InformationWeek

August 18, 1999

I have been at the same company for 17 years. I have an associate's degree in telecom and have begun to work towards a bachelor's degree in computer science. It looks like I will be losing my job in the upcoming weeks. I am currently making $55,000. In my current position, I'm responsible for telecom billing, managing vendors, upgrading and maintaining the internal LAN, maintaining the PBX, and basically most telecom functions internally�a lot of administrative work. What are my chances of maintaining my salary and how can I get more experience in IP telephony?

The first lesson should be that going forward, your loyalty should be toward yourself and your professional growth. You spent too much time at the same company. I am not aware of your geographic location, but your variation in salary shouldn't be too great. We are in great economic times, which should be to your advantage. Spend some of your severance money on re-educating yourself. It will show any future employer that you are serious about your career.

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