Denouement (of an anti-climax) Part #2
I split this in two because I wanted this to get read, as it is all more important than what was in the previous post.
Since I just obtained my master's, and have no desire for any further education, especially at Cornell, I have to go to the work force. But doing what? Okay, my bachelor's is in economics and my master's is in statistics. That would point most people toward the finance industry (indeed the dream of so many Ivy Leaguers). But that field repulses me, in addition to my general lack of qualifications. The other place everybody in my program goes is biomedicine, which I'm even less qualified for and wouldn't be interested in anyway. With all my mom's problems with being forced to take drugs over the years, I'm very cynical and probably less interested in that than Wall Street. Yeah, yeah, so I should change the industry instead of doing my drivel...which makes me an anti-authoritarian lite, just like that kid at graduation.
What, though does that leave? Or better yet, what am I qualified for? I have two degrees (and my master's is linked with an average starting salary of $60,000), and experience in Java(/Script), C++, Visual Basic, HTML, CSS, PHP, SQL, and SAS, (but not .NET or Unix or AJAX or Linux which are the killers). However, I've had no internship anywhere, and I've done these massive projects that are largely data entry and are ultimately roads to nowhere, because I don't know what to do with them. I entered every top 10 single in Billboard chart history, and every album ever certified gold into Excel spreadsheets (and no I don't equate that to musical taste in any way). I wrote twenty-page statistical columns for the Mensa Scrabble-by-Mail SIG every other month when I was in high school, and entered in every winner and every loser over a 13-year period in a database for some reason, and added all sorts of categories never seen in the newsletter. I have some of my earlier blog entries, where I analyzed political affiliation by major, musical taste, and college. I entered in the 100 largest US cities from each census, and tracked trends (in a retarded way, at a lower level than linear regression, but still...) Most of this stuff was before I even went to college, and I've continued with stuff like that (like my site) since. The PROBLEM is that I really have nothing to market myself for any position, since I don't see that the content of any of these things is going to get me hired ANYWHERE, even if I do have the skills. Yes, I do have my coursework, and my main project (for which my professor name-checked me in a paper) sounded very good: estimating the diversity of species, and two linear regressions on educational trends, one that I did for a class, and one that I did for a campus economics journal. I still don't think that's enough and everything is so scattered I don't know where I SHOULD be applying.
I have been applying to various things I've seen, especially on craigslist in Boston and Washington DC, and a few random other sites. I have been applying to bigger names than I probably should (apart from craigslist) because I have no idea where I should be targeting. There aren't many statistical positions available at all it seems except in finance or biomedicine, so either I have to really court those hard or try some kind of programming position, which I would infinitely prefer, but who would really hire me without Linux experience or something? I have mostly been applying for SAS programmer positions, which merge the two, but I still haven't come close to receiving anything yet, while many of my classmates are already employed, and my mom and I are living off the remainder of my student loans (and sigh, credit cards.) I know as a result of this I have to get a move on but I don't know what I'm doing. It would be like if I was
crosstables and I had no credential other than his self-titled site, or
cesarsalad and I had nothing but Aerolith. Sure, both are stronger programming
achievements than my endless data uploads (and generally unattractive site because I focus on coding and content only), but they probably alone wouldn't lead to jobs if Seth and Cesar had no other serious experience (which obviously they do.) I don't know where I'm going, and who would take me seriously, and that is my concern now. Forgive me for my narcissism. Now it's time to apply for a bunch more jobs to make up for the hours I haven't been.
Since I just obtained my master's, and have no desire for any further education, especially at Cornell, I have to go to the work force. But doing what? Okay, my bachelor's is in economics and my master's is in statistics. That would point most people toward the finance industry (indeed the dream of so many Ivy Leaguers). But that field repulses me, in addition to my general lack of qualifications. The other place everybody in my program goes is biomedicine, which I'm even less qualified for and wouldn't be interested in anyway. With all my mom's problems with being forced to take drugs over the years, I'm very cynical and probably less interested in that than Wall Street. Yeah, yeah, so I should change the industry instead of doing my drivel...which makes me an anti-authoritarian lite, just like that kid at graduation.
What, though does that leave? Or better yet, what am I qualified for? I have two degrees (and my master's is linked with an average starting salary of $60,000), and experience in Java(/Script), C++, Visual Basic, HTML, CSS, PHP, SQL, and SAS, (but not .NET or Unix or AJAX or Linux which are the killers). However, I've had no internship anywhere, and I've done these massive projects that are largely data entry and are ultimately roads to nowhere, because I don't know what to do with them. I entered every top 10 single in Billboard chart history, and every album ever certified gold into Excel spreadsheets (and no I don't equate that to musical taste in any way). I wrote twenty-page statistical columns for the Mensa Scrabble-by-Mail SIG every other month when I was in high school, and entered in every winner and every loser over a 13-year period in a database for some reason, and added all sorts of categories never seen in the newsletter. I have some of my earlier blog entries, where I analyzed political affiliation by major, musical taste, and college. I entered in the 100 largest US cities from each census, and tracked trends (in a retarded way, at a lower level than linear regression, but still...) Most of this stuff was before I even went to college, and I've continued with stuff like that (like my site) since. The PROBLEM is that I really have nothing to market myself for any position, since I don't see that the content of any of these things is going to get me hired ANYWHERE, even if I do have the skills. Yes, I do have my coursework, and my main project (for which my professor name-checked me in a paper) sounded very good: estimating the diversity of species, and two linear regressions on educational trends, one that I did for a class, and one that I did for a campus economics journal. I still don't think that's enough and everything is so scattered I don't know where I SHOULD be applying.
I have been applying to various things I've seen, especially on craigslist in Boston and Washington DC, and a few random other sites. I have been applying to bigger names than I probably should (apart from craigslist) because I have no idea where I should be targeting. There aren't many statistical positions available at all it seems except in finance or biomedicine, so either I have to really court those hard or try some kind of programming position, which I would infinitely prefer, but who would really hire me without Linux experience or something? I have mostly been applying for SAS programmer positions, which merge the two, but I still haven't come close to receiving anything yet, while many of my classmates are already employed, and my mom and I are living off the remainder of my student loans (and sigh, credit cards.) I know as a result of this I have to get a move on but I don't know what I'm doing. It would be like if I was
crosstables and I had no credential other than his self-titled site, or
cesarsalad and I had nothing but Aerolith. Sure, both are stronger programming
achievements than my endless data uploads (and generally unattractive site because I focus on coding and content only), but they probably alone wouldn't lead to jobs if Seth and Cesar had no other serious experience (which obviously they do.) I don't know where I'm going, and who would take me seriously, and that is my concern now. Forgive me for my narcissism. Now it's time to apply for a bunch more jobs to make up for the hours I haven't been.