Ah had just landed in de US. Ah couldn’t even find mih way tuh de nearest parlor. It might ah be back in Triniland fuh all I didn’t know since Americans only use dat word tuhgedder wid ah specific ting like ice cream, funerals or pizza. Anyway, I dey in de house when dis man who was visitin decide tuh have ah conversation wid mih. He must ah tort he was providin mih wid wisdom ah would never forget because it would keep mih pushin upwards an onwards.

He tell me how great de US is an how happy I must be tuh leave mih navel string behind an be part ah all dat greatness. Only he eh say “navel string” or nuttin close. I like it better dan whatever foolishness I tort he was spoutin.

All dat aside, little did he know dat as ah fresh graduate from one ah T&T’s institutions of higher learnin, one ah my missions was tuh see tings different. So one time I stop he an he effusive praises dead. Ah tell him when I did land in de US, eef I did find out it was one ah dem blighted crime cities mih fadder was livin an he was addin me tuh any string-band ah chirren, I would ah tell him tanks fuh doin he best fuh mih. Den, I would ah tell him bye, tun rong, an is run I was goin an run after de plane tuh take mih baxide back tuh Triniland, mih one grip in hand. Only I eh say “baxide” cause he was still mih elder. Ah usin it here fuh de same kind ah navel string effect.

De reason why ah retellin dat lil tale is fuh more dan just relivin de enjoyment ah get from de look orn dat man face when ah tell he dat.

Part de reason, maybe even de majority, is because here I sit, generations after tellin he mash. I done climb all de ladder ah climbin, done finish buildin mih career. Mih challenge now is ah been job huntin fuh what seem like too long despite mih expertize.

When ah tink about mih position, all kind ah reasons as tuh why ah could be in it does cross mih mind. One is wedder or not dis is really de end ah de road an ah doh get tuh walk away from de 9 – 5 orn mih own terms. Dat hard tuh accept. Still, all kind ah, wha-tuh-do-next questions does follow. De answer tuh one is what ah tell dat man. But it not unacceptable as ah answer orn all kind ah levels. It so impractical, it not really ah answer tuh anyting. It did just cross mih mind after all de years.

Maybe is de esteemed institution fault dat ah even tryin tuh intellectualize about mih predicament. Why else ah sayin ah could see it from eidder ah two angles? Dis not some kind ah documentary or nuttin where one angle is me, part of nonstop waves of people comin tuh de US tuh take advantage of opportunities, each wave bringin change.

De udder angle is wid me again but de shoe orn de udder foot. Wid it orn I represent one ah de individuals affected. Not by people like me doin de waves ting but de havoc de changes causin.

First of all, dem ideas not dotish given how long ago I was part ah any wave of wide-eyed foreigners awed by snow, tall buildings an trains runnin under de grong? Secondly, I not representin ah damn soul but mihself. I in de flesh, an since ah bleedin; blood too.

Yes ah know dat orn ah intellectual level change is de onlyest constant buh when you in de cross hairs, intellect could be in short supply.

I should ah learn from ah similar job loss experience. Or, maybe it have new lessons dis time arong. Ah bet ah could update dat article eef ah wanted.

Wedder ah ignore or doh ignore what ah tink dese two experiences tellin mih, I eh like what ah see.

Which issue tuh blame fuh mih situation? Age? Race? Technical skills? Sorf skills? Interviewer impression? Salary ah want? Clannish behavior? Vibes ah givin orf (different from interviewer impression)? Flakey interviewers?

Lord, what udder barriers tuh me an ah job dis rongs? How I tuh blame?

Let meh see eef ah could answer.

Once upon ah time, not long ago, de term “off-shore” was more dan ah buzz phrase wid American companies lookin tuh use I/T tuh gain competitive advantage. De term was synonymous tuh remotely accessin workers in Asia tuh do codin. Along wid US workers, companies could keep dey I/T shops in development mode 24/7. Off-shore workers came at a fraction ah de cost of American-workers. Companies den started bringin de more skilled of de off-shore folks orn-shore. In droves. However, some business-minded ones comin, started dey own I/T businesses.

Tuhday, de face of I/T I see most often an de voice I hear most ah de time is East Indian. He or she is de new typical I/T professional who, when dey torkin about dey chirren startin school, referrin tuh latest hyphenated American — Indian Americans. As opposed tuh de politically incorrect version ah dat term when reversed.

How does dat affect me wid no job?

Well dese workers not smart in joke an like ah done say, dey like mango in March.

I been orn projects where tuhday one wearin one hat an next project tomorrow de person wearin ah different hat. Yuh have tuh be smart tuh pull dat orf. It eh mean dey as good in dem alternative hats as somebody who always wearin de same one hat, buh dey good enough in dat second hat. Dat have tuh be attractive tuh companies lookin tuh hire just good enough at ah lower price.

So de secret fuh me tuh get back in de saddle is tuh improve mih skills?

One way tuh do dat is pick ah area still developin an stand toe tuh toe wid dem when time fuh de manager tuh pick. I eh care how smart yuh is, widout experience gained from years in de business, you just ah hammer lookin fuh nail tuh pong.

Endless hype aside it probably have some truth tuh ah 2016 article guessin how much data does get created daily. It try puttin de amount in terms people could understand.

Tink ah businesses like Amzaon.com, Facebook, Google an udders who does traffic in massive amounts ah data. De technology dey does use becomin available in de general market place now. Udder less technology savvy business eh just want dey I/T department tuh be up 24/7, dey want dey websites available tuh customers arong de clock. Dey want tuh move dey own version ah massive amounts ah data. Eef not petabytes worth (however much dat is), at least close tuh dat amount.

Dat is where people like me, wantin tuh stay relevant, have tuh be lookin.

At de end ah de day is only one person who does hold ah unemployed I/T professional future un dey hand.

Ah cyar stop pushin upwards an onwards.