Ohiofarmgirl'sAdventuresinTheGoodLand-where ya been? whatcha been doin

[abifae]

Wow Britesea.

Guess I'm lucky with Amira. She thinks I'm her mama cat and tries to not actually let me get too mad at her. She's really good at acting adorable to get outta trouble. I cannot help but sympathize and approve.

 

[lorihadams]

y'all are funny....

 

[Farmfresh]

i'm sorry. i dont have any idea what you are talking about. cats? easy? clean up after?? HA!

*looks at only part of The Insane Cat Posse who have already destroyed the living room *

Vinegar water spray. Works wonders. Amira won't stand on the counter.

It doesn't always work. I have a friend with a cat that will scrunch up her face and flinch in anticipation of the God Bottle, but she will still do whatever it is that will get her sprayed... (shakes head in mild amazement)

We had a Rotten pony that used to scrunch up his face, work his ears, squint and flinch and THEN ... BITE YOU! He knew he was going to get all kinds of retribution, but to him it was worth it.

My GEEK son is one of those long term un-employed that you spoke of OFG. He has been trying to get a decent job for nearly 2 1/2 years. He is the other end of that un-employable spectrum young and NO degree. Even though he has several years of intense on the job IT experience and is a literal genius - he is competing against SO many people with SO many degrees. When you have people with MASTERS (or even better) in computer engineering trying to get the entry level positions it tends to push the young man out. It is so discouraging and depressing for him.

 

[AL]

We had a Rotten pony that used to scrunch up his face, work his ears, squint and flinch and THEN ... BITE YOU! He knew he was going to get all kinds of retribution, but to him it was worth it.

HAHA sounds like my little Buddy horse! Hopefully the trainer has fixed that little issue lol

 

[abifae]

My GEEK son is one of those long term un-employed that you spoke of OFG. He has been trying to get a decent job for nearly 2 1/2 years. He is the other end of that un-employable spectrum young and NO degree. Even though he has several years of intense on the job IT experience and is a literal genius - he is competing against SO many people with SO many degrees. When you have people with MASTERS (or even better) in computer engineering trying to get the entry level positions it tends to push the young man out. It is so discouraging and depressing for him.

Yep. I'm in that boat. It's why I got my CNA. I finally found a crappy job, but it's a job so woot! And I've held onto it for a while now. But there are no raises. No benefits. No promotions. You are just a phone jockey til they lay you off. Of course, no one is hiring CNAs right now. Even Craig's list is bare.

But I'll send out more apps once I get moved up north and see what I can find. The nice thing is... I COULD find a crappy CNA job right now. But it will be a cut in pay. So when I get laid off, I won't be out of a job cuz I can get one of those low paying ones pretty fast

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

My GEEK son is one of those long term un-employed that you spoke of OFG. He has been trying to get a decent job for nearly 2 1/2 years. He is the other end of that un-employable spectrum young and NO degree. Even though he has several years of intense on the job IT experience and is a literal genius - he is competing against SO many people with SO many degrees. When you have people with MASTERS (or even better) in computer engineering trying to get the entry level positions it tends to push the young man out. It is so discouraging and depressing for him. sad

ugh. thats the worst. as much as i'm sure he'll hate hearing this- tell me to go and get his degree. any degree (just about). sure he could probably teach the class.. but its really the only way to be taken seriously. unfortunately the fellow smartypantz arent doing the hiring - the lame-o HR people are.... so they look for all the boxes to check. unless he can start his own company or get in with a small start up with fellow nerds... its a tough battle.

i worked in the tech industry for 20 year and i know a lot of folks who were poached from school - offered a big wheelbarrow full of money and then several years later ended up in your son's position. unfortunately he can stand on principal all he'd like but the only way into any of the big companies is thru someone you know very well... or with a degree. and this is a hard pill to swallow for sure. i know folks who spent a lot of time trying to make it work and it just doesnt.
:-(

i know two different extra-smartypantzes who were each ONE class short of a formal degree and neither of them would just take the darn class. it ended very badly or one and the other is struggling and still cant figure out why it isnt working.

will that degree make him smarter? heck no. but it gives him a pass for the stupid hr people and the recruiters who probably dont even know what the acronyms mean for that job he could do in his sleep.

the good news is that the folks in silicon valley are DYING for people who do check off all the boxes. right now a lot of the hiring is people out of the country - and most of them cant get the work visas to come here. so that stupid degree will give him a pass to the front of the line.

if you want to know more pm me and we can take this offline.

 

[abifae]

I just cannot see myself going in to debt for a little piece of paper I'm not likely to actually get cuz I hate school so much. *laughs* I'm well aware I'll have crap jobs my entire life and never make much more than I am now

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

i hear ya, Abi....

but the tech industry is VERY different from most of the world. remember that they are selling ideas and you need to prove yourself like nerds do.... with degrees.

or solving MENSA problems for fun. or with star trek triva.

nerds dont torment each other by shoving each other into lockers and giving each other swirlies... they say things like "you're not smart enough to work here." there's no muscle flexing in the locker rooms....its hanging your degrees in your office and making sure you have a buncha letters on your name plate outside your door.

*shrugs*

its a crazy world for sure.

after being pushed around by the rest of the world - they can be pretty brutal on each other.

 

[Wifezilla]

It is sad that degrees mean more than skills. But like OFG said, the dummies in HR need to have a box to check off.

 

[abifae]

Right. I spent a LOT of time thinking about what I wanted and decided.... less stress. More happiness.

So I opted to stick with crap jobs that stress me terribly... and time for hobbies that I love.



I wouldn't have time for all the fun things I do if I had a real job and/or was trying to go to school!

Heh.

But it does mean a level of acceptance that this is "all I'll have". Luckily, I'm not social enough to wanna keep up with anyone. I have dance class, great food, great friends... It would be COMFORTABLE to have more money tucked away, but I get by!