it certification My IT Certification/Continuing Education Saga

[securitybreach]

Just until your're ready......

[V.T. Eric Layton]

Yup. That would be the best option.

[Temmu]

eons ago, i was doing the cert thing too: don't push it to far into the future, or you will give up.

 

and because you got the first half, you will get the second.

[V.T. Eric Layton]

OK, I rescheduled for Tuesday 30 July. That will give me about eight weeks or so to get back on track.

[abarbarian]

So how are you doing with this opportunity of a lifetime ?

[amenditman]

How 'bout an update, Eric.

Enquiring minds A bunch of busy body, know it alls want to know.

[V.T. Eric Layton]

I haven't cracked a book in days.

 

I'm reading Jules Verne's Mysterious Island.

 

NOTE: Posts replying to the books and reading side-topic split off to here --> http://forums.scotsnewsletter.com/index.php?showtopic=63295

[abarbarian]

How 'bout an update, Eric.

Enquiring minds A bunch of busy body, know it alls want to know.

 

Yaeh we are all on tenderhooks here.

 

“The time has come

The walrus said

To talk of many things:

Of shoes- and ships-

And sealing wax-

Of cabbages and kings-

And why the sae is boiling hot-

And whether pigs have wings.”

Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

Edited July 25, 2013 by abarbarian

[V.T. Eric Layton]

UPDATE: The dream is over. Reality had blanked it completely. There are no jobs in this field in my area. No one is hiring full time. No one is hiring anyone over 45 years old.

 

Ebbity-ebbity-ebbity... That's all, folks!

 

[Guest LilBambi]

 

Don't give up! Keep trying!

 

If nothing else, you got a nice network refresher.

[Corrine]

[ross549]

Is it just that area? Is relocation not an option?

 

There's a good number of jobs up here.

 

Adam

[V.T. Eric Layton]

No. Unfortunately, I have no interest in relocating... unless it was to retire somewhere peaceful and less populated than Tampa; like the Four Corners area of NM, maybe?

 

Pretty much the only job openings in FL are medical, hospitality, food service, retail, or call centers. They're mostly, with the exception of medical jobs, part-time at or near minimum wage with no health insurance or other benefits.

 

If you're over 50 years old and looking for work, you're screwed.

• Companies don't want you because they can't bully you like the can the young kids.
  
• They don't want you because they know that you're going to increase their insurance costs.
  
• They don't want you because you'll require more sick time and leaves.
  
• They don't want you because they don't want to invest in someone who isn't going to be around that long.
  
• They don't want you because you are probably wiser and more experienced than the punk managers running the place.
  

I have some friends in HR around here. They will tell you that these are actual unwritten hiring policies handed down by corporate management to HR depts. Yet, no one can prove discrimination. Heck, with these online 3rd party application screening sites nowadays, the software is making the decisions. It's proprietary, so who's to say how the screening parameters are being set?

 

It's a brave new world. I hope no one with any sense really believes in this fabulous economic recovery that everyone is cheering about lately.

 

I've said too much. This is a touchy subject for me. I've been unemployed for 60 months now. I've lost everything I own except my house, my old truck, and my cats. And that's only because they were all paid for already. I still have my sense of humor.

[Guest LilBambi]

No fun for sure, Eric.

[amenditman]

No. Unfortunately, I have no interest in relocating... unless it was to retire somewhere peaceful and less populated than Tampa; like the Four Corners area of NM, maybe?

 

Pretty much the only job openings in FL are medical, hospitality, food service, retail, or call centers. They're mostly, with the exception of medical jobs, part-time at or near minimum wage with no health insurance or other benefits.

 

If you're over 50 years old and looking for work, you're screwed.

• Companies don't want you because they can't bully you like the can the young kids.
  
• They don't want you because they know that you're going to increase their insurance costs.
  
• They don't want you because you'll require more sick time and leaves.
  
• They don't want you because they don't want to invest in someone who isn't going to be around that long.
  
• They don't want you because you are probably wiser and more experienced than the punk managers running the place.
  

I have some friends in HR around here. They will tell you that these are actual unwritten hiring policies handed down by corporate management to HR depts. Yet, no one can prove discrimination. Heck, with these online 3rd party application screening sites nowadays, the software is making the decisions. It's proprietary, so who's to say how the screening parameters are being set?

 

It's a brave new world. I hope no one with any sense really believes in this fabulous economic recovery that everyone is cheering about lately.

 

I've said too much. This is a touchy subject for me. I've been unemployed for 60 months now. I've lost everything I own except my house, my old truck, and my cats. And that's only because they were all paid for already. I still have my sense of humor.

You hold on to that sense of humor, it may be the most valuable thing you've ever had.

 

I can't come close to your 60 months, but I'm well on my way due to this accident/injury.

And I am discovering that what you say is true. At 50 years old and no real world experience, my new found technical skills are just going to waste.

 

Oh well, I can be a student for a long time and draw public assistance.

The Florida automobile insurance laws have seen to it that I can never do anything else.

[V.T. Eric Layton]

Bob, folks like you are the reason that I don't usually bitch about my situation. You've had it worse than I have. I would not have wanted to deal with the accident and the pain that you dealt with over the past few years.

 

I guess I ought to just become a professional student. Can I make enough $$$ from the grants to live on and go to school?

 

=====

 

And Fran... what are you doing clicking buttons on unfamiliar websites. You know you're not supposed to do stuff like that. You could get malware, viruses, or worse... love and gratitude.

[Temmu]

can't you go door to door to businesses in the area? hi, i'm eric and i maintain pcs networks & systems...

you'll eventually hit something... i had to do that...

i mean, for consulting, one-time stuff. but there's repeat business too...

[V.T. Eric Layton]

There are legions of "self-employed consultants" like myself trying to do that in the Tampa area already. I make some chump change doing computer repair/website dev, but not near enough to live on. I could do that if I lived in the styx somewhere where I was the only game in town. In a large, populous metropolitan area, there's just too much competition from the legit big boys like Best Buy's Geek Squad, etc.

[abarbarian]

Been unemployed since 1997.Luckily I qualified for incapacity benefits in 1999 so I am a few pounds better of than the poorest folk around, still well below the official poverty line though. An have no official qualifications.Nearly 60 years old.

So no chance of me ever being employed by someone again.

Hurray.

As I do not like to be a taker. I do voluntary driving to put something back into the sysytem.

Luckily I do not have the consumerism virus and am quite happy whittling sticks and chewing blades of grass.Also I not only have a brain but am able to use it when I choose to do so.Coupled with a inventive imagination I manage to live quite comfortably.

There is always money to be made. You sometimes have to look sideways to find it though.

You could always set up a Slakers Linux Accademy.

[V.T. Eric Layton]

I've been considering a career change... hitman? convenient store robber? movie actor? HA!

[securitybreach]

I've been considering a career change... hitman? convenient store robber? movie actor? HA!

 

Well there is not much money in convenient stores.... You need to think bigger..

[V.T. Eric Layton]

Bitcoin mining?

[ross549]

The ROI is dropping very quickly...

 

Adam

[amenditman]

Bitcoin mining?

How about Litecoin mining, I've heard some good things about it.

Just can't get it set up and running because I know nothing about it.

I get stuck on the part where I have to join a pool. How do I know which one to join?

How do I know which one's are legit?

Any suggestions?

[V.T. Eric Layton]

You're already a member of the gene pool. Or did you get thrown out of that pool.

 

Besides, who wants litecoins? I want HEAVYcoins, preferably GOLD ones.

[ross549]

He polluted the gene pool.

 

 

Adam

[amenditman]

He polluted the gene pool.

 

 

Adam

Thanks for the compliment!

[abarbarian]

Any suggestions?

 

Yup ! Use your cpu/gpu cycles for a Boinc project instead.

[V.T. Eric Layton]

I can't do voluntary cpu cycle work on my systems because I do not leave them on when they're not in use.

[ross549]

Is there anyone who pays for CPU time these days?

 

Adam