During the 1980s and into the mid-1990s there were IT consultants who would take corporate housing, or some other dwelling type in the Naperville area and schlep into Chicago on the train. Many ended up buying homes and permanently relocating. It wasn’t just Naperville, but any Chicago suburb which had express train service. Billing rates “in the city” were about $10/hr higher. People ignored the fact they were wasting 45 minutes of their life each … Why IT Consultants Won’t Work in ChicagoRead more
IT consulting
Posted inExperience / Information Technology
Scrum Destroys Consulting Firms
Agile and Scrum are quickly destroying the human species, I’ve even written a book about it. Here is how it is single-handedly destroying IT consulting firms. I’ve been at IT consulting for over 30 years now and watched as Agile rotted firms from the inside out. What destroyed them (and most IT projects) was the adoption of scrum. How I know Just being an IT consultant for over 30 years doesn’t give a person this … Scrum Destroys Consulting FirmsRead more
Posted inInformation Technology / Thank You Sir May I Have Another
The Locals Only Scam
If you work in IT, even if you aren’t currently looking for a new gig, you get email spam about openings (both contract and FTE.) Many of them will even be for work using products you’ve never touched. You’ve probably noticed the new scam. Most of this spam has either in the subject or the first paragraph of the message “Locals Only.” Do you know why it is there? They want to pay dramatically below … The Locals Only ScamRead more
Posted inInformation Technology
Calculating Your Minimum Billing Rate Pt. 3
If you travel for at least six months at a time. You want enough time to get a good feeling about the area, and to find a housing situation which “pays you to stay” enough to want to stay there. Yes, Corporate Housing is more expensive, in many cases, than the bottom price range of extended stay or two star hotels, but it has a comfort level those places cannot provide. (Unless, of course, you … Calculating Your Minimum Billing Rate Pt. 3Read more
Posted inInformation Technology
Calculating Your Minimum Billing Rate Pt. 2
Here are the rules of thumb for extended stay hotels: 1 The lower the chain’s price, the higher the odds an off-shore company is stacking L-1 and H-1B workers eight to a room trashing the place. 2 The lower the chain’s price, the smaller a room’s square footage. Most will be like having a bedroom in the kitchen. 3 The lower the chain’s price, the higher the odds of them having traveling construction workers rotating … Calculating Your Minimum Billing Rate Pt. 2Read more