After one of my recent Java talks, a woman from the audience came to me and said, "I'm being displaced. But that's okay; the company gave me enough time for retraining. I've been working with Java , but would you recommend that I learn .NET?"

This lady deserves a lot of respect for at least two reasons:

1. She has maintained her positive attitude toward her current employer.
2. She is ready to start learning again.

Life After a Pink Slip
Do not panic. Start collecting unemployment (in the U.S. it's about $400 a week for most programmers). Incorporated contractors are also entitled to unemployment benefits - if you can't sign a new contract within three months, just close your corporation and get some cash flow from the unemployment office.

If you haven't found a new job and your unemployment benefits are ending in a month, find any school that is approved by the Department of Labor and register for their longest course. Even if you won't learn anything useful there, your benefits may be extended for the time that you're in school.

Read this article I wrote in the July 2005 issue of JDJ about looking for a job: http://java.sys-con.com/read/111193.htm. Let me stress it again, your résumé should be customized for each job that you are applying to. The same facts about your work experience can be presented in multiple ways. As Nelson DeMille wrote in one of his novels, "He never lied. He could give 10 correct answers to the same question."

If, Else If, Else If
Even though this article is written for JDJ, I'd like to make it useful for non-Java programmers as well. Let's write some if-statements for a victim of a recent layoff.

if (urMainframeProgrammer){
/* Consider learning WebSphere application server, messaging, and integration tools.

Get yourself IBM certified in these disciplines. For example, WebSphereMQ administration is one of many career choices. Try selling your industry experience. */

} else if (urVBorPBProgrammer){
/* Consider a database-related career. Improve your database skills, obtain all possible certificates from one of the major database vendors and present yourself in the job market as a database developer who also knows a front-end tool. Visual Basic people should master C# and ASP. Everyone should know XML. */

}else if (urJavaOrDotNetProgrammer){
/* Stay where you are, but make your résumé stand out from the crowd by analyzing what the hottest skills are in your area using job-related Web sites. Perform multiple searches using different keywords that are close to your area of expertise, and meticulously write down the number of ads for each keyword. After finding the hottest skills, get yourself certified in this skill by a recognizable software vendor like Sun Microsystems, IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, etc. Do not send out your résumé until you've received the certificates. */
}

Moving Out?
Modern IT is a moving target and, if you can't keep up with it, you should find something more suitable for yourself. If you are considering opening a business (I hope you're not planning to get into real estate), be prepared to live without any income for at least a year. If you have saved some cash, this might be a good time to try to capitalize on that business idea you've dreamed about for years. If you're not a businessman, stay in IT. Ask yourself this question: "How can I earn $60K a year in a non-IT world?" The most probable answer is to start by investing $50K+ into a business hoping to break even in a year and start earning some money. The other choice is to change your profession. Go back to college and in about two years you'll become a junior engineer or biochemist with a $40K salary and a similar amount of student loans.

Staying In!
Here's another plan:

1. Don't even start polluting the job market with your current résumé.
2. For the next six months sleep six hours a day tops. Spend no more than three hours for food intake, wife/girlfriend, and kids. Spend the remaining 15 hours with books and your PC.
3. Find a couple of reputable courses that teach the programming tools of your choice. These weekly courses are expensive, but they give you a chance to listen and communicate with experts in this field. To make these courses more effective, take them after spending a substantial amount of time studying on your own. For example, if you are planning to learn about WebLogic application server, don't sign up for a class until you tried to learn it on your own. Install the software, read the books, and study the source code of sample applications. This way you'll be better able to absorb the course info in the classroom and will ask the right questions. After taking the first course, continue studying at home and take another (more advanced) course in a month or two. Take any available free online courses on the subject of your choice. Attend professional seminars, user groups meetings, and sign up for each free technical Webinar. Check out the schools of continuing education at your local college. They may be offering evening/weekend classes.
4. Join an open source project (see sourceforge.net).
5. After all of the above is done, include your new skills in your résumé and hit the job market.