Feedback about job termination

[nilgiri]

I was recruited as a software test engg in a software firm. I had/have good programming skills, know most of the programming languages.This information was also mentioned on my resume.I did my testing job wholeheartedly. I worked for quite some time and then all of a sudden I was terminated from service, reason being I had the programming skills and interest in the same. This was terribly shocking to me.How could a software firm terminate an employee because he has interest in programming?

I feel this is injustice to me.

What is your opinion?

[Niheel]

Really sorry for your job loss. There are times when your outside development interests like involvement in similar open source development could affect your job. Small firms could feel this as a threat and that you will be learn skills and information on the job that will be competitive to them at a later date.

It could also be unrelated and the reason they gave you was pretty much made up to make it easy on them and you.

The only thing really you could do is focus on your skills, improve them and then look for a job where your interests will be accepted. In this job market it might be difficult, but still better than wasting time on worrying about why they let you go. Even if they bring you back, the relationship with your employer will never be the same.

[nilgiri]

Hi,

Thank-you for your reply and advise.
Programming is something I truly enjoy and I will continue acquiring more knowledge on the same and learn even more languages.

P.S. Yes, you guessed it right, it was a small software firm.

[nilgiri]

Sorry... I guess i posted the same reply more than once.

[dazang]

This is very common. I worked for two employers previously that required me to sign a no-compete clause which meant that if I did moonlight and sell software on my own, it was their property. This is a very common plight for software developers. I will never sign one of those again!

[Dheeraj Joshi]

Hey nilgiri Sorry for whatever happen your job...?

Its time to move on..... Concentrate on your next job....

Good luck....

Regards
Dheeraj Joshi

[Frinavale]

@dazang
I had to sign something similar.

When I read the document I was particularly concerned with it because I was in school and one course in particular involved developing an application for a real client. I spoke to someone about my concerns and they told me that whatever I developed for the company (regardless of when or where I did it) it belonged to the company...they thought that because the application required to complete the course for was not developed for the company, that the company didn't own it.

Now that I think about this I'm still really uneasy about that contract that I signed. I'm starting to accept development contracts that I do in my spare time outside of work and I don't want there to be any issues with the work that I'm doing for other people.

It seems unfair that companies can do this but they have to protect themselves. They don't want their "secrets" to be exposed. They also don't want to lose any foothold in the competitive software industry that could occur if you took the techniques you used on their software and applied it to their competition's software.

Last year I learned something very interesting about the difference between a contractor and a consultant. A contractor develops software for someone and that software, in its entirety, belongs to the person/company that the contractor developed the software for. A consultant, on the other hand, maintains owership of the software that the consultant created for the person/company.

-Frinny

[Dheeraj Joshi]

Hey, Frinny.... Even i signed the agreement, according to that i cannot even involve in any open source projects too..... If so, i will get a termination letter.....How weired that?

Regards
Dheeraj Joshi