Conference 7.286::digital

>    My question is: what do
>    I need to do to accomplish this?  

Look around in the jobs book and the jobs notesfile for jobs in the 
financial software area.  There's a lot going on there right now and
it's problably your best chance.  Since you obviously have access to a 
computer, use it to practice you programming skills.  See if you can 
borrow the documentation.

>    I have BS and MBA degrees in
>    finance.  Do I need an MS in computer science, or can I just
>    take some courses?  If the latter, what courses should I take?

An MS in computer would not hurt.  Depending on your programming skill
you may be able to get a software job without any courses.  Real
programmers/hacker don't take computer courses. 
    
>   Also, providing I get the education I need, what starting salaries
>   would I be looking at?  Any help is appreciated.  

It would depend on how you can parley your experience.  If you can prove
you are totally ignorant you probably could get DEC to hire you in a
consultant level job that pays 60 - 80.  People right out of college
make in the 20s.  After a year or two in the 30s, four or five years
40s...  If you could convince a manager that you financial experience 
was relevent to his project he may hire you at a level that pays higher
than entry level.
    
John

RE: .1


	Think he meant "... totally VMS ignorant ...."  in that last 
paragraph.

	That's a snide but totally true remark about some of our latest hiring 
practices.

    A very good college hire with a BSEE or BSCS can get about $30K from
    Digital to start. An MSEE or MSCS, around $34K. 

        There is a difference (at least in the way many people at DEC
        think about things) between "software engineering" and what I will
        call (for lack of a better term coming to mind at the moment)
        "application programming".  The way we seem to currently do
        business, the former is done in the development of products for
        sale to customers, and the latter is done in the development of
        systems to support our internal business functions. 
        
        I may be mistaken, but I believe that your educational and work
        experience won't count for a lot in getting a job in "software
        engineering", but might be very helpful in getting a job doing
        "application programming", especially in support of the kinds of
        business functions you already understand.  While going back to
        school and earning an MSEE or MSCS could be lots of fun, the
        increment in pay you'd probably receive if you were doing
        "application programming" would almost certainly never pay back
        the cost. 
        
        Before you proceed, you probably need to get a better sense of
        what the different jobs are like, both inside DEC and outside, and
        what opportunities you'd have for career advancement.  I suspect
        that you'd have to take a significant drop in levels to move from
        your current area into "software engineering", but you might be
        able to make almost a lateral move into "application programming"
        if you can leverage your current business expertise. 
        
        Tom

I would like to reinforce the point Tom makes in .4, but from a different
angle.

There is also a question of what you enjoy doing.  My sister is working
in an insurance company and considers it a dead end.  She is finishing
a geology degree.  Obviously, she will have no use for her insurance
expertise in geology, and her insurance company will have no use for her
geology, so she'll say goodbye and start at entry level at age 42.

Caroline, the way you phrased your query sounds to me as if you don't
insist on discarding your financial/business expertise.  Maybe I'm wrong,
and you dream of writing compilers and operating systems:  If so,
then you're probably best off getting a degree first.

If you do want to leverage off your current expertise, the best possible
alternative would be if your manager is flexible and creative, and he/she can
see a path where you could learn some programming and still be useful to the
group. I got the impression from a guy who I think works in your group that
there is some programming going on there, so maybe it's possible.

On the other hand, if you work for someone shortsighted, and you don't want
to mention the idea of a job change, I would suggest targetting internal
software services (ISWS), the group which does business programming for DEC. 
I have a good contact in ISWS, if you want to call me.

Another possibility is contacting one of the groups which you worked with
as a management consultant, and ask them if they could use your talents,
as you develop into a programmer.  

Good luck,

-Steve Ruzich

    
    
    Thanks for the input! I think application programmer does describe
    what I'd like to do, at least initially.  I hadn't realized that
    I might be able to do it now, without a lot of training, but if
    I can take a few courses thru DME or something similar I
    might be able to transition.  I had checked out the programmer
    training program, but it would be a large downgrade for me.
    
    I am currently in Connecticut, so I think ISWS is out unless they
    have a group here.  But I will definitely pursue these issues
    with my new manager as soon as I get a transfer (I am on leave
    of absence right now).

    
    Caroline
    
    

Caroline -

	Another suggestion. Surely there is a finance SWS unit near you.
	I'm sure, if they have an open requisition, they'd be more than happy
	to train you computer-wise in return for your finance expertise.

Eric