Getting fired from development jobs is about the only subject on which I am an expert. I have been let go from 5 full-time developer positions. There were a lot of different technologies in the jobs I lost and I don't think they had anything to do with it.
I think it was first my need and then tendency to go for the low-end development jobs, usually where the tech is a support role in the company, they don't have great software development management which includes not great hiring practices, they use antiquated technology and have to take whatever developers they can get.
The first danger sign is if there is suddenly a large dropoff in communication between your boss and yourself, and if you feel ostracized from the company/dept. Usually word gets around before you are going to be let go and your teammates often have heard and are distancing themselves.
There is often a "come-to-Jesus" meeting with your boss whereby they give it their best shot to give you a clear last warning--depending on the level of your manager's skill you may not even recognize this as a come-to-Jesus meeting. They may ask if everything is okay and if there is anything they can do to help you get your work done.
The last sign of impending job loss is when they have a sudden need for you to completely document everything you do. Sometimes this will coincide with a company-wide push for the same thing, sometime not.
In my experience it always happens on a Friday. You are called into a meeting whereby you are let go, and if it is a big company you never can log onto your computer again, they escort you out the door with your stuff in a box and you go about your business.
As far as finding new jobs, that has been challenging but not impossible. The average amount of time it took me to find a new job was six months. Sometimes I did work on learning new skills during my time off but mostly I spent my free time worrying. The new job I found often paid significantly more than the job I had just been fired from. If you keep along the low-end I found many companies did not check references and had no kind of coding test.
These situations are never completely clear cut, usually it was mostly my fault but still some their fault. I try not to lie but do kind of start spinning the story into something in my favor and develop a way to tell the story that implies that it was my choice to leave.
I think it was first my need and then tendency to go for the low-end development jobs, usually where the tech is a support role in the company, they don't have great software development management which includes not great hiring practices, they use antiquated technology and have to take whatever developers they can get.
The first danger sign is if there is suddenly a large dropoff in communication between your boss and yourself, and if you feel ostracized from the company/dept. Usually word gets around before you are going to be let go and your teammates often have heard and are distancing themselves.
There is often a "come-to-Jesus" meeting with your boss whereby they give it their best shot to give you a clear last warning--depending on the level of your manager's skill you may not even recognize this as a come-to-Jesus meeting. They may ask if everything is okay and if there is anything they can do to help you get your work done.
The last sign of impending job loss is when they have a sudden need for you to completely document everything you do. Sometimes this will coincide with a company-wide push for the same thing, sometime not.
In my experience it always happens on a Friday. You are called into a meeting whereby you are let go, and if it is a big company you never can log onto your computer again, they escort you out the door with your stuff in a box and you go about your business.
As far as finding new jobs, that has been challenging but not impossible. The average amount of time it took me to find a new job was six months. Sometimes I did work on learning new skills during my time off but mostly I spent my free time worrying. The new job I found often paid significantly more than the job I had just been fired from. If you keep along the low-end I found many companies did not check references and had no kind of coding test.
These situations are never completely clear cut, usually it was mostly my fault but still some their fault. I try not to lie but do kind of start spinning the story into something in my favor and develop a way to tell the story that implies that it was my choice to leave.