you might have a slow computer.
OK, so it isn't Jeff Foxworthy funny (which, depending on your tastes, means it's less funny than lawn gnomes), but it is true. However, the phrase "it's funny because it's true" only applies if your computer isn't slow. Having a slow computer in today's world is one of the most frustrating experiences you can have. If it's a company computer, there's probably not much you can do, but there is a lot you can do for a slow computer at home.
Below are a few tips for troubleshooting a slow computer and hopefully squeezing a few months -- or even a year or two -- more out of your current rig. With any luck, we can turn that hour you spend waiting for your computer to boot and open Firefox (or Internet Explorer, if you must) into an hour reading about what your friends had for dinner on Facebook.
Up front, this is a guide for Windows PC users. I expect Unix/Linux users to already know this stuff and Mac users to tell themselves that OS X never slows down.
Viruses and Malware
I would place the probability that somebody approaching me with a slow computer is infected with a virus, spyware, or adware at above 50%. Even worse, many people are running shady antivirus/anti-malware programs that are actually malware themselves, or at the very least are just not effective. My recommendations for trustworthy, effective antivirus and anti-malware programs are below.
Antivirus
If you're interested in pay software, the best out right now is Norton Antivirus 2009. That will come as a surprise to many people who have been keeping up with how bad Symantec's software has been since 2003. If you look around, you can sometimes find a rebate making it cheap or free. I recently found a link for a copy for $45 with a $45 rebate in the form of a prepaid Visa card and free shipping. Keep an eye on Slickdeals.net -- often these deals are one day only.
If you're like me and prefer not to pay whenever you can, check out the free Avira AntiVir (http://www.free-av.com/). It scores highly on major virus scanner tests, doesn't bog down your system, and is a favorite among computer experts right now. The only caveat with the free edition is a daily pop-up. That can be fixed easily by following the instructions here:
http://www.elitekiller.com/files/disable_antivir_nag.htm.
Anti-malware/spyware
I have 2 suggestions here:
Malwarebytes' Anti-malware
(http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php)
Free, or $25 for a "full version" that allows you to schedule automatic updates and scans.
Spybot Search & Destroy
(http://www.safer-networking.org/en/spybotsd/index.html)
Also free. It has 2 programs called TeaTimer and SDHelper to help protect your system. Feel free to install/run them if you like, but if you are a very careful computer user they aren't really necessary as long as you have Antivirus, a firewall (Windows has one built in since XP Service Pack 2, or you can run your own), and run an anti-spyware regularly.
Run both of these at least once a month, or you could also just alternate (run MBAM one month, Spybot the next). If you decide to go with Norton, it has a decent spyware scanner built in -- then you could just run Malwarebytes' Anti-malware once a month and skip Spybot.
Upgrade your Memory
If your computer is running really slowly and you have less than 2 GB of RAM, you might consider buying more RAM. Check your computer manual to see how much RAM it supports. If it's a couple of years old (e.g. Pentium 4, Core 2 Duo/Quad), then it is most likely DDR2 compatible. DDR2 RAM is super-cheap, so get as much as it will take, but at least 2 GB. Use the "Memory Configurator" at Newegg.com (http://www.newegg.com/Store/Category.aspx?Category=17&name=Memory) to find a good deal on memory that will work in your computer. Stick to name brands like Kingston, Corsair, Crucial, OCZ, G.Skill, or Patriot. They are more reliable, and most of them offer a lifetime warranty.
If you aren't sure how many slots your computer has for memory, or how many are available, download the free Belarc Advisor (http://belarc.com/free_download.html) and install/run it. It will tell you everything about your computer, including information about RAM. You could also use this program to generate a page to send somebody information about your computer if they were giving you advice (I often ask people to run this, save the page, and send it to me). It will include the keys/serial numbers for some of your software, so don't send it to anybody you don't know or you think might use them for nefarious purposes. It won't show private data or passwords, though.
General Tweaking
There are a ton of things you can do to root out problems that slow down your computer. A few of the most effective are:
Clean up old programs
If you haven't reinstalled Windows on your computer in a year or two (see below), chances are it is filled with old software you either don't use, don't know is running in the background, or you shouldn't be running in the first place. Now is the time to clean it up and get rid of what you don't want.
First, if your internet browser is running more than 1 toolbar, get rid of it. Really, other than the Google toolbar and the Yahoo! toolbar, most toolbars are evil and just serve to fill your computer with ads and spyware, track your internet habits, cause extra pop-ups to appear, and hog your precious system resources. Uninstall them with extreme prejudice.
Next, go through Add/Remove Programs (Programs & Features in Vista) and uninstall any programs you no longer use. A good rule of thumb is that if you haven't used a program in the last 6 months, you don't use it often enough to justify keeping it installed (feel free to make exceptions, but make sure you really need to keep it). You can always reinstall the program later if you need it.
If you have a program that just won't go away (or doesn't disappear from the Start menu or Program Files directory), go grab a copy of Revo Uninstaller (http://www.revouninstaller.com/). Revo UI contains a special uninstall program and several other tools for cleaning programs and data off your computer. I'll leave you to check out all its features at the website, but its best feature is that it's 100% free.
Control which programs run at startup
Even if you have programs you don't want to uninstall, chances are you don't realize that some of those programs run in the background all the time. It's unlikely that you use Quicktime every time you use your computer, but it could be running, using up your system resources anyway. Revo UI includes a Startup Manager, but there are a few other tricks to taking back control of your computer. MaximumPC has an article about this that I can't do much better than. It's geared toward curing a slow startup, but it will also help to make your computer run a little faster:
http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/six_essential_steps_diagnosing_and_curing_a_slow_startup
Don't shut off your antivirus or any other essential app like video card or device drivers, but if you don't use a program every time you sit down at the computer, you don't need it running at startup. Avoid stopping Microsoft services and it's pretty hard to screw up. If you disable something that causes a problem, just go back and check the box to enable it again. If you disable them one at a time, it'll be easy to figure out what you need to turn back on.
Reinstall Windows
Although it is a small pain in the butt, reinstalling Windows and your programs from scratch is one of the best ways to clean your computer of unnecessary cruft that is slowing it down. It is also a surefire way to clean up any viruses or spyware that you just can't seem to get rid of. You'll need to make sure you have discs and keys for Windows and all your important software (Belarc Advisor can retrieve those keys if you've lost them). If you decide to do this, you'll also have to back up all your important data.
You should already be backing up your data regularly -- if so, it shouldn't take you long to run a quick backup and start your reinstall. Otherwise, the best thing to do is invest in an external hard drive. USB hard drives will work for almost everyone, but you should get a Firewire-capable drive if you have Firewire. If you have an eSATA port, you can buy a super-fast eSATA drive for a few dollars more. You can get a 1TB external hard drive for under $100 on sale (Newegg.com and Slickdeals.net are good places to look). Make sure you read the reviews, as a few external drive makers are known for poor quality. Major manufacturers like Western Digital and Seagate are always safe bets, but companies like Fantom, Buffalo Technology, and LaCie are also generally good.
Consider a hard drive upgrade
Hard drive space is getting pretty cheap these days, with 1 TB drives costing under $100. Even so, most of us still have less space than we need after we put all of our music, photos, and movies on our computers. Even if you aren't out of space, hard drives tend to become less efficient as they reach full capacity. If your drive is over 80% full, you might see a speed boost by upgrading your hard drive. In most desktop PCs, you can just install a second hard drive in your computer and move all of your personal files into a folder on the new hard drive. You can find instructions for drive installation online, in your computer manual, or included with some retail-boxed hard drives.
If you'd prefer to just move your entire My Documents folder to the new drive so that your files are easy to access from the normal My Documents links, that's easy to do. In XP, right click on My Documents, go to the Target tab, and click the Move button. In Vista, do the same thing, but the tab is called "Location" instead of Target. Choose a location, click Apply, and Windows will ask if you would like to move the files in the folder to the new location. Choose yes, and wait for the move to complete.
If you want to speed up your application load times, and don't mind spending a few bucks and reinstalling Windows, consider upgrading the drive you have Windows and your programs installed on to a Western Digital Velociraptor drive, which spins at 10000 RPM compared to most drives 7200 RPM. These drives don't have as much storage, though, so you'll still need another, larger drive for file storage if you have a couple hundred GB or more of files.
When to upgrade the whole machine
If your computer is 3-4 years old or more, and you don't see much improvement with more RAM and a fresh Windows install, it may be time to consider a new computer. This is especially true if your computer runs on a Pentium 4 or older processor, and it wasn't top-of-the-line when you bought it. The new Core 2 and Core i7 machines run faster, cooler, and quieter than old Pentium 4 and Pentium D computers. Pentium 3 computers can barely keep up now, and you're really missing out on a lot that even a modern $500 computer could get you.
If you are willing to take on the challenge of building your own computer, you can get even more bang for your buck. The internet is full of instructions and suggestions for building your own computer (including parts lists). MaximumPC.com is a good place to start again, but a Google search will lead you to many more great guides.
This list of tips barely scratches the surface of what you can do if you're willing to put in a little time to make your computing experience better. A few more tips can be found in this article:
http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/21_steps_make_your_pc_betterfasterstronger
MaximumPC.com is a great resource for this type of article, as is ArsTechnica.com and the forums at both sites. Spend a little time reading there, add in some Google searches, and in no time you could be a computer expert (or at least make your coworkers and friends think you are)! Who knows -- you might even venture into the world outside of Windows. I'll try to post a few more articles when I come across them and links to helpful websites and forums for people with computer questions. Maybe I'll even post a few articles of my own!
Got another tip for speeding up a slow computer? A computer question you just can't seem to find a good answer for? Post it in the comments. If I can't answer your computing question, I probably know someone who can!
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Stupidity or Greed?
A woman was recently taken in on the well-known "Nigerian Letter" scam to the tune of $400,000. That's a different Lexus for each day of the week, with money left over for some designer clothes to make you look good while driving the cars! How does one lose that much money in a well-known scam? Read on at Katu.com (which appears to be the source of the story):
http://www.katu.com/news/34292654.html
To me, this just shows the power of sheer blind stupidity, or more likely, the stupidity brought on by sheer blind greed.
Let's look at this from the perspective of someone who is completely oblivious to the existence of these scams and assumes (foolishly) that someone in Nigeria has tracked down an email address for him/her through his/her now deceased grandfather, who has been out of touch since before you had an email address. If you can believe that, sending $100 for "paperwork" almost seems reasonable, and even worth the risk. $8300 for "accounting fees" or other costs could even be believable, but at this point one wonders why you wouldn't start asking to meet at the holding bank and be willing to pay for a plane ticket (and maybe a bodyguard/escort) -- if you can get past the "why don't you take it out of the funds available?" question burning in your mind. To go so far as to empty a retirement account and go into severe debt without investigating further seems beyond stupid to me.
Another article at MaximumPC.com states that "her friends, family, and law enforcement officials tried to get her to stop." Are we supposed to believe that not one of these people were familiar with this common scam and no one showed her examples to prove how common it is? I doubt that was the case -- despite all the evidence before her, obsessive greed kept her blind to the truth.
As cold as it may sound, I don't pity her in the least. She is either greedy and deserves this fate, or is immensely stupid and is lucky she survived natural selection this long. I may feel sorry for her husband, though, assuming he was unaware of what she was doing to their finances or why. Sometimes trust in a relationship has unfortunate side effects, and this could be one of those times.
I just hope this serves as a tale of warning for others who might not know any better than to fall for these scams. It should also serve as an example of how greed can destroy. Be ambitious and strive for success, but don't be greedy. Of course, always be skeptical and use a little common sense, too.
Monday, September 8, 2008
What's that? You hula at work?
Update time. Nothing really new to muse about.
First, the most important thing. It looks like Joss Whedon (or somebody with more power) decided to put "Dr. Horrible" on Hulu.com.
What do you mean you haven't heard of Hulu? *sigh* Geez, people.
OK, so back up a bit. Hulu.com is an online video streaming service set up by NBC Universal. If you don't know what video streaming is, I'll let you work your Google muscles, because I'm guessing they need some exercise. Don't forget to warm up by searching for "cute kitten photos" or something else simple first -- we don't want you cramping up or pulling something. Basically what this means for us is that we can watch TV and movie content from NBC, Comedy Central, Fox, and several other content providers for free -- online, on demand. Alright, it's almost free -- they will show you some short commercials, but it's not a bad deal.
So back to what I was saying. Joss or the powers-that-be have decided to put "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" on Hulu for our (free!) viewing pleasure. I've known this for a few weeks now, but I forgot to update the blog. In any case, I can now provide you a link to the content, and you don't have to part with your $3.99 to see it. Now you can watch ads for Degree for Women instead.
Dr. Horrible on Hulu.com
Of course, if you had gone to my previous post and went to the Dr. Horrible web site, you would have already seen it by now. You can watch it there, too, although it's still technically through Hulu.com (some day when you're older I'll teach you about "embedded content").
So there's that.
In further updates, the job is working out fairly well. Sometimes I'm just twiddling my thumbs (or doing things like updating the blog), but I usually have something to work on. I'm being paid fairly, and I seem to be appreciated. I think they'll be happier when I've been here about 6 months, but that's really an issue with the contract rules the government clients have.
I have all the benefits of a small company: lots of freedom, a voice that gets heard, my own office, and people know my name. I also get all the downsides, though: lack of guidance, sometimes incredibly slow days of work (but not always), and the issue with the boss's opinion being the only opinion except my own. Luckily I can handle most of the downsides, as I can find some direction on my own (and have the power to make decisions), I don't mind wasting a little time if it's not every day, and I have pretty strong opinions and can back them up. Of course, there are lots of little ups and downs to small companies, but the same thing exists in big companies in different ways. I'm making my place, and I think I'm at least convincing the boss that I'm pretty slick when it comes to this software stuff :-)
I imagine I'll be here at least a year, and more if it works out. I'd like to say I feel really positive about a long-term relationship here, but I honestly don't have a positive or negative feeling about it. I like the place and the people for the most part, and I think they're a serious company. Right now I'm just along for the ride and trying to do good work. If it works out, that's great. If not, that's OK, too -- there are plenty of other opportunities in Huntsville. That's part of why we came here. Ideally, I'll get to grow with this company, make a ton of money, and love what I do. But worst-case scenario, I'll have some solid experience to take with me and hopefully nice things to say about "the last place I worked".
First, the most important thing. It looks like Joss Whedon (or somebody with more power) decided to put "Dr. Horrible" on Hulu.com.
What do you mean you haven't heard of Hulu? *sigh* Geez, people.
OK, so back up a bit. Hulu.com is an online video streaming service set up by NBC Universal. If you don't know what video streaming is, I'll let you work your Google muscles, because I'm guessing they need some exercise. Don't forget to warm up by searching for "cute kitten photos" or something else simple first -- we don't want you cramping up or pulling something. Basically what this means for us is that we can watch TV and movie content from NBC, Comedy Central, Fox, and several other content providers for free -- online, on demand. Alright, it's almost free -- they will show you some short commercials, but it's not a bad deal.
So back to what I was saying. Joss or the powers-that-be have decided to put "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" on Hulu for our (free!) viewing pleasure. I've known this for a few weeks now, but I forgot to update the blog. In any case, I can now provide you a link to the content, and you don't have to part with your $3.99 to see it. Now you can watch ads for Degree for Women instead.
Dr. Horrible on Hulu.com
Of course, if you had gone to my previous post and went to the Dr. Horrible web site, you would have already seen it by now. You can watch it there, too, although it's still technically through Hulu.com (some day when you're older I'll teach you about "embedded content").
So there's that.
In further updates, the job is working out fairly well. Sometimes I'm just twiddling my thumbs (or doing things like updating the blog), but I usually have something to work on. I'm being paid fairly, and I seem to be appreciated. I think they'll be happier when I've been here about 6 months, but that's really an issue with the contract rules the government clients have.
I have all the benefits of a small company: lots of freedom, a voice that gets heard, my own office, and people know my name. I also get all the downsides, though: lack of guidance, sometimes incredibly slow days of work (but not always), and the issue with the boss's opinion being the only opinion except my own. Luckily I can handle most of the downsides, as I can find some direction on my own (and have the power to make decisions), I don't mind wasting a little time if it's not every day, and I have pretty strong opinions and can back them up. Of course, there are lots of little ups and downs to small companies, but the same thing exists in big companies in different ways. I'm making my place, and I think I'm at least convincing the boss that I'm pretty slick when it comes to this software stuff :-)
I imagine I'll be here at least a year, and more if it works out. I'd like to say I feel really positive about a long-term relationship here, but I honestly don't have a positive or negative feeling about it. I like the place and the people for the most part, and I think they're a serious company. Right now I'm just along for the ride and trying to do good work. If it works out, that's great. If not, that's OK, too -- there are plenty of other opportunities in Huntsville. That's part of why we came here. Ideally, I'll get to grow with this company, make a ton of money, and love what I do. But worst-case scenario, I'll have some solid experience to take with me and hopefully nice things to say about "the last place I worked".
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Report for Duty, 1400 Zulu!
No, I haven't joined the military. But I did get a job!
Surprise of surprises, I had 3 interviews in a row, and received 3 job offers. To top it off, all 3 job offers were higher than my highest expected salary, and 2 of them offered overtime compensation. Other than that, the 3 jobs were more or less competitive in benefits. One job was in Pulaski, TN (I would have lived in Columbia, TN), and the others were in Huntsville. Long story short, I picked one of the Huntsville jobs, which coincidentally was both the highest paying and the smallest in size (seriously, that was a coincidence, as the salaries were close enough to each other).
So I now work for Invariant Corporation in Huntsville. I chose them because what they do sounded way cooler than what the other 2 companies were working on. Also, I just decided that there were so many opportunities for technical jobs in Huntsville, it was just time to move on. That, and my job is going to be really nerdy 8-)
Of course, Emily (my wife) had a huge say in this. Her reaction was completely different from what I expected, though, so the decision to go to Huntsville came fairly naturally. The decision was still really hard to make, and the representative from the Pulaski job sounded almost heartbroken on the phone. All 3 companies were great places, but I decided to go with the smaller guys with the cool, scientific work. Plus, small size usually means greater risk, but greater possibilities.
Anyway, wish me luck! Mostly, wish me luck in finding a place to rent. I'd like to go ahead and get settled in Huntsville so I can concentrate on my career.
Surprise of surprises, I had 3 interviews in a row, and received 3 job offers. To top it off, all 3 job offers were higher than my highest expected salary, and 2 of them offered overtime compensation. Other than that, the 3 jobs were more or less competitive in benefits. One job was in Pulaski, TN (I would have lived in Columbia, TN), and the others were in Huntsville. Long story short, I picked one of the Huntsville jobs, which coincidentally was both the highest paying and the smallest in size (seriously, that was a coincidence, as the salaries were close enough to each other).
So I now work for Invariant Corporation in Huntsville. I chose them because what they do sounded way cooler than what the other 2 companies were working on. Also, I just decided that there were so many opportunities for technical jobs in Huntsville, it was just time to move on. That, and my job is going to be really nerdy 8-)
Of course, Emily (my wife) had a huge say in this. Her reaction was completely different from what I expected, though, so the decision to go to Huntsville came fairly naturally. The decision was still really hard to make, and the representative from the Pulaski job sounded almost heartbroken on the phone. All 3 companies were great places, but I decided to go with the smaller guys with the cool, scientific work. Plus, small size usually means greater risk, but greater possibilities.
Anyway, wish me luck! Mostly, wish me luck in finding a place to rent. I'd like to go ahead and get settled in Huntsville so I can concentrate on my career.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Entertainment Genius
Another Lunatic Genius, Joss Whedon, just completed a project called "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog". It's an online mini-series starring Neil Patrick Harris, along with several of Whedon's friends. I didn't catch it until a couple of hours before it went download-exclusive, so I couldn't post it here in time to be seen online for free. Not that anyone is reading this blog...yet (mwa-hahahaha).
"Dr. Horrible" is such a good show, that I almost forgive Joss for the Serenity tragedy. I don't mean the part where Firefly got canceled, because that was caused by stupidity on the part of Fox. I mean the part where Joss put the nail in the coffin by killing major characters in the movie. "Dr. Horrible", however, again proves that Joss is a genius, even if he did make Angel into its own series.
"Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" is about 36 minutes long altogether, and costs $3.99 to download at iTunes. It is supposedly going to make it to DVD at some point. Either way, it's worth the price of half a movie ticket, especially if you show your friends. I personally think it's the best example of film-making that I've seen in a long time.
Oh right, links:
Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog Website
DHSAB on iTunes
"Dr. Horrible" is such a good show, that I almost forgive Joss for the Serenity tragedy. I don't mean the part where Firefly got canceled, because that was caused by stupidity on the part of Fox. I mean the part where Joss put the nail in the coffin by killing major characters in the movie. "Dr. Horrible", however, again proves that Joss is a genius, even if he did make Angel into its own series.
"Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" is about 36 minutes long altogether, and costs $3.99 to download at iTunes. It is supposedly going to make it to DVD at some point. Either way, it's worth the price of half a movie ticket, especially if you show your friends. I personally think it's the best example of film-making that I've seen in a long time.
Oh right, links:
Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog Website
DHSAB on iTunes
Friday, July 18, 2008
The Adventures of "Stupid Cliff"
Some of you know me, and I'm sure some people reading this don't. Those of you who don't know me will learn, if I post often enough on this blog, that I feel like I should print out business cards that, like a popular Looney Toons character, should read "Clifford D. Taylor, Super Genius". You will also learn that doing so would almost be justified ;-)
You will also probably learn that I have an alter ego that is, let's admit it, an idiot. He mostly comes out when I'm preoccupied with deep thought, and handles all the day-to-day operations of my life. Basically anything that doesn't involve talking to people, he takes care of without me noticing. The problem is, he's an idiot, and a bit contemptible at that.
Recently, some of you learned that I was short a 160GB, $350 Black iPod Classic. I had determined that it had not been stolen, and even remembered taking it out of my car. It hasn't come up yet in conversation, but it turns out Stupid Cliff threw it in the bottom of the trash pick-up bin while I was thinking about the Decision Source job offer. I found it before we put the trash out by digging out all the trash from the bin -- and there it was. I only found it by guessing that it was the only place I hadn't looked.
Well, he struck again two years ago, but I just now found out. Turns out he did it for my own good this time.
A couple of years ago, I felt like I was stiffed on my 401K contributions when I left my job at Emdeon. I had even paid taxes on it in 2006. I had guessed up until this point that Emdeon had given me the balance in my final check, and I just didn't do the math, since it isn't worth Emdeon or Fidelity's trouble to steal such a small amount from me.
Turns out Stupid Cliff just hid it from me. In searching for some software to install on a computer I'm upgrading for my parents, I found an unopened envelope from Fidelity in the bottom of a drawer. Upon opening it, I find a statement of my last 401K balance, and a check for nearly $800 (my short-term contribution less taxes). The check doesn't expire, but even if it did Fidelity would gladly issue me a new one to get their accounts balanced.
So, in the long run, Stupid Cliff took care of me. Although it looks like I may get several (very lucrative) job offers by the end of next week, I might come up short in paying my car insurance if I don't get paid right away. My insurance will run me just about $800, and this check gets me close enough :-)
You will also probably learn that I have an alter ego that is, let's admit it, an idiot. He mostly comes out when I'm preoccupied with deep thought, and handles all the day-to-day operations of my life. Basically anything that doesn't involve talking to people, he takes care of without me noticing. The problem is, he's an idiot, and a bit contemptible at that.
Recently, some of you learned that I was short a 160GB, $350 Black iPod Classic. I had determined that it had not been stolen, and even remembered taking it out of my car. It hasn't come up yet in conversation, but it turns out Stupid Cliff threw it in the bottom of the trash pick-up bin while I was thinking about the Decision Source job offer. I found it before we put the trash out by digging out all the trash from the bin -- and there it was. I only found it by guessing that it was the only place I hadn't looked.
Well, he struck again two years ago, but I just now found out. Turns out he did it for my own good this time.
A couple of years ago, I felt like I was stiffed on my 401K contributions when I left my job at Emdeon. I had even paid taxes on it in 2006. I had guessed up until this point that Emdeon had given me the balance in my final check, and I just didn't do the math, since it isn't worth Emdeon or Fidelity's trouble to steal such a small amount from me.
Turns out Stupid Cliff just hid it from me. In searching for some software to install on a computer I'm upgrading for my parents, I found an unopened envelope from Fidelity in the bottom of a drawer. Upon opening it, I find a statement of my last 401K balance, and a check for nearly $800 (my short-term contribution less taxes). The check doesn't expire, but even if it did Fidelity would gladly issue me a new one to get their accounts balanced.
So, in the long run, Stupid Cliff took care of me. Although it looks like I may get several (very lucrative) job offers by the end of next week, I might come up short in paying my car insurance if I don't get paid right away. My insurance will run me just about $800, and this check gets me close enough :-)
Saturday, July 12, 2008
The Employment Paradox
NOTE: I promise all my posts won't be this long, when I do post, but this is a place where I'm going to look at issues from my perspective, which is usually very deeply examined and a little against-the-grain. Feel free to disagree with me in the comments section, but don't take it personally if I deconstruct your argument. I'll try to make the next one a little more "cool", at least.
Before I get into my theory, let me give you a little background. I have been looking, albeit casually at first, for a full-time job in Software Development (or something related) since November. I completed my Master's in Computer Science in May, while I was doing contract work for a small consulting firm in the Nashville (Tennessee) area. The firm offered me a full-time position, but their benefits weren't really that great and they didn't offer me nearly enough money, on top of the fact that they are moving farther away from where I live (I own my house). Since they only gave me 4 hours to make a decision, I had to say no.
So, I've been looking hard for a real job since early June. And now, well... I'm still looking.
Heres the trouble: the Nashville market is doing relatively poorly in the technology field, supposedly due to this "recession" we're in, which to be honest, probably hasn't had much impact on the technology field anywhere. As a result, all of the companies that need software developers in the Nashville area only want developers that have quite a bit of experience. The problem is, all of those people already have jobs or have moved on to bigger places. In fact, there seems to be a small exodus of experienced developers, which I guess accounts for the large number of jobs that require experience :)
I even had one company interview me, say they thought I was a great fit for the position, and then say they decided to redefine the position to require more experience. Little did they know that they moved from an open market to a stagnating market where I've been watching positions go unfilled for months now.
So, here's the "Employment Paradox" problem, as it applies to a given area (here, Nashville):
A) All companies want developers with experience.
B) All the available developers have little or no experience.
C) The companies won't hire the inexperienced developers.
D) Therefore, the developers can't get experience, so no one can fill the companies' positions.
There's an easy solution to this problem. That solution is hire the inexperienced developers and train them as necessary, or just wait for them to catch up. That negates the whole paradox, because the positions get filled, the developers get experience, and even if some experience-only positions remain, there will soon be more experienced developers to fill them.
There is a better argument for hiring inexperienced developers, however, assuming this is not a management or "domain expert" position. In fact, there are several arguments:
1. Inexperienced developers can be hired cheaper -- MUCH cheaper. He will remain cheaper beyond the point that he becomes an experienced developer in most cases, as people moving to a new company usually ask for more money.
2. An inexperienced, but well educated developer can perform at least 50% of the functions of an experienced developer immediately after being trained on a system. After 6 months, that developer will be able to perform at least 75% of the functions of the experienced developer. After 1 year, you will find little difference between the skill levels of the developers. These are estimates, and often you will find the inexperienced developer to be just as capable as an experienced developer, and you got to train him to do things your way.
3. Inexperienced developers have fewer bad habits than experienced developers and are more likely to ask questions when they are not sure what to do.
4. It is much easier to fill entry level positions with good developers, because more people are qualified to apply. This gives you a better selection. Some "experienced" developers may not be experienced in the specific things you require, but may actually be overqualified for the job, yet you'll miss out on talking to this person.
More importantly with that last item, is that I've worked in the real world around "experienced" developers. I have to say that, while I am pretty skilled for someone with my "lack of experience", you'd be surprised how often the inexperienced developer is more qualified than the developer with experience. By having an arbitrary requirement of 1-2 years of experience, you will be missing out on the opportunity to hire some of the best employees you will ever get, fresh out of college or even graduate school.
So, if anyone out there reading this (hi Mom) is in the position of interviewing candidates for a job, consider lowering your requirements, especially for positions that only require 1-3 years of experience. You might find some bright young individual straight out of the classroom who is the best person for the job. Worst case scenario, you'll end up talking to a few unqualified kids on the phone for 10 minutes, and you'll scare off fewer applicants. And keep in mind that inexperienced is usually just another way to say "trainable".
P.S. Thankfully, other markets, where "defense contractors" tend to hang out (Washington DC, Huntsville, Atlanta, etc.), haven't convinced themselves that they can't handle entry-level computer experts. There's still, as always, at least a trickle of entry-level jobs around these areas. Wish me luck!
Before I get into my theory, let me give you a little background. I have been looking, albeit casually at first, for a full-time job in Software Development (or something related) since November. I completed my Master's in Computer Science in May, while I was doing contract work for a small consulting firm in the Nashville (Tennessee) area. The firm offered me a full-time position, but their benefits weren't really that great and they didn't offer me nearly enough money, on top of the fact that they are moving farther away from where I live (I own my house). Since they only gave me 4 hours to make a decision, I had to say no.
So, I've been looking hard for a real job since early June. And now, well... I'm still looking.
Heres the trouble: the Nashville market is doing relatively poorly in the technology field, supposedly due to this "recession" we're in, which to be honest, probably hasn't had much impact on the technology field anywhere. As a result, all of the companies that need software developers in the Nashville area only want developers that have quite a bit of experience. The problem is, all of those people already have jobs or have moved on to bigger places. In fact, there seems to be a small exodus of experienced developers, which I guess accounts for the large number of jobs that require experience :)
I even had one company interview me, say they thought I was a great fit for the position, and then say they decided to redefine the position to require more experience. Little did they know that they moved from an open market to a stagnating market where I've been watching positions go unfilled for months now.
So, here's the "Employment Paradox" problem, as it applies to a given area (here, Nashville):
A) All companies want developers with experience.
B) All the available developers have little or no experience.
C) The companies won't hire the inexperienced developers.
D) Therefore, the developers can't get experience, so no one can fill the companies' positions.
There's an easy solution to this problem. That solution is hire the inexperienced developers and train them as necessary, or just wait for them to catch up. That negates the whole paradox, because the positions get filled, the developers get experience, and even if some experience-only positions remain, there will soon be more experienced developers to fill them.
There is a better argument for hiring inexperienced developers, however, assuming this is not a management or "domain expert" position. In fact, there are several arguments:
1. Inexperienced developers can be hired cheaper -- MUCH cheaper. He will remain cheaper beyond the point that he becomes an experienced developer in most cases, as people moving to a new company usually ask for more money.
2. An inexperienced, but well educated developer can perform at least 50% of the functions of an experienced developer immediately after being trained on a system. After 6 months, that developer will be able to perform at least 75% of the functions of the experienced developer. After 1 year, you will find little difference between the skill levels of the developers. These are estimates, and often you will find the inexperienced developer to be just as capable as an experienced developer, and you got to train him to do things your way.
3. Inexperienced developers have fewer bad habits than experienced developers and are more likely to ask questions when they are not sure what to do.
4. It is much easier to fill entry level positions with good developers, because more people are qualified to apply. This gives you a better selection. Some "experienced" developers may not be experienced in the specific things you require, but may actually be overqualified for the job, yet you'll miss out on talking to this person.
More importantly with that last item, is that I've worked in the real world around "experienced" developers. I have to say that, while I am pretty skilled for someone with my "lack of experience", you'd be surprised how often the inexperienced developer is more qualified than the developer with experience. By having an arbitrary requirement of 1-2 years of experience, you will be missing out on the opportunity to hire some of the best employees you will ever get, fresh out of college or even graduate school.
So, if anyone out there reading this (hi Mom) is in the position of interviewing candidates for a job, consider lowering your requirements, especially for positions that only require 1-3 years of experience. You might find some bright young individual straight out of the classroom who is the best person for the job. Worst case scenario, you'll end up talking to a few unqualified kids on the phone for 10 minutes, and you'll scare off fewer applicants. And keep in mind that inexperienced is usually just another way to say "trainable".
P.S. Thankfully, other markets, where "defense contractors" tend to hang out (Washington DC, Huntsville, Atlanta, etc.), haven't convinced themselves that they can't handle entry-level computer experts. There's still, as always, at least a trickle of entry-level jobs around these areas. Wish me luck!
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