Aerospace Engineer Named Lego Czar

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Aerospace Engineer Named Lego Czar

Posted by samzenpus on Wednesday January 26, 2011 @08:12AM from the lord-of-lincoln-logs dept.

24-year-old Cal Walsh has put his aerospace engineering degree to good use by becoming the Lego Czar at The Legoland Discovery Center in Texas. Walsh beat out over 100 other Lego lovers for the $37,500 starting salary, and the chance to play with blocks for a living. From the article: "The 15 finalists were given an hour to design something that defined them and their interests. Walsh applied his engineering skills to build a spaceship, a unicycle and a running shoe that spelled out his first name. He gave credit to the children spectators at the event, who offered suggestions on what pieces to add to make the designs more interesting."

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For building that? by jdastrup · 2011-01-26 08:15 · Score: 1

Seen his winning entry? Maybe that's why he can't get a job in his field.
1. Re:For building that? by jdastrup · 2011-01-26 08:17 · Score: 1
  
  OK, maybe I was too harsh. He only had an hour.
2. Re:For building that? by ElectricTurtle · 2011-01-26 08:42 · Score: 1
  
  My first thought was 'if that's the winner, how pathetic must the losing designs have been...'
  
  --
  I support the Slashcott and will not be reading or commenting from 2/10/14 to 2/17/14. Beta is steaming pile of dog shit
3. Re:For building that? by Anonymous+Psychopath · 2011-01-26 08:46 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  OK, maybe I was too harsh. He only had an hour.
  The article notes that it wasn't so much about what he built as how he did it; by interacting with the kids and incorporating their suggestions into his design.
  
  --
  Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.
4. Re:For building that? by mcvos · 2011-01-26 21:24 · Score: 1
  
  Mine too, initially, but I get it now. Firstly he had only an hour, so there's not much time for polish. And secondly, the reason he won was his interaction with kids that were offering suggestions on what to add. Personally I think that's an awesome criterium for this job.
  I think this news is excellent news for everybody involved: him, Lego, and the kids. I wish him the best of luck with his cool new job.
Pathetic by Animats · 2011-01-26 08:15 · Score: 4, Insightful

$37,500 starting salary... (Stupid new Slashdot layout breaks italics.)
With an engineering degree and experience. Pathetic.
1. Re:Pathetic by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-26 08:19 · Score: 0
  
  That doesn't sound like very much money and messing with legos every day would get boring quick.
2. Re:Pathetic by hbean · 2011-01-26 08:20 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  37,500 is pretty decent to have fun and play with legos for a few years, rather than work at some soul crushing corporate job.
  
  --
  "Give someone a program, frustrate them for a day... Teach someone to program, frustrate them for a lifetime."
3. Re:Pathetic by mawe · 2011-01-26 08:22 · Score: 1
  
  Not so much considering he gets to play with Lego bricks all day long. It may be a waste of his talent, but hell, who cares if he enjoys it.
  How much do you earn and is your job as entertaining as his will be?
  I'd quit my (better payed) job not thinking twice if I get offered that position.
  
  --
  I'm afraid Mary is dead.
4. Re:Pathetic by Tynin · 2011-01-26 08:24 · Score: 2
  
  Still, it is going to take him forever to pay off his likely expensive tuition on that salary. However it would make a great 2nd job to have on the side.
5. Re:Pathetic by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-26 08:25 · Score: 0
  
  It is more money than most salaries in the States. So I'm not sure if that particular salary for playing with bricks with a certain degree and experience is underpaid or if too many people are underpaid by your argument. Or you saying he is overpaid?
  Sometimes it beats no salary or unemployment...
6. Re:Pathetic by natehoy · 2011-01-26 08:26 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  He graduated a year ago, so his experience was looking for a job for a year, unsuccessfully I might add. You might have noticed that the economy is blowing steaming stinky glowing green monkey chunks at the moment.
  He might have garnered his degree into something with a starting wage somewhat higher, or he could have languished in the job market for another year or two and decided to give up and step out in front of a bus some day.
  Instead, he found something that he thought he'd love doing that covers his expenses and went for it.
  It's not all about the money for all of us, you know.
  
  --
  "This post contains words, known to the State of California to cause thought. Wash brain thoroughly after reading."
7. Re:Pathetic by Fibe-Piper · 2011-01-26 08:26 · Score: 1
  
  For that price I hope he at least gets a crown and a scepter to go along with the wicked-ass title
  
  --
  I went to battle M.C. Escher, but drew a blank.
8. Re:Pathetic by SimonTS · 2011-01-26 08:26 · Score: 1
  
  As a fully qualified and educated Network Consultant in the UK who is now unemployed due to the economy, that sounds like a very good salary. Hell, I'd be willing to do that job an stay on the benefits I'm on - sounds like fun.
9. Re:Pathetic by Jahava · 2011-01-26 08:27 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  Not so much considering he gets to play with Lego bricks all day long. It may be a waste of his talent, but hell, who cares if he enjoys it.
  How much do you earn and is your job as entertaining as his will be?
  I'd quit my (better payed) job not thinking twice if I get offered that position.
  Here's a thought: get an engineering job, make three times that much in one year, and then take the next two years off to play with Legos.
10. Re:Pathetic by mawe · 2011-01-26 08:27 · Score: 1
  
  That doesn't sound like very much money and messing with legos every day would get boring quick.
  Guess that pretty much says everything about your childhood. ;-P
  
  --
  I'm afraid Mary is dead.
11. Re:Pathetic by new+death+barbie · 2011-01-26 08:29 · Score: 1
  
  You think it's pathetic now, wait till you see his resume when he decides to move on.
  "So... your last position, what exactly did you do at... Lego Land, was it?"
  "I, uh, Built things. Out of little bricks. Every day."
  "so, how do you think that qualifies you for a job in the aerospace industry?"
  "Ummm.. well, some of the things were shaped like rockets? and airplanes?"
  "I see... fortunately you're willing to work for a pathetic salary. Welcome to the space program!"
  
  --
  
  It's supposed to be completely automatic, but actually you have to press this button.
12. Re:Pathetic by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-26 08:29 · Score: 0
  
  Isn't the point of getting a job supposed to get you off of the government's assistance?
13. Re:Pathetic by bigstrat2003 · 2011-01-26 08:30 · Score: 1
  
  Salary means nothing without knowing what cost of living is wherever he will be living. Where I live (northeastern Wisconsin), I make $37,000, but that is a pretty good salary given the low cost of living. TFS says "Texas", which doesn't narrow it down much. I'd assume the job is in a major city (which means higher cost of living), but he may choose to live where cost of living is low and commute in. We don't know.
  
  --
  "16MB (fuck off, MiB fascists)" - The Mighty Buzzard
14. Re:Pathetic by LWATCDR · 2011-01-26 08:31 · Score: 1
  
  So I suggest you not take it.
  For this guy it may be a dream come true. He maybe unemployed. Maybe he is married and his wife has a year or too left in college and he wants to stay in the area. Maybe he really wants to work for Lego.
  I had a friend that had a degree in communications and worked at Disney World for a low salary. He is now a news director at NBC in New York. Sometimes you start at the bottom of what you love and keep at it.
  
  --
  See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
15. Re:Pathetic by SimonTS · 2011-01-26 08:37 · Score: 1
  
  If you'd read the actual article, then you'd have seen that he has been unemployed for a year since graduating and that he "narrowed his search to companies that he thought would satisfy his passion for creating and building things and his interest in working with people". Sounds to me like he's landed on his feet with the perfect job.
16. Re:Pathetic by Maximum+Prophet · 2011-01-26 08:41 · Score: 1
  
  For that price I hope he at least gets a crown and a scepter to go along with the wicked-ass title
  Well, yes, if he builds them out of Lego. (:-)
  
  --
  All ideas^H^H^H^H^Hprocesses in this post are Patent Pending. (as well as the process of patenting all postings)
17. Re:Pathetic by csatlosi · 2011-01-26 08:41 · Score: 1
  
  the may choose to live where cost of living is low and commute in. We don't know.
  I think a Lego Czar should live in the middle of Legoland in a castle made of Lego bricks....
18. Re:Pathetic by Anrego · 2011-01-26 08:44 · Score: 1
  
  More money then most with an _engineering degree_ and probably some serious student debt? Although if he's been unemployed for a year then maybe he wasn't very good/not employable.. or the job market for engineers has taken an even bigger nose dive then I thought.
19. Re:Pathetic by squareroottwo · 2011-01-26 08:44 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  It wasn't too long ago that I was hired for my first real job out of college for $37,500/yr with benefits. The video game studio position was lower salaried than other jobs I could have had. (I even turned down one.) I didn't make the wrong choice, despite holding multiple college level degrees. I had a blast, I learned skills I didn't expect, and I'm better for it. The only things pathetic in this story are reactions like yours revealing how money is the only thing to chase in so many peoples' eyes.
20. Re:Pathetic by BluBrick · 2011-01-26 08:44 · Score: 2
  
  37,500 is pretty decent to have fun and play with legos for a few years, rather than work at some soul crushing corporate job.
  True, but there's a fair chance he won't get his $37,500 if he refers to them as legos.
  
  --
  Ahh - My eye!
  The doctor said I'm not supposed to get Slashdot in it!
21. Re:Pathetic by bigstrat2003 · 2011-01-26 08:46 · Score: 1
  
  I like your ideas, and would like to subscribe to your newsletter.
  
  --
  "16MB (fuck off, MiB fascists)" - The Mighty Buzzard
22. Re:Pathetic by jockeys · 2011-01-26 08:48 · Score: 1
  
  I'd assume the job is in a major city (which means higher cost of living), but he may choose to live where cost of living is low and commute in.
  
  Sort of. Grapevine is a suburb of Dallas and Ft. Worth, right next to DFW Int'l Airport, and the standard of living is a bit higher than many of the surrounding suburbs. According to Wikipedia, median income is around 76k. I've lived in the area and a decent apartment is going to set you back the better part of 1k/month, if not more.
  
  however, there are other places in DFW within commuting range that have a much, MUCH lower standard of living.
  
  --
  
  In Soviet Russia jokes are formulaic and decidedly non-humorous.
23. Re:Pathetic by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-26 08:49 · Score: 1
  
  Lol..
  You probably still think that coders and testers in the video game field get to 'have fun and play video games' all day!
  Or that janitors at Disney world get to 'have fun and hang out with Mickey mouse' all day!
  It's a shit job, shit pay, and at any given time there's 100 more naive college grads willing to yank the rug from under you.
  Pro tip: nonsense titles like 'czar' and 'cast member' are a hint they're hiding something.
24. Re:Pathetic by Anonymous+Psychopath · 2011-01-26 08:53 · Score: 1
  
  $37,500 starting salary...
  (Stupid new Slashdot layout breaks italics.)
  With an engineering degree and experience. Pathetic.
  My first job straight out of school paid considerably less than that, and unemployment was nowhere near as high as today's level.
  
  --
  Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.
25. Re:Pathetic by Aldanga · 2011-01-26 08:55 · Score: 1
  
  The article says Grapevine, Texas is where the new Legoland Discovery Center will be. Grapevine is in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. CNN has some details on the city's cost of living, median income, etc.
26. Re:Pathetic by Nadaka · 2011-01-26 08:56 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Interesting. except doing that gets you exactly the same amount of money and only 2 years of lego play instead of 3. It also does not account for the fact that you would have to buy your own lego's.
27. Re:Pathetic by Ephemeriis · 2011-01-26 08:56 · Score: 2
  
  $37,500 starting salary...
  (Stupid new Slashdot layout breaks italics.)
  With an engineering degree and experience. Pathetic.
  I was making considerably less than that at my last job... So it doesn't sound that bad to me.
  Especially considering that he gets to play with LEGO all day long.
  
  --
  "Work is the curse of the drinking classes." -Oscar Wilde
28. Re:Pathetic by Nadaka · 2011-01-26 08:58 · Score: 2
  
  My little sister has a degree in architecture, mechanical engineering and drafting. after she graduated 3 years ago she has had 2 part time barely above minimum wage jobs, but has been mostly unemployed. So yes, things are really bad in the field.
29. Re:Pathetic by Lord+Ender · 2011-01-26 08:58 · Score: 1
  
  That's US Dollars, not Great Brittan Pounds. Starting salaries for engineers in the US are in the $50k-$70k range, and my understanding is that things are similar in the UK.
  In most cities, one could make $37k without any education or degree simply by waiting tables full-time.
  
  --
  A slashdotter who didn't build his own computer is like a Jedi who didn't build his own lightsaber.
30. Re:Pathetic by nedlohs · 2011-01-26 09:00 · Score: 1
  
  What do you suggest would be a reasonable starting salary for playing with lego?
31. Re:Pathetic by lennier · 2011-01-26 09:05 · Score: 2
  
  "I, uh, Built things. Out of little bricks. Every day."
  "Ah, so a Shuttle thermal tile engineer, then? Welcome to the team."
  
  --
  You are not a brain: http://books.google.com/books?id=2oV61CeDx-YC
32. Re:Pathetic by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-26 09:08 · Score: 0
  
  Also, you must remember that $37,500 in Texas is MUCH more than $37,500 in Silicon Valley (or even California in general). When I was interviewing in Texas back in 2007, a brand new house about 30 minutes south could be had for under $100k, while a similar house in eastern Washington State (aka the middle of nowhere) was easily $175-$250k.
  So yeah, the salary isn't exorbitant, but if he enjoys the job it's not terrible. Plus, I can see the problem-solving skills of working the Lego for a couple of years being not un-valuable experience in a future engineering job search; especially when compared to working retail or being unemployed for the same period.
33. Re:Pathetic by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-26 09:09 · Score: 1
  
  No, YOU'RE pathetic. Happiness>expectations of society.
  If he can rent out a apartment, eat full meals every day, buy gas for his car, pay his bills AND go to work happy every morning and come home without several layers of stress on top of his clothes... then he's someone to be looked up to.
  But of course, by your logic, money>happiness. Right? ....so sad.
34. Re:Pathetic by Albatrosses · 2011-01-26 09:10 · Score: 2
  
  It also does not account for the fact that you would have to buy your own lego's.
  And the fact that you now have a two-year gap in your resume when you apply to get a job again.
35. Re:Pathetic by nedlohs · 2011-01-26 09:11 · Score: 1
  
  You don't think part of the unsuccessfully bit might have been:
  
  Walsh said he had been searching for a job since he graduated a year ago. He narrowed his search to companies that he thought would satisfy his passion for creating and building things and his interest in working with people.
  "I focused my search on companies like Disney World and the Lego company," he said.
  Because Disney World and the Lego Company don't spring to the top of my list of companies with which to find empoyment based upon a freshly minted aerospace engineering degreee. And if that's not the start, then narrowing the search in response to not finding something also doesn't seem like the logical step.
36. Re:Pathetic by denobug · 2011-01-26 09:11 · Score: 2
  
  More money then most with an _engineering degree_ and probably some serious student debt? Although if he's been unemployed for a year then maybe he wasn't very good/not employable.. or the job market for engineers has taken an even bigger nose dive then I thought.
  Sometimes it really takes someone to give you a chance to get your foot in the door in any particular industry. I have heard of people graduated from good schools and takes them more than a year to find decent paying jobs that is related to his field in the lean years (that was 2003, which was lean in engineering field, especially electrical).
  I hope this job will give him the leg up to another better paying job. A job that will actually use some of what he has learned. Knowing how lean the aerospace industries are right now I hope he found another engineering position outside of aerospace industry.
37. Re:Pathetic by vlm · 2011-01-26 09:12 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  Salary means nothing without knowing what cost of living is wherever he will be living. Where I live (northeastern Wisconsin), I make $37,000, but that is a pretty good salary given the low cost of living.
  Hi neighbor. I went to a Cisco router BGP class about a decade ago in Chicago. I live in suburban WI, lab partner lives in downtown Chicago. Compared salaries and he makes twice as much as I made. Later on, compared lifestyles and he was a small step above a homeless person and I lived like a king:
  WI: $60K yr, wife and two kids in a medium size house on an acre of land in a very good area (low crime/great schools/great location), two brand new cars, no significant loans except the (small pre housing bubble) mortgage.
  IL: $120K yr, tiny one bedroom apartment with wife and kid "want to get a two bedroom but can't afford it", he drove me around town in his princely 15 year old rusty pickup truck, commented about still having hefty student loans and maybe after they're paid off he could afford the rent on a two bdrm apt.
  Now of course job opportunities being what they are, ten years later he's probably making $240K, and I'm still making, you guessed it, $60K, but...
  
  --
  "Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
38. Re:Pathetic by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-26 09:13 · Score: 0
  
  Not to mention he now has a great talking point for his resume when entry level jobs that utilize his degree do become available.
39. Re:Pathetic by timeOday · 2011-01-26 09:13 · Score: 1
  
  But haven't you heard? The nation desperately needs more scientists and engineers to stay competitive in the future!
  Preferably ones willing to work for $37.5K.
40. Re:Pathetic by Vomster · 2011-01-26 09:14 · Score: 1
  
  I'm sure he'll be able to make those items if he so chooses.
41. Re:Pathetic by the_hellspawn · 2011-01-26 09:19 · Score: 1
  
  Why would a business or firm hire an American at the cost of the average American salary when you can get four Indians, Chinese, or Middle Eastern people for that cost? Very sad, but very true.
  
  --
  "The laws of science be a harsh mistress." --Bender
42. Re:Pathetic by natehoy · 2011-01-26 09:24 · Score: 1
  
  Agreed, here in Maine ~$40K would probably get you ostracized as "that rich guy" by most of your neighbors.
  
  --
  "This post contains words, known to the State of California to cause thought. Wash brain thoroughly after reading."
43. Re:Pathetic by Phibz · 2011-01-26 09:25 · Score: 1
  
  The article says Grapevine which is part of the Dallas metroplex. $37,500 isn't terrible for a single 24 year old out of college, but it's hardly good.
44. Re:Pathetic by Nethemas+the+Great · 2011-01-26 09:27 · Score: 1
  
  I think that's a bit "optimistic" for waitress. It'd best be an upscale joint, and you'd best be highly competent and very hot.
  
  --
  Two of my imaginary friends reproduced once ... with negative results.
45. Re:Pathetic by cashman73 · 2011-01-26 09:27 · Score: 1
  
  It may not sound like much, but think about it. This guy probably won't be doing this when he's 50 (heck, he probably won't do it much longer than 3-4 years). So he gets to have fun playing with Legos AND get paid a livable salary (based on Texas standards). Then, when he's looking for a real job, he gets to put "Lego Czar" on his resume! He'll quite easily stand out among all the 100s of other resumes submitted through the websites,. . . =)
46. Re:Pathetic by natehoy · 2011-01-26 09:29 · Score: 1
  
  That's quite possible. Maybe his dad is in aerospace and pushed really hard for him to get a degree in it. Maybe he just changed his mind. Maybe he was gunning for NASA then decided that all the cool projects were dead and wanted to see how he could leverage engineering into something that didn't end him up as a suicidal pencil-pusher by middle age.
  The number of people who have gone to the trouble of earning a degree then deciding that their chosen degree isn't really what they wanted to do with their life is legion. The number who actually accept that the degree might have been a mistake and go after something that they might actually enjoy doing is much, much smaller.
  And that's sad.
  
  --
  "This post contains words, known to the State of California to cause thought. Wash brain thoroughly after reading."
47. Re:Pathetic by Cathoderoytube · 2011-01-26 09:29 · Score: 1
  
  You forget the Czar of all Legoland gets his own castle, and a legion of lego servants.. and lego harem.
  
  --
  I have nothing compelling to say
48. Re:Pathetic by Beardo+the+Bearded · 2011-01-26 09:37 · Score: 1
  
  My first job out of University with an Engineering degree and with experience from co-op and working through school paid $38,500, and that was the only benefit. At the time, houses started at about 8.5x that. I graduated in 2004 and prospects were pretty good.
  I took that job for several reasons. One, it looked really interesting. Two, the commute was very short. Three, the atmosphere was really casual and friendly. Four, I'd have a serious impact on the company. Five, I could have held out for another 6-8 months and got a job for $55k, but then that wouldn't make a lot of sense now, would it? Six, I was already married with a kid (we had her in my last semester of my degree.) and my wife has an established career.
  I now make considerably more, but I'd seriously consider this LEGO job and its linked pay cut if it was offered in my city. In fact, my final project for my degree was a autonomous robot made out of LEGO (with a Mindstorm core) that was Melexis-trophy compliant. I remember having to explain to the judges that we didn't just use the system that it came with, we programmed it in Java and built out own sensors -- one of the judges' kids had a set and he was less than impressed. Once we showed him that we made it LOOK like it was stock LEGO he said "ooooohh!" and we got 2nd place.
  PS: You think the new layout is bad, try it on IE7. /. crashed IE four times today already... They've got some serious WOMM here, but I guess we'll get over it.
  
  --
  
  ---
  ECHELON is a government program to find words like bomb, jihad, plutonium, assassinate, and anarchy.
49. Re:Pathetic by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-26 09:41 · Score: 0
  
  Minor problem: Ever heard of taxes?
50. Re:Pathetic by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-26 09:43 · Score: 0
  
  You forget the Czar of all Legoland gets his own castle, and a legion of lego servants.. and lego harem.
  Yeah, but all the girls in the lego harem are flat...
51. Re:Pathetic by shutdown+-p+now · 2011-01-26 09:43 · Score: 1
  
  $37,500 starting salary
  Monarchy is so under-appreciated these days!
52. Re:Pathetic by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-26 09:45 · Score: 0
  
  Bullshit
53. Re:Pathetic by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-26 09:50 · Score: 0
  
  And maybe it is good money? Sure, it's low for the industry, but I've got a recently graduated, very intelligent, masters degreed physics and education in-law living with me right now. He's very handy, has some experience in a chemistry research lab...and the only job that has come through since August is a random posting he answered to be a prison guard for 25k. 37.5k might be low for an engineer in the industry, but for a recent college grad with no real experience but plenty of education - 37.5k is a lot!
  It doesn't matter what the industry standard is until you actually break into the industry!
54. Re:Pathetic by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-26 09:50 · Score: 0
  
  I'm a post-doc researcher with a 4 year physics degree, a PhD and 2 years post-doc experience - his wage is only slightly less than mine...
55. Re:Pathetic by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-26 09:50 · Score: 0
  
  For all those who think $37,500 isn't bad please be aware that the average starting salary for an graduate with a degree in Aerospace Engineering is $65,000.
56. Re:Pathetic by Lord+Ender · 2011-01-26 09:51 · Score: 1
  
  Say the average table has four people, the average meal lasts an hour, the average bill is $15/person, and the average tip is 15%, and you serve 4 tables, on average, at a time. That's $36/hour in tips. If you work eight hour days five days a week you're earning $75k right there! If anything, $37k is an underestimate for a waitress position.
  
  --
  A slashdotter who didn't build his own computer is like a Jedi who didn't build his own lightsaber.
57. Re:Pathetic by LWATCDR · 2011-01-26 09:53 · Score: 1
  
  I did but I wanted to show other reasons. I agree for him it may actually be a dream come true.
  
  --
  See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
58. Re:Pathetic by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-26 09:56 · Score: 0
  
  and lego harem.
  How does that work? On second thought, I don't want to know.
59. Re:Pathetic by timeOday · 2011-01-26 10:13 · Score: 1
  
  There's nothing wrong with Lego paying somebody only this amount for this job.
  There's nothing wrong with the winner for taking the job if he couldn't find anything better, or if it's his dream so he doesn't care about money.
  What does worry me is that the situation exists at all - somebody graduates with an engineering degree and failed to find a job in his field, despite trying to do so. On the one hand, we are hearing every day how China will crush us because they are graduating technically skilled people in far greater numbers than we are. On the other hand, we have people obtaining years of expensive, specialized training in engineering, trying to find jobs in the field, and cannot. Is this just temporary, or has our ship sailed?
60. Re:Pathetic by rbollinger · 2011-01-26 10:15 · Score: 1
  
  I wouldn't call it pathetic without first seeing his contract. For all we know he could be getting $37,500 to work minimal hours from home.
61. Re:Pathetic by moxley · 2011-01-26 10:21 · Score: 1
  
  There's more to a job than salary.
  I am Director of Information Technology for a small biotech start up; I have had the job for 7 years. I get paid approximately half what most people in this position make and have only had a raise once - but I live above the office and have no commute - they buy me lunch every day, and I can come and go as I please, with no asshole boss watching my back and can pick my days off.
  So - most people in this position with my experience are making $130k - $180k annually.
  Could I get one of those jobs? Probably, but then I'd have to commute and would have to put up with all that corporate shit.
62. Re:Pathetic by Obfuscant · 2011-01-26 10:47 · Score: 0
  
  Please someone tell me how to turn off the new layout. Having all the articles on the same grey background with no clear demark is minor annoyance compared to the fixed navigation floating on the left upper corner that covers up the articles...
63. Re:Pathetic by antdude · 2011-01-26 10:50 · Score: 1
  
  Ditto. I started a first salary job with fringe benefits with 30K per year during dotcom days. That was with a CS major. :)
  
  --
  Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
64. Re:Pathetic by spxero · 2011-01-26 10:55 · Score: 1
  
  In most cities, one could make $37k without any education or degree simply by waiting tables full-time.
  It depends on your city and state. In Texas minimum wage is ~$7.25, but minimum wage for wait staff is $2.13. Tips are considered part of your compensation, so if you report honestly to the restaurant and government, you get hosed. To pull $37.5k working 40 hours/week as a waiter in Texas would require $33k in tips. The same job in California is minimum wage regardless, and would require only $20k in tips. Source: http://www.paywizard.org/main/Minimumwageandovertime/MinimumWageTIPRecevers
65. Re:Pathetic by maxume · 2011-01-26 11:18 · Score: 1
  
  4 decent tables all the time for 8 hours?
  And the waiter/waitress usually doesn't keep all the tips, they tip out the rest of the people in the restaurant (the busboys, the kitchen, the bar, etc...).
  
  --
  Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
66. Re:Pathetic by suutar · 2011-01-26 11:21 · Score: 1
  
  I'd think 2, maybe 2.5 (kids meals are cheaper) is a more likely number of people at a table, and I hear more people undertip than overtip, so 10% is probably a better average. I don't know about how many tables one person serves at a time, but that's probably a reasonable figure given that lunch and dinner will be busier than the period between. Still, that's 46758/year, plus whatever fraction of minimum wage they get as their hourly pay... but not nearly as much fun as playing with Lego brand bricks :)
67. Re:Pathetic by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-26 11:25 · Score: 0
  
  You know what? Fuck you.
  1) 3000 bucks a month isn't so bad, even if you still have to pay taxes with that. Lots of people make less than this and get by.
  2) He's only 24. His salary will only go up as time goes by, either in this job or in another one.
  3) Nobody forced him to take this job. Did you miss the part where he, y'know, applied for it? I'm pretty sure he was aware of the conditions and went for it anyway, because he wanted to.
  4) It's not always just about money. He gets to play with fucking LEGO for a living, how cool is that? Maybe you'd rather have a job you hate that pays well than one that you love that doesn't pay quite as well. Nothing wrong with that, but if he's different, accept that. If you can't, again, fuck you.
  Seriously, man.
68. Re:Pathetic by Belial6 · 2011-01-26 12:11 · Score: 1
  
  If most people are tipping you 10%, you are doing a monumentally bad job. $37K is probably about right though for a generic family style restaurant for an average quality waiter. As you say, the restaurant will have busy and slow times. It should also be noted that wait staff don't pay taxes like the rest of us. They pay taxes on the premise that they were tipped an average of 8%. This means that an average waiter is only claiming about 50% of their income.
69. Re:Pathetic by dudpixel · 2011-01-26 14:44 · Score: 2
  
  hmmm, lets just say you're probably not the employee they were after.
  to call something "boring" is pretty subjective. To call lego "boring" just means you have no imagination.
  
  --
  This seemed like a reasonable sig at the time.
70. Re:Pathetic by Lord+Ender · 2011-01-26 14:49 · Score: 1
  
  All the time? No. I said "on average." There is a difference. They may have 12 tables at lunch/dinner and 2 tables in between.
  
  --
  A slashdotter who didn't build his own computer is like a Jedi who didn't build his own lightsaber.
71. Re:Pathetic by Obfuscant · 2011-01-26 14:55 · Score: 1
  
  I think a Lego Czar should live in the middle of Legoland in a castle made of Lego bricks....
  (That line is a quote but the italic tag no longer seems to italic it...)
  And he should bathe in a Lego bathtub, and sleep in a Lego bed, and eat from utensils made entirely of Lego bricks, so that he can legitimately tell the cook for his breakfast in the morning "Eggo my Lego...".
  And he should marry a young woman made entirely of plastic bricks so he can have the "Lord of the Rings" fantasy life of living with a "Lego lass".
  Unfortunately, he will probably suffer from a sudden illness that has a mysterious source but somehow attributed to poorly maintained air conditioners: "Lego-naires disease".
  Thanks ladies and germs, I'll be here all week.
72. Re:Pathetic by Grishnakh · 2011-01-26 15:53 · Score: 1
  
  No, what's even more worrying is that our stupid government and industries are still telling kids they need to go into engineering and science, when this is what awaits them: no jobs in their field, crushing student loans expenses (which cannot be avoided by bankruptcy), and having to settle for low-paying jobs that don't help them with their career that they've trained for.
  It wouldn't be so bad if the President, in his State of the Union address, instead of saying more people need to learn science and engineering, would tell them the truth, to stay away from these fields because there's no jobs. Then, anyone who goes into them anyway can consider themselves duly warned that it's a long shot.
  And yes, our ship has sailed. This country is swirling the drain.
73. Re:Pathetic by cduffy · 2011-01-26 16:15 · Score: 1
  
  Still, it is going to take him forever to pay off his likely expensive tuition on that salary. However it would make a great 2nd job to have on the side.
  Depends -- do we know which school he went to? It's still possible to pay your own way... or was a decade ago, anyhow.
74. Re:Pathetic by syousef · 2011-01-26 17:47 · Score: 1
  
  It wasn't too long ago that I was hired for my first real job out of college for $37,500/yr with benefits. The video game studio position was lower salaried than other jobs I could have had. (I even turned down one.) I didn't make the wrong choice, despite holding multiple college level degrees. I had a blast, I learned skills I didn't expect, and I'm better for it. The only things pathetic in this story are reactions like yours revealing how money is the only thing to chase in so many peoples' eyes.
  You'll change your tune if you get sick, or if you have a family and your wife or children are sick. You'll find no one cares how much fun you're having at work.
  
  --
  These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer
75. Re:Pathetic by evilviper · 2011-01-26 19:21 · Score: 1
  
  To be fair,there could well be two people in the same city, with identical salaries and home situations, with a similarly disparate result.
  Some people are good with money while others aren't. If you spend much of your money on transient or disposable items, you simply end up with nothing to show for it. Pretty soon all those diners, movies, new tvs, etc., add up.
  
  --
  Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
76. Re:Pathetic by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-26 20:36 · Score: 0
  
  I don't get why you americans keep complaining about the economy everyday, really. I just heard in the news here in my corner of the world, yesterday, that the american economy was recovering much quicker than antecipated, and thus for 2010 it grew 3%, contrary to 2.3% that the IMF and even the american govt had anticipated. Seriously, 3% are EXCELLENT results in and of itself, and if compared to pretty much all of Europe, they are INTERGALATICALLY good.
  So, I really don't get it why you guys keep on harping that "the economy blows". It doesn't, from my observations it is pretty healthy at the moment. Perhaps you should stop listening to the pessimist-oh-my-god-the-sky-is-falling american media and look for other, more reliable, sources of information.
77. Re:Pathetic by mcvos · 2011-01-26 21:28 · Score: 1
  
  I'd quit my (better payed) job not thinking twice if I get offered that position.
  I wouldn't, but only because I've got a mortgage and a kid.
  And I don't want to move to the US, of course.
78. Re:Pathetic by mcvos · 2011-01-26 21:42 · Score: 1
  
  This is a problem in more western countries. Everybody keeps complaining we need more science, tech, innovation and education, companies complain about the level of education of recent grads, yet nobody actually wants to invest in it. Companies don't want to pay decent salaries, politics don't want to invest in education and innovation, and students who chose science or technology end up either unemployed, or making less money than if they'd chosen something management-oriented.
  If you care about science and tech, put your money where your mouth is.
79. Re:Pathetic by mcvos · 2011-01-26 21:45 · Score: 1
  
  Seriously, 3% are EXCELLENT results in and of itself, and if compared to pretty much all of Europe, they are INTERGALATICALLY good.
  That's just a number, and what it means depends entirely on what your role in that economy is. It's nice if investors are making a profit, but if you're unemployed, that doesn't help you a bit. I live in Netherland, and while our economy is probably not growing all that fast at the moment, it's easy for programmers to find a job. Not one that pays as well as a job in Silicon Valley, but it pays well enough (unless you want to be able to pay a mortgage for a house in Amsterdam on a single income; that just doesn't work).
80. Re:Pathetic by lostmongoose · 2011-01-26 21:46 · Score: 1
  
  "Grew" You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means. Recovery != Growth. Growth is what comes *after* you've gotten back to where you were. Another thing. Everyone keeps citing growth this growth that, but the unemployment numbers haven't changed. Where's the growth? Where's the recovery? Here's a little fact about about unemployment numbers that people tend to ignore: They don't count people who have given up on finding a job completely, and they don't count people who have had their benefits run out but are still looking. There's also no serious mention in the media or by officials of under-employed people working minimum wage service industry jobs because they *need* a job *now* and can't find one elsewhere. These people sure aren't seeing that 'growth' or 'recovery' that every politician seems so happy to yammer on and on about.
81. Re:Pathetic by mcvos · 2011-01-26 21:52 · Score: 1
  
  According to Wikipedia, median income is around 76k.
  
  Median, not average? That's pretty high, then. Median income is often about half of the average income (because the top 1% make so much). A median of 76k is staggering.
82. Re:Pathetic by mcvos · 2011-01-26 21:55 · Score: 1
  
  Of course back then, $30k was still worth something.
83. Re:Pathetic by coolmadsi · 2011-01-27 03:00 · Score: 1
  
  I like your ideas, and would like to subscribe to your newsletter.
  I subscribe to the newsletter, it doesn't come out very often. Something about "writer's block" apparently.
84. Re:Pathetic by tehcyder · 2011-01-27 04:52 · Score: 1
  
  Agreed, here in Maine ~$40K would probably get you ostracized as "that rich guy" by most of your neighbors.
  Or alternatively, $40K would get you ear-marked as "that rich guy" by all the hot but poor girls. Just saying.
  
  --
  To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
85. Re:Pathetic by tehcyder · 2011-01-27 04:55 · Score: 1
  
  There's nothing magical about getting an engineering (or any other) degree, it doesn't guarantee you a job, never mind a well-paying one.
  And if you simply let the market decide, everyone will go into finance and in a few more years time no-one in the (current) Industrialized Western world will actually be making anything at all.
  
  --
  To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
For the children by Venzor · 2011-01-26 08:23 · Score: 1

I have to imagine that a large part of his success in the event was due to his appeal to the spectating children, which is a huge part of what Legos is. FTFA:

He gave credit to the children spectators at the event, who offered suggestions on what pieces to add to make the designs more interesting.
Also, to those who scoff at the salary: If he's doing something he enjoys, and can afford to live on that, then so what?

--
If someone is wrong, don't insult; Educate.
1. Re:For the children by Venzor · 2011-01-26 08:24 · Score: 1
  
  Heh, apparently that's what I get for reading only the first half of the article. Quoted later on:
  
  Iain Scouller, general manager of the Grapevine Legoland Discovery Center, said Walsh's skill with the Lego blocks impressed him and the other judges, but it was his positive interaction with the children who came to see the competition that gave him the winning edge. "The master builder has to be able to interact with the children in a friendly and approachable manner," Scouller said.
  
  --
  If someone is wrong, don't insult; Educate.
2. Re:For the children by CraftyJack · 2011-01-26 08:47 · Score: 1
  
  Yep. I think Cal Walsh just started a career in STEM outreach. Probably not a bad time for it, either.
Where are the lasers and guns? by chemicaldave · 2011-01-26 08:31 · Score: 2

That doesn't look like a fort at all!
1. Re:Where are the lasers and guns? by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-26 10:17 · Score: 0
  
  I want frikkin' lasers, and sharks, for one million dollars! (US, not Zimbabwe)
Yay! by MightyMartian · 2011-01-26 08:37 · Score: 2

And I've just been named Emperor of the Wazoo! Bring on the weird, pointless titles! King of Underarm Deodorants... Duke of Aged Cheeses... Chief Technical Adviser to Nails and Screws!

--
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
1. Re:Yay! by BJ_Covert_Action · 2011-01-26 08:47 · Score: 1
  
  Chief Technical Adviser to Nails and Screws!
  Well, to be fair, that one would actually be a pretty honorable position to hold, as well as being one with much responsibility. Think about it, nails and screws, quite literally, hold up our entire civilization. We wouldn't be anywhere if it weren't for those two simple machines. Being a chief adviser regarding all things involving nails and screws would, indeed, be one hell of a job.
  
  --
  Motorcycles, Robots, Space Gossip and More!
2. Re:Yay! by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-26 09:54 · Score: 0
  
  Commander of the Taco?
3. Re:Yay! by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-26 10:29 · Score: 0
  
  Lord of the Fries
  Parish of Paradigms
  Tasty Potato Sovereign
  of the Abstract
  Lead Temp
  Mr. Anonymous Coward
4. Re:Yay! by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-26 18:55 · Score: 0
  
  Chief Technical Adviser to Nails and Screws!
  Do you work for Apple?
AolNews? by oldmac31310 · 2011-01-26 08:38 · Score: 1

What? There is actually such a thing? Never heard of it!

--
http://www.acetonestudio.com
Lego Czar? by Burning1 · 2011-01-26 08:49 · Score: 1

Another Czar?
Huh... I must have missed this announcement in the State of the Union address...
1. Re:Lego Czar? by Ancantus · 2011-01-26 09:29 · Score: 1
  
  And then came the Lego food riots, the Lego Revolution, the Lego Five Year Plans, the Great Lego Patriotic War... From Lego With Love... the fall of the Lego Wall... the rise of the Legoligarchs...
  You mean the rise of the Legemon.
  
  --
  Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent. -- Isaac Asimov
2. Re:Lego Czar? by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-26 12:57 · Score: 0
  
  you should read one of those history books, instead of just the cover...
3. Re:Lego Czar? by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-27 03:08 · Score: 0
  
  those would all be awesome games.
Aerospace Engineer Named Lego Czar by Dr.+Spork · 2011-01-26 08:53 · Score: 1

Yeah, I guess that's a pretty weird name for an aerospace engineer. It sounds more like a Star Wars bounty hunter name.
1. Re:Aerospace Engineer Named Lego Czar by msauve · 2011-01-26 09:23 · Score: 1
  
  It's a family name. His grandfather was named Lego my Eggo.
  
  --
  "National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
Ha! Take That China! by PolygamousRanchKid+ · 2011-01-26 08:55 · Score: 2

Your stealth fighter airplanes are no match for ours produced out of Lego by our aerospace engineering Lego Czar!

--
Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
don't be an idiot by Thud457 · 2011-01-26 08:59 · Score: 3, Funny

It's not all about the money for all of us, you know.
How else are we to measure how favored one is by God ?

--
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
1. Re:don't be an idiot by AuMatar · 2011-01-26 09:02 · Score: 2
  
  By how many of your enemies he smites, of course.
  
  --
  I still have more fans than freaks. WTF is wrong with you people?
2. Re:don't be an idiot by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-26 10:55 · Score: 0
  
  By the quantity of your offspring?
3. Re:don't be an idiot by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-26 12:04 · Score: 0
  
  It's not all about the money for all of us, you know.
  By the amount of gadgets you have when you die of course. Get with the program!
Lego Czar? by lennier · 2011-01-26 09:11 · Score: 3, Funny

And then came the Lego food riots, the Lego Revolution, the Lego Five Year Plans, the Great Lego Patriotic War... From Lego With Love... the fall of the Lego Wall... the rise of the Legoligarchs...

--
You are not a brain: http://books.google.com/books?id=2oV61CeDx-YC
Another contestant... by mriya3 · 2011-01-26 09:17 · Score: 1

... named Christopher started off by building a shoe that spelled his name... He then runned out of Lego pieces...
No. Stop. by Meditato · 2011-01-26 10:00 · Score: 2

Note to everybody: Please stop using the term "czar". This isn't Romanov-era Russia. I hate how people are using this word to be synonymous with "management".
1. Re:No. Stop. by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-26 10:20 · Score: 0
  
  You better tell all the media to rewrite their style guides. They are the major propagator of this usage.
2. Re:No. Stop. by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-26 13:20 · Score: 0
  
  You're right, we should be calling him something else, like the Lego Kaiser.
3. Re:No. Stop. by aclarke · 2011-01-26 22:56 · Score: 1
  
  While I wholeheartedly agree with you, I can only imagine that "Lego Czar" is supposed to be making fun of that.
  
  --
  
  www.clarke.ca
Company new motto by gmuslera · 2011-01-26 10:33 · Score: 1

Where no Lego has gone before.
1. Re:Company new motto by Sulphur · 2011-01-26 11:33 · Score: 1
  
  Where no Lego has gone before.
  Walsh applied his engineering skills to build a spaceship.
  Are we falling behind in Lego too.
Two ways to look at it. by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-26 11:12 · Score: 0

Since the $37.5K salary and his engineering major will inevitably cause debate, there are two points to consider here.
On one hand, it's a bit weird that an engineer studying at UT would be willing to take a job that, compared to other engineering jobs, pays quite low. Starting salary for most engineering positions is between $45-55K, with many making way more than that (myself included). However, this really isn't a big deal if he use loans to pay for his education like many of us did. It doesn't cost as much to live in Texas as it does in, say, NYC, so that's a salary that's plenty fine after that's considered. The trouble will be if he did...
On the other hand, though, you get to actually do cool things with Lego blocks as your job. Lots of folks wish for jobs half as creative and fun as that.
That picture... by masterwit · 2011-01-26 11:46 · Score: 1

...As many other have pointed out, the lego sculpture is quite lame.
But what I find hilarious are the children's faces staring at his creation: they look confused. I mean what the hell did he build? I am just pissed I cannot buy bulk lego bags of identical bricks for a reasonable price: hell I would still play with them as an adult!

--
We should start a new Slashdot and return control to the geeks. It actually wouldn't be that hard to get some users to
Lego Czar by Locke2005 · 2011-01-26 12:05 · Score: 1

How convenient; they can build the Potemkin Village for him to ride past out of Legos!

--
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
I am happy to read about Lego by Crouty · 2011-01-26 14:09 · Score: 2

Many people may think that Lego has nothing to do with IT or even technology in general. I think what happens when a child plays with Lego is the very core of what hacking means - being creative and constructive. Uh, and of course most of the things you can build with Lego can be portet to Minecraft ;-).

--
On se Internetz nobody noes your German.
Kudos by jshackney · 2011-01-26 14:16 · Score: 2

I say, "Congratulations!" to this man. He'll be making a little more money than your average Part 135 Lear Jet captain east of the Mississippi. Now is a particularly bad time to be looking for work and it'd be nice to do something fun and get paid for it.
1. Re:Kudos by earthsmurf · 2011-01-26 16:20 · Score: 1
  
  I agree. Not only will it be fun and he'll get paid, but also he's getting excellent media exposure and attention. Even if he only does this for a year, I'm sure there will be great job opportunities afterwards.
  
  --
  - Anything that can be put in a nutshell should remain there.
Bright Future by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-26 16:44 · Score: 0

Well, comforting to know (3 years into an Aerospace egr BS at UMich) that I the job market is so saturated my peers are turning to playing with Legos for a living.
Legos that fly? by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-26 19:58 · Score: 0

Perhaps Mr. Walsh will help create the 3rd ed. of Mindstorms--Legos that fly!
Mis-reading by johnw · 2011-01-27 02:06 · Score: 1

Am I the only one who read "Lego lover" as "legover"?
More important things than money (was Re:Pathetic) by WillAdams · 2011-01-27 02:56 · Score: 1

Given what Lego bricks cost --- if his working w/ them during the day reduces what would otherwise be a significant buying habit, he could easily make up that difference.
Moreover, your evaluation of the job merely on the basis of a single number says far more about your character (or lack thereof) than anything else. There's also the question of what the other benefits and perquisites are --- and of course, being able to work at a job which one loves and which helps to bring children educational toys which will broaden their horizons is priceless.
William

--
Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow.