Odd. I think I always had that thought somewhere in the back of my mind. I never rebelled much... until I got my first boyfriend, in college (who my mother hated). When I finally broke up with him, I had to realise that my parents had been right all along, and really DO know what they're talking about.
I'm just glad I only had to screw up once before I figured that out.
- You know how you like computers? Don't let anything else distract you from that; keep learning! - Convince your mom and dad to let you learn a martial art. You should know how to defend yourself, but also how to control your temper. - Don't ride down the hill so fast, you really will hurt yourself someday.
I bought an $80 walmart bike last summer, because I'm a poor student whose more expensive bike (my only form of transportation) had just gotten stolen! I had to drop another $50 and 4 hours into it before it was really rideable. Even then, $130 was really MORE than I could afford, but I needed something to get me around.
Yup, being called a lesbian in highschool certainly "made me stronger"... especially when I heard it so much I started to believe them.
NO! It has left me clinging to the few boyfriends I've had, because I think they're too good for me, and I deserve to be alone. Damn it, it's people like YOU who help make kids' lives miserable, by letting this abuse happen.
1. Not learning how to defend myself (see this post 2. Not skipping more often - I only did it once, and my mom caught me. 3. Not taking any programming classes. I didn't really discover how cool computers were until half-way through college. 4. Not taking more advanced classes - my school had tons. I should have taken more classes that actually challenged me.
I tried that; unfortunately, it doesn't work for everyone.
A guy in one of my shop classes made fun of me mercilessly. One day, I snapped, and started punching him as hard as I could. He stood there and laughed at me, because I was a weakling girl, and I was barely hurting him at all.
I figured out the only way not to be tormented (by him and others) was not to talk except about classwork.
Repeat the above scenario about once for every year in middle- and high-school. Just makes me glad to be in college now.
There are some exceptions. For example, DynDNS.org, which started as a non-profit/hobby service. It has slowly become a commercial entity over the past 2 years. But they're not going to give up their.org tld - it's been their URL for 5 years. Changing it now would just confuse the customers.
My advice is take a job in the IT field that won't stress you too much but will hire you. Any IT experience is better than none...
Thanks for the advice... but I'm already applying for helpdesk stuff, and even they want 5 years of experience. I don't know of anything in IT that's hiring inexperienced graduates(or soon-to-be graduates like myself).
I think I'm going to end up financing the remainder of my education while asking if "you want fries with that".
I know I'm not a great programmer (although I'm improving), and my desire is to have more contact with people; so I've been primarily applying for tech support / helpdesk jobs. I've got about 2 years of experience on an email-based helpdesk. But I'm just not getting anywhere with my applications. And resume critiques from professionals have brought nothing but good comments.
Maybe it's because I'm not confident in my skills... but I can't (and don't want to) fool myself into thinking that my skills are top-notch.
So your company is hiring, eh? Can you tell me which one it is?
I'm a college student, so not all your points apply equally to me, but this is my take:
I only apply for jobs I feel I'm qualified for, and for which I have many (if not all) of the skills they're looking for.
Any gaps in my work history are because I'm a college student. I've been able to get a job at school twice, and sometimes summer jobs. There's not exactly anything more I can do now to get more "professional experience", especially when I still need to pay my bills (ie. I can't afford unpaid work).
I do as best I can in the interview. It's hard to be confident because I have so little experience.
I don't think I'm a nerd. I'm certainly not perfect. I'm female, but there's nothing I can change about that to convince interviewers I can do the job.
You claim that thoughts you don't care who knows should be private?
to quote you (loosely):
Sorry, I don't buy it. If you wanted to do that, you could easily write in a public journal, on one of the various free journal websites, you could even put it on your own website. The fact that you chose to do so in an inaccessible private journal means that you want to hide it from people. Otherwise, you would write it in PUBLIC.
You must have 11 hours uninterrupted between consecutive working days... You may not work more than six consecutive days out of seven *or* tweleve consecutive days out of fourteen [employers choice]
Wow. I've seen part-time, minimum-wage jobs in the US that wouldn't fit one or both of these requirements...
Maybe I should look into moving to the UK, after all.
Each person needs to evaluate job offers they receive....
What job offers? Try job offer. Singular. And if it comes down to a crappy job or no job, I'm going to take the option where I can still eat and pay rent.
If employees believe that they are not being treated fairly then they should resign and move to another employer.
That's nice, if you've got somewhere else to move to. I've been searching for a job for months (I'm finishing school in May), and I've yet to have even a second interview with any company, much less a job offer. What more can I do?
The reason you hear "be glad you have a job" so often is not a surprise: many Slashdotters are OUT OF WORK, and have been for a while. It's also the reason why those currently employed are scared to speak up: they think they'll have a hard time finding a new job, too.
The tech sector has a glut of qualified people; it's the law of supply and demand. Bad news for me, as I'm about to graduate with a degree in CS.
I'm glad you're employed, and I'm glad you won't take any crap from your employers. But you can afford to feel that way. I bet if you did get fired, you'd be able to find another job pretty quickly.
Not everywhere. I had a bad experience with this, myself. When I was about to start college, my mom went with me to get a checking account. We went to a local branch of a national chain of banks (so I would be able to access it easily at school as well as at home).
Because I wasn't 18 yet, they wouldn't let me have a checking account. Period. Not even if my mother co-signed for it.
Now, I was about to go to college. When I'm 400 miles away, I have to pay some of my own expenses, like books and non-cafeteria food. I wasn't asking for a credit card, just a way to write checks and pay my bills.
I ended up getting a checking account (with a debit card, no less) from my parents' credit union. It was the only place I found where a minor could have a checking account - and I didn't even need a co-sign. Unfortunately, they're only in my hometown - but their level of service makes them worthwhile to me. And I still remember that none of those other banks would give me an account 4 years ago.
Though, even without taxes, why would a consumer pay $10 shipping for something he can get a 10-mile drive away?
You would if you're like me and don't have a car. It's usually a lot easier to find something online and have it shipped to your door than harass someone else to drive you to the store.
This has been tried before. However, the similarity only goes so far. Differences between playing games and using other software include:
1) Game players want to be entertained and challenged. Playful distractions are generally resented by application users, as they want to focus on completing their task.
2) Games generally have an amount of randomness, in order to challenge the player. Predictable behavior is preferred in non-game designs.
3) In games, players compete with the system or with other players; non-games should give the user a strong sense of being in charge.
c) and in a result of that, i now find myself with and degree in computer engineering, but no easy way to pursue a degree in art or any of these new art-computer degrees that have been around for the last few years. i have too much XP for a bachelors program, but not quite enough paper to back up my readiness for a masters. sometimes having that slip of paper is a hinderance.
What's stopping you from simply taking some courses in an art-computer program? Pursuing a degree isn't everything.
Yes, but completely paying your own way is not a great option, either. My boyfriend is paying for school himself. Once you're taking a lot of senior-level classes and still trying to work 20 hours a week, it can be hard to keep your motivation to stay in school, and to find the time to do well in your classes.
Personally, I'm in the parents-paying-for-college camp, and I appreciate it greatly. But as I've grown older, they've let me know that I have to shoulder some of the burden myself, and all of the burden once this year is over. So I'm scrambling to graduate this May, keep my work-study job, find a permanent job, and stay sane. I guess if it wasn't for my sanity requirement, I'd be able to do it all, too.
On the other hand... I wish my parents had saved up more for their retirement. My dad retired about a year ago, and now money has gotten very tight. (My mom's been out of work for years.) I feel like I have to get a good job as soon as possible so I can start supporting my parents in return for all they've done for me (I'm an only child).
I'm sorry, I'm a little confused here. Where does it say in the bill of rights, that you have a right to a high paying job?
Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness sound familiar to you? (I know, that's the Declaration of Independence, not the Bill of Rights, but the point stands.)
It's awfully hard to pursue that happiness when you can't get out of debt. I'm not saying that people have a right to a high-paying job - but they should have the right to live without fear of the lenders knocking down their door.
The only concession my school (as a whole) makes for grading is that we have no D or F grades. Instead, if you do worse than a C, you get the equivalent of an F, called instead a "NR" - no record. That's right, if you fail a course, it doesn't appear on your transcript. It's certainly saved me a few times, and it's encouraged me to take classes that were very challenging.
The best professors I've had, and the ones I respected most, were ones who did not curve their grades. They make their expectations very clear to the students and tell them exactly what kind of work will get an A, B, or C. Then they stick to these expectations all throughout the term - even if the class as a whole starts doing badly.
The kicker? Generally the distribution of grades ends up as a much more accurate Bell curve than that of my professors who "curve" their grades.
The advisor to my senior research project is also one who doesn't believe in curving. So, we have a well-balanced and solidly-grounded project... but we're probably going to end up with a B if we work hard - because the advisor saw the potential of this project, and we didn't live up to it.
Slashdot Mirror
Odd. I think I always had that thought somewhere in the back of my mind. I never rebelled much... until I got my first boyfriend, in college (who my mother hated). When I finally broke up with him, I had to realise that my parents had been right all along, and really DO know what they're talking about.
I'm just glad I only had to screw up once before I figured that out.
- You know how you like computers? Don't let anything else distract you from that; keep learning!
- Convince your mom and dad to let you learn a martial art. You should know how to defend yourself, but also how to control your temper.
- Don't ride down the hill so fast, you really will hurt yourself someday.
I bought an $80 walmart bike last summer, because I'm a poor student whose more expensive bike (my only form of transportation) had just gotten stolen! I had to drop another $50 and 4 hours into it before it was really rideable. Even then, $130 was really MORE than I could afford, but I needed something to get me around.
Yup, being called a lesbian in highschool certainly "made me stronger"... especially when I heard it so much I started to believe them.
NO! It has left me clinging to the few boyfriends I've had, because I think they're too good for me, and I deserve to be alone. Damn it, it's people like YOU who help make kids' lives miserable, by letting this abuse happen.
My regrets, pretty similar to yours:
1. Not learning how to defend myself (see this post
2. Not skipping more often - I only did it once, and my mom caught me.
3. Not taking any programming classes. I didn't really discover how cool computers were until half-way through college.
4. Not taking more advanced classes - my school had tons. I should have taken more classes that actually challenged me.
I tried that; unfortunately, it doesn't work for everyone.
A guy in one of my shop classes made fun of me mercilessly. One day, I snapped, and started punching him as hard as I could. He stood there and laughed at me, because I was a weakling girl, and I was barely hurting him at all.
I figured out the only way not to be tormented (by him and others) was not to talk except about classwork.
Repeat the above scenario about once for every year in middle- and high-school. Just makes me glad to be in college now.
There are some exceptions. For example, DynDNS.org, which started as a non-profit/hobby service. It has slowly become a commercial entity over the past 2 years. But they're not going to give up their .org tld - it's been their URL for 5 years. Changing it now would just confuse the customers.
My advice is take a job in the IT field that won't stress you too much but will hire you. Any IT experience is better than none...
Thanks for the advice... but I'm already applying for helpdesk stuff, and even they want 5 years of experience. I don't know of anything in IT that's hiring inexperienced graduates(or soon-to-be graduates like myself).
I think I'm going to end up financing the remainder of my education while asking if "you want fries with that".
I know I'm not a great programmer (although I'm improving), and my desire is to have more contact with people; so I've been primarily applying for tech support / helpdesk jobs. I've got about 2 years of experience on an email-based helpdesk. But I'm just not getting anywhere with my applications. And resume critiques from professionals have brought nothing but good comments.
Maybe it's because I'm not confident in my skills... but I can't (and don't want to) fool myself into thinking that my skills are top-notch.
So your company is hiring, eh? Can you tell me which one it is?
You claim that thoughts you don't care who knows should be private?
to quote you (loosely):
Sorry, I don't buy it. If you wanted to do that, you could easily write in a public journal, on one of the various free journal websites, you could even put it on your own website. The fact that you chose to do so in an inaccessible private journal means that you want to hide it from people. Otherwise, you would write it in PUBLIC.
You must have 11 hours uninterrupted between consecutive working days... You may not work more than six consecutive days out of seven *or* tweleve consecutive days out of fourteen [employers choice]
Wow. I've seen part-time, minimum-wage jobs in the US that wouldn't fit one or both of these requirements...
Maybe I should look into moving to the UK, after all.
You crack me up.
Each person needs to evaluate job offers they receive....
What job offers? Try job offer. Singular. And if it comes down to a crappy job or no job, I'm going to take the option where I can still eat and pay rent.
If employees believe that they are not being treated fairly then they should resign and move to another employer.
That's nice, if you've got somewhere else to move to. I've been searching for a job for months (I'm finishing school in May), and I've yet to have even a second interview with any company, much less a job offer. What more can I do?
The reason you hear "be glad you have a job" so often is not a surprise: many Slashdotters are OUT OF WORK, and have been for a while. It's also the reason why those currently employed are scared to speak up: they think they'll have a hard time finding a new job, too.
The tech sector has a glut of qualified people; it's the law of supply and demand. Bad news for me, as I'm about to graduate with a degree in CS.
I'm glad you're employed, and I'm glad you won't take any crap from your employers. But you can afford to feel that way. I bet if you did get fired, you'd be able to find another job pretty quickly.
You want an easier laundry day? Ask them to set the machines to accept $1 coins.
So then they could charge me $2 per wash instead of $1.25 or $1.50? I don't think so.
Before credit cards, credit problems didn't exist.
Ever hear of debtor's prison?
Come to think of it, maybe a similar idea should be (re)instituted for people with outstanding credit card debt...
People under 18 can have checking accounts.
Not everywhere. I had a bad experience with this, myself. When I was about to start college, my mom went with me to get a checking account. We went to a local branch of a national chain of banks (so I would be able to access it easily at school as well as at home).
Because I wasn't 18 yet, they wouldn't let me have a checking account. Period. Not even if my mother co-signed for it.
Now, I was about to go to college. When I'm 400 miles away, I have to pay some of my own expenses, like books and non-cafeteria food. I wasn't asking for a credit card, just a way to write checks and pay my bills.
I ended up getting a checking account (with a debit card, no less) from my parents' credit union. It was the only place I found where a minor could have a checking account - and I didn't even need a co-sign. Unfortunately, they're only in my hometown - but their level of service makes them worthwhile to me. And I still remember that none of those other banks would give me an account 4 years ago.
Try again. I'm a poor college student. I'd like a car, but I can't afford one.
Though, even without taxes, why would a consumer pay $10 shipping for something he can get a 10-mile drive away?
You would if you're like me and don't have a car. It's usually a lot easier to find something online and have it shipped to your door than harass someone else to drive you to the store.
This has been tried before. However, the similarity only goes so far. Differences between playing games and using other software include:
1) Game players want to be entertained and challenged. Playful distractions are generally resented by application users, as they want to focus on completing their task.
2) Games generally have an amount of randomness, in order to challenge the player. Predictable behavior is preferred in non-game designs.
3) In games, players compete with the system or with other players; non-games should give the user a strong sense of being in charge.
c) and in a result of that, i now find myself with and degree in computer engineering, but no easy way to pursue a degree in art or any of these new art-computer degrees that have been around for the last few years. i have too much XP for a bachelors program, but not quite enough paper to back up my readiness for a masters. sometimes having that slip of paper is a hinderance.
What's stopping you from simply taking some courses in an art-computer program? Pursuing a degree isn't everything.
Yes, but completely paying your own way is not a great option, either. My boyfriend is paying for school himself. Once you're taking a lot of senior-level classes and still trying to work 20 hours a week, it can be hard to keep your motivation to stay in school, and to find the time to do well in your classes.
Personally, I'm in the parents-paying-for-college camp, and I appreciate it greatly. But as I've grown older, they've let me know that I have to shoulder some of the burden myself, and all of the burden once this year is over. So I'm scrambling to graduate this May, keep my work-study job, find a permanent job, and stay sane. I guess if it wasn't for my sanity requirement, I'd be able to do it all, too.
On the other hand... I wish my parents had saved up more for their retirement. My dad retired about a year ago, and now money has gotten very tight. (My mom's been out of work for years.) I feel like I have to get a good job as soon as possible so I can start supporting my parents in return for all they've done for me (I'm an only child).
I'm sorry, I'm a little confused here. Where does it say in the bill of rights, that you have a right to a high paying job?
Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness sound familiar to you? (I know, that's the Declaration of Independence, not the Bill of Rights, but the point stands.)
It's awfully hard to pursue that happiness when you can't get out of debt. I'm not saying that people have a right to a high-paying job - but they should have the right to live without fear of the lenders knocking down their door.
The only concession my school (as a whole) makes for grading is that we have no D or F grades. Instead, if you do worse than a C, you get the equivalent of an F, called instead a "NR" - no record. That's right, if you fail a course, it doesn't appear on your transcript. It's certainly saved me a few times, and it's encouraged me to take classes that were very challenging.
The best professors I've had, and the ones I respected most, were ones who did not curve their grades. They make their expectations very clear to the students and tell them exactly what kind of work will get an A, B, or C. Then they stick to these expectations all throughout the term - even if the class as a whole starts doing badly.
The kicker? Generally the distribution of grades ends up as a much more accurate Bell curve than that of my professors who "curve" their grades.
The advisor to my senior research project is also one who doesn't believe in curving. So, we have a well-balanced and solidly-grounded project... but we're probably going to end up with a B if we work hard - because the advisor saw the potential of this project, and we didn't live up to it.