What is real life like?

[DAVE101]

Maybe you and Amp will be besties one day!

One can only dream.

[SoDeepPolaris]

Life can be summarized in one phrase.

Fuck bitches, get money.

[mawx]

Yeah, I agree with a good deal of what you guys have said. Some of it I I'm inclined to concur with outright, and some of it I'm more reluctant to accept, even though I get the sense that it's pretty accurate-- if a bit bleak-seeming to the yet uninitiated to real life.
I guess I'd like to hope that there are work (and coworker) possibilities out there which are more fulfilling than what's been described.
Merk, I found the specifics of your job quite interesting. But is it okay for you to be so candid about your former employer on a public forum? eh, I tend to be a bit paranoid about these kinds of things.

I was honestly surprised by how utterly inapplicable the shit I learned in college was to my job. Experience becomes invaluable and you'll realize that the dude with 5 years of experience under his belt is many times more dependable than the dude with a master's degree.

Anyone else want to comment on this? How applicable was your education? Do you think it could have been more applicable? If so, do you regret not focusing on learning more applicable skills/knowledge when you were in school?

The world is going to pass you by like a motherfucker.

Yeah, I've definitely gotten a sense of this since graduating high school, and I'm grateful for it. It's been said that life passes by more quickly as one gets older (partially (?)) because fewer of our experiences tend to be totally new ones. This strikes me as a profound thought.

If you ditch the deadbeats of your college town, move somewhere new, avoid your coworkers (where most of your time is spent), how does one have any friends? How do you meet new people? Especially when everyone but me is a deadbeat?

That's the question... Riot, I think your answer's pretty good.

This thread it tl;dr.

Reaping benefits from life and words requires investing one's attention, imo. But feel free to ignore me. XD

[mawx]

Oh yeah, here are a few metafilter threads which discuss related topics. I found them to be helpful.

http://ask.metafilter.com/169420/What-l ... g-an-adult
http://ask.metafilter.com/23747/What-do ... ou-were-18
http://ask.metafilter.com/27160/What-wo ... earold-you
http://ask.metafilter.com/23340/What-do ... ou-were-21

[Fluffyumpkins]

If you ditch the deadbeats of your college town, move somewhere new, avoid your coworkers (where most of your time is spent), how does one have any friends? How do you meet new people? Especially when everyone but me is a deadbeat?

It isn't too hard. Get out there and find groups that enjoy your hobbies. Indy, for example, does ultimate frisbee pickup games. Start with small circles and grow from there. I keep close with the majority of my college friends. There's only a few that sort of faded away into the mists of time. I want to hug Riot to death.

Anyone else want to comment on this? How applicable was your education? Do you think it could have been more applicable? If so, do you regret not focusing on learning more applicable skills/knowledge when you were in school?

A degree may not be that useful in terms of skill, but good luck getting an interview at most companies without one. You can think of it like minimum stakes to play the game, but the skills you have are what make you get dat $$$. Get an internship or shadow someone that's doing what you want to do. You'll learn more in a week than in an entire semester.

[DAVE101]

Anyone else want to comment on this? How applicable was your education? Do you think it could have been more applicable? If so, do you regret not focusing on learning more applicable skills/knowledge when you were in school?

Yes, I do. People spend tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of dollars, and commit many years (including the time it takes to work off loans) taking classes they hate just to get a piece of paper. A large majority of people don't even work in the field they major in. So do yourself a favor, and make those 4 (or 5 or 6?) years the best ones you possibly can. Don't worry about grades or graduating or any of that BS. Even if you get the kind of job that requires a specific degree, your employer probably won't care about your GPA or how many victory laps you took in college.

Focus on the things that matter like the experience, making connections, etc. and I'm not talking about partying. For example, I play for the IU Ultimate (Frisbee) club/team, and it's an incredible social outlet (like a fraternity). There are people of every major in every class, Freshman through Graduate level (like a fraternity). Not only does this provide the method and motivation to stay in shape, there are 40+ other dudz trying to work out with you (like a fraternity, except they only do curls).

Personally I'm in no hurry to become Davey-yumpkins or Merk101. Although being Dave Ho wouldn't be too bad (a basement full of ITG has it's benefits). I'm a "general studies" major and I don't plan on graduating in any less than 5 years. There is just too much to do. CLEARLY, I am extremely bias.


tl;dr man up and read the text

[Merk]

I can't tell if that is a troll but don't be a General Studies major. If I'm some HR drone I will look at someone's resume and put more clout in someone with a Liberal Arts degree than someone with a General Studies degree. General Studies basically says, "Hey, I went to college and farted around from class to class and have the marketable skills of a high schooler v2.0." The painter or basket weaver at least has some sort of specialty. One of my room mates (who is admittedly half retarded) was a General Studies major and now he's 27 going for his second undergraduate degree so he can be a cop.

Trust me you can change your major the start of your junior year and still graduate in a reasonable amount of time.

But yeah everything else you said was tru fax. Chad had an abysmal 2.3 GPA in college and now he's making some money a year! GPA is just a number that won't matter anymore a few years after you graduate. Experience and being able to fake that you know what you're doing in an interview (again, look at Chad) will get you a job.

[Fluffyumpkins]

But yeah everything else you said was tru fax. Chad had an abysmal 2.3 GPA in college and now he's making some money a year! GPA is just a number that won't matter anymore a few years after you graduate. Experience and being able to fake that you know what you're doing in an interview (again, look at Chad) will get you a job.

I edited your post because I assume employers check this sort of thing on public forums. I'm proper middle class, I think.

Anyway my GPA was 2.573 (never noticed that.) No employer has ever asked during an interview.

[MonMotha]

Nobody has ever asked for my GPA, and it's not indicated in the slightest on my resume, despite being pretty good. I just don't think it matters except maybe for the first job straight out of school.

[Merk]

That reminds me!

Merk, I found the specifics of your job quite interesting. But is it okay for you to be so candid about your former employer on a public forum? eh, I tend to be a bit paranoid about these kinds of things.

I say that after you get fired from someplace because they didn't like you then you have free reign to say whatever you want about your former employer. They have every right to say shit about you if a future prospective employer calls and I you every right to say shit about them to prospective employees. I never signed an NDA and I'm pretty sure my non-compete clause is no longer in effect given that they terminated me.

Obviously I'm not going to badmouth them in an interview because that would be in "poor taste" or whatever shit corporations want you to believe and I have to play their game. Besides, it's not like I'm doling trade secrets or saying things that aren't true. Kaseya, Connectwise, VNC, etc are all industry standard that every break-fix shop will have (or some iteration thereof).

If I ever get sued for something I said on here I will shove the ACLU so far up their ass that they'll have to change their name to Assaratus.

I edited your post because I assume employers check this sort of thing on public forums. I'm proper middle class, I think.

Anyway my GPA was 2.573 (never noticed that.) No employer has ever asked during an interview.

You're giving in. We're you the one that paraded against hiding employee salaries because all they do is hide the fact that employers shamelessly play favoritism and screw people out of competitive salaries?

[Fluffyumpkins]

Well sure, but that doesn't change the company policy. Maybe outside of a publicly searchable message board...

Honestly, I don't even like using my name in these threads. There have been too many stories about people that had to mouth off on the internet and lost everything because of it. Just not smart.

[DAVE101]

I do get a lot of harassment for being General Studies, so allow me discuss. (WARNING: Very boring text ahead).

...don't be a General Studies major. Trust me you can change your major the start of your junior year and still graduate in a reasonable amount of time.

Let me rephrase: There's no rush to graduate, I personally WANT to take a victory lap or two, I won't accrue much additional debt, which is the only negative I could foresee.

I understand where you are coming from, and sure there are some doors that will close to general studies dude. But you appear just to be looking from the commercial job market standpoint. There are a lot of things that just ask for a "bachelors". I've seen General Studies majors become officers of the US military and others go into graduate programs. Not saying that I'm doing anything like that, I'm not doing college to get a job. I am a student of LIFE. Journey vs Destination. THE MAN CAN'T KEEP ME DOWN!


Honestly this is all I hear:
Twat: "I need good grades so I can college so I can get a degree so I can get a job so I can make money so I can get a home so I can find and marry a girl so I can raise a family so I can grow old and lose all my money so I can. . ."
Dave101: "...I'm general studies"
Twat: "Oh so you're undecided?"
Dave101: "No it's a degree"
Twat: "lol what do you do with a General Studies degree?"
Dave101: "Put it in a frame?"

[MonMotha]

I never signed an NDA and I'm pretty sure my non-compete clause is no longer in effect given that they terminated me.

If you had a non-compete, it's almost guaranteed that there was a fairly substantial non-disclosure provision somewhere in the same contract. Also, it's quite unlikely that the non-compete was terminated due to them firing you. They usually survive that. While that seems quite one-sided to me, they're usually written that way. Whether it would hold up in court or not is another matter...how much money do you have for lawyers?

[Merk]

I never signed an NDA and I'm pretty sure my non-compete clause is no longer in effect given that they terminated me.

If you had a non-compete, it's almost guaranteed that there was a fairly substantial non-disclosure provision somewhere in the same contract. Also, it's quite unlikely that the non-compete was terminated due to them firing you. They usually survive that. While that seems quite one-sided to me, they're usually written that way. Whether it would hold up in court or not is another matter...how much money do you have for lawyers?

You're right, my mistake! Again, if you act like you know what you're talking about people might just believe you. In any event this is all moot because I've never posted anything libelous on here about my former company and the NDA (assuming it would hold up in court) has been lifted by now. They would have to make a case that I've done harm to the company and that I've said something that wasn't true. I don't think they would have a grounds for anything if, "This fat guy who posted on a very niche website with little traffic disclosed what he did during the typical workday and that we use the ITMS Kaseya." was their case. Thank God the burden of proof is on the accuser, am I right?!?!

If I needed a lawyer I'd just get a free one from the government because I'd more than likely have a very open-and-shut case. That Gideon was a real son of a bitch, I tell ya.

[Merk]

Well sure, but that doesn't change the company policy. Maybe outside of a publicly searchable message board...

Honestly, I don't even like using my name in these threads. There have been too many stories about people that had to mouth off on the internet and lost everything because of it. Just not smart.

Those people probably would have lost their jobs anyway. A lot of states have at-will employment so a company can fire you virtually for any reason (ie "You just don't fit in!") or no reason at all. Wrongful termination is so incredibly hard to prove (not to mention easy to cover up) that that is almost never an option.

Of course the company will use "Oh you said this thing on the internet you're fired" as an easy out but really if they don't play that card they'll just play another. If an employee is making the company enough money and is not a huge liability then they won't give a shit what they do off the clock. I've heard stories of people getting drunk as shit in company attire, arrested, having their boss pick them up out of jail, and then coming in to work the next day like nothing happened without any sort of discipline.

It's all in who you know and whose leg you can hump. Don't worry about whether or not you are giving your company ammunition to fire you because they already put the infinite ammo code in a long time ago.

idkfa


Does your employee handbook really have a clause that says you can't disclose your salary? I'd like to see it.