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My dad's resume and skills from 1980

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Re: My dad's resume and skills from 1980

#311

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "I didn't thought this thing about computers would go too far." I almost didn't major in Computer Science because in the late 90s, there were so many negative articles in the New York Times, vis-a-vis software. People don't remember it now, but the media and the culture were utterly hostile towards us, and loved to say our jobs were going to India, that everything there was to know about Computer Science could be s…

> I almost didn't major in Computer Science because in the late 90s, there were so many negative articles in the New York Times, vis-a-vis software. People don't remember it now, but the media and the culture were utterly hostile towards us, and loved to say our jobs were going to India, that everything there was to know about Computer Science could be studied in railyard switching, in existing abstract math textbook…

OT, but when I search for "the bud is off the blossom" the only references I get from google are 2 links to hacker news comments... There's 0 in bing for that phrase. Never heard it before ever.

Re: My dad's resume and skills from 1980

#312

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you saying the fortune 500 are bad at business?

A. Bank caused the financial crisis of 2008 B. Are you saying top banks are bad at banking?

That's the convenient myth to think banks caused crisis. Money printing and credit rates lowering by government caused this. Free money? Sure, why not. Please watch princes of yen documentary where they speak about "credit window guidance" conducted by Japanese national bank for more than decades

Re: My dad's resume and skills from 1980

#313

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "I didn't thought this thing about computers would go too far." I almost didn't major in Computer Science because in the late 90s, there were so many negative articles in the New York Times, vis-a-vis software. People don't remember it now, but the media and the culture were utterly hostile towards us, and loved to say our jobs were going to India, that everything there was to know about Computer Science could be s…

Universities are always several years behind the curve. At college in the 90s they were still teaching token ring networking despite Ethernet already being common place. The same college told me that programmers didn’t design any of the code they write; they only transcribe code from flow charts. Just yesterday I was talking to a grad about DevOps. He said the field sounded boring from what he was taught at uni. Then…

I was having to deal with token ring in '96-'97, and have not touched it since. Seems like it went away quite quickly. Cue up someone replying that they're still maintaining a token ring system in 2022... :)

Re: My dad's resume and skills from 1980

#314

Why does he call out that he is 5'4" I wonder? The "Health: Excellent" seems amusing in today's context too.

Going back a little farther it was not uncommon to list your religion and what church you were a member of. Going back a little farther than that, if you were a candidate for an executive position at a company, they might interview your spouse as well.

Re: My dad's resume and skills from 1980

#315

If the minimalist resume is appealing, can we also bring back walk-on hiring? In warehouse and construction work, if someone shows up at 7:30 AM on a Monday morning, odds are quite good that the foreman will have something for them to do. Maybe not that day, but maybe tomorrow, or maybe someone on the list above them won't show up that week and they'll get called. I made rent doing that in my early 20s and they even…

Entertainers still have that capability in many places

Offbrand for this site but I’ve seen women audition and work and get paid the same day, this year

Is what it is

They sign all forms and its W-2 employment some places as well

I agree we should reduce friction to that level for more kinds of work, some people are working on that

Re: My dad's resume and skills from 1980

#316

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We probably are close to the same age. My dad was an engineer who also learned to program FORTRAN in the 70's. When I asked him a similar question his reply was (quotes are paraphrased): "It was way too tedious to do. You'd spend hours getting the cards just right. We used to put them in a shoebox and mark them with a pen in case we dropped them on the way to the lab. Then you'd wait until the next day to get your re…

> "I didn't thought this thing about computers would go too far." I almost didn't major in Computer Science because in the late 90s, there were so many negative articles in the New York Times, vis-a-vis software. People don't remember it now, but the media and the culture were utterly hostile towards us, and loved to say our jobs were going to India, that everything there was to know about Computer Science could be s…

You say it like negative articles about Comp Sci/Applied Programming/Really any Tech Co from the NYT is a thing of the past. It's with a sense of irony that articles denouncing Tech is easy, routine clickbait for them now.

Re: My dad's resume and skills from 1980

#317
post #97

> My dad is 92 and we just put him in a home. Can you stay healthy enough to die of old age in a regular home? “Put him in a home” sounds so ominous and forceful.

Our neighbors just moved to a home, both in their mid 90s. Unfortunately the wife got dementia, so the husband moved with her.

Re: My dad's resume and skills from 1980

#318
post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been to a military museum few days ago and I was surprised how incredibly small some of the cockpits are. I'm 6'3" and wouldn't fit in most of the fighter jets and other vehicles. Not that I wouldn't be comfortable with my legs pushed to something - my shoulders are literally too wide to get in, my thighs/ass are too wide to even try sitting there. Might be a problem for aerospace tech. And don't get me started…

Your comments made me wonder if there were height restrictions, found this verbiage on US Airforce site: "For pilot and aircrew positions, height specifications vary by aircraft and most applicants can successfully pursue a career in aviation with the U.S. Air Force. Applicants who are significantly taller or shorter than average may require special screening to ensure they can safely perform operational duties. Appl…

Former USAF pilot candidate: there are physiological reasons specific to high-G maneuvering in fighter jets that taller people are disqualified for as well. Shorter people have less challenges with GLOC or loss of consciousness.

Re: My dad's resume and skills from 1980

#319

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I almost didn't major in Computer Science because in the late 90s, there were so many negative articles in the New York Times, vis-a-vis software. People don't remember it now, but the media and the culture were utterly hostile towards us, and loved to say our jobs were going to India, that everything there was to know about Computer Science could be studied in railyard switching, in existing abstract math textbook…

OT, but when I search for "the bud is off the blossom" the only references I get from google are 2 links to hacker news comments... There's 0 in bing for that phrase. Never heard it before ever.

The idiom is "bloom is off the rose", maybe that's what GP recalled.

Re: My dad's resume and skills from 1980

#320

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My father was a physicist. He learned to program in FORTRAN in the university in the 70's. Decades later I, still a teenager, asked him something like this: "Dad, you were a FORTRAN programmer and physicist in the 70's, you could be a very well paid developer anywhere in the developed world... why didn't you?"; he answered me: "I didn't thought this thing about computers would go too far."

We probably are close to the same age. My dad was an engineer who also learned to program FORTRAN in the 70's. When I asked him a similar question his reply was (quotes are paraphrased): "It was way too tedious to do. You'd spend hours getting the cards just right. We used to put them in a shoebox and mark them with a pen in case we dropped them on the way to the lab. Then you'd wait until the next day to get your re…

I learned Fortran 4 in high school in 1967-1968. That’s how good the NYC exam schools were — Stuyvesant in this case. We had our own 1130. This came in handy in college, I did the programming in a physics group, immediately. But it seemed too tedious to do as a career. I still feel that way.
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