[Courses] [Careers] Maria finds academia

[Mary]

On Thu, Feb 24, 2005, Maria McKinley wrote:
> So, I started following that annoying advice, and networking.  Asked
> around to see if anyone knew anyone that was hiring.

Did you have any particular goal in mind when you started networking, or
just "here's my skill set... help me out?" Where did you get the
contacts to network with?

> Originally, I was hired to do mostly programming, but after a while
> one of my bosses hired my boyfriend as a consultant to set up a
> network for him, and pretty soon most of my duties in that lab were
> sysadmin.  I learned everything on the job.  I really didn't know the
> first thing about linux, or command lines, when I started.  I have now
> worked in the labs for going on 5 years, and I have learned tons.

Would you prefer pure programming work, pure sysadmin work, or a
mixture?

> Academia is a great place to get started.  Since they usually can't
> pay terribly well, they are willing (forced!) to hire people with
> little experience, and then train them, so it is one of the few places
> you can get hired without very much experience.  It still definitely
> helps to know people though.  Asking around about hiring before
> graduating is definitely useful.

Are there many/any IT staff in that you know of in academia who don't
have at least a Bachelor's degree?

-Mary