[Cialug] Volunteerism and stepping up a career

[Josh More]

I did not mean to focus specifically on grave sites... more to point out that if an employer is talking to two candidates with little experience and the question "what do you do in your spare time" arises, it could come down to three candidates:

1) I like to play video games and watch TV.
2) I run a Linux network at home, including a custom DVR server.
3) I built a website to track the graves of American soldiers since the Department of Defense was unable to do so and their families deserve to know where their loved ones lay.

Who do you think is going to get the job?

The point here is to find a way to practice your skills in public.  We could all criticize the technology behind the website.  I personally dislike the style chosen.  However, all of those criticisms are outweighed by the fact that this kid saw a problem and solved it, publicly.  He didn't over analyze or get stuck trying to decide what to do.  He did it.

If you want a job in technology and you're in the "need experience to get experience" trap, this right here is how you get out of it.


Josh More | Senior Security Consultant - CISSP, GIAC-GSLC Gold, GIAC-GCIH
Alliance Technologies | www.AllianceTechnologies.net
400 Locust St., Suite 840 | Des Moines, IA 50309
515.245.7701 | 888.387.5670 x7701

Blog: Don't just blame the bad guys, it's your fault too
http://www.alliancetechnologies.net/blogs/morej

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________________________________________
From: cialug-bounces at cialug.org [cialug-bounces at cialug.org] on behalf of Scott Prader [sprader at iastate.edu]
Sent: Thursday, April 28, 2011 19:33
To: Central Iowa Linux Users Group
Subject: Re: [Cialug] Volunteerism and stepping up a career

Getting anything converted from an old style to a digital style is
always full of challenges.  People might think "well anyone can pop a
VHS tape into a converter and make a DVD", but it's not always that
simple, there are plenty of things that can go wrong when using an
off-the-shelf system like that.  You need to have access to the tools
and software that allow you to make the proper modifications in the
meantime in order to produced a polished product.  After all, who
wants to press 'play' on a digital recording and watch the blurry snow
that might be at the beginning and/or end of some tapes?

But maybe it's not cemeteries that we should be focusing on, since
much of that seems to have been done already:
http://iowagravestones.org but they do accept photos, so perhaps there
are still some gaps to be filled and other pathways to be found.

-Scott

On Thu, Apr 28, 2011 at 9:58 AM, Josh More
<MoreJ at alliancetechnologies.net> wrote:
> Several times each year, the topic comes up within the group of "how do I
> get a career doing _____"?  We always give the same advice: work hard,
> study, volunteer your time if you can't find an entry level position.  What
> we've generally not done is give concrete examples of what that means.  So
> here is one that I just ran across:
>
> http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-arlington-graves-20110427,0,1623607.story?page=1
>
> I'm not interested in having a discussion about the politics surrounding the
> issue.  Instead, I want those of you who talk about wanting something better
> career-wise to look at what this kid did.  He found a problem, found a
> solution and devoted a significant portion of his life towards fixing it.
> He lucked out in getting the media coverage, but either way, he created a
> significant career point for himself out of nothing.
>
> This is what we mean when we say "find a project".
>
>
>
> Josh More | Senior Security Consultant - CISSP, GIAC-GSLC Gold, GIAC-GCIH
> Alliance Technologies | www.AllianceTechnologies.net
> 400 Locust St., Suite 840 | Des Moines, IA 50309
> 515.245.7701 | 888.387.5670 x7701
>
> Blog: Don't just blame the bad guys, it's your fault too
> http://www.alliancetechnologies.net/blogs/morej
>
> How are we doing? Let us know here:
> http://www.alliancetechnologies.net/forms/alliance-technologies-feedback-survey
>
> _______________________________________________
> Cialug mailing list
> Cialug at cialug.org
> http://cialug.org/mailman/listinfo/cialug
>
>



--
Scott Prader
Undergraduate Electrical Engineer
CARC, SSCL
sprader at iastate.edu
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