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Slackware's alienbob Loses His Day Job to Offshoring

posted by cmn32480 on Thursday September 15 2016, @04:11PM   Printer-friendly
from the save-a-buck-fire-a-smart-guy dept.

-- OriginalOwner_ writes:

We've previously mentioned Eric Hameleers AKA alienbob AKA Alien BOB and his run-Slackware-from-removable-media project. He even created an account here to comment on our story about that. (His sole activity here, so far.)

He now blogs

I am being laid off by my employer, IBM. Jobs in the Netherlands move to lower-wage countries like Poland and India, while IBM changes course towards a "cognitive" future in which there is less interest in the traditionally skilled technical IT jobs.

Unparalleled (because forced) job cuts in the Netherlands are the result of that change of focus. Almost 10% of the IBMNL work force is sent away in a "re-balancing" operation and I am out of a job per November 1st.

[...] As long as I still work for IBM (seven weeks), I have access to Safari Books Online where I can freely access and use the available course materials which prepare for the RHCE exam. This will of course affect the time I can spend on Slackware. I commonly spend nearly every after-work hour on packaging, scripting, and assisting people online and via email. That stops now.

[...] I also cannot promise that--when I have found a new job--that I will be able to provide the levels of support that you may have gotten used to.

Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 15 2016, @06:34PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 15 2016, @06:34PM (#402405)

    We need those skills too, desperately. Scripting, automation, all the things that the GUI generation have forgotten or never learned. So especially people like Bob who know Slackware, because if you know Slackware, you can use any Linux to a high degree of proficiency.

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  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 15 2016, @09:35PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 15 2016, @09:35PM (#402485)

    because if you know Slackware, you can use any Linux to a high degree of proficiency.

    I know that, but could you PLEASE get that info into the heads of all HR morons? (20+ year Slackware guy here... 8+ years RedHat/CentOS and others too)

    • (Score: 3, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 15 2016, @11:52PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 15 2016, @11:52PM (#402531)

      Getting into the head of an HR moron is not a task to be undertaken lightly. It is a strange, confused, and frightening place where normal humans cannot survive long.

      • (Score: 1) by AssCork on Friday September 16 2016, @02:28PM

        by AssCork (6255) on Friday September 16 2016, @02:28PM (#402798) Journal

        Much like the Upside-down [pinimg.com] in Stranger Things [wikipedia.org].
        IF you return from your quest, you'll never be the same...

        --
        Just popped-out of a tight spot. Came out mostly clean, too.