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gsilver
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16 Nov 2007, 1:32 pm

I'm going to be finished with my Masters in Computer Science in a little over a week.
I have a GPA of 3.59 in my graduate program.
In my undergraduate program, I had a 3.9 in my major program and a 3.72 overall.
In my undergraduate program, I double-majored with mathematics.
I have a broad base of skills
My boss, supervisor, and coworkers gave glowing evaluations of my performance (plus a raise and bonus) in a temporary information systems job (though it ends soon)
I'm applying at a lot of companies and making sure to write cover letters (I applied for 6 more jobs last weekend)


Most people I know that are graduating this semester already have multiple offers and are just trying to decide on the best one... why am I hardly getting any interviews?

I'm actively talking with two companies right now (one is scheduled for a site visit, the other needs me to do a test later today), and that's it.

I turned down an offer from a company that needed 60-70 hour weeks. I either haven't heard from or have been turned down by everyone else.

Am I being greedy?



Nan
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16 Nov 2007, 1:36 pm

gsilver wrote:
I'm going to be finished with my Masters in Computer Science in a little over a week.
I have a GPA of 3.59 in my graduate program.
In my undergraduate program, I had a 3.9 in my major program and a 3.72 overall.
In my undergraduate program, I double-majored with mathematics.
I have a broad base of skills
My boss, supervisor, and coworkers gave glowing evaluations of my performance (plus a raise and bonus) in a temporary information systems job (though it ends soon)
I'm applying at a lot of companies and making sure to write cover letters (I applied for 6 more jobs last weekend)


Most people I know that are graduating this semester already have [i]multiple[i] offers and are just trying to decide on the best one... why am I hardly getting any interviews?

I'm actively talking with two companies right now (one is scheduled for a site visit, the other needs me to do a test later today), and that's it.

I turned down an offer from a company that needed 60-70 hour weeks. I either haven't heard from or have been turned down by everyone else.

Am I being greedy?


I'm not in your field, but I would suggest trying to network with professionals in it (there are professional associations in every field, pretty much). I would also talk to the placement officer at your educational institution, and read everything you can possibly find on the job market in your area. When it doubt, "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush" - if it were me, I'd take any job that I could do well and that would serve to get me ahead, even if it had a lot more hours than I wanted to put in on a flat salary scale. I'd use it as a stepping stone, in a year or two, to something more in line with what I want.

Best of luck!



shaggydaddy
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16 Nov 2007, 1:46 pm

I am a senior developer for one of the biggest banks.

My first job out of college was crap, and I loved it. I did development for very little money and crazy hours. I made lots of friends and impressed a lot of people. 2 years later I put feelers out with all the people I impressed and someone had a friend who had a friend and got me a job for even worse hours but slightly better pay and a much more interesting project.

I worked there for 2 years impressing people and making contacts.

3 years ago I put feelers out with all these contacts I had impressed and landed a job for THREE TIMES my pay rate.

At this point in my career (7-8 years out of college) I have people calling/emailing me with offers at least 2 times a year, but none have been enough to convince me to leave the job I currently have and love.

Unfortunatly in Software development college does not count as "paying your dues", your current job may count, but I have to be honest when I interview people for my team "Degree" is a checkbox, real world experience is everything else.

I have plenty of advice for if you do get the interview, but as far as making it that far, you have to rely on resume and contacts.


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Space
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16 Nov 2007, 3:06 pm

Nan wrote:
gsilver wrote:
I'm going to be finished with my Masters in Computer Science in a little over a week.
I have a GPA of 3.59 in my graduate program.
In my undergraduate program, I had a 3.9 in my major program and a 3.72 overall.
In my undergraduate program, I double-majored with mathematics.
I have a broad base of skills
My boss, supervisor, and coworkers gave glowing evaluations of my performance (plus a raise and bonus) in a temporary information systems job (though it ends soon)
I'm applying at a lot of companies and making sure to write cover letters (I applied for 6 more jobs last weekend)


Most people I know that are graduating this semester already have [i]multiple[i] offers and are just trying to decide on the best one... why am I hardly getting any interviews?

I'm actively talking with two companies right now (one is scheduled for a site visit, the other needs me to do a test later today), and that's it.

I turned down an offer from a company that needed 60-70 hour weeks. I either haven't heard from or have been turned down by everyone else.

Am I being greedy?


I'm not in your field, but I would suggest trying to network with professionals in it (there are professional associations in every field, pretty much). I would also talk to the placement officer at your educational institution, and read everything you can possibly find on the job market in your area. When it doubt, "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush" - if it were me, I'd take any job that I could do well and that would serve to get me ahead, even if it had a lot more hours than I wanted to put in on a flat salary scale. I'd use it as a stepping stone, in a year or two, to something more in line with what I want.

Best of luck!

^^ good advice. I would do the same.



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17 Nov 2007, 7:47 am

Suggest a webcam conference.

Tell them you are also a good magician. Have a bunny in the hat, pull out the bunny.

Grab a water gun that looks real and tell them, give me a job or the cute little bunny gets it!

It would get really embarassing if they stared at you blankly with the unamused look on their face.

So then move onto plan B and say Well now that I have your attention....start talking about your qualifications.


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Pandora
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17 Nov 2007, 9:42 am

60-70 hours working a week is ludicrous! I don't blame people for not wanting a job with so many hours, particularly aspies who usually need more time than most to recharge after work.


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Nan
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17 Nov 2007, 12:48 pm

Pandora wrote:
60-70 hours working a week is ludicrous! I don't blame people for not wanting a job with so many hours, particularly aspies who usually need more time than most to recharge after work.


Yeah, but sometimes that's what you have to do, when you're first starting out.



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18 Nov 2007, 1:26 am

I don't think so. I'd also worry how long it would go on. It's always better to get a job where you are paid per hour rather than being on a fixed salary where you have to do a lot of unpaid overtime. If you're being expected to work more than 40 hours a week, most times it is because the firm isn't employing enough staff to do the work. If they are skimping on staff, what else would they be not spending enough money on?

I'd consider if I sacrificed 3 or 4 years when I could have been working, to go to university: I would not expect to have to risk burnout in a first job. Most people will never get off that treadmill and then they will start having troubles with high blood pressure and other stress-related conditions by their 30's.

The only exception I would make is if a person goes into a field they absolutely love - working longer hours would not then be such a burden.

Mind you, this is the opinion of somebody who strongly believes in unions and in the US, it seems as if work conditions lag far behind those in Australia.


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caramateo
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19 Nov 2007, 3:05 am

get a job coach



gsilver
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25 Nov 2007, 1:52 pm

I've decided that I'm going to use the next month to save up to move, on my own, to Washington state, the area where I would most like to live in at this point. It'll be without relocation assistance, so I'll probably just leave most of my stuff in the storage unit, then retrieve it when I've found a real job and saved up enough to get it up there.

The generalized (non-location limited) job search will continue, but if I haven't found a job by January 1, I'll move up there. Money may be a little tight, but it shouldn't be very hard to find work on the Geek Squad at Best Buy or something until I can find a job that actually uses my skills.

I'll be defending my thesis tomorrow, and the California Silicon Valley site-visit is on Wednesday. Hope all goes well.



Brooks
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02 Dec 2007, 1:44 am

Pandora wrote:
I don't think so. I'd also worry how long it would go on. It's always better to get a job where you are paid per hour rather than being on a fixed salary where you have to do a lot of unpaid overtime. If you're being expected to work more than 40 hours a week, most times it is because the firm isn't employing enough staff to do the work. If they are skimping on staff, what else would they be not spending enough money on?


There are special laws for Computer Workers in the US that allow them to place you into an exempt from overtime category. The better organizations do not expect you to work 60+ every week, but do expect it around deadline time or during emergencies. Unfortunately without experience and/or contacts it can be hard to get on with the better ones. More and more companies today here in the US are allowing flex time for their exempt employees. Flex time works like this: Lets say last week you worked 55 hours during a crisis. This week you might take off early several days during the week. Maybe only work half days.


gsilver, do you have or can get a security clearance? I know that in Huntsville, Alabama for instance, that they are always looking for advanced computer degreed people with clearance to work for Defense Contractors. I am sure out on the West Coast that the same applies.


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