Female Clark U Prof: Many victim feminists' statistics are wrong

A female Clark U professor's blog asserts that much research showing women as victim is misleading or bogus: http://is.gd/j87bs

My Predictions and Trends for 2011

My annual predictions, with implications for career, business, and investments have been reasonably accurate. They are among my most widely read and republished work. Here are my predictions and trends for 2011.

Self-Employment Idea: Personal Geek

Most people have technology they'd like to use more fully: their SmartPhone, DV-R, computer, etc. But they don't know how.

For example, their computer has slowed down, they're using only the basics of Microsoft Office, LinkedIn, or Facebook, and they're paying too much for phone service, Internet access, or web hosting.

Then there's the stuff people are afraid of buying because they're not sure how to set it up: big-screen TV, home security system, surround-sound audio system, home computer network, etc.

Plus there's technology the people don't even know about but could make their life better.

Enter the personal geek, who makes house calls: does an audit of the person's needs, buys the stuff cheap on the Internet, installs it, trains the person on their new and existing techno-items, and provides ongoing support, as needed.

I think it's a self-employment idea that, in the right hands, has a high probability of success.

Is Computer Programming & Software Engineering Really Such a Hot Career?

Listen to the government, media, and educators, and you'd think software engineering and programming are among the smartest career choices. Alas, for most people, not so.

Of course, one big reason is that, like all jobs where the work product can be sent over the internet, ever more programming jobs will be offshored. There's no way that companies that hope to survive against their competition can pay $60,000-$100,000 a year plus benefits plus the costs of ADA, FMLA, Workers Comp, Social Security, and all those employment lawsuits that Americans are so fond of filing, when programmers in Asia can be hired for 60-80% less, net. And that's before ObamaCare is implemented!

There are additional reasons why software engineering/programming is overrated. Most of these reasons are provided by software engineer Alex Uveski but they comport with other programmers'/software engineers' reporting:

1. Unlike in most fields, after about five years your pay tops out. After that, your salary growth is dead: 20-year C++ programmers get paid the same as a five-year C++ programmer. Yes, a small percentage become managers or software architects, but most don't: For every architect, there are many programmers. And if you're a manager, you're puzzle-solving less and bossing more.

2. Programming languages are ever getting upgraded, so you spend your nights and weekends teaching yourself Version Next.0--there's no paid training. Otherwise, you are competing against the next horde graduating from college, who are newly trained, eager, and willing to work cheap.

3. The high-tech corporations lobby the federal government to keep a large pool of H1-B (imported) workers in the U.S. Yes, there's a shortage--a shortage of excellent U.S. programmers willing to work 12 hours a day for $50-70,000.

4. The Department of Labor uses misleading statistics to assert that U.S. jobs in software engineering/programming are growing. Their mistake: they lump together programmer jobs with more senior positions: that's like lumping together a BMW designer with a JiffyLube oil changer.

5. Programming is among the most sedentary jobs. You must sit all day, staring at a computer screen and typing (watch out for repetitive strain injury,) usually more than eight hours a day. Not healthy.

Are You Too Materialistic?

As we're in the throes of our annual spending orgy in the name of Christmas, I'd like to remind you that the cost of a materialistic lifestyle is far more than the dollars spent. You must also consider that:

• To pay for it, you and/or your spouse may have to forgo a less remunerative career so they can make the money to pay for that materialistic lifestyle. It strikes me as sad, for example, when someone who'd love to be a writer must spend 40-70 hours a week for decades as a bond trader to pay for her/his spouse's desire for a more-than-utilitarian home, car, jewelry, vacations, etc.
• The more you perceive the need to make lots of dollars, the more likely you are to cut ethical corners in your business dealings and to be less generous in your charitable donations.
• The more you look to "stuff" as a core source of your life's satisfactions, the more likely you are to miss out on life's greater rewards: maximally beneficial work, relationships, beauty, and such no-cost magic as YouTube videos, where you can see the world's greatest performers doing one of their greatest performanced. For example, appropriate for the holidays, HERE is Celine Dion singing Oh Holy Night. For me, few material purchases could give me more pleasure...and I'm an atheist!
• You convey materialistic values to your children. Is that really what you want to do?
  

A Very Short Guide to Reducing Your Stress at Work

In these tough times, which don't promise to ease soon, we're all asked to do more with less. Of course, that increases stress. Here are some antidotes:

Retain perspective: How important is that, really?

You can control only your effort, not the outcome. Do your best and then let it go. How your work is received or what others do with your work is usually beyond your control. If there's nothing you can do about it, simply move on to the next task. If worse comes to worst and, for example, you get fired, it usually means there's something better waiting for you. At least think that way. It'll reduce your stress.

Avoid rushing. What causes stress is not so much working long, it's the fight-or-flight response that comes when you rush. If possible, start early, stay late if necessary, but avoid rushing.

Be nice. If you look for maximum opportunities to be nice to people, you'll feel less stressed and, in turn, people will likely be nicer to you, which will reduce your stress further.

The Art of Working Smart

Here are my favorite ways to get more done in less time:

• Think time-effectiveness. Don't do the task the fastest way. Don't do it the most thorough way. Do it the way that will yield the most benefit per minute.
• Choose your gear. For each task, consciously decide whether to do it in first gear (slow and careful,) 2nd gear (moderate,) or 3rd gear (fast and less careful.)
• Default to doing the task rather than putting it on your to-do list. I do that with most of my sub-five-minute tasks.
• Know what matters to your boss: Ask, "What's priority?" and "How can I make your life easier?"
• Use sponge time. Most days have lots of time bits you can sponge up and get work done: when a meeting starts late, in line at the supermarket, during your commute, etc. When I'm driving, I often think about a project, taking notes on my omnipresent memo pad.
• Telecommute? Ask for permission to telecommute if, considering the time saved in not commuting, you'll be more efficient.
• Don't be too proud to ask for help. Where feasible, ask for help with too-hard work or when there's simply too much.

For a version of this article with some examples added, click HERE.