Re: employment with ada

[john@nospam.demon.co.uk (John McCabe)]

On 1 May 2003 17:36:30 -0700, crebralfix@angelfire.com (tom) wrote:

>Hi all,
>
>i've been reading and learning about ada due to
>some...annoyance...with c++.  the first computer programming book i
>ever read was booch's _software engineering with ada_ ( got it for $2
>) and i've liked the language ever since.  now, it's 4 years later and
>i'm looking for a programming job.
>
>my question is:  what strategies do you use to successfully obtain
>work where you can program in ada on a regular basis?  monster.com
>showed 35 jobs ( for senior engineers ) nationwide ( US ).  what
>advice do you have for someone that is new to the language and fairly
>junior as a programmer?

Make sure you don't ask for too much money. In my experience Ada is
most often used by large organisations who, in the UK, are notorious
for poor salary.

However what I've found in the past is that people looking for Ada
programmers often realise that a good programmer with enthusiasm for
Ada can be more important that an 'experienced' Ada programmer who may
be a bit tired of the language. If I was you I would apply for
whatever vacancies arise explaining your position in the covering
letter. Just be honest. Even though these adverts are for senior
positions, there must be junior programmers in the organisation and,
even if you're not successful in the senior post, at least they will
know your name for anything more suitable.

If at all possible avoid using a 3rd party agency for this. In my
experience most employment agencies haven't a clue about software
development and won't even forward your CV (resume!) to an
organisation unless you have about a 99% skills match!

Good luck.

Best Regards
John McCabe

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