Job Security

[jon_mcbee]

Just had a company meeting, odds are good that I have a layoff in my immediate future.  So I thought I would write to see how other peoples job security is doing in this bad economy.  I would like to keep using LabVIEW and am curious who out there is using LabVIEW full time and what they are using it for and if they feel there job will outlast the recession.  I know alot of LabVIEW users are on the industry side of things, as I currently am, but how is academia doing?  If you find this to a be a personal question then do accept my apologies as i am not tryint to offend anyone.  Just curious...

[tbob]

Seems as if every company is having layoffs due to the economy.  We just had one and we are expecting another round in January.  Most of the job openings I'm seeing are for short term contract work.  This may be the wave of the future.  Companies lay off permanent employees only to find it necessary to hire contractors to do immediate projects.  When the project is done, the company either lets the contractor go or finds another project for them.  I'm seeing it happen here right now.

[jon_mcbee]

I have seen this too, the crazy part is that the contractors tend to charge atleast double what I make to start a project they have no background knowledge on.  It sounds to me like we need a LabVIEW Wirers Union.

[Ben]

I work for one of those "outside companies" and I have been told my work load is going to be steady for a while. I believe we change double (or more) than an inside employee. There are a lot of companies in my area that have enough coding work that they can keep more than one LV developer going. Those shops only come to us for short-term training and performance analysis work. Most of the time they don't use our services.

For companies that need an application developed and then after that can get by with the existing code, they will come to us. I am very comforatable with this arrangement because I am NOT an expert at their "stuff" and I do not try to be. I bring to the party what they lack. When they don't "need my liquor" any more, I take it to the next party.

But this is not a new situation and the trend toward in-house project management and contracting only as required has been happening for quite a while.

Just my 2 cents,

Ben

[jon_mcbee]

I do agree that there is and has been a need for contracting in what we do.  I do contracting work on the side and if I thought it would be feasible I would do it full time.  I suppose that rather than doing anything constructive I was just complaining about my lot in life.  Ben, when you do onsite training are you teaching material dictated by NI or do you follow your own curriculum?  Just curious.

[Ben]

---

jmcbee wrote: 
...  Ben, when you do onsite training are you teaching material dictated by NI or do you follow your own curriculum?  Just curious.

---

We do both. It all depends on the customers needs. We have even written customized courses designed for a specific application.

Ben

[Dennis_Knutson]

I got laid off a year ago when the company out-sourced everything (except top-level management) and then got hired by a company that is growing it's LabVIEW programming effort. I'm in a department that had 6 LabVIEW programmers and we just hired two more. Another department that did some traditional text programming related to product testing was moved to other duties and are being replaced with LabVIEW programmers and NI hardware. I wish I could say it was a trend I see in other places but I feel pretty lucky right now.

[pallen]

The company I work for does a lot of test fixtures and assembly lines for the automotive industry.  Over the years, the margins on these kinds machines has dropped significantly.  Customers are demanding quicker delivery, more features, and lower prices.  Many smaller shops like ours have closed in recent years. 

Fortunately we have been able to branch away from the auto industry at least a little with a few aerospace jobs.  Hopefully we'll see some more of those in the coming year.  But if our biggest automotive customer goes down, it could mean the same for all of us as well. 

[Matthew_Kelton]

I am also one of those "outside companies."  It may appear on the surface that we charge 2x or more for our services, but you have to realize their is a lot more behind those numbers than most realize.  There's benefits which we don't get paid, SS and unemployment not paid (some direct contractors may cost the company this if they are paid as W-2 employees).  Most companies also tend to give some compensation to employees when they are laid off.  A lot of times, contractors are also treated differently than employees when it comes to accounting, so it can look better on the books.  Outside companies also get around hiring freezes quite easily.

When you go to an established company, there is also some level of expectation of expertise (maybe not so much with direct contract employees).  One of my customers hired one guy to do a project for them.  Well, once he got there, other little projects came up and he was having trouble getting the project he was hired to do done.  They hired another contractor to assist the employee.  I was called in 10 mos. after this.  I was shown what they had done, and it was only a few weeks worth of work, bloated, and nothing had really been accomplished.  In almost 2 years.  The employee left the day I was brought in for the meeting and the contractor was gone by the time I started the project.  6 mos later, the first version of the complete system was done (just me working on it).  I heard numerous comments that the customer basically got what they paid for.

The whole contractor/employee thing is cyclical to some degree.   Almost a supply and demand thing.  Now,companies will layoff because they believe it is cheaper to contract out projects, especialy if they don't have full load for an employee.  But, it will get to a point where the contractors become too expensive and it's better to have an employee on board.

For some companies, it makes no sense.  I am doing a 6 week project right now for a customer.  They won't find an experienced person to come in for that short of a term.  I am helping a customer with a prototype - 1 week.  I think only one of my customers currently has a LabVIEW programmer on staff.  They just don't have the workload to justify full-time people doing the work.

If you do get laid off and are willing to travel, you should look at some of these contract houses.  You can get a 3-6 mo contract, get paid by the hour, and make some pretty decent money.  When I got laid off in 2002, I had no choice but to take a contract job becuase I was out of money.  I made more there in 7 months than I had in a year at my old job.  I could have made more if I had put in my old hours at my previous employer.  The nice thing about these is the per diem.  1/2 of my salary (up to 40 hrs/wk) was per diem and therefore non-taxable income.  There is a minimum mileage from your home you must travel and a max time of 1 year for the per diem.  But, assuming you take another contract before the 1 year, the per diem starts all over again.  The contract house paid me as a W-2,so I didn't have to pay self-employment taxes, either.  I wouldn't want to do it now (kids), but for a single person or a one-income couple, it can be pretty addicting.  I turned a coworker who also got laid off onto it, and he's still doing it.  Too addicted to the money to go back to full-time employment.

[jon_mcbee]

I appreciate the insight!  Matthew Kelton, how do you find one of these contract houses?  From what you say I assume that they dont care if you are local or not?