Underemployed

Blessed are the Geeks, for they shall internet the earth

Are you Among the Under Employed? You cant look anywhere on the Internet these days without seeing another article about how bad it is for the tech industry. I keep seeing things like, Worst Unemployment Rate Since 1992 and The stock which topped out at a high of $152.67 per share closed today at $1.97 and my personal favorite, The high tech job industry doesnt look to rebound until late 2003. I dont know about you, but I was hoping to make some money between now and late 2003. But dont let the numbers fool you. That doesnt even begin to cover the people who have been out of work for a year and have given up. There are plenty of college educated, certified, and experienced high tech individuals tending bar, foaming lattes, and stocking shelves at Barnes and Noble. Those people dont even show up on the statistics. The underemployed dont get counted. In 1998, they couldnt stop talking about all the high tech jobs they had with no one to fill them. Now, the Jobs of the Future are a thing of the past. Even the recruiters are dropping like flies. Yep, its everywhere you look Or is it?

I found a place where its 1998 all over again. Its at Microsofts Certification Site. This happy land looks just the same as it did 4 years ago. In fact, it looks like they are celebrating their 10th anniversary with a new certification - the MCSA (Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator). It's a 3 core exams and an elective, sort of like MCSE lite. Great. There's a nice thank you. We've bought their books, taken their tests, and supported their products, and this is the thanks we get. Just when you cant get a bite off of Monster.com or Dice.com with the eight certifications you already have, the most appropriate response that Microsoft can come up with is...ANOTHER CERTIFICATION! Im beginning to think the microserfs dont even know the tech market bottomed out. I searched the whole certification site and could find nothing about the job market going down the toilet. It was just one happy certified professional after another. Well, no, I take that back. All the rave reviews were from certified trainers. WaitI think I might be on to something here. I scour the news groups until at last I find it.

A post from "durkster" martin@durkster.org.

Subject: time to bleed the poor some more?

The durkster writes: http://www.fieldcertification.org/

Is this another way to bleed unemployed techs of their remaining funds until they have no more to give?

If that isnt the program that is relieving them of their last dollars, maybe this one will:

http://www.procertcom.com/news/pressreleasefull.cfm?prID=862

Hmmmhow odd. No one seemed to want to reply to that one. Must just be another day in paradise.