This is maybe the only place in my life where some people are as left or lefter than me, so I'm curious on perspectives. I've been studying on my own with plans to pursue a competency-based degree online -- if I prove to myself that I care enough to stick with it.

Given that by now I've become acquainted enough with two jobs to become jaded, I'm wondering how CS is (initial puzzle-solving thrill versus six years later). The tech industry can be rife with chud shit, and I doubt someone with little experience could jump straight into freelancing or working in a more solo capacity. But it's an industry I'm wholly unfamiliar with.

My career experience (ignore these two walls of text if you don't want any exposition):

Journalism: Don't regret it, but solely because it taught me the valuable lesson that I won't always know what I'll actually want in life. Started as a super-lib and left a washed-out sucker. The average reporters I met were nauseatingly status-quo -- either true-and-through bootlickers or too naive to realize themselves as free PR agents for people in power. There's something about years of condensing complicated situations to a few grafs for laymen which rots your brain into an endless chasm of cheap metaphors, impotent virtue-signaling rage, and other cliche nonsense. Met a few good ones who felt trapped like I did, but my experiences with the industry and the average journalist I met were eyerolling. I've worked manual labor jobs where older men literally screamed insults at me, and they never treated me worse (in the ways that truly mattered) than journalists did. When you have no true allies, you don't feel good, and you're not making the world any better, it's time to leave. Seriously, fuck journalism in the USA.

Education: There's a certain comfort with privatization among many teachers I meet that bothers me, but the bedrock idealism of "My actions and words impact how a child thinks" is at least something capitalism can't ruin completely. There's also a fellow commiseration to the extent that many teachers know it's a flawed institution, but we're mostly in it together. Unlike journalism you at least find less eager bootlicking. I've considered getting my Masters and progressing since currently I'm just ESL-certified, which isn't much, but I could still see myself teaching in some capacity as a lifelong career since I've had my fair share of bad days over three years and I'm still motivated enough.

  • the_river_cass [she/her]
    ·
    4 years ago

    I almost reflexively don't respond in these threads because they always make me feel like I don't live in real life. I'm super, super aware of how lucky I am in the broader context but I also work in a bubble where people aren't getting ground down and find their jobs meaningful and fulfilling.

    a lot of that comes down to luck, for sure, but... this industry is good (for now) compared to virtually anything else I could be doing. large systems are something I'm good at and get a real pleasure out of building, so I'm glad to be where I'm at and I'll ride this out until this society collapses or the capitalists manage to depress wages and worsen working conditions, or the rumors about ageism turn out to be true and I do in fact age out over the next decade.

    but right now... I'm working 100% remotely for a job that doesn't care how many hours I put in, have total control and autonomy over my area of expertise, get paid way too much relative to the societal value I'm creating, and - as I found out after I was already in my current position for a month - their core technology has serious praxis potential, and the same is true for my coworkers.

    that said, there are a lot of shit places that will give you none of those things - I've worked in many of them (this time last year, I was in the middle of a 9 month death march that went from 70 hours a week up to over 100 for the last 6 weeks).

    idk why I'm posting this... I guess just to say I'm grateful for what I have and wish deeply everyone else could have the same.

    so in that spirit, if anyone wants help with their resume:

    1. strip out all the identifying info - names, places, etc. replace company names with a rough description of what they do.
    2. include a description of what you want to be doing, in an ideal world.

    I'm also happy to do practice interviews and the like. I've done a lot of both resume reviewing and interviewing over the years and I'd love to put those skills to less soul-crushing ends. DM me if you need the help.

    oh, also, we should set up a references program - references are bullshit to begin with and they're so, so easy to fake. hard part is that you need some identifying info to do this well, but we could probably write up some stuff on how to do it so people can ask their friends.