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Careerchat II


Inigima

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2 hours ago, Eyelesbarrow said:

Welllllll. After immigrating to another country (5 years ago!), getting my Master's, learning new skills (Python!), working for shit pay in order to learn said skills,  I have found myself in a proper job! It's in a consultancy that allows me to do some data analytics (and maybe more data science down the line). There is defo some future in it for me. The pay is pretty good and so are the benefits. It also allows me to stay in Berlin indefinitely, which is the most important thing. I only have a week in, but I am not spending so much energy worrying about the future, immigration, money, etc., which honestly, feels great.  

Congrats!  Glad everything is working out.  Good work on learning Python as well.  I tried once and learned I'm pretty shit at programming.  

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3 hours ago, S John said:

Congrats!  Glad everything is working out.  Good work on learning Python as well.  I tried once and learned I'm pretty shit at programming.  

Python is really pretty easy and accessible.  I'd recommend it to anyone as an easy and cheap gateway to learning how to code.  I've been teaching my son some basics over the past year, building on what he learned in Scratch at school.

But you have to remember that learning a programming language is not the same as learning how to program well.  You should also learn some theory of how to code: how to structure it, write efficient code, integrate it with other code, data architecture, object-oriented programming, algorithms, etc.

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15 hours ago, Iskaral Pust said:

But you have to remember that learning a programming language is not the same as learning how to program well.  You should also learn some theory of how to code: how to structure it, write efficient code, integrate it with other code, data architecture, object-oriented programming, algorithms, etc.

This is a very good advice.

When you have a solid foundation and cover the basics, programming is nowhere near as difficult as some people think it is.

Still, bear in mind that the best way to learn programming is to actually do it. You definitely need to learn object-oriented programming and algorithms, but there are some things you'll have to learn through experience. Sure, there are some guidelines and best practices you can read up on, but the fact is that in the beginning you are not likely to write a very efficient or well structured code.

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Thanks for the advice, yeah I am pretty much still a beginner and started only late last year. My scripts are still shite and while I can grasp the steps I need to do, writing the code is a different animal altogether.  Sometimes I think, will this ever get easier? But I know I have to just practice and practice. 

 

and @S John Vielen Dank! 

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I'm in IT, not really a developer in the traditional sense but I have some coding background and I use it to script and automate. I like Python a lot because the included libraries already cover tons of stuff that I'm used to having to reinvent the wheel on every time. Text parsing especially Python is really good at.

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  • 1 month later...

I'm actually trying to learn Python again and it's going a little better this time.  My first exposure to it, I took a class at the local community college last summer and while I really liked my Prof. as a human being, I had no fucking idea what he was saying most of the time.  In addition to it being an entirely new thing for me the guy had a really thick foreign accent and I just didn't absorb it the way I thought I was going to.  I somehow got an 'A' without really ever knowing what I was doing, perhaps out of the generosity of the prof. and my habit of actually showing up to class.

In any case my dissatisfaction with my current job has been growing.  There's been ups and downs as with any job, but lately the outlook is decidedly grim.  It's not necessarily that I don't like it, my day-to-day is fine, but I think I'm underpaid and I also think it's a bit of a dead end (for many reasons that I don't want to get into) so its time to start thinking about an exit strategy.  The problem I have is that I was in a pretty specific field to begin with and now that has been compounded by being in academia for the last 5 years and finding myself in this bizarrely specific niche where I don't feel like I have a lot of transferable skills, other than broad things like Microsoft office skills, computer literate, and speaks English.

When I look for jobs I quickly realize that there are not a lot of places where I can go, and furthermore, my fiance also has a career to consider (a better one than mine, at the moment) and there's nowhere else for me to go here locally while staying in my current field.  I need something with broad appeal and bonus if its a field where its common to work remotely - then I can go anywhere which is what I'd really like long-term so that I can go live on the side of a mountain somewhere.  So, it's time for a career change. 

What makes this challenging is that I have to do field work every few months for my current job and I don't usually know about it more than a month ahead of time which makes it difficult, if not impossible, to adhere to a traditional in-person class schedule.  I think I can get away with online classes, but I also don't really want to spend tens of thousands of dollars, especially considering I already have an MSc.  I just need to learn a few new tricks and re-direct.  I'm thinking about doing an online certificate course in data science / analytics.  Since I'm currently a researcher I'm hoping that there will be enough crossover that this makes sense as a pivot and there seems to be no shortage of jobs in this area.  I'm looking at two different programs, both are from reputable universities (U. Texas at Austin, and Duke) but neither are accredited.  Meaning I get a credential to put on my resume but if I decided I wanted to get a second MS in Statistics or something the courses or modules I've taken wouldn't be able to count towards that.  Since I don't want to spend the $ (or time for that matter) to get a 2nd Master's I'm not too worried about that, but it's worth mentioning. 

Anyway, I'm leaning toward doing the UT program in Data Analytics.  Partly because, even though its online,  it is local and I can actually go over there and talk to someone if I need to.  It promises some pretty lofty outcomes for being only about 5 months in length, including learning Python, R, SQL, machine learning, and quite a few more. 

It's a little on the pricey side and I guess my main concern is that it won't be enough to actually get me a different job in a different field.  I think it will be but I'm trying to be diligent about everything rather than just throwing shit at the wall and hoping it sticks.  Hence, I've been working on Python again via Codeacademy with plans to get into some of the other stuff on there when I get through that one.  Apparently some stuff must have soaked through from the formal class I took.  I feel like I at least can follow what's going on this time.  

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Random question: If you were a double major as an undergrad, and you completed the majors at different times, would it be correct to say that you have two degrees or that you have a degree and were a double major in fields x and y? 

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16 hours ago, chiKanery et al. said:

Random question: If you were a double major as an undergrad, and you completed the majors at different times, would it be correct to say that you have two degrees or that you have a degree and were a double major in fields x and y? 

The latter, most likely. Two degrees would be, for example, a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Science. If you finished two lines of coursework under either a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Science, even if you finished those in different years, under the same granting institution, then it's a single degree with a double major.

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On 7/14/2018 at 8:50 AM, Xray the Enforcer said:

The latter, most likely. Two degrees would be, for example, a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Science. If you finished two lines of coursework under either a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Science, even if you finished those in different years, under the same granting institution, then it's a single degree with a double major.

Yeah that's the case and I've been wondering if I've been wording it incorrectly in interviews and the like. The fact that I only have one physically degree probably means I shouldn't be saying I have two degrees.

On 7/15/2018 at 3:05 PM, Inigima said:

Is the answer not "however many diplomas they gave you"? I think Xray is more likely to know the answer than me, but I would have assumed it was two degrees.

I only have one diploma. That's what I get for not taking like two more classes and getting a BS in one field.

 

On 7/15/2018 at 5:01 PM, Deedles said:

I would have thought one degree with two majors. 

How many credits did you complete, and how many would be needed for a degree?

I completed 154 credits, which is roughly 30 than what I needed.

2 hours ago, Kalbear said:

Going to be fired soon, it looks like. Sigh. I hate looking for new jobs. 

That sucks dude. :grouphug:

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12 hours ago, Triskjavikson said:

Sorry, man, that fucking sucks.  There's only one thing worse than working and all that...

For what it's worth I'm still in that relatively comfortable (but perhaps too comfortable) spot where I'm feeling solid at my current place which pays the bills but am probably ready to go for a step up if I can get out of the comfort zone.  A totally OK problem to have, of course.  

I do have one question in the career advice category:

I've recently started to expand a certain skillset within my field in part because my office/team has decided to have the ace at this stuff bring me up to speed on it partly because I'd expressed an interest and partly because it would help the team overall if someone else could pitch in.  Thing is, developing this skill makes me more marketable.  Another arrow in the quiver, if you will.  I don't have any aims to leave tomorrow (see above), but if I can get out of the comfort zone mindset to what extent am I obligated to stick around a bit longer to payback the entity that's allowing me to develop this new skill versus to what extent is this an it's-all-about-me world?  Maybe it's just my personality, but I lean towards feeling like I need to give back to some extent.  Am I a fool?  

I wouldn't worry about it, unless maybe they are paying for it. 

I think of it this way: if it benefited my place of work to fire me, would they do it?  The answer, in pretty much every area I've worked in (private company, state government, academia, etc) is YES.  If they felt they needed to get rid of me for some reason, they would. 

Therefore, you should operate under the same set of rules in that you make the decision that best suits your needs, not theirs.  Unless you entered into some kind of agreement that you'd stay for x amount of time or something.  Basically, avoid burning bridges, but also... fuck 'em.  

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21 hours ago, SpaceForce Tywin et al. said:

Yeah that's the case and I've been wondering if I've been wording it incorrectly in interviews and the like. The fact that I only have one physically degree probably means I shouldn't be saying I have two degrees.

I only have one diploma. That's what I get for not taking like two more classes and getting a BS in one field.

 

I completed 154 credits, which is roughly 30 than what I needed.

 

Yep, you definitely only have one degree. And you definitely shouldn’t be saying you have 2 in cvs and job applications / interviews. If I were hiring, it would totally turn me off as it looks as if you are either lying or exaggerating, neither of which I would want to encourage in a team. Sorry. 

 

If if you are straight out of uni, you could highlight the diversity of courses but don’t say you have 2 degrees.

 

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15 hours ago, Triskjavikson said:

 

I've recently started to expand a certain skillset within my field in part because my office/team has decided to have the ace at this stuff bring me up to speed on it partly because I'd expressed an interest and partly because it would help the team overall if someone else could pitch in.  Thing is, developing this skill makes me more marketable.  Another arrow in the quiver, if you will.  I don't have any aims to leave tomorrow (see above), but if I can get out of the comfort zone mindset to what extent am I obligated to stick around a bit longer to payback the entity that's allowing me to develop this new skill versus to what extent is this an it's-all-about-me world?  Maybe it's just my personality, but I lean towards feeling like I need to give back to some extent.  Am I a fool?  

Feel no guilt. You aren’t a fool though perhaps, overly conscientious. 2 reasons, 1) you are providing value to your current company now, and 2) if the company are paying for it, they could put in a clause explicitly stating that they are paying for this on the basis that you have to stay for x months after completion. It’s fairly standard for professional qualifications.

 

If it’s transferrable skills from a project or group of projects, then you are totally in the clear, as any project should be able to provide skills you can leverage. 

 

Good of luck and I hope you enjoy the new route.

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19 hours ago, Triskjavikson said:

So Maybe it's just my personality, but I lean towards feeling like I need to give back to some extent.  Am I a fool?  

I’ve always had the same feeling and I think it’s honorable that you have that qualm but it shouldn’t stop you from testing the market. 

Whenever employees leave after gaining new skills, it reduces employer motivation to ever offer training to anyone else.  Which is a reason why US employers have reduced training spend in time and money.  But no individual is responsible for fixing the system with just their personal choice.  

Talented people grow their abilities throughout their career, and they are free to pursue their best fit opportunity. 

Perhaps you can pay it forward and later on train some other promising colleague, at this job or next, in some new skills. 

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15 hours ago, S John said:

I wouldn't worry about it, unless maybe they are paying for it. 

I think of it this way: if it benefited my place of work to fire me, would they do it?  The answer, in pretty much every area I've worked in (private company, state government, academia, etc) is YES.  If they felt they needed to get rid of me for some reason, they would. 

Therefore, you should operate under the same set of rules in that you make the decision that best suits your needs, not theirs.  Unless you entered into some kind of agreement that you'd stay for x amount of time or something.  Basically, avoid burning bridges, but also... fuck 'em.  

This about covers it. 99% of companies have zero loyalty to their employees so I wouldn't feel any  to them.

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