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HTML <html> <head> <title>Always a Wild Ride</title> </head> <body> <h1>Always a Wild Ride</h1> <div class="info">Author: <a href="author_1_91140.html">Amoranthus</a></div><div class="body">For three years previous to coming to Australia, I had my own small web design company. After incorporating, the need to expand became obvious since there just wasn't enough work in my small northern California town, so I focused on internet marketing. <br /> The research was ponderous, and the topic attractive, and I found myself training people online using chat programs to make their own websites and get them noticed on the Net.<br /> <br /> Arriving in Australia back in 2000 though, there wasn't much to work with in internet marketing. The Net was brand new to Australia. Less than 10% of the country had access. The few jobs available were with larger companies with national and international intentions, and that meant they wanted programmers, not marketers. There just wasn't any online market in Australia at the time.<br /> So, I grabbed my favorite computer, a few books, and a couple of online libraries to learn the suite of skills that seemed most interesting and marketable: ColdFusion, Java, Javascript and got myself qualified. Expert in ColdFusion and Javascript; Sun Certified in the new Java 2.<br /> <br /> ColdFusion was a hot item. Everyone wanted their site done in ColdFusion. It helped a lot that these were the days when scientists were claiming they had mastered nuclear cold fusion, too.<br /> ColdFusion manuals and articles suggested Javascript for client-side error checking and processing. But the really hot sites integrated ColdFusion with Java.<br /> <br /> One good contract convinced me that I had taken the right course.<br /> Then, the dot-com collapse hit.<br /> Australian IT budgets shut down within a month, literally. <br /> <br /> If you're considering a career in computers and the Internet, you'll have to be prepared for this sort of thing.<br /> Not only is there the constant requirement to keep your skills current, but the whole market can shift with mind-boggling swiftness. It is always a wild ride. <br /> <br /> You spot a trend, do your homework to get ready to ride the wave, and the whole ocean shifts. You can have a lifestyle sea change without even seeing the tsunami.<br /> And you can be left standing there like a grand knight in all your polished armor on an empty beach.<br /> <br /> If you enjoy the challenge, and are willing to do the work, your career can be exciting - in more ways than you can ever expect - but it will always be a wild ride. <br /> <br /> Paul Donley is a corporate trainer in Melbourne Australia. His company, AEmeritus Relevant Training provides individual, classroom, synchronous and asynchronous online training in most major software suites, and develops custom training packages.<br /> <br /> <br /> ColdFusion is a trademark of Macromedia Inc. Java and Javascript are trademarks of Sun Microsystems.</div> <div class="source">Article Source: <a href="http://www.articlealley.com/article_107861_36.html">http://www.articlealley.com/article_107861_36.html</a></div> <div class="author"> <div class="authorOccupation"><strong>Occupation:</strong> Contracting Corporate Trainer</div> <div class="authorBio">Paul Donley has a long background in computers and software, in both home and office. Sales, operations, network installation and support from the nascent period before the Internet and the advent of Windows. But once the Internet came along, his attention was increasingly focused on the Internet and networks. Before coming to Australia, Paul trained online on web design and internet marketing. He is the author of numerous manuals on a wide variety of business software from his days as a Programmer/Analyst and Systems Architect. Most recently, Paul has moved into the field of Corporate Training, but still dabbles in web design, web services, and search engine optimization. </div> <div class="authorUrl"><a href="http://www.aemeritus.com.au/" target="_blank">http://www.aemeritus.com.au/</a></div></author> </body> </html>
Text Always a Wild Ride Author: Amoranthus For three years previous to coming to Australia, I had my own small web design company. After incorporating, the need to expand became obvious since there just wasn't enough work in my small northern California town, so I focused on internet marketing. The research was ponderous, and the topic attractive, and I found myself training people online using chat programs to make their own websites and get them noticed on the Net. Arriving in Australia back in 2000 though, there wasn't much to work with in internet marketing. The Net was brand new to Australia. Less than 10% of the country had access. The few jobs available were with larger companies with national and international intentions, and that meant they wanted programmers, not marketers. There just wasn't any online market in Australia at the time. So, I grabbed my favorite computer, a few books, and a couple of online libraries to learn the suite of skills that seemed most interesting and marketable: ColdFusion, Java, Javascript and got myself qualified. Expert in ColdFusion and Javascript; Sun Certified in the new Java 2. ColdFusion was a hot item. Everyone wanted their site done in ColdFusion. It helped a lot that these were the days when scientists were claiming they had mastered nuclear cold fusion, too. ColdFusion manuals and articles suggested Javascript for client-side error checking and processing. But the really hot sites integrated ColdFusion with Java. One good contract convinced me that I had taken the right course. Then, the dot-com collapse hit. Australian IT budgets shut down within a month, literally. If you're considering a career in computers and the Internet, you'll have to be prepared for this sort of thing. Not only is there the constant requirement to keep your skills current, but the whole market can shift with mind-boggling swiftness. It is always a wild ride. You spot a trend, do your homework to get ready to ride the wave, and the whole ocean shifts. You can have a lifestyle sea change without even seeing the tsunami. And you can be left standing there like a grand knight in all your polished armor on an empty beach. If you enjoy the challenge, and are willing to do the work, your career can be exciting - in more ways than you can ever expect - but it will always be a wild ride. Paul Donley is a corporate trainer in Melbourne Australia. His company, AEmeritus Relevant Training provides individual, classroom, synchronous and asynchronous online training in most major software suites, and develops custom training packages. ColdFusion is a trademark of Macromedia Inc. Java and Javascript are trademarks of Sun Microsystems. Article Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_107861_36.html About the Author: Paul Donley has a long background in computers and software, in both home and office. Sales, operations, network installation and support from the nascent period before the Internet and the advent of Windows. But once the Internet came along, his attention was increasingly focused on the Internet and networks. Before coming to Australia, Paul trained online on web design and internet marketing. He is the author of numerous manuals on a wide variety of business software from his days as a Programmer/Analyst and Systems Architect. Most recently, Paul has moved into the field of Corporate Training, but still dabbles in web design, web services, and search engine optimization. http://www.aemeritus.com.au/
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