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"can do" is different from "will be hired to do"

edited 2011-09-14 21:26:42 in Meatspace
Creature - Florida Dragon Turtle Human
There are a lot of things I definitely can do.

Set me on an engineering project and I can learn everything that I need (or consult the right people among my contacts) to get the job done.  No one would hire me to do it, though.

So for this one position, they were like, "Did you use algorithms in that statistical research project you mentioned on your resume?".  Crap.  See, I totally understand algorithms.  I fully know how to think sequentially and mentally simulate how a computer program or script would work.  But all I can say is that I've had ample programming/scripting experience working with Matlab as part of my undergraduate work.  I can't say that I've directly worked with "algorithms" because I haven't officially done so, and I also can't say that I actually know any particular programming languages because I actually kinda don't, even if Matlab is similar to BASIC and I also know how to do stuff on a TI-89.

Some days I kick myself for why I didn't continue studying computer programming in high school instead of trying to reach for some sort of ill-formed "this is a meaningful objective for someone that does well in school like me"-based pursuit of classical sciences like biology and chemistry.

For another example: I've got ample experience organizing people.  Organizing my friends into D&D groups, organizing my dormmates for GoCrossCampus, organizing my friends into a Mystery Hunt team, shuttling information between groups of people online, consistent potential voter contact with multiple people, keeping various politically-apathetic acquaintances at least somewhat knowledgable about local politics, and stuff...yet unfortunately, I've had very little actual campaign experience and thus won't be asked to actually do anything useful other than walking door to door or spamming people on phones.  Also have had no sales experience so, none of that stuff either.  No formal journalism experience, so the most I can do is start up my own blog and hope people take notice.  No formal political/policy/business consulting/strategy experience either, apart from an internship, so I have very little basis on which I can say "give me a chance and let me help out for a bit"...at least, no one will pay me for it, and I need a paying job.

This sucks.

Comments

  • edited 2011-09-14 21:34:47

    Have you tried looking for an internship? Also, it's kind of weird you haven't had experience with MATLAB, since I got acquainted with it through my (mandatory) signal processing courses. Which specialization did you take?

  • Creature - Florida Dragon Turtle Human
    I just said I DO have experience with Matlab.

    I did chemical engineering.
  • edited 2011-09-14 21:57:06

    Oh. Pardon me then. Should have read everything more carefully.

    Though I have a suspicion that the way to handle the "algorithm" question involved weasel wording of some sort, but perhaps someone with more experience could confirm or deny that.

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