Need advice on job please!

  • Thread starter <A HREF=http://pub145.ezboard.com/baskaboutmoney.s
  • Start date
A

<A HREF=http://pub145.ezboard.com/baskaboutmoney.s

Guest
While I would never recommend that anybody who is demoralised, down or - especially - depressed (if you actually mean that literally above) act rashly in a situation which is not to their liking I think that you really need to sit down and weigh up the pros (e.g. experience) and cons (e.g. the fact that the situation is demoralising you, your brother's treatment of you etc.) of the situation and decide whether or not it is worth sticking with it. If it is (and maybe even if it's not) then you might want to consider raising the perceived problems in a calm, mature and reasonable way with your brother and try to arrive at some consensus on how to tackle and address them. In the longer term no situation/job is worth putting up with if it causes demoralisation, stress, depression etc. and/or the situation is irretrievable.

As regards how to become a good programmer it varies quite a lot as it depends on factors such as aptitude (e.g. attention to detail, enjoyment of problem solving etc.), willingness to learn, exposure to interesting/challenging projects etc. In fact I would consider these more important than formal qualifications in most cases. It's hard to put a specific number of years on it to be honest.

Not sure if these topics are of any interest to you:
 
Work Work Work AND Experience

I am afraid to say this is what it takes to become a good programmer and earn good money. I find it amazing that you worked as a contractor as I get the feeling from your post that you have doubts in your own ability[Technically]. With a lot of hard work you will become more than capable in 6-12months. My advice to you is set yourself a 6 month target - take one of the relevant prometric exams[google this] - Microsoft(C , VB, ???)
Sun(Java). However this only tests your studying capability a small portion of logic. Get a good study guide book - Do the examples [NO CUTTING AND PASTING OR GOOGLE] - This will give you good experience in logic/debugging/testing etc..
Revisit where you are at in 6months and see if this IT game is for you.
Finally - and this is a personal thing - I really believe I would do anything else than work for family - and I love them too. An experience of life.
GOOD LUCK TO YOU - AND BELIEVE ME ALL THE LATE NIGHTS OF HEAD SCRATCHING AND STUDYING WILL PAY OFF. I will stop shouting now!
 
Re: Work Work Work AND Experience

I think there are two sets of issues here - the nature of the work itself, and working for a family member.


I think it's natural in a new job to feel slightly overwhelmed until you find your ground. If this is the main issue I'd stick it out for a few months and see how it goes.


I've never worked with a family member, but from what I've heard it's always difficult where it's not an equal partnership.

Your brother is probably going out of his way not to be seen to show any favouritism, and because of this he is treating you differently. The chances are this will harm your prospects for promotion, and decent pay rises etc.

There is also the potential for your brother to take advantage of you, even if it's not deliberate. I've seen situations where the pecking order in the family was automatically imposed at work even though it might not be justified by the family member's relative abilities.

It sounds like you've discussed this with your brother but he brushed you off with the very unhelpful comment that it'll take you twenty years to catch up!

I can't really advise you on what to do. If as you say the experience is good it might be worth doing it for a year or two, while planning a move.

Alternatively, there are lots of opportunities in IT for people who are not good programmers or technical whizzes. People who understand the technical aspects and the business aspects are quite rare. Do you have other strengths which you could combine with your IT knowledge to move out of programming into another area?


Good luck!
 
Hey bro, get back to work!

Just because that 0 guy in the corner is at it doesn't mean you can surf the web all day!
 
Hi,

A few months ago I moved jobs. I work in IT but am not that experienced. I've worked in IT for about 4 years but wasn't in an place where I could learn how to be a very good programmer. Hence I'm okay...not bad...but no whizz.
I was working as a contractor and then my brother offered me a job in the company he's in. I took it thinking it would be a great opportunity, but slowly the realit of my situation is dawning on me.
Don't get me wrong I love my brother, but he's really hard on me in work. He never offers any encouragement and is constantly putting me under pressure to get up to speed quicker. I've been really happy with my work so far. Let me state that I'm very professional in everything I do and he's had no complaints on my work. He just expects me to get better and better, faster and faster, without offering any encouragement or anything. I used to work in a highly pressurised environment in my old company and was well respected...it's just that the role wasn't as technical as this new one.
I'm really quite down about the whole situation. He treats me differently because we're brothers. He told me today that I couldn't listen to music in work because he said it looks bad...even though everyone else does! Everyone in here wears jeans and t-shirts...but I'm not allowed. I have to wear collars because I'm only new etc...even though all the other new staff wear what they want. Againm it was one of my brother's rules.
I know my brother and I know how hard he is. If I was to confront him on these issues he'd just tell me to accpet it or move.
I want this job, because of the experience...which I probably wouldn't get anywhere else these days, but I don't want what's happening. I feel utterly demoralised today.
Does anyone have any advice for me.
How hard is it to become a good programmer earning good money. My brother seems to think it'll take me 20 years befoe I get to his level. Am I really destined to look forward to 15+ years of crappy jobs before I can earn decent money? If so then I'm going to start thinking about my career.
 
..

Insofar as your brother is concerned, it may be case of "tough love" wherby he's doing what he's feels is best for your long term interests. Only you can say whether this is really the case.

If it is, you could perhaps suggest that if he's seeking to motivate you, he's going the wrong way about it and that if he doesn't back off you'll have no option to resign.

There's nothing wrong with seeking to extract a fair day's work from an employee but there are employment laws that your brother may be breaching.
 
!

20 years! - They'll probably be using jelly computers then, or something. Technology moves on.

Do you actually enjoy programming? This will also make all the difference. Have you ever done programming as a hobby?

I did the Micro$oft exams. It's all about memorising stuff. You can also download the answers to the actual exams off the internet (examcrams or something, they are called). I passed them, but would never do them again. They don't actually teach you anything. You also have to pay Micro$oft for the honour. I mentioned to one interviewer that I had passed these exams. His response: "I don't give a toss about all of that!"

Learning business rules is probably even more important.
 
re

Hi guys,

Thanks a lot for all your responses. They are very helpful.

To answer the question do I enjoy programming, yes I do. But I'm pretty new to it. I can write a class of code with maybe 500 lines...pretty good code. It's just that an experienced developer would take 2 hours to write what takes me 3 days! But that's the level I'm at.

I don't know if I have a great love for writing code, but doing this might open up other opportunities for me.

I've spent the last half hour writing my brother an email on equality. I've tried to be as professional as possible in it, as if we weren't related.

Haven't sent it though. I'll sleep on it before I do so.
 
Re: re

I've spent the last half hour writing my brother an email on equality. I've tried to be as professional as possible in it, as if we weren't related.
Click to expand...

I personally would be more inclined to jot down my thoughts and the main points/issues and then deal with it face to face rather than via email.
 
re

Yes 0, you're probably right. However, like I said, he's a bit of a hard nose. At least if I can send him everything in email form he can mull it over before saying something. I'm prepared for a showdown afterwards...but would rather no confrontation.
 
Re: re

0 is right - I would NOT try to deal with such a sensitive matter as this over email. Get your own thoughts clear and do it face to face.

You both need to be able to leave your fraternal relationship outside the office (though I know this is not easy). He has to be prepared to fire you if things don't work out. You have to be prepared to jump ship for a better job when he badly needs you for his project. It's just business - no personal.

There is a lot more to the IT industry than coding - think about options like training, or selling, or support etc etc etc.
 
Re: re

I've worked with family members in the past too. I know how hard it can be. Sometimes it's difficult to air your grievances with a family member in a work environment..especially if that family member is your boss. Whatever you do though stand up for your rights and treat your brother as you would any boss. Whatever happens you'll feel better as a person for having done so. Best of luck.
 
Re: re

Is your brother *the* boss, *your* boss, or just getting in your hair ?

If there is another boss (above or at the same level as him) you could try talking to them and explaining that you feel you are being unfairly treated by your brother . . . other people are allowed listen to music, and so on. If your brother is *your* boss then you need to establish if he treats other people under him in the same way, in which case he is just being consistent.

z
 
..

I think your idea about the e-mail is useful to the extent that it will encourage you to articulate your thoughts towards what you consider a reasonable outcome. There would be little point in just conveying your sense of depression without also suggesting means through which it could be lifted. It's something you need to be clear about in your own head before you approach your brother.

I agree that it would be better to communicate verbally with your brother but if your relationship is such that you can't do this, an e-mail would be better than nothing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top