My college gaming club was actually pretty cool people for the most part. Relatively casual gamers mostly. And while there was a couple who went overboard a bit, they didn't really give off the "social weirdo" vibe.
Now the gaming store in my home town... that was a totally different story. Those guys were every bit of the bad gamer stereotype that you hear. Bunch of middle aged socially awkward guys that just made you feel awkward just walking in there.
Going back to college.
Moderator: Moderators
The video game organization at my college is everything that's bad about gamers.
They're socially awkward, mega-nerds, assholes to people who aren't part of their group, and play Halo, except for a couple of days after the release of a big game, when they play that.
I saw one dude play Super Paper Mario and skip through all the text.
And don't get me started on the D&D groups there.
Your best bet is to not go for the official groups at any college or university, and just get some friends in on it if you can.
They're socially awkward, mega-nerds, assholes to people who aren't part of their group, and play Halo, except for a couple of days after the release of a big game, when they play that.
I saw one dude play Super Paper Mario and skip through all the text.
And don't get me started on the D&D groups there.
Your best bet is to not go for the official groups at any college or university, and just get some friends in on it if you can.
He jumps like a damned dragoon, and charges into battle fighting rather insane monsters with little more than his bare hands and rather nasty spell effects conjured up solely through knowledge and the local plantlife. He unerringly knows where his goal lies, he breathes underwater and is untroubled by space travel, seems to have no limits to his actual endurance and favors killing his enemies by driving both boots square into their skull. His agility is unmatched, and his strength legendary, able to fling about a turtle shell big enough to contain a man with enough force to barrel down a near endless path of unfortunates.
--The horror of Mario
Zak S, Zak Smith, Dndwithpornstars, Zak Sabbath. He is a terrible person and a hack at writing and art. His cultural contributions are less than Justin Bieber's, and he's a shitmuffin. Go go gadget Googlebomb!
--The horror of Mario
Zak S, Zak Smith, Dndwithpornstars, Zak Sabbath. He is a terrible person and a hack at writing and art. His cultural contributions are less than Justin Bieber's, and he's a shitmuffin. Go go gadget Googlebomb!
-
Count Arioch the 28th
- King
- Posts: 6172
- Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:54 pm
The gaming club at the local university is filled with nerd-hags. I find them annoying because it takes a bit more than fat deposits on the upper ventral area of the body to impress me.
I am going to go on a rant, where I expose personal information. Since many people would rather not hear, I'm sblocking the rant so you can choose not to read if not desired.
A little gripe:
I am going to go on a rant, where I expose personal information. Since many people would rather not hear, I'm sblocking the rant so you can choose not to read if not desired.
A little gripe:
I feel my degree is making it harder to get a job, not easier. After the 4-year struggle it took me to get an associate's degree (yeah, I took 4 years to get a 2 year degree, I said that on purpose), I feel that maybe I am not well suited for academia. Props to anyone who can hack it though.
Anyhow, I am 90% sure I didn't get a nice city job because of the degree. There are many jobs (mostly lab tech positions) that require an associate's degree to get (but don't specify what kind). So, I figured I'd see if I could enter the job market in a better position than when I officially left it (I have had lots of part time jobs, sometimes 2 and 3 at a time while going to college, but they were cruddy box store jobs).
Well, first interview with the city officials went great. Two of them were people I have had a pleasant professional relationship with before, and the third was won over rather quickly.
The second interview with the lab tech and chief operator at the plant I would have been working went... not well. As soon as they knew I went to college, the chief operator started going off on me and giving the the third degree, and was very condescending when he heard I worked at a box store currently. (I admit that it's a crappy job, but it's all I have available right now.) Without saying it outright, he pretty much said he wasn't going to recommend me for hire.
So now I'm in the beginning. The dept. of agriculture has some real crappy entry-level biology lab tech positions that call for credentials similar to mine. They suck and they're seasonal, but maybe if I was coming from a more relevant previous job that might give me a leg-up next time.
Anyhow, I am 90% sure I didn't get a nice city job because of the degree. There are many jobs (mostly lab tech positions) that require an associate's degree to get (but don't specify what kind). So, I figured I'd see if I could enter the job market in a better position than when I officially left it (I have had lots of part time jobs, sometimes 2 and 3 at a time while going to college, but they were cruddy box store jobs).
Well, first interview with the city officials went great. Two of them were people I have had a pleasant professional relationship with before, and the third was won over rather quickly.
The second interview with the lab tech and chief operator at the plant I would have been working went... not well. As soon as they knew I went to college, the chief operator started going off on me and giving the the third degree, and was very condescending when he heard I worked at a box store currently. (I admit that it's a crappy job, but it's all I have available right now.) Without saying it outright, he pretty much said he wasn't going to recommend me for hire.
So now I'm in the beginning. The dept. of agriculture has some real crappy entry-level biology lab tech positions that call for credentials similar to mine. They suck and they're seasonal, but maybe if I was coming from a more relevant previous job that might give me a leg-up next time.
In this moment, I am Ur-phoric. Not because of any phony god’s blessing. But because, I am enlightened by my int score.
No, your best bet is to go and see how the people are and whether you like them or not, then make a decision whether to stay. My experience with Dartmouth's gaming group, for example, is pretty much the complete opposite of your experience.Maxus wrote:Your best bet is to not go for the official groups at any college or university, and just get some friends in on it if you can.
Last edited by Surgo on Tue Jun 01, 2010 1:01 am, edited 1 time in total.
Lucky fucker.Surgo wrote:No, your best bet is to go and see how the people are and whether you like them or not, then make a decision whether to stay. My experience with Dartmouth's gaming group, for example, is pretty much the complete opposite of your experience.Maxus wrote:Your best bet is to not go for the official groups at any college or university, and just get some friends in on it if you can.
He jumps like a damned dragoon, and charges into battle fighting rather insane monsters with little more than his bare hands and rather nasty spell effects conjured up solely through knowledge and the local plantlife. He unerringly knows where his goal lies, he breathes underwater and is untroubled by space travel, seems to have no limits to his actual endurance and favors killing his enemies by driving both boots square into their skull. His agility is unmatched, and his strength legendary, able to fling about a turtle shell big enough to contain a man with enough force to barrel down a near endless path of unfortunates.
--The horror of Mario
Zak S, Zak Smith, Dndwithpornstars, Zak Sabbath. He is a terrible person and a hack at writing and art. His cultural contributions are less than Justin Bieber's, and he's a shitmuffin. Go go gadget Googlebomb!
--The horror of Mario
Zak S, Zak Smith, Dndwithpornstars, Zak Sabbath. He is a terrible person and a hack at writing and art. His cultural contributions are less than Justin Bieber's, and he's a shitmuffin. Go go gadget Googlebomb!
Count Arioch the 28th wrote:
A little gripe:
The second interview with the lab tech and chief operator at the plant I would have been working went... not well. As soon as they knew I went to college, the chief operator started going off on me and giving the the third degree, and was very condescending when he heard I worked at a box store currently. (I admit that it's a crappy job, but it's all I have available right now.)
Why? I mean, I'm grossly overqualified (like I have 2 more degrees than I'd need, and when offered the job, the person who hired me started by saying "Nick, you're grossly overqualified for the position, but...) for my current job, but if anyone asked why I took the job I'd answer "because I like to eat". What was the guy questioning you about that having a degree would reflect negatively on you?
-
Count Arioch the 28th
- King
- Posts: 6172
- Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:54 pm
Neeeek wrote:
Why? I mean, I'm grossly overqualified (like I have 2 more degrees than I'd need, and when offered the job, the person who hired me started by saying "Nick, you're grossly overqualified for the position, but...) for my current job, but if anyone asked why I took the job I'd answer "because I like to eat". What was the guy questioning you about that having a degree would reflect negatively on you?
It was less what he said and how he said it. In the beginning, the interview went well, then after he asked why I went from making 30k a year at a wastewater job to pulling in 10k a year as a register jockey, I explained I took a sabbatical to pursue my education to come back with a few more skills in my repertoire. He then took a belligerent tone and bombarded me with questions faster than I could answer them until I got flustered. I... think this was the wrong job at the wrong time. Still haven't given up entirely, but it's looking to be a long, broke time until I can get a job where I can even break the poverty line. I may look to see if anyone is hiring temporary summer help and take a second job again.
In this moment, I am Ur-phoric. Not because of any phony god’s blessing. But because, I am enlightened by my int score.
Count, that's something that's had a long history. My step-dad worked at the water-treatment plant for awhile, because the state required a degree to do the testing position - basically, he read and applied all the MSDS and did the lab tests and such - and when he found out they were cheating the employees, he tried to organize them into a union.
He eventually quit in protest.
I've found merely having vocational education to be a deal-breaker for any factory job. Unless I only have the one degree they want or require, they'd rather have none at all. I've been told I know too much electronics to soldier things together. You know, security risk and all to know what the parts actually do.
Grr.
-Crissa
He eventually quit in protest.
I've found merely having vocational education to be a deal-breaker for any factory job. Unless I only have the one degree they want or require, they'd rather have none at all. I've been told I know too much electronics to soldier things together. You know, security risk and all to know what the parts actually do.
Grr.
-Crissa
Count, that's something that's had a long history. My step-dad worked at the water-treatment plant for awhile, because the state required a degree to do the testing position - basically, he read and applied all the MSDS and did the lab tests and such - and when he found out they were cheating the employees, he tried to organize them into a union.
He eventually quit in protest.
I've found merely having vocational education to be a deal-breaker for any factory job. Unless I only have the one degree they want or require, they'd rather have none at all. I've been told I know too much electronics to soldier things together. You know, security risk and all to know what the parts actually do.
Grr.
-Crissa
He eventually quit in protest.
I've found merely having vocational education to be a deal-breaker for any factory job. Unless I only have the one degree they want or require, they'd rather have none at all. I've been told I know too much electronics to soldier things together. You know, security risk and all to know what the parts actually do.
Grr.
-Crissa
-
Count Arioch the 28th
- King
- Posts: 6172
- Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:54 pm
That's nice they let him quit in protest. Around here, even saying the word "union" is grounds for immediate firing without any further question. It's a different world this side of the continent. Unfortunate that he couldn't get the company to do the right thing.
I still haven't given up, but it's very hard to live on 10k a year and it's starting to get demoralizing. And I've done the manufacturing thing, I am not good at repetitive tasks. If I moved to the tidewater region I could have a good job within a month, but I have ties to this crappy area now and leaving would be more difficult than it's worth. Which sucks because the last time I was in Norfolk I remember how much I missed the ocean.
In this moment, I am Ur-phoric. Not because of any phony god’s blessing. But because, I am enlightened by my int score.
-
Lago PARANOIA
- Invincible Overlord
- Posts: 10555
- Joined: Thu Sep 25, 2008 3:00 am
I was thinking about selling my soul and becoming a patent attorney. Thoughts?
Josh Kablack wrote:Your freedom to make rulings up on the fly is in direct conflict with my freedom to interact with an internally consistent narrative. Your freedom to run/play a game without needing to understand a complex rule system is in direct conflict with my freedom to play a character whose abilities and flaws function as I intended within that ruleset. Your freedom to add and change rules in the middle of the game is in direct conflict with my ability to understand that rules system before I decided whether or not to join your game.
In short, your entire post is dismissive of not merely my intelligence, but my agency. And I don't mean agency as a player within one of your games, I mean my agency as a person. You do not want me to be informed when I make the fundamental decisions of deciding whether to join your game or buying your rules system.
.-
Count Arioch the 28th
- King
- Posts: 6172
- Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:54 pm
America needs more lawyers. I'm not joking, American law is convoluted and it's a liability to wipe your own ass without consulting an attorney. Not sure how busy the patent office is these days, but if you can break into the business (that's sometimes easier said than done), I'm sure you'll make a decent living.Lago PARANOIA wrote:I was thinking about selling my soul and becoming a patent attorney. Thoughts?
In this moment, I am Ur-phoric. Not because of any phony god’s blessing. But because, I am enlightened by my int score.
Ergh, no.
While the demand of lawyers may be high, the supply is even higher. I have a friend who just took the bar in the US, and he's extremely worried about not being able to get a job because he has a lot of competition.
So again, do it only if you're passionate about it. Because otherwise you won't stand out from all the other lawyers.
While the demand of lawyers may be high, the supply is even higher. I have a friend who just took the bar in the US, and he's extremely worried about not being able to get a job because he has a lot of competition.
So again, do it only if you're passionate about it. Because otherwise you won't stand out from all the other lawyers.
-
Username17
- Serious Badass
- Posts: 29894
- Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:54 pm
-
Lago PARANOIA
- Invincible Overlord
- Posts: 10555
- Joined: Thu Sep 25, 2008 3:00 am
I'm getting a degree in electrical engineering at the bare minimum. I mean, the job path I originally wanted needs one of those before I hit a glass ceiling; and I definitely do not want to try to grab a 4-year degree while I'm doing shiftwork. I was angling for a job as a fission/solar/hydroelectric power plant operator.
Nah, I was thinking about getting a law degree in addition to my engineering degree. The downside to that is that I won't hit the job market (Navy does not count) until I'm 31 years old assuming I don't get sidetracked. The upside to that is that the job pays a ridiculous amount as a starting salary and the hours are really, really nice.
Nah, I was thinking about getting a law degree in addition to my engineering degree. The downside to that is that I won't hit the job market (Navy does not count) until I'm 31 years old assuming I don't get sidetracked. The upside to that is that the job pays a ridiculous amount as a starting salary and the hours are really, really nice.
Josh Kablack wrote:Your freedom to make rulings up on the fly is in direct conflict with my freedom to interact with an internally consistent narrative. Your freedom to run/play a game without needing to understand a complex rule system is in direct conflict with my freedom to play a character whose abilities and flaws function as I intended within that ruleset. Your freedom to add and change rules in the middle of the game is in direct conflict with my ability to understand that rules system before I decided whether or not to join your game.
In short, your entire post is dismissive of not merely my intelligence, but my agency. And I don't mean agency as a player within one of your games, I mean my agency as a person. You do not want me to be informed when I make the fundamental decisions of deciding whether to join your game or buying your rules system.
-
Count Arioch the 28th
- King
- Posts: 6172
- Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:54 pm
So far, that has held true for everything I have ever done ever. I assume everything is harder than it looks and prepare myself for setbacks and such. It helps if you can adapt to things I've found.Zinegata wrote:Again, if it's your passion, do it. If you're just angling for the money, you might find the work harder than you thought it would.
In this moment, I am Ur-phoric. Not because of any phony god’s blessing. But because, I am enlightened by my int score.
All the patent lawyers I've met only knew as much about their industry to use the buzzwords. They generally were ignorant of the history of their industry because that made them worse at their jobs.
But they still got paid more than the poor government schlubs that had to figure out if the patent was valid or not.
-Crissa
But they still got paid more than the poor government schlubs that had to figure out if the patent was valid or not.
-Crissa
If you want to be a patent lawyer there are special requirements. I don't know what those are because I did not pursue it, but even if you don't go into patent law it is supposed to be something nice on your resume if you have the option.
That being said, I highly recommend you stay out of the legal profession. If I wipe my ass with my law degree tomorrow it would be helping me a lot more than it has finding a job. I just got laid off from my shitty part time job today, and I have not heard that anyone else is hiring.
That being said, I highly recommend you stay out of the legal profession. If I wipe my ass with my law degree tomorrow it would be helping me a lot more than it has finding a job. I just got laid off from my shitty part time job today, and I have not heard that anyone else is hiring.
This is the case. It means demand is high and supply is rock bottom. Be aware that their are two legal markets in the US. You either need to be absolute top contender, or go to a cheap school because you will be unlikely to ever make as much money as a top contender will as a graduate.FrankTrollman wrote:Last I heard, patent lawyers needed to do some relevant science too. So to o software patent law, you need to be a computer engineer in addition to a lawyer.
-Username17
This is an exciting illustration of what I mean
http://www.adamsmithesq.com/archives/20 ... hools.html
Have a realistic appreciation of who you are as a person. If you're paying for an expensive school, and you are not in that 'top 20% of all law graduates bracket' make sure you can afford the loan payments!
Last edited by cthulhu on Thu Aug 05, 2010 4:12 am, edited 3 times in total.
By the time you finish law school, the economy should have rebounded to the point where getting a JD isn't an exercise in stupidity, which is what it would have been if you started anytime in the last 4 years.Lago PARANOIA wrote:
Nah, I was thinking about getting a law degree in addition to my engineering degree. The downside to that is that I won't hit the job market (Navy does not count) until I'm 31 years old assuming I don't get sidetracked. The upside to that is that the job pays a ridiculous amount as a starting salary and the hours are really, really nice.
That said, the job doesn't pay a ridiculous amount as a starting salary (and unless you work for a big firm, also not at as a future salary) and the hours are probably the worst of any job imaginable. Most of my close friends are practicing lawyers, and 80+ hour weeks aren't abnormal. I'm actually kinda flabbergasted that you've heard otherwise. Lawyers are notoriously overworked.
-
Lago PARANOIA
- Invincible Overlord
- Posts: 10555
- Joined: Thu Sep 25, 2008 3:00 am
That's why I asked about patent attorneys, not regular ones. I've heard confirmed through two different guys that the hours are nice. And everytime I look up 'patent attorney pay' up on the Interwebs the starting salary is safely into the six-figures. Salarywizard.com and Patent Attorney Salary confirm this.
Josh Kablack wrote:Your freedom to make rulings up on the fly is in direct conflict with my freedom to interact with an internally consistent narrative. Your freedom to run/play a game without needing to understand a complex rule system is in direct conflict with my freedom to play a character whose abilities and flaws function as I intended within that ruleset. Your freedom to add and change rules in the middle of the game is in direct conflict with my ability to understand that rules system before I decided whether or not to join your game.
In short, your entire post is dismissive of not merely my intelligence, but my agency. And I don't mean agency as a player within one of your games, I mean my agency as a person. You do not want me to be informed when I make the fundamental decisions of deciding whether to join your game or buying your rules system.