Career change in the Greek Labor Market (episode 04)

Career change in the Greek Labor Market (episode 04)

Focusing on: Personal Finances and the “Dead End” Period.

In this episode 4, we are dealing with the matter in question, as the title indicates, called, “Personal Finances and the Dead End period”.

In each case of transition, from a 9-5 employment to a Freelancing career, personal finances, stands as one of the most crucial aspects.

So, in Greece, as in most countries around the globe, a freelancer must take care of so many things related to the business, he/she is trying to build.

During this complex process, a serious effort is needed, to manage the “dead end” period as some call it. This is the period from the point of leaving the 9-5 job up to the point when the Freelance business is launched.

During this period, the personal finances of the person transitioning, are most often “headache”. There has to be “spare capital”, in the form of cash, to support several cases of expenditure, like:

  • daily purchases for the new business,
  • living expenditure,
  • investments expenditure for the new business,
  • expenditure for learning,
  • etc,

Since, the “dead end” period depends on the “speed of launching” the new freelance business, the spare capital needed for that period, respectively depends on that same “launching speed”.

The longer the time to launch, the bigger (at least on average) the spare capital available, to survive the “dead end” period.

At this point, what I would like to make clear is that there is a double purpose for the blogging of these episodes:

A) The purpose of recording the process and obstacles I am facing also as a professional trying to make a similar transition.

B) The purpose of roughly describing the basic steps towards that goal, without insisting on presenting those steps in full detail.

After all, each person takes a different or a adequately varying path towards the same goal.

Thank you for reading. See you on the next episode.

IV

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Career change in the Greek Labor Market (episode 03)

Career change in the Greek Labor Market (episode 03)

In this episode we are focusing more on the case of: Career change from Employer (A) to a Freelancing scheme / career.

So, the person in question (that is Me obviously) needs to take care of so many things and take quite many risks (smaller or bigger ones).

What does One need to have in mind:

  1. Personal Finances and the “Dead End” period.
  2. Network of potential customers, network of friends and aquaintances.
  3. Digital presence, promotions & marketing of offered services.
  4. Services offered, products offered and business model.
  5. Building own, internal workflow and processes.
  6. Revenue & Expenses projections, and bottom line P&L.
  7. Going Live, launching to the World and Praying.
  8. Continuous learning, Reskilling, Upskilling thyself.

Awful lot to have in mind, and this list needs anchoring to more detailed posts, so, I will leave you with this, and we will go deeper in the next episode, talking about each item in the list, one by one.

Best Regards. See you on the next.

IV

 

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Career change in the Greek Labor Market (episode 02)

Career change in the Greek Labor Market (episode 02)

Welcome back to my episode No.2

Such a career change, also depends on several aspects, one of which, is the Type of Change One would like to achieve.

Types of Career Change:

  1. A) Career change from Employer (A) to Employer (B) in the same sector of the economy.
  2. B) Career change from Employer (A) to Employer (B) in a different sector of the economy.
  3. C) Career change from Employer (A) to a Freelancing scheme regardless of the sector of the economy.

In my situation, case (A) is a No-Go, since I am fed-up with the sector I worked for in my last job. What that sector was I will reveal later on…

So we move to cases (B) and (C).

So…What the market looks like for case (B) is a huge factor. That market is the Greek labor Market mainly, while there seem to be some opportunities here and there for Remote Work. I am strongly focusing on that, though it has not ripped any fruit yet.

In case (C), the market OR the potential client (customer), is the whole Globe! OR at least it could be considered as such, due to the Globalization effect and due to the fact that nowadays, the global majority of workers are “Information Workers” of some kind, using IT technologies of all kinds.

So, Remote work and remotely offered services are a thing of the Now and the Future, and are quite widely spread and accepted.

What about Remote Work?

In our year 2025, remote work remains a significant part of the global workforce, with approximately 40% of employees working remotely or in hybrid models. While this represents a slight decrease from pandemic-era highs, since it was really caused by the so called “pandemic” – it signifies a long lasting shift in culture, with flexibility and work-life balance being key drivers. Though work-life balance is really hard to achieve, trust me on that!

Hybrid work models, combining remote and in-office days, are particularly popular, with 80+% of employees preferring this arrangement.

Some Numbers…

Global Adoption: Roughly 40% of the global workforce engages in remote or hybrid work arrangements.

Hybrid Preference: A large majority (83%) of employees favor hybrid work models.

Permanent Shift: Most employers recognize remote work as a permanent feature of their operations.

Continued Growth: Remote and hybrid job postings continue to be a substantial portion of new job postings, with a notable increase in hybrid roles. Though there is a huge trend lately that strongly indicates, that many of the job postings that are published as remote-work related, are fake ones!!! (that is another story for another series of episodes…)

US Statistics: In the US, around 36.2 million people are expected to work remotely by 2025.

Sector Growth: Finance and software development are seeing the highest increases in remote workforce participation.

Employee Preferences and Benefits:

Flexibility and Work-Life Balance: Remote work is highly valued for its flexibility and contribution to better work-life balance. (as I said really hard…)

Job Satisfaction: Remote workers report higher levels of job satisfaction (24% higher than on-site workers). Greece though is offering the least number of job positions in its economy, on a hybrid basis, almost close to 0.1% in fully remote, while most employers are secretly expressing that they hate it like “cats hate snakes”…

Employee Retention: Companies offering remote work options often experience lower turnover rates (up to 25% lower). Again not a thing for Greece.

Issues and Considerations:

Burnout: Remote workers are susceptible to burnout and feelings of isolation.

Communication and Collaboration: Challenges can include communication gaps and difficulties in maintaining teams’ performance.

Support Systems: Providing adequate support systems, including regular check-ins and opportunities for social interaction, is crucial for remote employees.

Technology: Virtual and augmented reality technologies are emerging as tools to enhance remote team interactions and collaboration.

Employer Perspectives:

Permanent Feature: Employers increasingly view remote work as a permanent fixture in the workplace. (Again not for Greece…)

Cost Savings: Companies can save money through reduced office space and related expenses by embracing remote work. In fact, those cost savings account for several billions of dollars globally, in rents, travelling expenses, food expenses, consumables, lighting, gas, fixed assets maintenance, capex investments and many more…

Talent Acquisition: Remote work is a significant factor in attracting and retaining top talent. What can I say…I have not felt that yet…poor Me!

In conclusion, remote work has become mainstream feature of the modern workplace, with both employees and employers recognizing its benefits and challenges.

Until next time.

IV

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Career change in the Greek Labor Market (episode 01)

Career change in the Greek Labor Market (episode 01)

#Career #change, a huge issue and a very intensive process. Both Labor intensive and Thought intensive. A #process, that statistically speaking, takes an awful lot of time to progress, while in the same time, the final destination of the journey is trully “vague” and uncertain.

Additionally, the huge downturn of the Greek Economy, makes conditions only worse, and the final result resembles a “Riddle” or a Multi-parameter function in math.

Why Labor Intensive ? – One has to go to interviews, submit CVs to different platforms, via emails and via different methods, answer questions, send emails for confirmations, input data into various recruitment platforms and forms, among other things.

Why Tought Intensive ?  – One has to think about knowledge levels, reskilling or upskilling him/herself and do lots lots of guessing the future, studying the future employer conditions, and calculating personal budgets.

So, when there is a “burning desire” for getting back to business – geeting back to the labor market, it is really hard and exhausting to consider #Reskilling or #Upskilling and the investment in time that goes with it. After all, #Time is the one who is most pressing for the come back.

Reskilling?

#Reskilling is the process of learning new skills to transition into a different job role or career field, often due to changes in the job market, automation, or technological advancements. It’s a #proactive approach to skill development, enabling individuals and organizations to adapt to evolving workplace demands.

Key aspects of reskilling:

Learning new skills: Reskilling involves acquiring a new set of competencies that differ from the skills currently possessed.

Transitioning to a different role or industry: It’s about preparing for a different job function or moving to a new sector altogether.

Addressing skill gaps: Reskilling helps individuals and organizations adapt to changing job requirements and fill roles that require different skills.

Staying relevant: It ensures that individuals remain employable and competitive in a dynamic job market.

Benefits of reskilling:

For individuals: It offers opportunities for career advancement, increased job security, and higher earning potential.

To be honest, what is the benefit for individuals from reskilling, is the only thing currently I care about, since I am in the process of both looking for new job and reskilling in the same time. (ouch! tough ha! True though…)

For organizations: Reskilling helps retain valuable employees, reduce recruitment costs, and build a more adaptable and skilled workforce.

What can I say about that…organizations that you work for, always get a more than fair share of the added value you provide and the progress you cause to them…

In essence, reskilling is a proactive and forward-looking approach to workforce development, ensuring individuals and organizations can thrive in a constantly changing world. And as Naval Ravikant was saying “Treat your career as a business…”.

What about Upskilling?

#Upskilling though, refers to the process of enhancing existing skills to improve job performance, adapt to changing roles, or prepare for future career advancements within a current field. It’s a #proactive approach to professional development that focuses on building upon current expertise rather than switching to a completely new career path.

Key aspects of upskilling:

Focus on current role: Upskilling primarily aims to improve an employee’s effectiveness and efficiency in their existing job, making them more valuable to their current organization. That above is not for me, as I am looking for new role, so ….

Enhancing existing skills: It involves deepening knowledge and expertise in the current field, often through specialized training, certifications, or hands-on experience. And that is what I call “a good hunt”, currently upskilling in SQL and Excel and Power Query, and Power BI.

Preparing for future opportunities: Upskilling can also equip individuals with the skills needed for potential promotions or new roles within the same company. Not for me, but as everybody, I am “hunting” for the future opportunities.

Addressing skill gaps: It helps close any identified skill gaps within the workforce, ensuring employees stay relevant in a constantly evolving job market. At which point, I would like to promptly declare that I have a skill gap in #Python!!! Yeah !!!

Benefits of upskilling:

Increased job performance: Upskilling can lead to improved efficiency, productivity, and problem-solving abilities in the workplace. It is an issue though if that Increased performance is going to be paid or Not!

Enhanced career prospects: Employees who upskill are better positioned for promotions, salary increases, and greater career satisfaction. Time will tell…

Greater job security: In a rapidly changing job market, upskilling can help employees stay relevant and adaptable, increasing their job security. About which point I totally disagree, because, simply there is NO job security in Capitalism. That’s that.

Increased employee engagement and retention: Organizations that invest in upskilling programs tend to see higher levels of employee engagement and reduced turnover rates. An area that most Greek companies in the country have absolutely no clue of what it means.

See you in the next episode.

IV

Posted in Microsoft Excel, MS Power BI, MS Power Query, People, Processes, Python, SQL | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Career change in the Greek Labor Market (a series of troubled episodes)

Career change in the Greek Labor Market (a series of troubled episodes)

Career change is a very tough situation, a troubled process and a phase in life that ends up highly intensive, both labor intesive and thought intensive.

In the next 10 to 11 posts, I think that is how long it is going to take, I have recorded the path that I trode, and the specifics that I have faced until now…

See you soon.

IV 

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FakeRegs and IP-Banglas (web presence pains).

In this blog post, I would like to express shortly my opinion on the web 2.0 phenomenon of fake website or blog registrations, spamming and those “road to nowhere” IPs from Bangladesh or India or Pakistan or wherever.

To be honest I have nothing against India or Bangladesh etc, yet all those “unknown” companies, or guys that are paid to create fake registrations, and spamming campaigns, or the bots they create for those campaigns are really really annoying.

Just that. I received in a period of 3-4 months a total of 2.976 fake registrations. Of course my registration process is not optimal and maybe it misses some “safety locks”, but flooding the “web world” with fake regs is not that kind of a smart “profession” to follow.

A lot of work for deletion.

CU soon.

IV

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Personal Presence ? Personal Brand ? (About building those…)

Since a lot of years ago, internet presence became a “potential field of Glory” initially, and gradually, as the web matured, it became a MUST.

Back in 2015, I posted my first blog-post, after the “sloth” slow creation of my website, initially hosted in the WordPress.com platform.

I always knew that web presence was going to be not just crucial, but a “no-brainer”, yet procrastination among other difficulties took the lead.

I have left this situation behind, and I am investing more and more in it now (#website).

Regarding the same subject, “Personal e-presence”, “Personal #Brand”, I saw a few months ago a video on Youtube from one of my favorite content-creators, Travis Rodgers (travis.media), named  ” Thinking BIGGER as a Developer (why you NEED a website)”.

Main message:

1) Nothing is a #JOB, everything is a #CAREER.

2) Every professional must have a web-base to start, with a professional e-mail address.

Thinking BIGGER as a Developer (why you NEED a website)

Your personal website, my personal website, is the starting point for a business, for a career, for getting to know other people (your #subscribers), for building #community, or getting other people to know You.

All the above are fractions or aspects of “Building a Brand”. It needs a lot of work and consistency, yet, it is one of the best investments on earth, lately (the last 75 years !!!).

Let’s go full throttle!

Best Regards

IV

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About Patience…

Everything We do, and everything we do not do, needs #Patience.

Especially when we talk about Technologies, when we talk about #Learning new skills or new techs and of course when trying to make a career shift at 44 years of age.

Learning methods and learning pace is different for every person, but patience is always needed and always a prerequisite.

What I have traced so far…

 

Learning #SQL needs quite a lot of patience, and practicing it, a whole lot more than its learning.

Learning #Python! needs really A lot of patience, and practicing it, is beyond “a lot” to plainfully say.

The same stands for #PowerBI, #Looker, #Tableau, #DAX, #MDX, #M, #APIs, #MSD365 etc.

All these techs have something in common. They represent vast areas of expertise and knowledge, therefore, their range & volume, leads undoubtedly to the need for Patience, #perseverance, #stamina, #integrity, #frequency and #consistency.

What can I say…. I think I am half way there… Done is better than perfect after all.

Best Regards

IV

 

Posted in Business Intelligence Applications, DAX, MDX, MS Power BI, Programming Languages, Python, SQL | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ways of Learning new stuff and suggestions from specialists…

Recently I got motivated in various ways, because of different facts that happened in my life, so I made all the proper moves in order to boost my learning in terms of #SQL, #Python, #PowerBI and #DAX.

My final decisions on the “learning” issue were affected by both:

a) my own considerations on how I am used to learn better and,

b) affected by suggestions from specialists, like Travis Rodgers of #Travis.media, Quincy Larson founder of #FreeCodeCamp and Mynda Treacy of #MyOnlineTrainingHub and Mosh Hamedani of #CodeWithMosh.

My main focus and desire was and still is on :

A) SQL, Python, DAX and #MDX (regarding languages)

B) Power BI, #MySQL, #Looker,(regarding tools / systems) + of course the rest of the Microsoft BI stack (like #PowerQuery and #PowerPivot).

So moving forward with my learning efforts, I registered to the following in order to have the so called “Upskill thing” “solidified”:

01) CodeWithMosh – “Complete SQL Mastery”

02) CodeWithMosh – “Complete Python Mastery”

for both, I was intrigued by a beginner’s course of Mosh Hamedani I saw in Youtube, where I traced in Mosh, all the characteristics I really liked in a tutor, in the 1st place.

03) Boot.Dev platform for learning  – SQL and Python + projects availability for practice, and I was introduced to this really intuitive “MMORPG” like concept by Travis Rodgers.

04) FreeCodecamp platform for learning – SQL, Python and Data Visualization +  projects availability for practice, and I was “lured” to it by the founder himself, and those fascinating interviews, he posts in FreecodeCamp Youtube Channel about people that had almost nothing to do with programming – and finally made it – becoming Software Developers or Data Analysts / Scientists etc.

For the rest of the journey that includes DAX, MDX, PowerBI stack and Looker I am considering various available learning solutions, and I will be finalizing my decision soon.

PragmaticWorks.com , Chandoo, MyOnlineTrainingHub and Curbal.com are all within my options of choice.

I strongly believe that everything will turn out fine and that Better Late than Never.

See you soon.

Ilias

Posted in Business Intelligence Applications, DAX, MDX, MS Power BI, MS Power Pivot, MS Power Query, MySQL, Python, SQL | Leave a comment

Other Peoples’ opinion, Blogging Silence, & Travis.media

I was thinking to myself that I need to write a blog post about Travis Rodgers, Travis.media.

To be honest, for starters, I was thinking that, I have to break the silence of this blog and start blogging again.

Initially, there was a Blog Silence in 2018, in 2019, and then in 2020 (1 blogpost for the whole year) alongside with korono-virus bullshit, and after that a silence in 2021 (again with 1 blogpost for the whole year only…) and last the silence started to break like ice in 2022 with only 2 blogposts, to be completely silent again in 2023.

Trying again to break the silence in the very end of 2023, I have traced in Youtube the Travis.media channel. Owner is a really cool guy that dares to comment, to act upon, to judge in his own way, to sympathize, and defy  all those people that keep telling him what to do. People that are calling him an “imposter Developer”, “a guy that he does not develop anything in terms of software” and accusing him of being a “fake it till you make it”.

His Life story has some similarities with mine. Wow!!! IF I post this blogpost, I will be breaking silence again (2nd blog post for this year !!!).

So…Let’s Go!

First of all, (I get no single dime of money from Travis…) You can find him in the following links:

http://www.youtube.com/@TravisMedia

https://x.com/travisdotmedia

https://travis.media/

Travis did a monumental change in his career and life, at his 34 years of age, by becoming a software developer.

He faced many difficulties and he is a live example of a person that faced and managed all the obstacles one can face when following the path of Self-learning.

For his remarkable story, you can watch this video below:

Travis & Me, Similarities

  • I have faced also the need for a core and serious change in my career.
  • This need for change was also a “dream of ” to be a Data Analyst & a BI Expert of some kind.
  • I was not aware of programming skills at all.
  • I also tried, (and I am still trying) to learn specific programming concepts or languages, like SQL, Python and R (alongside with some VBA).
  • I have faced similar comments or behaviours from other developers, that I met in a Meetup group that I enrolled, which was dealing with Techstuff and DevStaff in general and with the Love for Tech (I cannot argue the openness of the group though…).

Travis & Me, Non-Similarities

  • Travis was surely more brave than I was. he finally became a developer, and then he changed his career again and became a Boss of Himself.
  • He took also the crucial decision to invest time, sweat, money, and life moments, to learn about software development.

I am still trying to learn and practice several stuff, on SQL, Python, and VBA and surely I am forced by several factors to keep my time investment low on what I would like to learn, since my 9-5 job consumes more than 11 hours of my time on a daily basis.

I didn’t have any epilogue closing in mind when I started this blog post. I still don’t have one. All I want to say is that Travis Rodgers has been an inspiration to me, despite of the very little time I have known him through his Youtube channel.

He Rocks the House ! Thank you so much Travis Rodgers, Travis.media.

Ilias

 

 

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