Do you feel that being a Java guru sets you apart and makes you indispensable in your company? Or are you an entry-level person scared of being laid off given all these outsourcing trends? What are your career choices in the corporate world? Put on your headphones, turn on Pink Floyd's album The Wall, and let's talk...

Programmers earn their living by working either as employees or as temporary contractors. Often, people use the term consultant when they're referring to the employment status of a person, but this is just not right, because the word consultant means a subject expert, while the word contractor means a temporary worker and a separate legal entity, which is exactly what consultants are. There is an opinion that permanent employment provides better job security, but let's take a closer look at two former college roommates, Alex and Steve, who graduated from the same college eight years ago.

Alex was always dreaming of being an employee of a large corporation. He knew that he'd be more secure there (Momma's gonna keep baby cozy and warm) and was ready to work for such a firm for many years. He found such a job and had to start from scratch learning the rules of the corporate world: your phone conversations may be recorded, a designated person will browse your e-mails, your applications will be protected by a couple of firewalls and DMZ (Momma won't let anyone dirty get through). He had been promised a yearly training and planned to visit San Francisco while studying new Java technologies at the JavaOne conference... Sorry, but our training budget is not as good as it used to be (We don't need no education), but we have an exciting Six Sigma training coming up, which will greatly help your career, and you may even earn a green belt in a couple of years. He learned to play politics, and got used to working late hours to meet the unrealistic deadlines that were set by some incognito bad person from up above. Alex met all deadlines because bonus time was looming ahead (If you don't eat yer meat, you can't have any pudding).

Steve decided to work for himself, so he opened a one-man company and started his career as a contractor. Even though his contracts were usually long term, Steve always knew that he needed to maintain good technical skills to be prepared for the next technical interview. He was the first to learn Aspect Oriented Programming, SOA principles, and all possible Java application frameworks that have implemented the MVC design pattern. Steve was always the only person in the building who knew exactly what the garbage collector did to the young generation. He never complained if his next client was several thousand miles away from his hometown (Daddy's flown across the ocean leaving just a memory).

About three years ago, by pure coincidence, Steve got a project with the same company and division where Alex has been working all these years. He was one of hundreds vice presidents with a six-figure salary, wearing an expensive suit, Six Sigma brown belt, and matching shoes. The friends were happy to work with each other, but this did not last long. The firm decided to lay off several hundred of employees and let go of most of the contractors. Alex was too expensive for the firm and Steve's contract ended sooner than expected (All in all you were all just bricks in the wall). Alex received a decent severance package that allowed him to spend the next six months brushing up his Java skills and this kept paying the bills. Steve did not get any compensation but found a new gig pretty quickly in two months.

So what's the moral of this story?

If you're young and ambitious, spend at least some time working as a contractor. Do not be afraid to start fresh every now and then; this is what capitalism is all about. Besides, the average length of full-time employment of young programmers is also not more than two to four years. As you get older (over 50 in the U.S.), you'll experience difficulties in finding pure programmer's jobs (Hey you! Out there in the cold getting lonely, getting old, can you feel me); however, I do know a mainframe contract programmer who turns 70 this month (happy birthday, Felix!). Of course, he can't write as many “if-else” statements per minute as a college graduate, but he knows his application inside out, and the firm is not planning to get rid of him.

If you prefer full-time employment, be loyal to the company you work for. The firm's interests should take priority over your personal goals, but don't get lazy. Keep your technical skills up to date; read professional books and magazines; and visit Java online forums on a regular basis. During difficult times your employer will let you go without thinking twice: this is also what capitalism is about. Gurus will have to go because their salaries are too high, and junior developers will be replaced by an inexpensive workforce overseas. But this is okay as long as you are technically sound, have a positive attitude toward life, and accept that all in all you were all just bricks in the wall.

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