This database developer pilot fish has spent four well-paid years under contract to a data marketing company, and he’s very well liked by his fellow developers — though not so much by some members of management.

“The director was miffed that I was making more money than he was,” says fish. “But every time he tried to terminate my contract, the VP or some other bigwig would reinstate it after hearing from the other developers how valuable my technical knowledge was to them. I freely share my wealth and breadth of knowledge because I believe everybody should be the guru, so I don’t have to be the only one.”

But eventually a round of management politics does get fish’s contract terminated, and soon after he spots a job-board posting for a highly skilled Oracle database developer — “someone who will be the go-to guy for the entire department” — that makes it sound like fish is exactly who the would-be employer is looking for.

To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here