Sorry for not reintroduce myself

[Mach1]

I made a few posts today which is every unsually for me as I don't write much. I have been reading this board for the last few months, many times I feel compel to reply but just can't. I will continue to try as I want to contribute as well as learning from this board.

I do want to express my admiration for the regulars here for their insights and wisdom not to mention some of the comments and jokes just crack me up and get me through the day until I ER.

I am the Software Enterpeneur guy with most assets in Real Estate, I joined the board a few months back with a naive question of 'when to retire?', I am 48 years of age, planning to ER in 5 years or less.

 

[Nords]

I am the Software Enterpeneur guy with most assets in Real Estate, I joined the board a few months back with a naive question of 'when to retire?',  I am 48 years of age, planning to ER in 5 years or less.

Welcome back, Mach. Looks like a lot of software people are ready to hang it up...

 

[Under FIRE]

Mach, glad to have you back.

Yup, many of my IT/Software-related friends are scampering to the exit, not wanting to be the guy to turn off the lights.

The heighten rate of technology/systems evolution, increasing complexity of problems to be solved, compressed margins due to overall industry operational efficiencies, and intense competition from outsourcing are just some of the ailments of the field.

My college buddy now charges 1/10th of what his company could charge just 5 yrs ago for web hosting and web publishing services. Imagine McD having to sell Big Macs for a Quarter? 

Its a ruthless, insanely competitive field in high-cost geographies such as North America.

Speech's over. OK Mach, this floor's yours. 

 

[cube_rat]

Mach, glad to have you back.

Yup, many of my IT/Software-related friends are scampering to the exit, not wanting to be the guy to turn off the lights.

The heighten rate of technology/systems evolution, increasing complexity of problems to be solved, compressed margins due to overall industry operational efficiencies, and intense competition from outsourcing are just some of the ailments of the field.

Amen. Well said!

 

[Helen]

Don't forget being on call. I'm on call every other week. It sucks. I don't get paged a lot, but I have to stay in the area. It really screws up my weekends for backpacking as I often would be out of range for cell phone coverage.

Also, the weekend and evening work for updating software sucks.

Best of luck with your next five years.

 

[cube_rat]

Don't forget being on call. I'm on call every other week. It sucks. I don't get paged a lot, but I have to stay in the area. It really screws up my weekends for backpacking as I often would be out of range for cell phone coverage.

Also, the weekend and evening work for updating software sucks.

Best of luck with your next five years.

I'm on call this weekend as well!! I can't go with my SO to party tomorrow because I'll be 20 minutes away from a wireless/modem connection. Our system goes down, time is of the essence to resurrect it back to life.

24/7 support for a tier one ERP application stinks! So much for having specialzied technical expertise.

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

I'm on call this weekend as well!! I can't go with my SO to party tomorrow because I'll be 20 minutes away from a wireless/modem connection. Our system goes down, time is of the essence to resurrect it back to life.

24/7 support for a tier one ERP application stinks! So much for having specialzied technical expertise.

This probably deserves its own topic, but being on call is the single biggest factor driving me to want to FIRE. Not just nights, which are frequent but light for me, but weekends and holidays in particular. I somehow feel that these are my personal times and have increasingly felt "invaded" when duty calls.

It's not the urgent calls for patient care that bug me -- that comes with the territor and the patients are grateful. It's the long hours of dictation, signatures, arguing with administrators about availability of hospital beds, last minute calls for things that could and should have been tended to days or weeks ago, etc.

Won't miss that piece one bit.

 

[Helen]

I'm on call this weekend as well!!  I can't go with my SO to party tomorrow because I'll be 20 minutes away from a wireless/modem connection.  Our system goes down, time is of the essence to resurrect it back to life.

24/7 support for a tier one ERP application stinks!  So much for having specialzied technical expertise.

What ERP application ? I'm doing PeopleSoft.

Rich_In_Tampa, many times when I am paged or screw up something at work I remind myself that I am not a doctor and these are not life and death issues I am dealing with. How do you deal with the stress of your job ?

 

[cube_rat]

What ERP application ? I'm doing PeopleSoft.

Same here! I also do all maintenance packs and tax update.

Have you had issues with the process scheduler domain BBL dying in production?

Hey, we must chat through PM

 

[Helen]

Same here!  I also do all maintenance packs and tax update.   

Me too. We have HR, EPM, CRM and Financials. There are two of us who share the support work. The test and development systems actually take more work than the production. We currently have over 50 servers. I don't do the functional stuff or the OS or DBs just the PeopleSoft admin.

I just took a retirement class with my coworker last Thursday and Friday. I'm a little nervous as she is seven years older than I am and currently qualifies for her pension. I'm trying to talk her into buying a new expensive car.

Less than seven years to go ....

 

[cube_rat]

System admin here! Check your inbox.

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Rich_In_Tampa, many times when I am paged or screw up something at work I remind myself that I am not a doctor and these are not life and death issues I am dealing with. How do you deal with the stress of your job ?

I'm fortunate to be less subject to stress than most. For sure my job is highly charged with emotions, end-of-life issues, and zero tolerance for error or misjudgment.

For me, there's great difference between stress (underling fails to show up for call duty, nurse gives wrong medication, long lost family member shows up at the midnight hour asking for a complete reversal of plans, etc.) on the one hand, and intensity on the other (dying patient / family with complicated needs, medical emergencies. Long hours also stress me at times.

The intensity is exhausting but not troubling. If you are well-prepared, know when to ask for help, and have decent interactional skills and compassion it is very rewarding and really the core of why I love my profession. The stress, OTOH, is probably alot like yours and all the other's.

Hope that makes a little sense.

 

[Helen]

"Hope that makes a little sense. "

It does, thank you.

 

[Mach1]

I hope that those were on call over the weekend didn't get interuption from your weekend activities. I am not officially on the on call list but is literally being on call 24/7 by one of my Clients that won't let me go... They pay well but what a pain. I think I need to read 'Your money or your life', I am sure some one on this board have read it, will you care to comment about it please?

For those that doing software maintenance and administration, can you imagine doing the same on the next generation of software that being developed outside of the US? The software logics and documenations will never be the same.