I agree it's not a normal occurrence, but I was hired in exactly the way you say is impossible. I was an unknown to the company when they recruited me, But I was hired on the basis of a couple of phone interviews and work samples. Not only did I work from home, but everyone on my person team (and almost everyone else in the company) worked from home. There were several things that made it work though:
1) The company was small, and owned by a relatively young and forward-thinking individual who realized telework could be beneficial for everyone.
2) She only hired people with some significant experience under their belt, who didn't need constant hand-holding on what to do next. This also meant that everyone on the team was able to spot under-performers quickly.
3) The work we did (system safety and systems engineering) was largely focused on research, analysis, and reporting & documenting findings. We had to travel to certain key meetings to either gather information or present findings, but in between we mostly just needed time to dive in and work.
4) The team needs to check-in regularly enough to spot when someone is going off the rails with their work or simply slacking, but ultimately, you have to trust that people are working, and that they'll "out" themselves soon enough if they aren't.
5) Part of the interview and evaluation process focused on writing and communication skills--if you're going to be remote, you have to have exceptional written and phone communication skills.
I spent 4 years working remotely, and (mostly) loved it. I still work for the same company, but I'm now on a project that requires my presence at the customer's office. It took me close to a year to get used to working in a cubicle again, and I'm certain my productivity took a hit. I've also learned some of the challenges of managing people who work remotely, but I now know better than to assume that people aren't working just because I don't see them. If you're working under someone who's never teleworked, be prepared to train them a bit: make sure they know what you're doing, why, the progress you're making, and why it's important. Overachieving in your first year offsite will put you in a much better place later.
So my advice to the OP would be to seek out smaller companies who need and want your skills, spend time in the interview emphasizing your communication abilities and any prior experience you have with working independently, have a few reasons why teleworking can benefit your employer (not just you), and be willing to negotiate a bit to get the arrangement you think will be a win-win.
I can tell you that Washington Dulles (IAD) airport, installed the Rapiscan backscatter machines in their brand-new security checkpoint that opened last year. They're still using them as of 2 weeks ago, and I've not heard any indication that they're planning to change to the millimeter wave detectors. That's a *very* major US airport, with a lot of people being exposed every day. Albuquerque (ABQ), on the other hand, uses the millimeter wave detectors, and that's a relatively small airport, even if it is the main one for its region.
Hmmm, I don't know where you're listening, but in my neck of the woods, I can get 8 or 10 different HD stations over a pretty wide area. I drove from Albuquerque to Santa Fe, NM (about 50 miles) yesterday, and I don't think I lost my lock on the HD station I was listening to more than once.
The tuner you buy makes a big difference, as some tuners are much more sensitive than others, and can lock on to a weaker signal. They don't have to be insanely expensive, though--my car radio is quite reliable, and only cost about $150. It probably helps that all of the transmitters in Albuquerque are on top of a mountain that rises 4500 feet above the city. Still, I enjoy the HD channels, especially since our community radio station recently made the upgrade.
I think having vast amounts of basic information available is a good thing; God knows I use Google to find info on everything. But, I think TFA may be onto something.
Great thoughts, new innovations, and significant progress rarely arise in a vacuum. There is a certain amount of information, learning, and thought that provide a foundation for further development. A person needs to not only "know," but understand the things that have gone before; to marinade stew in ideas and information.
I think there is a danger in becoming so dependent on Google (or Wikipedia, or calculators) to do the difficult work of understanding for us that we'll have difficulty moving beyond our current corpus of knowledge. If the ability to pull up vast amounts in information becomes the goal of education, rather than learning and understanding the underlying concepts, then I fear we do risk becoming "more stupid" as a society.
The point, though, is not to demonize the tool. Instead, we need to make our educational process oriented more around teaching students how to learn and make connections between facts, not simply regurgitate data they found on wikipedia. Really, shouldn't this have been the goal before the internet, too?
Maybe that's a good idea. Right now, the security on Amtrak amounts to a pretty sign that reads:
"Please refrain from detonating explosives while the train is in motion."
OTOH, maybe that's one of the reasons I like taking the train...
Hey, I had Phoenix for the Atari 2600! A family friend had an arcade machine of Phoenix, so my parents bought me the Atari version later. I know what you mean about obscure, though--The family friend was the only otherperson I knew who'd even heard of the game, let alone played it. One of my greatest achievements was getting the highest score on the arcade box--it's not a feat I've ever duplicated since.
My first gaming memory, though, was playing "Pitfall" on a friend's Atari, when I was about 5 yrs old. I had a lot of trouble jumping from aligator to aligator, but the song that played when you jumped on the rope was pure joy, and even then, I dreamed about where you would end up if you took the tunnels instead of the surface beween screens...
By the same token, I wonder how many of the downloaded tracks are from out-of-print CDs? I'm strongly opposed to piracy, but I don't see the problem in sharing music that can't be obtained any other legal way. As soon as they re-release "Chagall Guevara" or the first the "Believer" albums, I'll pull them off of BitTorrent. Until then, share away!
I can't believe how many people seem to think this was a pointless waste of time. Sure, it's a very limited simulation, but it's a very good proof-of-concept study, and hopefully provided additional data on the psychological stresses that would be placed on a team of astronauts trying to establish an extraterrestrial base. By all means, they should incorporate more variables (true self-sufficiency, extended duration, etc) in future studies, but let's applaud an effort to study the human factors involved in space exploration.
I wish I got that information now, but the fact is, the radio stations in my area rarely deliver that kind of information. If you turn to the Talk-only station or NPR, you'll get some kind of local news, but it's severely limited. Only the non-profit stations maintain community calendars or PSAs, it seems. Once again, I blame media consolidation for the loss of local flavor--commercials and playlists are easy to program, and you don't have to maintain a news staff....
It's a shame, because I *want* to know what's going on in my city. Radio's not the way to learn it, though, unfortunately.
The article said that it could take 20 years to see this system in wide use. Won't the technology behind these anti-stinger systems be sadly obsolete by then? Either someone will have developed a better "stinger-equivalent" that isn't deterred by these lasers, or else they'll come up with an entirely new attack method. It seems like this is worse than close the barn door when the horse is gone--more like closing the barn door after the horse is dead and someone else has bought the farm!
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I agree it's not a normal occurrence, but I was hired in exactly the way you say is impossible. I was an unknown to the company when they recruited me, But I was hired on the basis of a couple of phone interviews and work samples. Not only did I work from home, but everyone on my person team (and almost everyone else in the company) worked from home. There were several things that made it work though:
1) The company was small, and owned by a relatively young and forward-thinking individual who realized telework could be beneficial for everyone.
2) She only hired people with some significant experience under their belt, who didn't need constant hand-holding on what to do next. This also meant that everyone on the team was able to spot under-performers quickly.
3) The work we did (system safety and systems engineering) was largely focused on research, analysis, and reporting & documenting findings. We had to travel to certain key meetings to either gather information or present findings, but in between we mostly just needed time to dive in and work.
4) The team needs to check-in regularly enough to spot when someone is going off the rails with their work or simply slacking, but ultimately, you have to trust that people are working, and that they'll "out" themselves soon enough if they aren't.
5) Part of the interview and evaluation process focused on writing and communication skills--if you're going to be remote, you have to have exceptional written and phone communication skills.
I spent 4 years working remotely, and (mostly) loved it. I still work for the same company, but I'm now on a project that requires my presence at the customer's office. It took me close to a year to get used to working in a cubicle again, and I'm certain my productivity took a hit. I've also learned some of the challenges of managing people who work remotely, but I now know better than to assume that people aren't working just because I don't see them. If you're working under someone who's never teleworked, be prepared to train them a bit: make sure they know what you're doing, why, the progress you're making, and why it's important. Overachieving in your first year offsite will put you in a much better place later.
So my advice to the OP would be to seek out smaller companies who need and want your skills, spend time in the interview emphasizing your communication abilities and any prior experience you have with working independently, have a few reasons why teleworking can benefit your employer (not just you), and be willing to negotiate a bit to get the arrangement you think will be a win-win.
I can tell you that Washington Dulles (IAD) airport, installed the Rapiscan backscatter machines in their brand-new security checkpoint that opened last year. They're still using them as of 2 weeks ago, and I've not heard any indication that they're planning to change to the millimeter wave detectors. That's a *very* major US airport, with a lot of people being exposed every day. Albuquerque (ABQ), on the other hand, uses the millimeter wave detectors, and that's a relatively small airport, even if it is the main one for its region.
Hmmm, I don't know where you're listening, but in my neck of the woods, I can get 8 or 10 different HD stations over a pretty wide area. I drove from Albuquerque to Santa Fe, NM (about 50 miles) yesterday, and I don't think I lost my lock on the HD station I was listening to more than once. The tuner you buy makes a big difference, as some tuners are much more sensitive than others, and can lock on to a weaker signal. They don't have to be insanely expensive, though--my car radio is quite reliable, and only cost about $150. It probably helps that all of the transmitters in Albuquerque are on top of a mountain that rises 4500 feet above the city. Still, I enjoy the HD channels, especially since our community radio station recently made the upgrade.
I think having vast amounts of basic information available is a good thing; God knows I use Google to find info on everything. But, I think TFA may be onto something. Great thoughts, new innovations, and significant progress rarely arise in a vacuum. There is a certain amount of information, learning, and thought that provide a foundation for further development. A person needs to not only "know," but understand the things that have gone before; to marinade stew in ideas and information. I think there is a danger in becoming so dependent on Google (or Wikipedia, or calculators) to do the difficult work of understanding for us that we'll have difficulty moving beyond our current corpus of knowledge. If the ability to pull up vast amounts in information becomes the goal of education, rather than learning and understanding the underlying concepts, then I fear we do risk becoming "more stupid" as a society. The point, though, is not to demonize the tool. Instead, we need to make our educational process oriented more around teaching students how to learn and make connections between facts, not simply regurgitate data they found on wikipedia. Really, shouldn't this have been the goal before the internet, too?
Maybe that's a good idea. Right now, the security on Amtrak amounts to a pretty sign that reads: "Please refrain from detonating explosives while the train is in motion." OTOH, maybe that's one of the reasons I like taking the train...
Hey, I had Phoenix for the Atari 2600! A family friend had an arcade machine of Phoenix, so my parents bought me the Atari version later. I know what you mean about obscure, though--The family friend was the only otherperson I knew who'd even heard of the game, let alone played it. One of my greatest achievements was getting the highest score on the arcade box--it's not a feat I've ever duplicated since. My first gaming memory, though, was playing "Pitfall" on a friend's Atari, when I was about 5 yrs old. I had a lot of trouble jumping from aligator to aligator, but the song that played when you jumped on the rope was pure joy, and even then, I dreamed about where you would end up if you took the tunnels instead of the surface beween screens...
By the same token, I wonder how many of the downloaded tracks are from out-of-print CDs? I'm strongly opposed to piracy, but I don't see the problem in sharing music that can't be obtained any other legal way. As soon as they re-release "Chagall Guevara" or the first the "Believer" albums, I'll pull them off of BitTorrent. Until then, share away!
I can't believe how many people seem to think this was a pointless waste of time. Sure, it's a very limited simulation, but it's a very good proof-of-concept study, and hopefully provided additional data on the psychological stresses that would be placed on a team of astronauts trying to establish an extraterrestrial base. By all means, they should incorporate more variables (true self-sufficiency, extended duration, etc) in future studies, but let's applaud an effort to study the human factors involved in space exploration.
In other news, a new study shows Water is usually wet! Details at 10...
I wish I got that information now, but the fact is, the radio stations in my area rarely deliver that kind of information. If you turn to the Talk-only station or NPR, you'll get some kind of local news, but it's severely limited. Only the non-profit stations maintain community calendars or PSAs, it seems. Once again, I blame media consolidation for the loss of local flavor--commercials and playlists are easy to program, and you don't have to maintain a news staff.... It's a shame, because I *want* to know what's going on in my city. Radio's not the way to learn it, though, unfortunately.
The article said that it could take 20 years to see this system in wide use. Won't the technology behind these anti-stinger systems be sadly obsolete by then? Either someone will have developed a better "stinger-equivalent" that isn't deterred by these lasers, or else they'll come up with an entirely new attack method. It seems like this is worse than close the barn door when the horse is gone--more like closing the barn door after the horse is dead and someone else has bought the farm!