On Fri, 10 Jun 2005 21:57:40 -0700, fuzzylollipop wrote: > I was completely serious, he is _NOT_ going to win this one. He has > already lost. I have been on both sides of this scenario, the "new guys" > were brought in and will win since they are the new "experts from out of > town".
Not only do I take you seriously - I agree! I also have been on both sides of this scenario although my take on it is slightly different. It's not so much the "experts from out of town" as it is the tendency to dump the guy(s) that brought them to the party. The sequence goes like this: 1) When there is little or no money to be made, you start out with an implied status as a partner. This means you work long + extra hours for little pay on the promise that you will be rewarded when/if success comes. 2) Then the product gets out the door and it's more long hours with little pay. Much massaging and tweaking and still little money incoming. 3) Success & money start to roll in. Now your status drops from partner to hired hand. An overpaid hired hand at that. Now that the heavy lifting is done, managment is wondering whether they need to actually reward the guy(s) who brought them to the party. The rational parts of their brains shut down while every fiber of their larcenous beings wants them to believe they can now dispense with the high priced talent (you!) for some low bucks commodity labor. There scads of outsourcing firms tripping over one another to sell them the latter. > There may be some other _VALID_ business reason that management has > already made up their mind to hire these Java people. Probably because > they want to sell the company or merge with someone or something and > having a Java product would make them more attractive. Yes, there is a possible _VALID_ reason. That would be the perception, probably accurate, that a technology like Java will shelter them from total dependency on some individual developer (you!). In other words, there is a greater likelihood that they can find replacement talent should they need it. Thats the optimistic view. More often it sinks to the sleazy when they decide to stiff the original guys who did all the extra work up front. If they can replace them, there will be no need to "pay off" on the extra work they did up front. I have had this happen to me as an employee. Later, as an outside consultant, I was frequently disgusted to realize how many manager/owners were merely seeking to avoid the payoff for the guys who went the extra mile to give them a profitable product. Tis business in the USA, sad to say. > There are 2 things he can do. > > 1. Get your resume ready and approach the CEO or whomever and say. Why > is this happening? Since I can guarantee you they have already decided > to port this app to Java. Resume ready is certainly wise and I concur with your gaurantee. > 2. Be quiet, keep his head down, learn Java fasssstt, start agreeing > with the new party line and get on the bandwagon if he really wants to > stay at this company ( I wouldn't ) I disgree here. The party line is nothing but a cover. The goal is to break the dependency on the guru(s) who did the developement or worse, outright replacement. The likelihood of staying on is slim and will become increasingly unpleasant unless the employer is so lacking in concience as to fire him outright. Let me add an Item #3 - If you have some entrepeneurial savvy and can keep your emotions out of it tou can simply tell them you have decided strike out on your own and tell them that you will be available. They will be happy to hear you are leaving and happier still to hear you can be available for backup. Their goals and fears are addressed at the same time. AND there is a very high possibility that they will *need* you at a later date for which you can charge them dearly. That last item #3 has actually worked for me with (2) prior employers. I did have to eat my indignation and keep it friendly but it did pay off in the end. Thomas Bartkus -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
