OT, what do you guys do?

[forno]

Seem to be a few that spend a fair amount of time on here, which makes me wonder what work you guys do?

[Elisha]

i'm an IT Mentor and work from home so i get to be online all the time.

[forno]

i'm an IT Mentor and work from home so i get to be online all the time.

Yeh, I am behind the computer all day too, CAD specifically

[aparmley]

I'm unemployed and have been all my life. I cash gov't checks and use all my money for ramen noodles and photography gear.

[forno]

I'm unemployed and have been all my life. I cash gov't checks and use all my money for ramen noodles and photography gear.

LMAO @ ramen noodles:D

Now im hungry

[24Peter]

I work in the LaBrea tar pits, dragging 40 lbs. bags of liquid tar up the side of a mountain every day. I also eat the tar (aids digestion.) :(

[Rhys]

I sold myself into white slavery in order to pay for my photography addiction!

[forno]

You guys all missed your calling, should have been comedians

[Nickcanada]

he he, ramen noodles and tar.... yum.

I'm an auto tech. I spend most of my day, day-dreaming about lens and camera gear and I have to spend a suprising amount of time on the computer for a mechanic, so I usually pop over here to see what's up.

[forno]

I like cars:D

What do you work on?

[Rhys]

You'd love my car then :d

[aparmley]

LMAO ^^^^^ :confused:

[forno]

Jokers :D

[cwphoto]

I work in the LaBrea tar pits, dragging 40 lbs. bags of liquid tar up the side of a mountain every day. I also eat the tar (aids digestion.) :(

Hmmm, I knew we'd met before. :D

[Rontech1]

I am also an auto tech. Lead tech for a Volvo dealer. It is amazing how much time is spent on a computer anymore, if nothing else just keeping up with training.
Ron

[Nickcanada]

I like cars:D

What do you work on?

I work on everything, North American and Asian mostly. We have seen MGs, BMWs, and all sorts of stuff.

I enjoy the technical stuff the most. Here is a bit of what I do, an instructor (Tom Roberts) edited the file but the waveform is mine. http://www.autonerdz.com/flash/jeepckp.html It's really an expensive trade to be in. It's not unthinkable for techs to have 60K worth of tools and storage equipment. I almost didn't get my camera. I was planning on spending my bonus on a scan tool. I'm glad I got the camera!


Hey Ron, nice to know there are some techs on here. Are you an iATN member?

[adam75south]

LMAO @ ramen noodles:D

Now im hungry
you guys are soooo old school. grits is where it's at.

i'm the IT guy at the company i work for. i do everything...networking, helpdesk, network administration, maintaining our site, run and maintain our surveillance system.....aka, surf the internet all day.

my newest project will be rebuilding our website. my company sent me to a nice little adobe training center for a 3 day course on dreamweaver..today was day 2. i'm already pretty efficient with dreamweaver but i'm learning alot in the class...plus i get a certificate! haha

oh, and i'm still going to school.

[forno]

i WOULD LOVE TO BE ABLE TO BUILD MY OWN WEBPAGE

ALSO WOULDNT MIND FINDING THE CAPS LOCK KEY:o :o

[jwhite]

Seem to be a few that spend a fair amount of time on here, which makes me wonder what work you guys do?

I'm a electrical & computer engineer, and work with embedded systems (non-pcs). Do mostly low level communications software. Good job, I like what I do, and best of all it pays for my expensive hobbies like photography ;)

[aparmley]

you guys are soooo old school. grits is where it's at.

i'm the IT guy at the company i work for. i do everything...networking, helpdesk, network administration, maintaining our site, run and maintain our surveillance system.....aka, surf the internet all day.

my newest project will be rebuilding our website. my company sent me to a nice little adobe training center for a 3 day course on dreamweaver..today was day 2. i'm already pretty efficient with dreamweaver but i'm learning alot in the class...plus i get a certificate! haha

oh, and i'm still going to school.

Jesus are they hiring, do you need hand? I have a BS in Computer Managment Information Systems and I can't find a job anywhere, why? Because, I don't have 5+ years SQL, C++, C#, Oracle, MSI, etc etc etc. . . I get interviews but I don't have the experience. But, I get the standard "We went with someone with more experience than you" line - over and over and over and over again. . . maybe I'm not wearing the right cologne. :rolleyes:

[XaiLo]

IT... is also my line, freelance.

[AdamW]

I'm a high school librarian (http://oceana.juhsd.net/library/library.html) and--this year--computer teacher. Last year it was US history. I'm also a worker-owner at a large natural food grocery store (http://www.rainbow.coop).

[JMWallace]

I'm a bank manager/business banker...for now. Nothing real exciting here. I have done a multitude of other semi-interesting things though. Worked on a railroad pounding spikes and laying track (college summers), worked in retail clothing & jewelery, DJ, College Fundraising, sub-prime loan officer, Title Company. Lets just say...I have A.D.D.

[DonSchap]

I collect dust. :D

I have held a place on the good old Earth for just shy of half-a-century. Seems like yesterday when I began taking images ... and there are probably a few folks on here that would agree with that.

Regardless, I spent 10-years in Uncle Sam's Canoe Club as an electronics tech, another 10 years as an Electronics Experimentalist (making the Engineer's designs reality) ... then the government saw fit to curtail the need for electronic techs for most of the US of A, so I changed gears and joined the IT club to continue in something relatively close and make significant coin while doing it. (Beats flippin' hamburgers at the BK Steak Lounge) Well, IT is constantly changing and frankly, I'm growing tired of trying to keep up with it. Younger eyes and a bit more patience is needed.

I've learned a lot over the years and I am turning to the needs of photography as an alternative. It tends to have a slower pace to it and there are interesting aspects we all seem to enjoy. Perhaps I can marry everything together in developing (no pun intended) something photographers can all benefit from. Right now, that benefit is just a germ of an idea ... but it has potential.

Am I giving up my "day-job?" Man, I wanna! :eek:

[cdifoto]

I collect dust. :D

I have held a place on the good old Earth for just shy of half-a-century. Seems like yesterday when I began taking images ... and there are probably a few folks on here that would agree with that.

Regardless, I spent 10-years in Uncle Sam's Canoe Club as an electronics tech, another 10 years as an Electronics Experimentalist (making the Engineer's designs reality) ... then the government saw fit to curtail the need for electronic techs for most of the US of A, so I changed gears and joined the IT club to continue in something relatively close and make significant coin while doing it. (Beats flippin' hamburgers at the BK Steak Lounge) Well, IT is constantly changing and frankly, I'm growing tired of trying to keep up with it. Younger eyes and a bit more patience is needed.

I've learned a lot over the years and I am turning to the needs of photography as an alternative. It tends to have a slower pace to it and there are interesting aspects we all seem to enjoy. Perhaps I can marry everything together in developing (no pun intended) something photographers can all benefit from. Right now, that benefit is just a germ of an idea ... but it has potential.

Am I giving up my "day-job?" Man, I wanna! :eek:

I thought you were older than that. I didn't bother to read the rest of your post.

[zmikers]

I was a sherpa on Everast, but didn't like carrying everyone else's goods and getting no credit for climbing that damn mountain. Quit that, then moved to Vegas and tried my hand as a show girl, but got canned because I wouldn't shave my armpits (tried it once, damn is that ichy, won't do it again). Tried being a jockey, but at 6 feet 2 inches, I didn't win very many races. Now I'm and English teacher in Taiwan!!!!!:D Actually I'm the director of the English department at my school so I have a lot of time spent on the computer.;)

[Honest Gaza]

Communications Industry for 25 years in various roles.....currently Project Management.

[shoey]

I do 3D computer animation. Which means i'm at a pc all day and have spare time to come on here:)

Also, its quite similar to photgraphy sometimes, in the way i have to make compositions and sort out lighting.

[cwphoto]

Communications Industry for 25 years in various roles.....currently Project Management.

PABX Gaza?

[Honest Gaza]

PABX Gaza?

Yes Mate....along with Servers and Data equip for VoIP.

[Elisha]

Jesus are they hiring, do you need hand? I have a BS in Computer Managment Information Systems and I can't find a job anywhere, why? Because, I don't have 5+ years SQL, C++, C#, Oracle, MSI, etc etc etc. . . I get interviews but I don't have the experience. But, I get the standard "We went with someone with more experience than you" line - over and over and over and over again. . . maybe I'm not wearing the right cologne. :rolleyes:

i was in the same boat after i graduated......try getting a certification or 2.
maybe CCNA, Security+ or something in programming.

[sunnythepsychocat]

Ya. A lot of IT people here. I guess I am the only "real" engineer here. I work in Commercial Aerospace Industy. Here is the link to the airplane that I work on. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbus_A320
So next time, if you take one of those airplanes and have a safe landing, you should thank me for all the hard work:D

[DonSchap]

Ya. A lot of IT people here. I guess I am the only "real" engineer here. I work in Commercial Aerospace Industy. Here is the link to the airplane that I work on. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbus_A320
So next time, if you take one of those airplanes and have a safe landing, you should thank me for all the hard work:D


And if we experience an "unsafe" landing ... I guess we send our lawyer, eh? :eek:

[mediyoga]

I am a physician- internal medicine+yoga
www.drkrishnaraman.com

:)

[jwhite]

Ya. A lot of IT people here. I guess I am the only "real" engineer here. I work in Commercial Aerospace Industy. Here is the link to the airplane that I work on. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbus_A320
So next time, if you take one of those airplanes and have a safe landing, you should thank me for all the hard work:D

Nope, not the only engineer as I posted earlier. I'm an embedded systems engineer (degrees in electrical and computer engineering). I work for Caterpillar (big yellow machines and engines).

[24Peter]

And if we experience an "unsafe" landing ... I guess we send our lawyer, eh? :eek:

Well I guess that would be me. I should come clean guys: I don't really work at the tar pits (nor do I eat tar) :o . I've been an attorney for the last 18 years, entertainment and IP (intellectual property - a little copyright stuff, but mostly trademarks.) No litigation, I drafted and negotiated contracts for actors, producers, writers, etc. and now I handle trademark filings for one big client in the gaming industry. It's a part-time gig and I work from home (the client is in Austin TX) so I can come here whenever I like. ;)

[Vich]

I'm just blurry eyed most of the time, but when the fog lifts, I'm a software developer / IT guy. Since I do it all for a company other than a few outsourced items, so they get to call me IT Manager. Now; if a certian project doesn't get done soon, I'll be looking for the ramen noodle store.

[DonSchap]

I thought you were older than that. I didn't bother to read the rest of your post.

Don, I certainly would not want to keep you from your busy day with additional reading. :rolleyes:

We can't have that on the forums, right? I'll try to use more pictures, in the future. ;)

[Rhys]

Jesus are they hiring, do you need hand? I have a BS in Computer Managment Information Systems and I can't find a job anywhere, why? Because, I don't have 5+ years SQL, C++, C#, Oracle, MSI, etc etc etc. . . I get interviews but I don't have the experience. But, I get the standard "We went with someone with more experience than you" line - over and over and over and over again. . . maybe I'm not wearing the right cologne. :rolleyes:


I feel your pain. It seems to me that most IT people are in one of two camps.

Camp 1:
Got into IT before the bubble burst in the 1990s and have been happy ever since.

Camp 2:
Trained and got their qualifications after 1990 and have been struggling ever since to find work.

It also seems to me that IT work is usually something that can be shipped abroad to India etc and which usually is shipped off to India. The fact this is beginning to bite companies in the backside and will cause major problems for the companies in the future seems to elude people.

When IT came in, in the 80s all governments pushed it as a way to earn a lot of money doing very little. All the usual suspects jumped on the training bandwaggon and started training people in IT for flash-in-the-pan jobs. After the IT bubble burst they all leapt onto the MBA bandwaggon. Now there are too many MBAs around and all MBAs are almost broke it seems that the computer version of the MBA - the MIS is following the usual pattern.

Quite frankly I doubt there are enough MIS/MBA etc jobs around. My advice would be to get a job - any job - even if it's working as a maid in an hotel and to look for opportunities in any field. Your level of qualification is more important than what you studied. Forget about getting a computer job. They don't exist - as you've just found out. You might be able to get into a computer job if you transfer internally within a company if you start as the office teaboy.

[cdifoto]

Well I guess that would be me. I should come clean guys: I don't really work at the tar pits (nor do I eat tar) :o . I've been an attorney for the last 18 years, entertainment and IT (intellectual property - a little copyright stuff, but mostly trademarks.) No litigation, I drafted and negotiated contracts for actors, producers, writers, etc. and now I handle trademark filings for one big client in the gaming industry. It's a part-time gig and I work from home (the client is in Austin TX) so I can come here whenever I like. ;)

That explains the Audi. :eek: :D

[24Peter]

That explains the Audi. :eek: :D

Some might say it explains a lot more than that... :o

[NewTekBuzz]

Yeh, I am behind the computer all day too, CAD specifically

same here... structural detailing!

[NewTekBuzz]

....worked in retail clothing....

JMW

did that include the spandex you were talking about :D :eek:

[TenD]

I am an airplane driver and right now I am flying night freight, I overnight away from home, but I am home for a large part of the day.

[Elisha]

I am an airplane driver and right now I am flying night freight, I overnight away from home, but I am home for a large part of the day.

how do you drive an airplane?

just joking :D

[JMWallace]

JMW

did that include the spandex you were talking about :D :eek:


You basterd...you promised that would be OUR little secret...but we'll always have Campus Martius!:D :D :D

[NewTekBuzz]

You basterd...you promised that would be OUR little secret...but we'll always have Campus Martius!:D :D :D

thats to DAMN funny!! :)

[Vich]

Well I guess that would be me. I should come clean guys: I don't really work at the tar pits (nor do I eat tar) :o . I've been an attorney for the last 18 years, entertainment and IP (intellectual property - a little copyright stuff, but mostly trademarks.) No litigation, I drafted and negotiated contracts for actors, producers, writers, etc. and now I handle trademark filings for one big client in the gaming industry. It's a part-time gig and I work from home (the client is in Austin TX) so I can come here whenever I like. ;)

OH sh$t! So those bootleg license numbers I sent you, did I mention CDI stole my logon? :D

[adam75south]

I am a physician- internal medicine+yoga
www.drkrishnaraman.com

:)
good lord, you're a photographer, put some pictures on that site.

[adam75south]

Jesus are they hiring, do you need hand? I have a BS in Computer Managment Information Systems and I can't find a job anywhere, why? Because, I don't have 5+ years SQL, C++, C#, Oracle, MSI, etc etc etc. . . I get interviews but I don't have the experience. But, I get the standard "We went with someone with more experience than you" line - over and over and over and over again. . . maybe I'm not wearing the right cologne. :rolleyes:

sorry to hear that. doesn't sound too great for my future....cept i really wanna go do my own thing.

i'm little man on the totem pole. i barely make over 30g's...i got this job BECAUSE i had no real experience.

you see, this is where the photography comes in. i can keep the easy job, have a great hobby, and do my own thing on the side. maybe one day i can start my own graphic/web design/photography/video editing gig. call me the multimedia janitor.

[DonSchap]

sorry to hear that. doesn't sound too great for my future....cept i really wanna go do my own thing.

i'm little man on the totem pole. i barely make over 30g's...i got this job BECAUSE i had no real experience.

you see, this is where the photography comes in. i can keep the easy job, have a great hobby, and do my own thing on the side. maybe one day i can start my own graphic/web design/photography/video editing gig. call me the multimedia janitor.

Man, it sounds like you are ... really cleaning up! ;)

Sad to say, for me, the money is okay (not great, but better than average), but it's like watching grass grow. Once you build your IT infrastructure ... it becomes the non-fun maintenance mode. It's a humorless, boring and non-challenging watchman position waiting for someone to break or outgrow their equipment.

Heck, I had to move back to photography and go to school, again, just to get out more.

The problem with a steady, non-challenging position is that you stop growing and your time (your very life) is consumed by the mundane flow of day to day. It becomes a philosophical purgetory of sorts. Thankfully, things change and you get that welcome kick in the rearend that says, "better find somnething else to do, you're about to be replaced by a pus-faced kid two generations your junior ... and he has a Nintendo. :eek:

Don't be too disappointed at starting out, we all tend to begin slow ... but something will change and the climb up begins. Uncle Sam's Canoe Club was coughing up a miserly 14Gs a year, when I finally got out, back in '85. Try living on that with a family. My pay doubled when I joined the civilian operations, doing the same job, but also having this nasty SLR habit to support. LOL :D

Over the past 20 years, the pay has doubled yet again, but inflation is definitely gobbling up any advances, in that regard. I'm hoping that wedding photography will double my income, once again ... uh, wait a minute ... who's kidding who? Talk about a point of diminishing returns. I'd be lucky to make what I'm making now. Nah, on secoind thought and maybe third ... better just keep it as a hobby.

[Vich]

you guys are soooo old school. grits is where it's at.

i'm the IT guy at the company i work for. i do everything...networking, helpdesk, network administration, maintaining our site, run and maintain our surveillance system.....aka, surf the internet all day.

my newest project will be rebuilding our website. my company sent me to a nice little adobe training center for a 3 day course on dreamweaver..today was day 2. i'm already pretty efficient with dreamweaver but i'm learning alot in the class...plus i get a certificate! haha

oh, and i'm still going to school.
Gosh, sounds a little familiar! It's so funny to be working on a design/programming gig they should be paying some development house $200K for, then get a call to go change a mouse or have to go order license renewals (secretary stuff), then get called into a meeting to decide on our Fed-Ex procedures or Backup strategy, then set up someone's EMAIL, all over the map. Dreamweaver looks really cool. Great opportunity! I went with .NET certification classes but Dreamweaver nearly won out. This site provides a little distraction when my brain's full.

[cdifoto]

I am an airplane driver and right now I am flying night freight, I overnight away from home, but I am home for a large part of the day.

A pilot that refers to himself as a driver...

Note to self: Don't get on any of TenD's flights. :eek: :D :p

[Elisha]

its tough to break into the IT market......i graduated in december 2003 and didn't have a job till July of 2004 and it was basically flow chart design and data entry for a database which i got paid very little for then i ended up doing sales for HP and got paid around 22k a year and then left to work as ISP tech support and almost got 29k a year and now i'm in mentoring making a little more than 40k till i clear a couple more certifications and i'll be a little more comfortable.
get a Bachelors or Education if you already have a degree and at least you would have a secure job teaching IT in schools.

[Vich]

A pilot that refers to himself as a driver...

Note to self: Don't get on any of TenD's flights. :eek: :D :p
Fly Standby! Don't ship yourself as freight!

[cdifoto]

Fly Standby! Don't ship yourself as freight!

I don't have a cushy job like y'all. You go EXPRESS and I go Ground. :eek: :mad:

[aparmley]

i was in the same boat after i graduated......try getting a certification or 2.
maybe CCNA, Security+ or something in programming.

I work with others who are certified in various fields. If I was forced to make a conclusion about certifications it would be this, "They are worthless!" For example, if I have to explain to a guy who is A+ certified how to bring the command prompt up, that tells me everything I need to know about being certified. :D Same goes for the rest of them. Certs are this - read, pay, test. Anyone can do that. . . well not anyone. Most of the certs are a few grand or more. If a company wants me to be certified they'll pay for it. I'm not going to pay for one out of my own pocket with the hopes that I find a job that requires it before my cert expires. I already have BS. Thats proof enough that you can throw anything at me and I can learn it in the time alotted and excel at it. I don't need certs to prove that.

[Vich]

I work with others who are certified in various fields. If I was forced to make a conclusion about certifications it would be this, "They are worthless!" For example, if I have to explain to a guy who is A+ certified how to bring the command prompt up, that tells me everything I need to know about being certified. :D Same goes for the rest of them. Certs are this - read, pay, test. Anyone can do that. . . well not anyone. Most of the certs are a few grand or more. If a company wants me to be certified they'll pay for it. I'm not going to pay for one out of my own pocket with the hopes that I find a job that requires it before my cert expires. I already have BS. Thats proof enough that you can throw anything at me and I can learn it in the time alotted and excel at it. I don't need certs to prove that.

Don't fool yourself into thinking hiring managers are so logical! For that matter; HR departments who first screen out the duds. A BS is great and a cert just opens a few extra doors on top of it. If you're good at selling yourself and making/keeping contacts, you're golden. Just my .02 on all that.

Oh, and all that crap they ask for (C#, ASP.net, SQL, DBA, rocket scientist, etc etc). Last time I applied for one of those they were just fishing for a GURU, but they really wanted to hire the person in front of them. My only lesson from that one is when they say "I don't even know if we need to interview anyone else, any questions?", it's time to shut up and say something positive, but I'm sure you know that :).

[Elisha]

Don't fool yourself into thinking hiring managers are so logical! For that matter; HR departments who first screen out the duds. A BS is great and a cert just opens a few extra doors on top of it. If you're good at selling yourself and making/keeping contacts, you're golden. Just my .02 on all that.



what he said......they would rather hire someone who has a few certs under his belt than you worthless as you may think they are.
Certs are not meant to teach you everything about a certain field but at least familiarize you with it.
the guy you were talking to must have just done it because he was required to and never worked on what he studied.
i know a few ppl like that who have tons of certs but don't even apply their knowledge on that field and thus don't remember it anymore.
and then there are the ones that just memorize the many practice tests and go ace the cert without studying.

plus in my field of work, more certs mean more money.

your logic is like saying i know how to prescribe medication but am not a pharmacist.....even if you can prove it, good luck getting someone to hire you for that role.

[forno]

same here... structural detailing!

Ah, what software?? and what sort of structures??

[DonSchap]

Value = a subjective decision.

Certifications still mean you have to train the bozo on the system you have in place. Sure, he may have read all the books, taken the tests and gotten the flippin' paper, but you still have another 6 months of investment of practical where you simply can not leave him alone in your shop.

I would rather have a helpful and anxious high school trainee, who asks questions, than a logo-based, certified shirt-wearing schmuck, who dangerously believes he knows "everything." That could cost your business REAL money!

You could have been WinNT-certified, to the nth degree ... and it means "zero.sh*t", today. Thousands of dollars in effort which Microsoft has promptly decommissioned. Where's the value in that? You may have gotten an IS-job ten years ago with those credentials, but if you didn't keep up with their program and product certifications ... they won't do much for you, today, when and if you go job-hunting again. You, my friend, are back to square one. At least if you have the degree ... it is kind of timeless and generic. It's not based on some type of dated product. For that little fact, I guess you can be grateful.

Personally, I didn't spend a dime on certs and I am still making more money than 95% of the staff we have here. It all boils down to whose is running the show, I suppose. If they care about their staff, their customers and the support they provide, they will look beyond any of that silly paper fluff and find the man/woman that can provide real value to their shop. Certifications are a false educational level, which quickly expires, that some sales bunch dreamt up to sell product for MS. Like I said, it has a very "limited life" and even that is only getting shorter, by the looks of things. Heck, I'd venture to say you just couldn't learn the latest product line fast enough to beat the next product to the post! :mad:

[Rhys]

I couldn't put it better Don. Any non-university course is pure junk when it comes to career development.

I have an OND, HNC and HND. The HND is approximately equivalent to a BA. I never found it much help in finding work. Rather - it tended to stereotype me. My BA has been much more useful purely because it has a broader base and covers more territory. It's also internationally recognised. My OND, HNC and HND are unknown qualifications outside the UK.

If I were to go back to when I left school and started my OND, I think I might have been better off joining the RAF or the navy instead and using their education facilities to gain my degree. Sure - I'd be a different person but I think that would have been an interesting route to take.

I don't regret doing the interesting things I did on my OND, HNC and HND. Rather I regret the time as it basically delayed me between leaving highschool and doing my university degree.

[Elisha]

thats all nice and dandy for people who have been grandfathered in the IT business to say....but as a new graduate your degree alone proves nothing.
unless you did an internship or co-op somewhere while doing your degree or if you are recruited by some company because you were the best of the best.

[aparmley]

I feel your pain. It seems to me that most IT people are in one of two camps.

Camp 1:
Got into IT before the bubble burst in the 1990s and have been happy ever since.

Camp 2:
Trained and got their qualifications after 1990 and have been struggling ever since to find work.

It also seems to me that IT work is usually something that can be shipped abroad to India etc and which usually is shipped off to India. The fact this is beginning to bite companies in the backside and will cause major problems for the companies in the future seems to elude people.

When IT came in, in the 80s all governments pushed it as a way to earn a lot of money doing very little. All the usual suspects jumped on the training bandwaggon and started training people in IT for flash-in-the-pan jobs. After the IT bubble burst they all leapt onto the MBA bandwaggon. Now there are too many MBAs around and all MBAs are almost broke it seems that the computer version of the MBA - the MIS is following the usual pattern.

Quite frankly I doubt there are enough MIS/MBA etc jobs around. My advice would be to get a job - any job - even if it's working as a maid in an hotel and to look for opportunities in any field. Your level of qualification is more important than what you studied. Forget about getting a computer job. They don't exist - as you've just found out. You might be able to get into a computer job if you transfer internally within a company if you start as the office teaboy.

Interesting comparison there Rhys. I have a computer job - just not what I wanted to do exactly.

[Mark_48]

"I can put your lights out..............and put them back on."

Semi retired from a electric utility in New England where I noodle around as a Relay Protection technician, building and testing controls and protections in substations.

Mark.........

[aparmley]

its tough to break into the IT market......i graduated in december 2003 and didn't have a job till July of 2004 and it was basically flow chart design and data entry for a database which i got paid very little for then i ended up doing sales for HP and got paid around 22k a year and then left to work as ISP tech support and almost got 29k a year and now i'm in mentoring making a little more than 40k till i clear a couple more certifications and i'll be a little more comfortable.
get a Bachelors or Education if you already have a degree and at least you would have a secure job teaching IT in schools.

Interesting story there. I've considered going back and getting some type of teaching cert and work half the year but I could never teach . . . I couldn't put up with all the crap. :o Who knows, time may change my tune.

[cwphoto]

Interesting story there. I've considered going back and getting some type of teaching cert and work half the year but I could never teach . . . I couldn't put up with all the crap. :o Who knows, time may change my tune.

Teaching can be very rewarding - as long as your audience wants to be there. ;)

[DonSchap]

I was self-taught ... and didn't always like the teacher :rolleyes: He didn't grade on a curve.

[24Peter]

Teaching can be very rewarding - as long as your audience wants to be there. ;)
Christian - did you already chime in about your non-photographic means of income?

[cwphoto]

Christian - did you already chime in about your non-photographic means of income?

No I didn't. :D

[Elisha]

I was self-taught ... and didn't always like the teacher :rolleyes: He didn't grade on a curve.

same way with me....i learned more outside the class than in it.

[TenD]

how do you drive an airplane?

just joking :D

1drive
Pronunciation: 'drIv
Function: verb
4a to operate the mechanism and controls and direct the course of (as a vehicle)

Wiggle the thingys in front of me, and direct the course of it. Make the 3 round thingys touch the ground on each end. :D

[aparmley]

but as a new graduate your degree alone proves nothing.


I think it proves that the person who has a degree is punctual, has a good understanding of what attendance policies means, has the ability to adapt to changes in work loads, can absorb and retain important information across various diciplines of study simultaneously, can juggle the demands of multiple deadlines well enough to complete tasks on time and perform them well. This person most likely is very good at communicating and working with others (as most if not all degrees require a massive amount of group projects in their cirriculum these days). This person has the drive to stay dedicated to and focused on a larger goal that requires patience, perserverence, hard work, and sacrifices in order to achieve it. YMMV. Adding a few certs to my degree is an excellent recommendation, it certainly wouldn't hurt. It just goes against the nature of my character. I have many flaws and this point of view may very well be one of them. But, we are who we are. . .

[Elisha]

i refused to take a cert like everyone else cause but i was lucky enough to land my current job by impressing the supervisors and manager.
but the strict requirement was 3 certs a year or no pay increase.
at 4k extra per cert a year......why would i refuse.

[cdifoto]

i refused to take a cert like everyone else cause but i was lucky enough to land my current job by impressing the supervisors and manager.
but the strict requirement was 3 certs a year or no pay increase.
at 4k extra per cert a year......why would i refuse.

I can think of a few reasons why $4,000 a year extra pay for 3 certs wouldn't be worthwhile.

[Rhys]

Interesting comparison there Rhys. I have a computer job - just not what I wanted to do exactly.

Time was when I wanted to do Cobol programming but then Sculptor and RPG4 were the in languages. Now you can't find Sculptor outside of a legacy environment. Although I can program competently in C++ and Delphi I don't find the opportunities are forthcoming for those. Generally companies now demand so much (and don't need 90% of it) that most people can't get a foothold.

My wife suggests teaching as there are more vacancies than staff. What makes me nervous about this is the fact that if little Johnny Rotten doesn't like his teacher he can cry "sexual abuse" and even when Johnny Rotten is proven to have made a false accusation, the chances of that teacher getting another job are less than slim. I used to teach English abroad but the US and UK are so full of children willing to cry wolf just to get out of their homework that it's quite scary.

Teaching does sound a good career for money and hours though.

[Elisha]

I can think of a few reasons why $4,000 a year extra pay for 3 certs wouldn't be worthwhile.

sorry meant to say 4k per cert extra a year.....so thats 12k for all 3 per year.
plus its only about 1 month of solid studying per cert or less.

[cdifoto]

sorry meant to say 4k per cert extra a year.....so thats 12k for all 3 per year.
plus its only about 1 month of solid studying per cert or less.

I think I have a reading problem this evening. You did say per cert. :( :rolleyes:

[NewTekBuzz]

I do 3D computer animation. Which means i'm at a pc all day and have spare time to come on here:)

Also, its quite similar to photgraphy sometimes, in the way i have to make compositions and sort out lighting.

Shoey, what software are you using? Lightwave, 3ds max, maya??

[NewTekBuzz]

Ah, what software?? and what sort of structures??

I used AutoCAD from 1990 til 2004 and I have been using a program called SDS/2 by Desigh Data (3D Modeling) since 1999. We do the steel for buildings, schools, hospitals, automotive buildings.. anything large with steel.

...and you?

[forno]

I used AutoCAD from 1990 til 2004 and I have been using a program called SDS/2 by Desigh Data (3D Modeling) since 1999. We do the steel for buildings, schools, hospitals, automotive buildings.. anything large with steel.

...and you?


Mainly process and mechanical(not hvac) engineering on Autocad for the past 10 years, currently doing a big conveyor job on Autodesk Inventor which is a fantastic bit of software

http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/9056/testdi6.png

[cdifoto]

Mainly process and mechanical(not hvac) engineering on Autocad for the past 10 years, currently doing a big conveyor job on Autodesk Inventor which is a fantastic bit of software

http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/9056/testdi6.png

I could use one of those.

[forno]

LOL Don, what are you gonna do with it??

[cdifoto]

LOL Don, what are you gonna do with it??

I dunno but it looks cool.

[Rontech1]

I work on everything, North American and Asian mostly. We have seen MGs, BMWs, and all sorts of stuff.

I enjoy the technical stuff the most. Here is a bit of what I do, an instructor (Tom Roberts) edited the file but the waveform is mine. http://www.autonerdz.com/flash/jeepckp.html It's really an expensive trade to be in. It's not unthinkable for techs to have 60K worth of tools and storage equipment. I almost didn't get my camera. I was planning on spending my bonus on a scan tool. I'm glad I got the camera!


Hey Ron, nice to know there are some techs on here. Are you an iATN member?

I was but there was a HUGE amount of questions asked that I REALLY did not have time to respond to. I think it would most likely be a good idea to renew though. Volvo is very tough on letting proprietary info get out.
PM me for more info.
Ron

[shoey]

Shoey, what software are you using? Lightwave, 3ds max, maya??

Hey NewTek, we use 3dsmax here. I trained in max and XSI at uni but got a job using max and wouldn't know where to start with XSI now:) Had a little experience with Maya but not much.

[forno]

Hey NewTek, we use 3dsmax here. I trained in max and XSI at uni but got a job using max and wouldn't know where to start with XSI now:) Had a little experience with Maya but not much.


I have had a play with max, huge bit of software. Maya is meant to be the biz

[Honest Gaza]

I drew my awning with Sketchup :o

19293

Can I have a job ? :D

[forno]

Noice Gaz! Wheres the esky:D

[shoey]

I have had a play with max, huge bit of software. Maya is meant to be the biz

Max is better for modelling and arcitechture stuff, maya is generally better for animation. But you can do everything in all packages, you just pick the one you get on with and work your way around things.

These were done for jaguar US, as part of a colour configurator

http://www.realtimeuk.com/files/cgtalk/jag_All3.jpg

We also do character work and arcitechture etc etc.

[tiger1438]

Another engineer, but I usually work with dirt and concrete. I do Civil design on the private side. It still pays for that photography hobby though.

[adam75south]

wow those cars look real.

[Forced Perfect]

I guard a Cadbury chocolate plant. :P Beat that!

[TassieD]

Yeh, I am behind the computer all day too, CAD specifically

CAD....AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH three letters that give me nightmares even after 14 years.........lolol

I design Fire Sprinkler Systems so am on the computer a fair bit and hence bounce around the net.

[CelloGuy]

Good Lord...engineers, doctors, IT specialists. I feel I have more in common with the chocolate factory guard job.
I'm a construction guy. Used to pound nails; now I get to pound heads (I prepare construction claims for litigation)