Capability

Ask A Progeek – The Job/Experience Issue

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And our question this week is one that a lot of people ask:

How do you make the jump between “mall/retail/survival job” and “real job,” considering the chicken-egg situation happening with jobs and experience?

This is a question everyone has asked for decades, and is probably going to keep asking for a long time to come.  How do you leap from your lousy job to a real job – and how you get the experience you need.

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Ask A Progeek: Salary requests?

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So man, we keep getting questions – I’d call this idea a success.  So what’s next?

“A lot of these application forms insist you give them a salary expectation.  I was always told not to get into specifics about money until the end of the interview.  I was also always told never to leave anything blank in the application (also, the computerized ones count it as a required field).  So, should I talk about salary during the application or not?  And if not, how do I get around it until it’s time?”

Frankly, unless it’s a low-level job that’s going to pay low/minimum, everyone talks salary.  The key is to know HOW.

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Lamar Smith Is Back To “Protect The Children”

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Lamar Smith, who gave us the disaster known as SOPA is now back with a supposed “protect the children/stop child porn bill” that really involves ISPs keeping your information and making it available without warrant. Now it’s only in the House, with no Senate version in sight.

TAKEAWAYS:

  • Lamar Smith apparently has decided to be the enemy of internet freedom and privacy in the House, so those of us working in IT who also like not being treated like criminals should keep an eye on him. Come to think of it when he leaves the House (I figure due to a scandal) we should ALSO keep an eye on him. Oh, and he’s a jerk.
  • Considering Smith introduced it, my guess is this bill could be a back-door to SOPA like shenanigans. If IPSs had to keep this information, it would be a lot easier to add SOPA-like abuses.
  • Technically a bill like this is a disaster as well, but note it’s not as much an “internet breaker” as SOPA. I’m suspecting this could be part of SOPA-returns-in-pieces.
  • The bill won’t come up until later this year, so it has a chance to die off – or be killed.
  • No, it’s apparent members of Congress don’t get the internet. *We* have to remind them.
  • I’m pretty sure Lamar Smith hates you.

– Steven Savage