With a lilt in my gait and a song on my lips, I came to work. It was one of those days when I felt the warm sunshine cheering me up after a couple of gloomy days. I was hoping to find some surprise waiting for me that morning. As the ritual goes, I opened my mailbox wherein a barrage of mails was waiting for me. One of the mails was to do with the current slump in the IT market

Has the recession in the US made such an impact on the IT scenario? Most companies have been resorting to downsizing by way of layoffs, retrenchments. Fresh recruitments have been put on hold. I hear salaries have been slashed down too although I have no facts to back this. No new projects seem to be in the pipeline. "Bad scene", as one of my friends warns from California voicing the opinions of a disappointed lot of Indians who are still looking out for jobs in the US of A.

Let's get to the likely 'repercussions' of the recession.

• Software jobs in particular do not come easy anymore.
• IT job consultants are facing a threat as business has slowed down if not come to a screeching halt.
• 'Software Training Institutes' made quite a kill with the IT boom but now may have to lie low for a while.
• Real estate prices have drastically dropped down. (Haven't we grumbled about exorbitant rents due to the IT boom??)
• If it is true that salaries have been reduced by a marked percentage, the over-all spending powers have obviously reduced.

It just goes to show that nothing is guaranteed in this modern digital age. Job security is a thing of the past. So, the best advice one can receive is 'Make hay while the sun shines'. Little did these IT professionals foresee that a change in the US Presidency would affect their 'bread and butter'?

An incident that occurred a couple of days back
The people have got used to their luxurious lifestyle, and the girls have got used to the guys buying them drinks at the 'Pub City'. Now, with the recession coming in, the guys have reduced, if not stopped spending on girls other than theirs. The girls are left in a lurch, trying new tricks to get their drink. One of the girls went to the extent of flashing her upper portion for one drink. The addiction to drinks and people buying it for you would be a point for a different discussion.

So, for those of you who are in the software field, what are your options next? Do drop them at the Communiqué.