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I'm sure glad that Editor Chris Graillat reminded me about the deadline, otherwise I never would have noticed. The past month has been very busy for me, and it started off with my job being eliminated as part of a company - wide downsizing. The good news is that the Internet has made it much easier to hunt for jobs. The bad news is that you still have to wait for prospective employers to contact you. It's been nearly a month since I lost my job, and though I've been on a few interviews and consultations, I'm still playing the waiting game as I write this.
Before I started looking for a new job, I was honored to receive a plaque from SPCUG for my service as editor. It was a special honor to have the plaque given to me by past president Larry Clark. I edited the newsletter during Larry's entire tenure and without his leadership the newsletter (and the group) wouldn't have survived the last two years. It's been mentioned that Larry and I did not get along all the time — I don't know if there's a president and editor who get along with each other every day — but that's not as important as the fact that we all pulled together under Larry's leadership and got the group through a difficult transitional period. So, I'd like to thank all the officers and members for their support during my 30 issues as editor. Without their support, I wouldn't have lasted for 30 issues.
I'd also like to congratulate Chris Graillat on producing her first issue as editor. The first issue is always the hardest, but it's also the most important. Chris is already thinking of what she can include in future issues, and I'm eager to see the results in the months to come.
Things to Do
I keep a to-do list on my computer. I don't keep the list in any fancy PIM program. Instead, I just use a WINDOWS NOTEPAD file and keep updating the list every day or two as I complete tasks and add new ones. Now that I'm unemployed, I'm taking the opportunity to expand my job skills by purchasing books and two certification training kits.
Some of the books I purchased were for certain projects. For example, I am building an access database for my parents' bed and breakfast, and tying that database into a new version of their Web site. I'm reading other programming and product books so I can become familiar (or, in some cases, more familiar) with the programs and increase my job skills. In Dilbertese, this is called "increasing your marketability." It's easier to become motivated when you see more high-paying jobs requiring more job skills-in my case, I find that the job openings for technical writers require more Web and programming experience.
I've also found that having one or more product certifications can help you stand out when you're looking for work as a contractor or a full-time worker. Finding the right approach to certification was something I thought about now and again for a few months, until I received a brochure from TestOut Corporation. TestOut's approach is to have multimedia instruction on your PC along with a syllabus, practice exams for each of the six modules you must learn and feedback about how you did on the exams (and the subjects you need to brush up on). TestOut's approach received good reviews, and they hooked me when they sent e-mail with a special offer: If you purchase Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) or Certified Novell Engineer (CNE) training packs, you get an A+ computer support certification training pack for free. The MCSE track teaches you everything you wanted to know about Windows NT; the CNE track teaches Novell networking and the A+ track teaches computing knowledge so you can be a qualified tech support rep.
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I decided to go for the MCSE and the A+ training packs for $1,600 (discounted $600), and I received the MCSE pack a few days later. The training program came with a printed syllabus, seven CD-ROMs, and Microsoft's Technical Support Training package for Windows NT. I have yet to receive the A+ certification materials because they're on back order, so I haven't set up my TestOut training schedule yet, but the MCSE training does look thorough. The bad news is that you have no choice but to take the exams TestOut specifies, and they don't have MCSE+I (the I is for Internet) training yet. I have been told that TestOut will have MCSE+I training soon, and I can upgrade to that (and maybe WINDOWS 2000) within six months after I bought the MCSE training pack for only $20.
Hopefully in a few months I will have completed my training for product knowledge and certifications, have a more impressive resume and have more employment options than only full-time work (like teaching computer classes). By then, I should have some definite impressions about my experiences and I'll share them with you.
Learning more computer stuff at home doesn't feed the cats or pay the rent (not yet, anyway), and I've been using the Net to find more work. Searching in online newspapers' Web sites is an effective way to find full-time jobs in the areas you're looking in, and I've found more than a few companies now let you send text versions of your resume by e-mail. Some companies let you paste directly into an HTML application form on their Web site. I learned to keep a text and print version of my resume available for sending by e-mail and snail mail or fax, respectively.
I'm also looking for work as a contractor to keep the money rolling in, and I've hooked up with a few local contracting agencies. Some of those agencies found me through dice.com, an Internet high-tech job placement service. It's at www.dice.com, natch. You can post your resume right on its Web site and fill out an online form to announce your availability. Best of all, you can tell dice.com what type of job you're looking for and the areas you want to search in, then dice.com will e-mail you what it finds automatically. If you're in the high-tech field and you're looking for work, dice.com should be the first place you visit on the Web.
Busy, Busy, Busy!
I said I would have more information about the hardware and software I talked about last month, and I've had less of an opportunity to use the software than the hardware. The hardware is the Lexmark Z51 color inkjet printer, and after using it for a month I find that it's quiet and fast enough for my needs. The color ink looks good on any kind of paper, and the ink dries very quickly. The store I bought the printer from, Comtech Direct in Brooklyn, New York (716-686-7445), deserves an honorable mention. When I bought the Z51, Lexmark was offering a $50 mail-in rebate, but Lexmark required a copy of the invoice. Comtech Direct didn't send one, but when I e-mailed them about the missing invoice, they apologized and sent another copy out to me. Comtech Direct is linked to the Computer Shopper Web site.
Corel Draw 9 is a good upgrade, but they took out the maps and Victorian artwork from their clipart library, and I needed those. I haven't even hooked up Dragon Naturally Speaking to Wordperfect yet, and I've only used Wordperfect 9 a couple of times. I'm not going to use it anytime soon, either this next month I'm going to be working heavily in Access 2000, HTML, and Frontpage 2000. I'll talk about that adventure next month.
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