[olug] Finally, geek for a living

[Eric Lusk]

The best you can hope for may be ha helpdesk job; I've
done a few of those, even as a tech. who started
building systems 9 years ago.
Even now, the job I'm about to start is a "startup"
type thing, the guy I'll be working for has
established himself as a consultant, so it will be me
and him ubergeeking to keep out current customer base
and draw in more.
But I like a challenge, and I must flatly refuse to
quit learning computer technology.  That, combined
with good customer service skills, should keep us
alive and hopefully growing.
That's the other part of the picture; customer
service.  Slashdot even posted an article a few weeks
ago entitled "Are You Annoying?".  A good read for
anyone in, or interested in, computer technology.
 
--- Cale Lewis <dlazlo at fbx.com> wrote:

> 
> On 1969-12-31 at 18:00:00 [-0600], you wrote:
> 
> > >From a hiring standpoint I'd be more likely to
> hire a fresh-face
> > know-nothing newbie right out of school who has
> been actively working with
> > computers recently than a guy with several years
> of experience which all
> 
> 
> So how would a poor schmuck like me go about trying
> to impress someone enough 
> to even get an interview?
> 
> I've only been in 2 classes, both of which I quit
> after 3 weeks, BUT I was 
> going to early morning classes and working late
> evening shift, driving 50 
> miles a day for class, and the 'computer internals'
> class was taught by a 
> very nice lady who unfortunately used a Mac for
> several years and was rushed 
> through a crash course over the summer because they
> needed another body to 
> stand in front of a class and try and teach it with
> a textbook that was 2 
> months shy of 4 years old. If I'm smart enough to
> work with computers, I 
> should be smart enough to know when I'm wasting my
> money!
> 
> On the other hand, I started about 5 years ago with
> a hand-me-down 286, was 
> spured to study shortly after by a Compaq Presario
> 5200 series craputer 
> running Win98 First Edition, and now build,
> customize, and repair in my spare 
> time, do volunteer tech support for BeOS related
> issues, and am currently 
> running MacOS 7.x thru 9.x, NeXTstep, OS/2,
> Linux(x86, SPARC, Alpha, PPC), 
> FreeBSD(x86 & Alpha), Solaris9 SPARC, IRIX 5.2 thru
> 6.5.18, QNX, 
> AtheOS/Syllable, 5 variation of BeOS(x86 & PPC<
> booted on DreamCast once), 
> and 2 varients of BeIA. There's about a half dozen
> others I've tried for a 
> while just to push myself to learn more than the
> world of Windows. Oh yea, 
> I've got 98Lite on an IA I hacked around here
> somewhere.
> 
> The problem now is that without that piece of paper
> from a college or 
> university no one will even let you get your foot in
> the door. No other field 
> has ever 'locked up' so fast. It's great to see the
> cracks forming in the 
> Micro$oft wall and Opensource stepping forward into
> the public view, but I'm 
> still going to work 2 or 3 times as hard or do
> something to really stand out 
> and be noticed to get anywhere.
> 
> Cale Lewis 
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> 


=====
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