On Mon, Jun 8, 2009 at 8:51 AM, <stanl...@gmail.com> wrote: [...] > > Great and effective training is expensive and time consuming. My > step-father is a single proprietor plumber with one of those cool vans full > of tools and we often discuss his investment in his business. If he does not > dig deep into his own pocket to keep himself and his tool van sharply honed > for his customers, his competitor will put him out of business. Does he > like spending money no training and tools? He says its cheaper to pay his > dues to remain a professional than it would be to buy a freeezer and convert > over to an ice-cream and lollipop vendor. > > You decide -- professional or a clown driving a musical van. >
This analogy is one I often make... Compared to most industries, IT is in its infancy. Plumbers, electricians, masons, etc. have unions. Not that I'm pro-union, but the way these unions operate are different than say the autoworkers union. For one, you can't just buy the van and tools and expect to open up a plumbing business, these unions protect their industry to the extent that you have to complete an apprenticeship before being "in the club" that gets to bid on the jobs that will put food on your table. Now, I could be completely wrong on how it works, as this is my outside-view on it (I don't have any close friends or family in one of these industries). But, the unions also set pricing so that it is fair to the union members. You can probably open the phone book and find a low-cost plumber, but its hard since good plumbers (read - qualified to be in the union) want to retain their status and ability to bid the big jobs, so they won't stab their compatriots by undercutting them on price. Most of these practices seem unfair, when you're on the outside looking in, but in IT we spend quite a bit of time dealing with the lack of governing body. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has had to deal with some business owner's relative's mistakes. Heck, I even have an uncle who fixes computers for a few neighbors and thinks I should consult him on the book I'm writing. It's not that I think we should start an exclusive club, but I work hard to avoid the situation where I risk my reputation on a project/job that is doomed from the start. Certifications became popular a while ago, but went out almost as quick as they came in since it became easy to study for the test and not learn the material. I would suggest that a college education is a good start, but their are multiple problems there - 1) colleges can't keep up with technology. When a student declares a major, there is sort of an agreement that the list of classes he agrees to take, if passed, will earn him a degree. 4 years later, how many new features have been introduced to Java (all of our favorite language), and Java is fairly stable in this respect. 2) Some of the best engineers I know weren't CS majors, or did not finish. I never finished school, I've been to 4 different schools and had 4 different majors but career and family obligations have caused me to postpone finishing over and over again. I've also worked with English and Music majors that were great programmers, beating the pants off of some of the CS Masters' I've worked with. Anyhow, it's a tough problem that we won't likely solve on this list, but I eagerly watch the industry as it evolves. -Wes -- Wes Wannemacher Author - Struts 2 In Practice Includes coverage of Struts 2.1, Spring, JPA, JQuery, Sitemesh and more http://www.manning.com/wannemacher --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: user-unsubscr...@struts.apache.org For additional commands, e-mail: user-h...@struts.apache.org
