to everyone with a degree in computer science

[druid]

I am about to grad in december with a BS in computer science. I just read something in my local paper that was very depressing, it is about the current state of the job market and how tech people are having troble finding work. There was a guy mentioned in their that has 12 years expereniene(as a software engineer) and he has been unemployed for 11 months. I have zero years experience [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/frown.gif[/img] Is it really that bad? I am think of going for a MS computer science, is it worth it? Anyone one here working in south florida as a software enginner or systems programmer? (i am actually gonna get into systems programming -- bigger salary I hope)

[EXIT63]

You\'re graduating in December and you don\'t have a job lined up? Well, since it\'s Christmas time. I\'m sure UPS will be hiring. But seriously, You\'re probably going to have to relocate where the jobs are. You know, Seattle, Silicon Valley, Bombay, Calcutta, New Delhi, etc.

[belgareth]

The job market in Texas is bad for techies. Another 500 people laid off from one company last week. I get 3-10 applicants a week, some of whom have been unemployed for 12-18 months.

I am an EE myself and am only employed because I have my own business and it\'s slow.

Good luck to you.

[druid]

[img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/frown.gif[/img]

[krtel]

Hey,

Well, while I might not have a Computer Science degree, I do work for a Fortune 500 company in their IT department. However, my qualifications are: A+, Network+, MCP, CCNA, CCNP, and PIX firewalls.

I\'ll tell ya, with the above certifications I have, thats very attractive to an employers eyes. However, yes, for our industry, it is REALLY bad. Trust me, I\'ve went job hunting. This industry is very saturated and the odds of getting a job are very slim to none. My suggestion to you is that you ask the University to find you an Internship in your field. I go off to college in 6 months, and because of the current circumstances in the IT field, I\'m doing a double-major, Computer Science and Law, with a minor in Financial Analysis. I\'m gonna tell you this now though, and I\'m not trying to discourage you at all, but, to get a job in the field, a computer science degree isn\'t enough. You have to get yourself some IT certifications like the MCSE and A+. I know the struggle man, and right now, I suggest you don\'t waste your time struggling, but do keep an eye on monster.com for your area. If you wanna ask me anything, feel free to. And no I can\'t say what company I work for. [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img]

- Krish

[belgareth]

Krtel,

That\'s a great career choice you made, good thinking!

From a technical hiring manager\'s standpoint (I was one for ten years before deciding corporate life sucked) MCSE and Cisco are major. Database managers are big winners. Unless you are doing desktop or customer support A+ is not all that important. Solid experience with fiber optic equipment is becoming critical.

Belgareth

[**DONOTDELETE**]

And from the looks of the inventions crossing my desk, experience in fiber optics will become even more critical for the next few years. Patent attorneys with a background in fiber optics can pretty much go to any firm they choose -- they\'re the elite of the electrical groups.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

I started the MCSE program while I was in college. After a while I started looking at what sort of career opportunities I had. Fortunately the (lies) about an $80k starting salary became clear. I accidentally fell into a completely different industry, dropped out of college, and discovered where my passion lays. About a year later the tech-bubble burst and I thanked my lucky stars that I wasn\'t out searching for a job behind a computer screen. IMHO if you find something you love to do, and keep your eyes open for opportunity, finding work shouldn\'t be too difficult. If you\'re passionate about a job/industry it will come across naturally during the interview.

[Bruce]

Check out RscuRngr\'s home page. Living my dream... except I get so darned sea sick; funny about that dream.
Bruce

[**DONOTDELETE**]

I know!
Everytime I see one of his posts, I shake my head...the guy\'s cute and he\'s got a boat. Where is the down side? All the women around him asleep, or what?

[Bruce]

Well, he hasn\'t \"got a boat\", but he has a pretty exciting job.
Bruce

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Oops, you\'re right, I stand corrected.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

It\'s funny - I have invited so many people to try out this type of job. It\'s everyone\'s fantasy until they realize that it really is a job! The turn-over in this business is phenominal. Now don\'t get me wrong - I LOVE MY JOB [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] , but for the people who aren\'t passionate about being on the water 24/7 this becomes literally a hellish prison. (Especially for those who get seasick) For those who are curious about Yachting as an industry check out
http://www.dockwalk.com
We are really a community that spans the globe; I have friends from the farthest reaches of the seas. Somehow we always meet up somewhere or another (usually Ft. Lauderdale)...
I\'m always happy to tell people what it\'s really like, and even hook people up in the industry if they want to give it a shot.
Before I go - one little story.
I met this kid who knew tons of women, so I knew he was someone I needed to hang out with to get in with the local chicks. I told him to come on down to the boat sometime and I\'d show him around... he showed up a day or so later with the typical pre-conceived notion of a mega-yacht... I came to the door in overalls, covered from head to toe with grease and oil looking completely miserable. From then on he realized that I\'m not all about prancing around in my little white uniform, pulling women left and right. When he introduces me he tells people I\'m a mechanic. I think it\'s funny, because that\'s the biggest part of my job, but often the most overlooked by landlubbers. [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Yeah, but your job title is so romantic. When you\'re cleaned up nice [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] and a woman asks, What do you do? what\'s it like to say, Oh, I\'m the captain of a yacht.

I\'d fall in the floor.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

I have seen the DIHL look from just telling a woman what I do for a living. It\'s a great lead in for a long conversation... amazing how many people want to hear about pirates [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] (yes there are really pirates) and sharks, and bad weather....
But the fearless captain who brings his ship safely into port. Greeted by the glassy stare of a woman who\'s heart has just melted upon seeing him. She greets him with a long sensual kiss [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] hahahaha don\'t I wish [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/wink.gif[/img] when I retire I think I\'ll write romance novels to stay occupied.

[Bruce]

I worked on a couple of boats when I was young: a shrimp boat out of the Florida Keys and after that a dredge out of S. Louisiana (cleaning out the Mississippi River delta. The shrimper was hell. I was sick day in and day out. Sailors were telling me you get over it after a couple days, but I never did. My dad was an officer on a destroyer escort during WWII and he was sick every freakin\' day. The dredge was a piece of cake. I drove a sort of PT boat from the dredge back to the dock to pick up tools, people etc. Never got sick. You haven\'t lived until you have seen the engine on a large dredge. Un-freakin-believable! Big as a house. It ran a pump that sucked mud off the river bottom and propelled it through miles of 3-4 foot diameter pipe.

Thus ends my nautical experiences!
Bruce

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Hey RscuRngr,
I\'m a sailor by fun and competition, mostly J-24\'s a few years racing Farr 40\'s and doing J-105\'s at the Key West Race week this year.
THe only big (BIG) boats I\'ve spent any time on crew have been tallships. I can relate to the hellish prison on water comments....even if it was only 5 days on a 110 footer.
Where are you crewing now?
I can\'t get enough of being on the water personally. I turned down a job last year for obscene amounts of money because Frankfurt DM is kinda landlocked.

W.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

I have seen some big engines Bruce and you\'re right - you ain\'t seen nothing until your climbing on top of a 4000 HP diesel to pull an injection pump. I have some pics on my website of a pair of Deutz 12 cylinder diesels that turned 2150 Hp @ the shaft each.... they were some great engines, very nice to work on, and incredibly reliable - bless the Germans for their engineering.
ifrwizard - I sail for fun myself - mostly dinghys (420\'s, solings, and a few small yachts) By profession I captain an 84\' Burger (M/Y Lady Sea) I can\'t turn down the opportunity to be on the water, and the obscene amounts of money sure don\'t suck [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/wink.gif[/img] I\'m in NC at the moment, doing the Caribbean to E. Coast USA milk-run. I got burnt out on offshore passage after an 11 month trans-pac trip that took me from the Dominican Republic, down the W. coast of south america and then straight through to Australia, and eventually up through SE Asia. I was happy to get back stateside, and just do some coastwise cruising for a while. I love to travel, and being at sea is definately my true passion, but there is something to be said for mooring up to a marina for a while. Slap on some pheros and hit the bar.
BTW - I admire your love for competition - I used to love racing, but lost it when it got too serious and the fun was replaced by loud-mouthed skippers that screamed and hollered about a 1/10th of a second lost off the windward marker [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] Personally I try to keep my crew, and the owner as happy as possible as often as possible. No yelling, no blaming. If there\'s a problem we deal with it, learn from it, and move on.
Josh

[**DONOTDELETE**]

I\'ve got the best skipper on the 105 and F-40. At the windward mark everyone opens a beer. Makes us realize we\'re there just to enjoy it. BUt our crew is quite experienced so we still do well.
4000hp diesel must be huge. I\'ve seen turbine engines on some Navy cruisers and have to say I was very impressed with them, but it\'s not the same as the impression from something with cylinders.

Oh...bless the women who like guys who like boats. Saying your a sailor never ever hurts.

W.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Ya don\'t get too much bigger with diesels these days (at least on yachts). You either go to steam, diesel-electric, or gas turbines. I wish I knew more about turbines. They are so fascinating and I haven\'t a clue how they work. All I know is that the reduction gear box is about twice the size and weight of the turbine itself. I toured a few big boats (tankers, bulk carriers etc...) that is where you see some amazing feats of engineering.

[Bruce]

What was that movie a while back? Captain Ron? Something like that. Did you see that?
Bruce

[**DONOTDELETE**]

ROFLMAO - I love that movie!
Capt. Ron: \"We must be pretty close to Puerto Rico\"
Martin: \"oh yeah - why is that?\"
Capt. Ron: \"well we only had enough gas to get to puerto rico, and well, we\'re almost out of gas\"!!
I actually own the DVD - hahahaha
I love watching people try to dock their boat. It cracks me up. Don\'t get me wrong I\'m not taking pleasure in their misery. But you need lessons and a license to drive EVERYthing - except a boat. People just seem to get in way over their heads really quickly, then they realize they need someone to show them how to do it.