Ruby Slippers

We're not in Kansas anymore...

So... after a few years working in the bog-standard IT job I've decided to venture out into the big, bad world of contracting. The stomach fills with butterflies just thinking about it. I am ever mindful of the market situation that surrounded my first IT job. The bubble was bursting and belts were cinched ever tighter in a last, desperate bid to grasp at whatever straws were on offer.

Is the market so different now?

The net is filled with buzz over the new "(r)evolution" of Web 2.0^TM and I have happily upskilled into that area. Ruby-on-Rails is indeed a dream-come-true compared with the outmoded efforts of only a few years back. It provides a heady mix of powerful scripting with whizz-bang AJAX GUI effects that can turn the average online business into something really special.

But is that enough? I have the tech-skills, my micro-business has given me customer-service and admin skills. But I'll admit I've never left the protective support-system that the average tech-company provides.

Sticking my head outside the womb is a scary thing! The first breath of cold, sharp air will be a painful shock. I am, however, reminded of that quote:

"Life wasn't meant to be easy, but take courage, child, for sometimes it can be pure delight" -- poorly paraphrased from something that Malcolm Fraser allegedly said

So all I can say is that I've just begun. I don't know how I'll go, but I plan on having a hell of a ride while I'm here!