Tech Layoffs and Obsolete Skillsets

the beginning of the down turn I saw was when they started to come out with 'plug and play'.

This acted as a double edge sword, Even though this added a whole new customer base to sell to. The reason why is that it no longer required the level/amount of expertise to maintain it.

'Plug & Play', yes I remember that. It meant "to make it work: take the plug out & play about with the hardware"

Also known as 'plug and pray', pray it doesn't kill the machine/system.

prior to plug and play, it was dip switches and jumpers you had to manually set depending on you hardware, (graphics display, memory, ect,...)

It could make it difficult.

I well remember some of the link and matrix stuff whilst working for an Incredibly Badly Managed branch where I was regularly told "your only a f**king contractor" by the I'm Bloody Marvelous direct employees who took great pride in working for Idiot Bloody Management. The site was sold off and became a contractor to IBM, the best part just before I left was all the IBM staff being offered 'the package' and those that didn't take it being re-employed on much reduced remuneration as a result of the sell off.

As "only a f**king contractor" I enjoyed the leading engineers group arriving from Rochester to find out how three "f**king contractors" had managed to get the reworked for new product servo-writers to actually work, between us we'd worked out all their design errors and corrected them. They ended up shipping 'our' unit back to the states to reverse engineer!

One of the few IBM regulars that I respected 'took the package' and went into property maintenance, he was MUCH happier and healthier having got out of the tech rat race, so not all outcomes are bad.

I think I was told by wifey that the internet no longer is the property of the good old U.S.A., more's the pity! I should stick to low-tech, or just gaming from here on out.

No more midgets on a bus.

Stick to low tech.

pushing this off topic some....

Prior to the net...

Reminiscing, there wasn't nothing more pleasing then to receive a postal letter from a friend. If it was a close friend, you would even read that letter a number of times.

This is rarely done with an email.

I hold personal letters and still do at a high value, at or on an important date, whether its a birthday, wedding, anniversary, a funeral or just to stay in touch... , I'll send a letter instead of going on the electronic bulletin board to convey my thoughts.

And the reason why I may hold high regard for this, is that people actually took the time for you.

Ah yes, let us not forget the bad old days when (for example) we had to program up the software settings for our PC sound cards every time we loaded in a new game.

For the most part plug and play has made our lives (generally) easier.

Only to find out your sound card isn't compatible.

I enjoy p&p, the first time I used it, I thought something was wrong because it went so smoothly.

Not really, but I can say "gotcha"!

I don't think those windbags in Washington, D.C. would ever get off their collective duffs long enough to come get 'em.

Hell, my TV is already watching my nightly "red eye" show.

Well, the other people I know who live in Lubbock think Breitbart is a Bible for conservatives and are convinced that Hillary will activate Jade Helm and take their guns and brand them all as undesirables and give their houses to Muslims on Jan, 21st 2017.

I think they are the radical gun toting, bible clinging kind. They've disowned me as a liberal relative because I don't sling an AR 15 over my shoulder when I go out.

I tell them I've been a registered Republican since 1967 and they look at me sideways like I'm a lying dog!

Try to follow the conversation, please.

OMG Lyn, that is a laugh riot, cheers bro!

I thought you'd like that.

I haven't visited my most radical Texas cousin in 50 years. I chopped cotton on their farm by Meadow one summer. We had lots of fun.

I can remember cotton Democrats running the world on the South Plains. Now they call themselves Republicans. I tend to believe the Party of Lincoln is not the same, and neither is the Democrat Party the same as when my aunt Bobbie ran most of New Mexico by pulling the strings.

You may be able to find the cause of that in the early 80's. where the dem's jumped parties and followed Reagan.

crap... always comes down to politics.

the Official of Nothing has spoken

Which will it be: SKY-net? or SKIN-net?

Either way, we are fastened with incline plane fasteners that rotate.

BOHICA!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2016/10/19/stephen-hawking-says-artificial-intelligence-could-be-humanitys/

In my experience it seems to be the same as the old "paperless office" that modern computers and SAP software was supposed to create.

What it did was create MORE paper, and the same seems to be happening with IT, the cloud and trying to get it all to interface to our desk computer, mobile tablet, cellphone, etc. More IT technical assistance is required to get it all to work and continue to work that ever before which should help limit downsizing.

Also, got to maintain the cloud so IT may become a little more centralised than it was previously. The jobs are still there, they just moved.

I agree.

The cloud is nothing more than a giant storage locker for hackers.

Not to mention that these companies haven't exactly shown integrity with regards to our personal information and browsing habits. Why would we expect them to respect our data privacy? I'm sure we are about 5 years away from a Google Drive lawsuit where Google says something like "once you upload to our cloud storage it is no longer your private information". Don't get me wrong, I'm sure they will stand firm and not just turn it over to the government...but if they can make some extra bucks advertising?

I think that we have lost what little control we ever had over "Big Brother" and their ability to peer into the deepest reaches of our lives.

What with the 1.5 million sq. ft. Intelligence Community Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative Data Center in Saratoga Springs, UT gathering our every thought we should all come to the start reality that we may as well just remember Dante's words, "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here."

Sobering and thoughtfully worded, thank you. I usually consider myself patriotic, but I actually hate that Americans would be and are willing (1) to not even learn about the cost of freedom, or know what their rights are and are not, (2) to trade these liberties bought in blood without even a slight consideration of what is lost, and (3) to be literally stripped down to slavery and sold off without realizing what that is and why it is taking place.

Very scary times we live in, and not likely to last very long. I see a giant upheaval on the horizon, and I do not see "the home team" doing anything to fight back.

I carry a Continental coin in my pocket, and on that coin it states, " we are one ", and it also states, "mind your business". Mind your business, means just that. Pay attention to the lives, possessions, and livelihood you hold dear, and protect it.

'Tis a far cry from the days when our government stood for "mind your business", instead of "here, let me mind your business for you, and you get out of our way".

Not exactly.

It's more the timelessness of the previous precedent that could have been established many many years before, when society, laws and the Supreme Court members were much different.

One of the determining factors of this election is NOT which president will be better for the country, it's the ultimate make-up of the court, liberal vs conservative mix that that president will bring. I believe that conservatives are far more afraid of a balanced court. They will only be satisfied with a heavily conservative court.

My personal belief, for what that's worth, is that a fair and balanced court is far better for our country.

"I believe that conservatives are far more afraid of a balanced court. They will only be satisfied with a heavily conservative court.

My personal belief, for what that's worth, is that a fair and balanced court is far better for our country."

I agree, the Conservatives fear what a fair, balanced and impartial court will do, since it will likely rule on the side of what is 'the most fair for all involved,' witch will strip some power from the Rich White Conservative Males and give it to groups that the conservatives apparently fear: Women, Minorities, and the Poor.

It would be best if we could have an impartial Supreme Court, as was laid out in the Constitution, but since this campaign and the Senate shenanigans since Justice Scalia died have irrevocably made the Supreme Court into a political posting, we need to get 'balance' by shifting the court makeup over time, like a slow pendulum. It has spent much of the time since Reagan with a Conservative lean, so for balance, we need to tilt it towards Liberal for a decade or two.

"I believe that conservatives are far more afraid of a balanced court. They will only be satisfied with a heavily conservative court.

No, that's just bias speculation.

There isn't a problem with a balanced court, what is feared from a conservative is of a very progressive/liberal court.

And as a conservative (not in a political sense of conservative, but of a personal sense of conservatism). I always felt that a fair and balanced court as well as a political system has always worked for the over-all best.

Big shocker coming from you. I would prefer to see just once a unified SCOTUS that was constituted of strict constructionists, rather than blathering liberals that want to legislate from the bench instead of interpreting the constitution and rendering opinions on laws springing from Congressional action. I don't want a POTUS that legislates, dictates, matriculates, or otherwise drips in the Oval Office.

The POTUS is supposed to (1) command the defense of our nation, as commander in chief, and (2) promote the general welfare (economy), by vetoing legislation that is made with erroneous or malicious intent to strangle the financial well-being of the general citizenry. (3) Carry out foreign policy that is constructed around our best national interests, not necessarily in attempts to assuage our enemies or ply our detractors. I for one, would not mind having a President that would punish other nations severely for betraying our trust in trade deals, or for allowing terrorists to flourish in there lands. If they can't be responsible for controlling their people in this respect, then it is time for them to surrender their power and have a new boss in town.

I thought that Legislate should not come from the bench, the bench's responsibility is to interpret existing laws.

For sh** sakes, did you even read what I posted? Try again.

"Big shocker coming from you". " blathering liberals"?

Don't get a sore neck from looking down your nose at me.

Seems the pot is calling the kettle black here, since there is plenty of blathering on both sides of the political aisle to go around.

I became a Republican because I thought that large corporations and private enterprises were the best thing for the country, and it was for years. Family farms were already on their way out even back in 1967.

Then Wall Street, Michael Milken's high yield bonds and leveraged buyouts and other robbers started gutting viable businesses and squeezing labor to lower costs and raise productivity.

The influx of illegals was welcomed enthusiastically by Republicans as a way to bloat the bottom line by driving labor costs down. Illegals were finding jobs on golf courses and resorts as farms dwindled and mechanized. No white person wanted to wash dishes for $5.00 an hour.

Highly valued American construction industry workers were forced out by illegals willing to work for half of what Americans with kids in school and a mortgage to pay off could survive on.

Democrats didn't tear down the border wall. Being from Texas, surely you know that.

The current Republican Party is not the American party, it is the ME party.

I'm not sure how to describe the Democrats, but they are still Americans too.

"The current Republican Party is not the American party, it is the ME party."

Thank you, I'm glad I'm not the only one who sees that.

"I'm not sure how to describe the Democrats, but they are still Americans too."

The best way to describe the Democrats is "all the rabble and riff-raff that the Republican Party hates." I've heard the Republican party described as having three 'buckets' that their constituents can be divided into: The Establishment (or Big Business) bucket, the Religious bucket, and the 'alt-Right' (or White Power) bucket. Using that analogy, if the GOP is three buckets, then the Democratic party is ten thousand shot glasses. The only thing that really unites Democrats is vague, almost abstract ideas such as "We need to look out for the little guys (because we are ALL the little guys depending on the POV of the observer)", "We need to protect this planet's ability to keep us alive", "We need to welcome the strangers, outsiders, and 'weirdos'; society should be INclusive, not EXclusive" "We need to protect people's right to say things, even if what they say is offensive to us" "We need to keep kids safe", "I hate to be the one tossing around negative vibes, but does anyone else think the GOP are being jerks about ____?"

The GOP push for Unity, the Democrats welcome Diversity, even when such diversity hampers their own ability to function quickly. That push for Unity, for all Republican politicians to walk in lock-step with the Party goals, tends to get the GOP cast as the 'evil empire' that the Democrats, the 'rag-tag bunch of rebels' are fighting against.

That's why it's hard to describe Democrats, they fill the 'negative space' around the GOP, supporting all the issues the Republicans want to suppress/oppress or refuse to even admit exist.

If there were no GOP or other 'right wing party' for the Democrats to resist against, the modern Democratic party would splinter and fracture, breaking up into dozens if not hundreds of small single-issue parties. Of course, if the Democrats broke up like that, a rebuilding or reforming of the right-wing base would get all the little squabbling parties to band together again out of a sense of mutual protection. Why do you think the Democrats use hashtags like #StrongerTogether to rally around?In general, if you grab two random Democrats, they will only strongly agree on three topics, and two of those topics are variations on "The GOP sucks."

You lib boys are making my head hurt. By the way, I don't fit in with the three bucket theory of Republicans, so why don't you go reload, and miss me again.

"You lib boys are making my head hurt"

I subscribe to the Victor Johansen school of logic.

Out motto is, "If the truth hurts, maybe it should!"

Did you find any untruths in my posting?

I did not place you in any category.

However, there is a certain basket that has been recently mentioned that many who SOUND like you fit into very comfortably. Maybe not you, specifically.

I am more like you than you know. I think that all people have some underlying good in them. Sometimes one needs to wrench it out with pliers, or by choking the living sheite out of them, but yeah. I don't do bigots.

I also don't want the big government making all my decisions for me, and also ripping away all my hard earned wages, and it is not right that I have to support worthless trash that refuse to work for a damn living. If there's no jobs, then who wasted their votes? If there are no jobs, then go out and make a job.

"and it is not right that I have to support worthless trash that refuse to work for a damn living."

I agree that those who REFUSE to work when able should get no benefits, but sometimes it seems like you are all to eager to 'throw babies out with the bath water.' If a man moves from a small down to the big city, after being told that there were jobs available, then on arriving finds that there were not as many jobs as applicants, how is he to 'move back home' after liquidating most of his meager assets and using the money to get where the promised jobs were.

And how easy is it to 'make a job' as you suggest? Can the average person create a job with no resources, no connections to suppliers, no training in marketing? (To say nothing about the fees, licenses, taxes, and regulations involved in starting a new company.) And even if a person can 'make a job' like that, unless it is wrapped around a 'million dollar idea' and properly marketed, the person is likely in a 'craftsman' niche of a market dominated by mass-produced, mass-advertised commodities, and profit will be scarce, if there is any at all.

God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. There are many jobs that only require one to assume a humble role at some organization or maybe a small business. Small businesses are still the #1 source of employment in this nation, in spite of the lies being told. I have heard story after story (truly anecdotal) of young men and women who started out at the bottom only to rise to the very pinnacle of their companies. It still happens. People who are too proud to start at the bottom, probably don't have a lot of business being at the top.

They have these things called brooms. It is not unheard of to find a job pushing one, and then having a bright mind, and a positive mental attitude, get promoted to the mail room. A lot can be learned while working there.

Seriously though, the mail room, is probably becoming a thing of the past as the IoT takes over. However, it is strictly caveat emptor, in that people typically get what they pay for, sometimes more, sometimes a lot less. It could be that the virtual world out there will not be able to completely support upward of 200 billion devices all clamoring for service. Sometimes snail mail, although slow, can still have a tremendous effect on a business.

Then there is the very high baud rate of the bicycle messenger with a number of thumb drives strung around his/her neck. Not every high tech need is met with a totally high tech answer.

Someone still has to clean the toilets. Someone still has to cook the food, wash the uniforms, service the delivery vans, wash down the corporate jets, etc. The list goes on. My contention is that if an illegal alien can come here and survive easily in the city, then someone whose first language is English should be able to do so as well, just not with a cushion lifestyle.

Integrity, intention, intelligence, impulse, and ideas. The five I's, in spite of the five P's.

"once you upload to our cloud storage it is no longer your private information".

As sobering as that is, I never looked at the agreements on privacy, even though I used Microsoft Skydrive (now OneDrive) for group college projects. I believe they would insert wording that in effect, they are not responsible for your data.

And possible, that they could use (sell) it.

"Trust no one OVER thirty..."

"Trust no one UNDER thirty..."

"Trust NO one!"

It may also be a management reaction to an anticipated economic downturn brought about by political uncertainties? One of those management technique in cost containment.....thru payroll purging!

Laying off most of the highly paid senior techs, well entrenched yet not so productive staff and replacing them with new low salaried, less benefit entitled entry level technicians!

I live not too far from Intel and Nike. What we watch for is construction of a new building on the campus. Without fail, there is a layoff 6 months or so after the building is finished. They do it to balance the books. The first amortization charge hits the books and they have to cut labor costs to maintain earnings per share. Kinda like the scene in fifth element where the President calls the CEO and says, "The economy is a little hot, could you lay off about 50,000?"

I live between intel and nike. off walker

How big is that cloud? Must be very big near future, I guess. 2 or 3 steps, it's nearing those days when currency, credits, payroll, purchase, identity will be on that cloud plus the Iot. Couple of more years then it's not that too long James. I see there has been a massive militarization on the planet these days. I wonder what are they up to later on. I guess the world is in its tipping point now.

It's not just IT that's getting hit here, the whole University is about to be futt bucked (without lube or consent), twice over for the tech. staff, for the third time in 10 years.

The *new* 'ten year plan' requires an increase of taught s-too-dense per academic, and a reduction in support costs (staff) to secure a £400M bond to enable new buildings etc. It's also race to attract as many high paying overseas s-too-dense as possible, as 'bums on seats' equals increased fee's AND rental income from residential lettings.

Looks like with 9-10 years of working life left doing a job I enjoy and have enjoyed for the last 22 years, for pretty carp (sp!) money, I'm going to be fighting to keep it, or joining a whole load of other 'too old to employ, too young to retire' people on the scrap-heap...

With the exception for the last paragraph, I have no idea what you just said.

Well, I hope you've started planning your retirement at least 10 years ago.

Frankly, I planned on working till 70, hopefully. And that's 14 years away. And right now, the job I'm in, I always loved, but the last 1-2 years, I'm beginning to despise it. And actually beginning to consider looking for jobs with less stress and responsibility.

Ten years ago, due to work /office politics I did exactly what you now have in mind...except with you target age of 70, I only aimed for 65!

Served as a management consultant for all technology related matters in the hospital environment. At age 62, I can consider that as one if not the best working experience I had before retiring at 66!

I wish you good luck in your plan!