SillyLlama

• Share my experiences as an independent software developer and contractor
• Teach and help others looking to set off on a similar path
• Learn from both the successes and failures of others
• Collaborate and work on larger projects (some projects require a small team or skills that I do not possess)
• Document my goals and progress
• Share my thoughts on emerging trends and technology

My name is Kevin.  I have a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and have worked as a developer on many different systems and platforms throughout my career.  I learned my first programming language - BASIC - in high school and continued to learn other languages such as C, Pascal, C++, Java, Python and Objective-C throughout my career.  I have worked on large and small projects from ERP systems (SAP, PeopleSoft) down to small special purpose systems.

One of the unforeseen by-products of the internet age and the spread of globalism has been the continued drive to move Information Technology (IT) and other "commodity" business functions to low-cost offshore locations.  Most large multinational corporations have shifted to an offshore model for IT as well as other non-core operations such as Finance and HR.  Much of this work is now performed in India, the Philippines, China and in other low-cost locations using a shared service model.  The movement of IT and other business functions closely mirrors the movement of manufacturing from a US industrial base to China, Korea, Japan, Mexico, etc...

The global economic downturn helped to accelerate this change and many U.S. IT workers found that their positions were either eliminated or moved offshore.  I haven't seen any numbers published but it's clear to me from the many people that I've talked to over the past couple of years that the reduction in the U.S. IT workforce was significant.  This reduction came at a time when companies were not looking to hire new employees on a permanent basis and were in fact looking to reduce their onshore workforce even further if at all possible.

I am not against the offshore business model.  I think it works well in many cases.  India has quickly become the premier global IT services supplier and there is a large supply of young highly motivated IT professionals competing for jobs at salary levels far below those found in the US.  In my opinion it's best not to swim against the current and it will be necessary for displaced US IT workers to adapt to changing conditions.  In many cases this will mean taking a contract position and giving up the stability of a "permanent" job.  For others it means doing something innovative or entrepreneurial that can't be easily commoditized.  I've chosen to explore both of these paths.

I was laid off by my employer at the end of 2010.  This was not a surprise since it had been obvious that my employer intended to accelerate the movement to an offshore model for IT.  The only real problem was what to do next?  I'm currently in my 40s and have a wonderful, supportive wife and 3 children ranging in ages from grade school to high school.  I have a mortgage and like most other middle-class Americans I have a fair amount of debt that I've managed to accumulate over time.

I formed Infrared Solutions, LLC in January 2011 and began work developing mobile applications with a focus on the iOS platform.  I am also interested in developing for Android and will be writing about that platform in future posts.  I have spent a significant amount of time in 2011 working on a consulting project unrelated to mobile development work and have recently returned to developing on a full time basis.

I am available on a contract basis for iPhone/iPad programming projects and am also willing to consider working with others collaboratively to bring larger projects to market.  If you would like to contact me, I can be reached at:  kkrelwitz@infraredsolutionsllc.com