL EXPENSIVE STUFF IS NEXT ... ADVERTISING!) If I want to make money, I won't choose to write codes in the first place. Well, if you KNOW THAT, then why are you surprised and hurt when an investor KNOWS THAT, TOO? <g> I agree, it's HARD TO SWALLOW. But, you DO UNDERSTAND! Nor thought about become manager or analyst after few years of programming. That's a guaranteed way to limit your potential horizons, unless you're REALLY good at corporate politics and have visions of becoming the President of GM or something. Yet, if that were the case, you sure wouldn't be wasting time coding programs and would be golfing with the boss and working on an MBA... etc... (yuk! The golfing's OK, but ...MBA!... That's what's killed this country in the first place! <g>) I just want to be a great programmer. This is called attitude with hacker. NO... You wouldn't have talked to an investor, you wouldn't be taking the risk of working at home, you wouldn't want to write great software if you had the "attitude of a hacker". Your problem is actually MUCH WORSE... YOU HAVE THE ATTITUDE OF AN ENTREPRENEUR! That scares the daylights out of most employers, because they know you'll never be satisified until you do your own thing! I'll scare investors UNTIL YOU CAN SHOW A PRODUCT AND PROVE IT WILL SELL! I've had the same problem, and when I sent my resume' out, people would reply by saying "Very impressive.. you're overqualified and too expensive"... BUT, I NEVER EVEN MENTIONED SALARY REQUIREMENTS! Later, I met someone in the CAREERS forum who authors books on how to find work, etc. He offered to review my resume' and give me his opinion. He quickly responded to my resume' by saying my problem was obvious to him. My resume' presented my abilities as that of a software product developer, and that's what was both impressive and scary to employers. The employers weren't looking for someone that'd start projects requiring huge investments of resources or funding, employers want someone to bail them out of their current situations! He suggested I tone down the inventive development parts, and stress that I'd participated in the completion of products, getting them out the door and on the shelf! I did, and was hired on my very next interview... that job was only a short-term contract, but they needed someone to finish off some enhancements to an existing program and get it into production use again.... which I was HAPPY to do!! So, an "attitude of a hacker" is someone that insists on the superiority of one OS over another REGARDLESS OF THE APPLICATION REQUIRED. Sure, MAC enthusiasts are devoted to their machines, but I don't think many of them will suggest using a MAC as the platform for a 500,000 record corporate database! (They'll suggest using the MAC to connect to the machine that stores those records, but that's not quite the same thing. <g>) A WinNT enthusiast might suggest ways that hardware could be configured to successfully support such a large database, but if you add the extra requirement to support printing on EBCDIC line printers, displaying on 3270-style tubes, and accepting mainframe-style communications protocols, etc, then they may suggest using a mainframe as part of the system, too! Yet, a true UNIX hacker will feel that UNIX is the ONLY WAY TO GO, REGARDLESS OF END-USER OR SYSTEM INTEGRATION CONSIDERATIONS!! Sure, UNIX has been ported to a multitude of platforms. Sure, UNIX is pretty slick.... But, I do think it's overkill for some things (such as for a home computer that's mainly used as a simple word processor to type one-page letters and do small mail-merge printing), and I do think it's not as well suited as other OS's for others (example: supporting legacy COBOL programs and JCL.) But, a true UNIX buff wouldn't consider anything else! The nroff/troff stuff can probably do all the text formatting necessary for the home user... and UNIX hackers don't care about COBOL apps or JCL anyway! <vbg> I think a good clue to what was meant by "hackers with an attitude" is provided in the rest of the original sentance. The other phrase used was "language snobs". To me, this makes lots of sense, and the employer is simply stating from the start that they're not interested in hiring anyone who will constantly say: "Well, if we were doing this on system XXX and writing the code in language YYY, then it would be SO MUCH EASIER!". I must agree that it does get annoying to hear someone frequently comment that "This would be simple in FORTH", or "If we really want to do OO development, then we should be using SMALLTALK instead of C++". While those comments may or may not be true, they have no relevance to the current development effort and don't contribute anything positive to the project. OTOH, comments that say: "Why don't we borrow a technique that works well in FORTH, and approach the problem from this angle, using this philosophy to integrate and build on existing code/object functionality?" (See the difference?) Anyway, I think the very fact you're trying to write great programs and have gone so far as to talk to investors (non-software professionals), indicates you'd not be eliminated from consideration with a classification as a "hacker with an attitude". A friend of mine once said that he ONLY hired people with an ego, because if you don't think you're any good, you're probably NOT. BUT, HE DOES REQUIRE the ego is small enough to fit through the front door in the morning!
To: jonathan huang, 75033,737Monday,
March 11, 1996 9:52:04 AM
Write a business plan. My favorite step-by-step guide for business plan writing is "The Sucessful Business Plan, Secrets and Strategies" by Rhonda Abrams (ISBN 1-55571-154-5). Even if you never show your business plan to a single investor, the business insights you will gain from writing the plan and doing the research will more than pay for the effort.
To: Frank Haggar, 75672,1206
Monday, March 11, 1996 1:17:17 AM
Excellent points Frank, I think you've pretty much summed it up.... Often Employers seem to want it both ways. I've seen lots of adds along the following lines... Wanted : Graduate Programmer (i.e. cheap), must have experience in C++, Windows, NT, realtime programming and database design etc etc. People should realize that if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys (to quote my Dad). I seem to get a lot of contract work rescuing projects that have been designed & implemented by people who were either inexperienced, underqualified, incompetent or all of those. A lot of those projects seem to be in VB, a development enviroment I loath with a passion. I really wish I could hammer into some managers heads that fast flashy interface development does not aid sound program design. EOR (End Of Rave)
To: Lindsay Mathieson, 100060,1147
Monday, March 11, 1996 9:58:20 PM
I've learned this from the school of hard knocks. BUT, as I mentioned, at least there is HOPE of finding an experienced technical person that enjoys programming so much they'd be happy to take such a position even though it's sort-of a paradox. Yet, they'd rather avoid the management and politics stuff by working hard on creating software. Making up schedules, spending all day in meetings, and planning your next power move is done by people that "Don't make anything" (to qoute a phrase from the movie "Pretty Woman" :) The real kicker is trying to hire qualified MANAGEMENT. That's near impossible, especially finding someone to be the "Head of Development". If they could head a development staff successfully, then either they'd already be doing it or they'd have done it and are now doing it for themselves. Once, the company I worked for hired this guy with an AWESOME looking background. But, the one strange thing was how he'd left his last job, which he'd had for many years. Two LARGE companies merged, and one of the stipulations of the deal was that his position would be filled by someone from the other company. His was the ONLY one that the other company required placing their person in. To me, this suggested they didn't care about that position, they were indicating they'd back out of a multi-megazillion dollar deal rather than have this guy remain in management! To be honest, he WAS actually a pretty good manager... FOR BOTH OF THE FIRST TWO WEEKS OR SO! The rest of his 6 month employment validated the reason why having him around in a top corporate position could justify stoping a major merger!! <g> My favorite incident happened near the end of his employment, after he'd FINALLY found a new location to lease for our office space. He came in on a Saturday to start planning the "big move". I walked in late Saturday because I needed to get a file from my computer. I noticed he was standing behind some very large boxes, which he seemed to be filling. The rows of overstuffed bookshelves that lined the hallway were now 3/4 empty, so I figured he was packing! COOL? NOT! I looked in the boxes, and they were almost EMPTY! So I asked him where he'd put everything. He said he decided to hold down the cost of moving by cleaning out all the old printer manuals because it made no sense to pay to move them since there were so many and we didn't have most of those printers anyway! Well ... I FREAKED! WE WROTE FORMS PRINTING SOFTWARE THAT SUPPORTED HUNDREDS OF MAKES AND MODELS OF PRINTERS! THOSE MANUALS TOOK MANY YEARS TO COLLECT! I SPENT SO MANY DAYS WALKING AROUND COMDEX, HUNTING DOWN PRINTER PRODUCT MANAGERS AND CONVINCING THEM THAT THEY SHOULD SEND US COPIES OF MANUALS FOR EACH MAKE AND MODEL THEY EVER MADE, THAT JUST THINKING ABOUT IT MAKES MY FEET HURT! I frantically asked where he'd thrown them, because they were are LIFELINE. He said they'd already gone to the dump. The steam poured from my ears as I reached out to physically STRANGLE THIS MAN... But, he said something that changed my attitude and made me grin from ear to ear. He said he couldn't wait to tell the CEO how he'd spent all day weeding out every one of the manuals for printers that we didn't specifically have in-house, thereby saving us the cost of paying the movers to pack and carry dozens of boxes. Well, on Monday morning, I surprised everyone by coming into the office at 8am SHARP! They asked why, and I said that I didn't want to miss the FIREWORKS! When I explained, they all said I was making it up, and the books MUST BE OVER AT THE NEW OFFICE... right? Right? RIGHT?? TELL ME THEY'RE OVER AT THE NEW OFFICE, PLEASE?! Needless to say, the closed door of his office didn't do much good when the CEO arrived and the manager boasted of his accomplishment! The shouting was so loud the people from two suites down came in to ask what was going on! The manager was told to IMMEDIATELY go to the new office and wait for the movers to bring over boxes. He wasn't to set foot back in the old office, and his ONLY job decription was to supervise unpacking WITHOUT THROWING OUT ANYTHING ELSE! And, he'd BETTER BE THERE WHEN THE MOVERS ARRIVED!! (The movers weren't due until the middle of the week! <g> He sat on the floor of that office for two whole days, no electric, no phone, no furniture! <g>) Often Employers seem to want it both ways ... My FAVORITE job ads were the ones that appeared a couple of years ago, asking for a MINIMUM OF 2 to 3 YEARS EXPERIENCE DEVELOPING COMMERCIAL APPS USING MICROSOFT AND/OR BORLAND C++ (not C, but C++). Well, the dates on my MSVC 1.0 compiler indicate it was released in 1993, so it'd be rather difficult to have 2 years experience with MSVC when answering a job ad in 1994! My BC 3.0 compiler is dated 11/91, and BC 3.1 has dates of 6/92. Even so, that makes it pretty difficult to have 2 or 3 years commercial app development experience by 1994, unless your employer was either (A) Borland (B) Microsoft or (C) So well funded they could halt current product release schedules and drop everything just to change compilers and be "trendy"!! Of course, there WAS a C++ compiler for the PC back in 1990 or so.... Walter Bright released Zortech C++ before the big folks released their C++ compilers. Zortech C++ is now Symantec C++. It's the only compiler that a 1993-1994 application programmer MIGHT have 2-3 years experience with, but it was NEVER mentioned! Now, that's pushing it a bit, if you ask me! Maybe the employers were looking for college grads that had the time to play with C++ before commercial app developers could afford to make the switch?? Beats me! People should realize that if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys. To qoute my Stepdad: "Nothin' cheap comes good, Nothin' good comes cheap!" I seem to get a lot of contract work rescuing projects ... Or, done in such haste that such results were unavoidable. As long as we're quoting, "There's never time to do it right, but there's always time to do it twice". Subj: Need some advice
Jonathan, Don't give up. You get respect from others by getting the job done even when the problems seem almost impossible to overcome. If you signed a contract to do a job, you must do everything possible to meet those contractual obligations - to make your money, to establish a reputation as a reliable contractor, and to fulfill your legal requirements. If you're writing shareware on your own, you can do whatever you want to do. You're the boss. Don't expect to make any money at it, however. Unless you put out something spectacular like Doom or Procomm Plus (both started as shareware products put out by very talented young people - Procomm Plus was a senior project by some computer science students and became a major software corporation), you can't hope to make a lot of money. There are MANY HUNDREDS of shareware progams out there that hardly ever make a nickle by comparison to these two successes. You get frustrated with the compiler, with the limitations of OWL, with the lack of support, and you want to give up on it? Maybe your family sees it as "quitting", while you see it as a hopeless dead end due to technical difficulties beyond your control. Look at it from both sides. Get a job that pays the bills, even if you don't like the work. Then, on your own time, develop your own skills to do what you really want to do. Don't write a shareware program, design something you know to be commercial quality. Get it to work and do direct sales or sell it through a reputable company. My brother wrote a demonstration program for a game concept, sent it off to Electronic Arts, and he's been making a 6 figure salary working from the comfort of his own home ever since. He's put out a few things shareware in the past too - he used that "pocket change" to take his wife out to dinner occasionally. One other piece of advice. You don't like to go out to lunch with the guys and socialize with coworkers? I was like that for many years. More recently I've realilzed, however, that's an important part of your job. When it comes time for raises the boss will ask coworkers of their "evaluation" of your work - how good you are on the job, how well you work with others, and so on. Personal feelings always factor into that - if you never associate with the others you work with, they might think you don't like them or feel that they can't really talk to you on the job. Communication on the job is essential for any sort of quality "team work". You might even find yourself making friends of coworkers by going out to lunch with them. And, if the boss comes along, he will get to see how you relate to others in a more social situation - maybe providing opportunities down the road for dealing with other customers if the boss thinks you're good dealing with other people. If you own your own computer equipmet and software at home, the company you work for cannot force you to sign an exclusive contract that anything you write on your own time at home belongs to the company - not unless they PAY you for the time you work at home. (What they're trying to do to you is simply against the law in the United States.) They can have you sign a "non-competitive clause", which states that you will not develop a product that can directly compete with any products the company produces. (If they do data bases and you're writing video games at home, then there should be no "conflict of interest" and the company should have no desire and no right to what you're doing at home.) You may want to go back to that company an ask them if this would be a suitable compromise. I've known friends who graduated from college with me that have not done as well in their careers as I have for one important reason. I was always willing to take whatever crummy job I was given, do the very best I could, and deliver a better product than anyone expected. I quickly established a reputation of getting the job done quickly with high quality. Soon I was able to pick the jobs I wanted to work on. My boss used to say, "Just tell Matt it can't be done, then he'll solve your problem for you." This approach opened lots of doors for me at work. I always put the customer first. I would talk with the person who would use my software whenever possible. I'd find out HOW he wanted to use it, what needed to be fast and easy to do, and so on....please the customer and he will SING your praises. This builds your reputation as a good worker, someone to be counted upon. The more customers who know your name and associate it with quality work, the more recognition and respect you'll get. Some of the guys I graduated with took a different attitude. They thought "Hey, I've got a college education and I'm really smart. Don't give me some crummy grunt work, give me a high profile job for big bucks. I went to college, I earned it." That doesn't happen. You "pay your dues" on the job. The guys that sat around feeling sorry for themselves because they didn't get the "neat job" they wanted ended up getting overlooked for promotions and raises and some eventually got laid off. Develop a rock solid WORK ETHIC - be the man that always gets the job done and pleases the customer and you'll earn the respect and good pay you're looking for.
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