Leroy Wilson
Indianpolis, IN
I’ve been a programmer for 20+ years now. I’ve worked in every industry you can think of. I’ve build small throwaway apps up to large mission critical enterprise level systems. Those that have worked with me know I’m the one of the best developers in town. I tried starting my own business but even though my skills and history were the stuff of legend, for some reason it didn’t go to far. People I’ve trained have become CIO’s and what not. Even a few of them sill call me to ask for advice on projects. In fact software I wrote back in the 90’s is still running perfectly to this very day.
So why is it that I have such a hard time finding a job?
I apply for a job; I get great reviews on my phone interviews and I’m always one of the top choices for a second interview. But that second, face-to-face, interview…not so much.
When I do get a job, I have to settle for a salary equal to or less than a guy with no experience, no background, no talent, and lets face it a lot less pigmentation than me?
Later when that company gets in to financial trouble, I have to teach that same guy and/or the new guys over in India how to do all the things I was doing before I clean out my desk, and start the process all over again.
I fact the only reasoning I can see for this is on the phone, I sound like the white-geeky-nerd, everybody thinks an IT guy should be, but in person I look like the big-scary-black guy the news was talking about.
Think I’m wrong? Do a Google image search for nerd, geek, or IT guy. How many black faces popped up for you? Hell, how many non-white faces popped up period? You see IT may be booming but not for people with my particular “pigmentation limitations”.
