Ok, so I no longer get paid. Yep, I got hit in the latest rounds of lay-offs. Right now (2003), I'm trying to figure out why the Unemployment People think that because I'm taking a couple of classes that may or may not help me get a job, that makes me not eligible for MONEY?!? Sheesh! I hope it was a misunderstanding on their part. Not that you get much. You're better off getting a part-time job while looking for work.
I'm polishing up a resume, which I will not post here. But here's a brief job history of things I did while I was gainfully employed.
I used work at a TCAD software company called Technology Modeling Associates doing all sorts of things, mostly porting and testing our products on various UNIX machines and helping customers. About 6 months after I left, TMA IPO'd (you know, went public). I was fortunate even to retain my stocks prior to leaving. A short while after that, Avant! acquired TMA. In the latest round of mergers and aquisitions, Synopsys bought Avant! And I still own company stock. It's now with Synopsys.
I was happily employeed at Bay Networks as a Technical Support Engineer. I spent most of the day either on the phone with customers or trying to take care of web and administrative things for the Network Management group I worked in. I learned lots about networks. Never thought I would understand any of it, but I do!
Once in a while, when I and one of the guys I worked with have a shouting match over the weather, lunch, or anything else that may amuse us, a squirt gun fight breaks out. One would think there is a lot of equipment in danger, but in reality, the only causalities are walls and other people we worked with.
Then Northern Telecom bought Bay Networks (notice a disturbing pattern of mergers wherever I work?) and changed its name to Nortel Networks. I continued working as TSE, but rather than spending my time on the phone with customers, I was tasked (what a word - [eye roll]) with maintaining the web server, mentoring and training, and generally making sure our group of engineers had the equipment/resources/training they needed.
Nortel eventually went through several LARGE layoffs and I finally got caught in one. :-( Now I'm looking for work, but then, so is everyone else. But at least I got to take some classes from both DeAnza and Foothill.
I keep busy doing special projects with GYRO's 3D Fear Factory, a Haunted House. That's part of my leisure time.
