Hello everybody, I met some of you at the meeting in August. I'm considering
leaving my J2EE job at an investment bank for something more interesting to me,
so right now some possibilities that are on the table are a Java-related job,
.NET and Sharepoint consulting, and Openlink Endur (energy trading software
platform) consulting. I only have experience with the first one. Last week I
also whipped out a 10-hour Rails project as part of the application process for
these guys:

http://www.richappsconsulting.com/

I only started reading up on Rails and playing around with it in July, and
because my 5 years of programming experience since graduating from Rice have
been mostly focused on Java web apps, it seems like it could be hard to convince
employers to take me on as a Rails developer anytime soon. Plus, Austin seems
to have more work than Houston. I already tried to get Mumboe in Austin to give
me a telecommute position, but they aren't open to that sort of thing.

The Java-related position I mentioned above already made me an offer, and they
aren't the first company in recent months to make me an offer below what I make
now. If it were something I was very excited about, pay wouldn't be as much of
an issue, but taking into account all aspects of the position, I'm just not sold
on it at this point.

So, I was just wondering if any of you have any suggestions for how to
transition into Rails development. As I've pointed out, I've never changed
programming ecosystems before, and aside from scouring Craigslist and Guru.com,
I'm not sure of any better ways to go about it (aside from being open to
relocation).

Thanks,
Stephen