Just remember the old saying: "when life gives you lemons, make tequila shooters."

Oh, wait. I think I messed up that saying somehow, but I can't quite put my tongue on it. (if you've never had a tequila shooter, that "humor" may not make a lot of sense)

You may be faced with a Catch-22 situation, but not the one you are thinking about. Many people without paid programming experience want a programming job. However, companies won't hire them without paid programming experience.

Yes, it sounds like your boss has put you in an awkward position. However, you have a brilliant opportunity: getting paid to build your résumé. I would accept and go through a product life cycle (there are variations on this, but this is a good start).

  1. Develop a problem statement.
  2. Do a requirements analysis.
  3. Write up a system specification and get your boss to sign off on it!.
  4. Build, debug, and test the system.
  5. Have users perform acceptance testing.
  6. Install the system and bask in the glory.
  7. Add that to your résumé and start job hunting while still employed.

Now, that's a great way to get this done. However, there is an alternative. Spend three hours installing Bugzilla. It's not perfect, but it will probably satisfy most of your bosses requirements and it's free.

Cheers,
Ovid

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In reply to (Ovid - catch 22) Re: Insubordination or Exploitation? by Ovid
in thread Insubordination or Exploitation? by Silicon Cactus

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