A new beginning

OK, I am being dragged, kicking and screaming, into the 21st century. Now I have a blog. I don't know if anyone will ever read it, but I have a blog.

I was laid off last week from a job I didn't really like, but it paid really well. Now I am facing somewhat of an identity crisis. The best job I ever had was as an instructional designer. That is what I will try to pursue now. I really want to keep the moniker "ProfessorJoy" so I need to be teaching something, eh?

One thing that has become painfully obvious is, the software engineering field has left me behind. As I look at job requisitions for software engineers, programmers, or other IT positions, many of the skills and experiences they want, I don't even recognize. I earned my Master's degree ten years ago. It is worthless today. REALLY? Yes, really. Well, okay, so what now? Do I go back to college to learn OOD, SAP, XML, Java, MySQL, and other acronyms, or is it time to face the fact that I don't really enjoy the computer science industry?

I'm not sure going back to school would help anyway. All the requisitions I have seen want 5 or more years of experience with everything. I pity anyone graduating from college this decade. I have seen several "entry level" positions in the past two weeks, and they all wanted 3 or more years of experience! What kind of "entry level" is that?

So, I'm back in the same boat I was in 1980. I'm bright, I learn quickly, but I don't have the credentials or experience that managers want. In spite of the fact that I have a Master's degree, over 25 years experience in the computer industry, and over 20 years experience training, I'm almost unemployable. God help us.

So what am I going to do?

Well, I am going to keep praying for guidance. I am going to continue applying for jobs that I may not be perfectly qualified for. I am going to apply for a substitute teacher position at my son's high school. I am going to consider starting a home-based business (an Etsy store selling my fiber arts). I am going to maintain my belief that God is in charge, and He has a plan for me.