Damn it! It Happened Again! Another Dot Com Story

[Dru Lee Parsec]

5 Weeks! 5 FSCKING WEEKS AGO! I started a new job. And guess what? They don't have enough money to pay us and their merger deal didn't go through.

****!

OK, I have a question. Why the F*&K did they hire me 5 weeks ago if they F*&king knew that there wasn't enough money to make payroll? I mean, as bad as my last job was at least they paid me.

For the past 2 weeks I've been making minimum wage with the understanding that when this merger went through we would get our full pay check and all of the back pay. I've received ONE full pay check from these people in just over a month.

What is it with me and jobs!? Do I have to go to a boreing as all hell job at a bank in order to get a consistent paycheck?

Damn it, this is just pissing me off. We're going to know on Thursday if we have alternative funding or if we're going to close the doors. I'm going to try to see if I could have a consulting gig by then. The sting of getting screwed is going to feel a lot better if I can walk in with a 3 month contracting job at $85/hour. "Oh I'm sorry, I can't write Java code for you, I have to go write Java code for a company that will PAY ME!

And if the job market is too tight for me to find something quickly, then HEY, let's all work on Java projects together. I'll have time to do that group Tic-Tac-Toe program and I can work on my sourceforge project. I may even sit out on my new deck and have a beer or two.

But DAMN! that pisses me off that they hired me when they KNEW that there wasn't enough money to pay me.

[Ben Briggs]

I think you stepped under a ladder a few years ago or something, because you have the worste of luck with these jobs. Have you had a job yet that you liked?

Sounds to me that you need to either look somewhere totally different for a Programming Job, or get out of programming professionally!

I wish you luck (here, take some of mine :)),
Ben

[kmj]

Hey Dru, Sorry to hear the news. That really stinks. I'm sure though, with your skills you won't have much trouble finding a better job. This time be wary of those dot coms. :mad: I don't like dot coms.

[optech]

/me loves his job.

i don't get paid often, but i code all day, and i maintain web sites, and basic computer stuff...

but i'm not in school, and i don't have a steady job.

it rocks
:D

[Stuka]

Y'know, one of these days, Dru Lee is gonna get the job he deserves, and we're all gonna go into shock when he tells us he loves the place AFTER he's been there a while! :D On a serious note - sorry to hear that Dru, and I sure as hell wish I knew somebody who needed a kick-@$$ Java hacker, but unfortunately I don't!

[nanode]

Dru Lee Parsec:

whoa - that suX0rz dead bunnies throw an extra long slurpee straw.

I know a few people my age (mid twenties) who've been shuffled around coding jobs recently, but I figured that was limited to "junior programmers" in most cases.

There's an obvious logistical barrier, but my team is looking for a senior java dude up here in Seattle. I think the immediate focus would be on EJB, appservers (tomcat, websphere, etc.) and DB integration with those.

Wonder if you could work remote?

...but honestly, although things feel much better here, no one can be certain if our team will exist 6 weeks from now. :(

We should all quit coding, start a band and go on tour...

I'm gonna go have a double black & tan for you after work tonight!!!

[YaRness]

Originally posted by Dru Lee Parsec:
<STRONG>I've been making minimum wage with the understanding that when this merger went through we would get our full pay check and all of the back pay.</STRONG>
ask not why they hired you, but "why did i take this job" and "would i take a job where they couldn't pay me again?"

anyway i'm sure it woulda been worth it, but maybe be a little more conservative in the future. and when you do take a risky job like that, don't stop interviewing/job hunting until the job steadies out; it certainly would be good to have another offer already on the table right about now. i say good luck on finding another job.

[TheLinuxDuck]

Dru:

I'm sorry to hear about that. I know yo much be feeling frustrated..

You mention maybe working on your sourceforge project. Well, I know I'm a total newbie in java, but I think I'd like to help you out some with it, if so.. I've looked at the project descrip, and although I don't know much about what you're trying to do, maybe I could lend a hand somehow.. this would certainly help me get my java feet soaked. (^=

And, it will show me how much I either like of dislike java.. right now I like it. (^=

[Dru Lee Parsec]

maybe be a little more conservative in the future

The thing is, I specifically asked them "How much money does XXXXX have and what is your burn rate? How long will the current financing hold out before we need bridge financing?"

I was told repeatedly "Through the summer" and "At least until September". But September was also when the product would be released and I was told that several invetors wanted to wait until that product was released so they can see that we actually have sales before they invest in us. So it sure sounded like they were a startup with a reasonable amount of risk, but those risk were manageable.

Now, when I find out that none of that was true and they were out of money within the first month that's when I was stunned! I'm not sure how I could have taken a more conservative position. I would never have thought "What if they're lieing to me and there's no money by the end of my first month?"

Now here's the weird part. We'll find out tomorrow if we have bridge financing. If so then a seriously stripped down version of the company (35 people 2 weeks ago, 9 people now) will be working from home (which is cool, but not under these circumstances) to finish our product. If we have money tomorrow then we're going to be in a good position to survive until profitability.

The old CEO who put us in this position has resigned, and the original founder of the company is back in the CEO posistion. Oddly enough, it's as if the company is starting over. i.e. Working out of our homes to build a cool product with minimal expenses. But this time we have a product that's 90% done. It's so strange that this may still work out to be a great job. But GEEZ-OH-PETES I wasn't ready to take this kind of risk at this point in my life.

So we'll wait one more day and see how it goes.