careers

Geek Job Guru: Skill Spread

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What lets you do your job and carry out your career? Well you could say your position, connections, etc. But I’m talking actual productivity, and what lets you actually do things is skills.

When it comes to skills, that’s a huge part of our career. We measure them with tests. We get certifications to show we have them. We get rated on the job or by clients. We seek them out or develop them. In short, a big part of your career is the ability to do something.

So more skills is good for you because it’s good for your career. Ehancing skills is good for you because skills are good.  And so on.

Now we geeks in many ways are people with multiple careers. Sure we have what pays the bills, we also have our hobbies, and many of us have something in between. Your average highly active geek-type is probably doing two or three jobs at any time, and in many cases only one of them actually pays the bills.  Sadly for some that’s “barely” pays the bills, so enhancing what we can do is even more important.

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Elder Geeks Speak: Listening to Us Old People

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Last week I looked into how we Elder Geeks could discuss careers, provide advice, and otherwise help the younger geek crowd career-wise. There’s a challenging series of gaps there, so I wanted to give the advice necessary to bridge those gaps.

Of course the flip side is that, no matter what we do, the other half of the equation are the younger people looking to us for wisdom. Yes, that’s a terrifying thought, but that’s the kind of situation we’re in – guess what old geeks, we are the experts.

But for the younger geeks, I also wanted to provide some advice – how to get the maximum amount of information from us. So here’s my advice for talking – and listening – to us when we get up and blather at conventions and such.

(It may also give ideas about how to arrange events and such).

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Elder Geeks Speak: Talking Careers

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So I’m an Elder Geek. I’m 45. I saw Akira in the theaters (and was confused). I saw Star Wars first run. I remember the first “Cosmos” and have the book. You get the idea – or at least I hope you do.

I also speak on careers. I write on careers. I also encourage my fellow Elder Geeks who’ve been around the block a few times to do the same because let’s face it, we’ve got the experience and should share it. Also the economy is in tatters, so hey, let’s help people out here.

Except sometimes, it’s hard. It’s challenging to bridge the gaps between us and people ten, twenty, even thirty years younger. Things have changed, technology has changed, jobs has changed, and there is that whole smoking-ruin-of the economy thing I mentioned. It’s hard to explain how to survive in the economic wasteland when you’re coming from a different background.

So, as I look at my next round of convention talks, and as I encourage my fellows to talk about careers at cons, blogs, random gaming sessions, etc. I wanted to share what you can do to help talk to the younger geek crowd about careers. Trust me, it’s needed.

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