hollerboard.com

learn enough programming so you can freelance $30-$50/hr gigs and focus on doing what you love.

Is that what you do?

i wish. i've definitely had freelance gigs for those kind of rates, but its never something i could find enough consistent hours for 40 hours a week or something resembling a full-time job. which for me is perfect. i can work 20-hours a week and spend the rest of the time doing other things that may not bring in money but are at least self-sustaining/more fulfilling.

ding ding ding! winner.

i think it was said somewhere in this thread, but if you have this "downtime" or whatever broaden your skill set. I'm in the middle of learning Ruby on Rails and Unity 3d (web apps and games). grab an account from www.lynda.com and start learning, there's really no excuse.

since this thread is sort of swinging this way, i wanted to get some advice from people who do freelance on just like, productivity tips. i know getting in a good habit is key, but what are some other things you do to keep you going?

depends on what your client/rate/volume of work looks like, but if you have a lot of stuff and want to keep it in one place, this is worth every cent http://basecamphq.com/

11 months unemployed (graduated with my masters in december)

~350 jobs applied to

4 interviews

#fml

This kind of speaks for itself. Maybe we can get you going for quality applications vs. quantity applications. Also, would be great to get you going to networking events and pressing some palms. Just blasting a generic resume out into the world might not be the best way to go.

And I mean this in the most constructive way possible.

todd can I edit your résumé?

“Thank you for your interest in this car wash - it sounds like you are very motivated; however, unfortunately, now that the mid-term elections are over, we are not hearing good things regarding the federal budget over the next few years. As a result, I will be withdrawing this car wash as we are not sure we will have the funding to support it.”

Honest question: so why did you sign up for computer science?

My advice would be to make sure that it's really computer science you hate, and not school in general. If you hate school, it would be better to drop out now rather than burn through all your time and money finding out how many majors you hate and never getting a degree.

A music/recording degree is good for nothing more than making your parents happy that you finished school. I know two dudes with recording degrees. One delivers pizzas and the other parks cars, no shit. Meanwhile I know a lot of successful producers and engineers, and they all taught themselves.



People have been saying this for 10 years, but the market for programming skills continues to climb. Even in this same thread we have dudes saying they are learning basic programming off lynda.com and landing $50/hr freelance gigs. Trust me, the only jobs going to India are the ones you wouldn't want anyway.

From my exp. this is half truth. The us will be the dominant force in startups and cutting edge programing to midlevel stuff, but bigger companies ( like cisco) are bringing on LARGE indian prgraming work forcers online. but like flashcards said, its not the shit your interested in anyway.

Ive been using these sites to pick up some projects, they are all competition based, but if your good, its all good.

http://www.elance.com
http://www.99designs.com


all that said, our baby shoe company is taking off and I'm doing that full time now.

1) Is your master's applicable to any real world positions? Like an MBA, a JD, etc? Didn't you do something uber intellectual that has no way of being used in a real job? I'm not sure why you did that. To prove you are smart? Nobody cares about a smart white guy... I guess you need to think about further job training.

2) Finding a job is not about 'applying' ... it's about 1) targeting the companies you respect / admire and want to work for + finding people that work there that can get you an in ... 2) having a defined career niche + specific job role in mind within that niche + 3) mapping against people at other levels (both below you and above you) in those niches to their job roles and seeing which positions you'd like to work towards

3) A job search is about slowly building a network of people in that niche, seducing them so that they become interested in you and have your interest at heart - this takes years, and it's not about oh poor me, Mr. white guy, I applied and applied - it's about slowly slowly slowly building that network of people and turning that into a platform to launch your career.

4) Be prepared to move to Mars if you have to, to find a job. There is none of this, I want to stay in X location in today's job market.

#FML ?????????????? Do you have cancer? No. Do you pay $2800 a month in alimony? No. Are you a Native American living on the res? No. YASUS CHRISTO .. I have no sympathy for you at all. Do steps 1-4 and check back in next year.

Yep. You can't outsource innovation.

GOT THE JOB. MOVING TO NEW YORK.

LISTEN TO CZUCH FI$HMAN! ! ! !

CONGRATS!! Nice to see the progression through this thread of peeps makin' moves and hope we all find jobs/career paths we can be excited for.

*And again props on the jewels everybody's added to this thread. Stay positive, perfect your gameplan, and execute when given the opportunity to shine.

1) why kick a man when he's down? okay, you made it obvious you dislike me in that armed services thread, you really have to put me down here too? From the time I've spent looking over the shoulder of friends getting MBAs and JDs, most of their "real world applicability" is only in the name of the degree.

2) I was putting things in sheer/simple numbers. I send exploratory e-mails to companies/non-profits just as often as I send resumes. I keep in contact with people at organizations I'm interested in and such, everyone just tells me things are so bleak or "oh man, we just got 400 qualified resumes" etc.

3) I have too many niches. That might be one of my problems. I can't bring myself to go wholesale into any one of them.

4) huh? Other than my dislike for NYC, I'm willing to go everywhere, but when it comes to entry-level positions, from my experience and from what ppl i know in HR departments have told me, if you don't live in the area, your resume is the first one out. I apply to jobs in DC/Bmore/Philly, Houston/Austin, and the Phoenix areas because i can put addresses in those places as my home one without being dishonest.

This is a great point and it's true but it's hard to listen to if you are just looking for income that has something to do with your profession or aspirations.

i always listen to thug motivation 101 before an interview...

A lot of what he's saying is true, Toddles.

His 1) and your 3) are very much related, btw.

Finally jumped through enough hurdles and I am back in school (dear fucking christ kids never default on your student loans unless you plan on a) living off of the grid and sending mailbombs or b) moving to another country) and I start on a program centered around urban/suburban development in January. Very, very excited.

I start at CBS interactive on the 3rd! FUCK YES

Congrats!!!

did you have prior experience in that field? I'm thinking about doing a Master of Science Urban Planning program near my house and I've done sales of one kind or the other for the last 10 years.

anyone have any advice for established a resume as a creative-type (dj/musician/whatever) and or a consultant?

i could get my google on but hey hollerboard is back

hey dudes, thanks for the love and support its been weird. For posterity and at the advice of a very good hollerboarder I'm going to kind of go in on what worked and what I did, my approach and hopefully help pay it forward.

My first meeting at CBS Interactive (the mobile division) was 4 or 5 months ago. I was referred by a dude who I met in college via a now ex girlfriend. We were super friendly while I was dating this girl, he was her best friend. Generally a good dude, but we would have never really been friends if it wasn't for her. I was going in for a lead mobile/wap ui designer, not really my core strength but something I'd still be able to hit out of the park. So not sure what I was in for, I met with the Senior VP at the CBS megaplex in West Hollywood. He was blunt and tough from the jump, telling me straight up "You wouldn't have been sitting here if you weren't friends with Mike, we want someone with specific skills and experience in this particular space." My stomach sunk, I interview really well and generally things go my way or if they don't I can point to what I did wrong and walk away knowing that I wont make the same mistake twice. I wrote everyone a thank you email as soon as I got home, smoked a dutch and played sime city and kind of just left it there.

Then out of no where earlier this week, I get a Harvard Connection message and a message on my newly created http://www.coroflot.com profile. The message was from Mike on Harvard Connection and the Coroflot message was from the VP asking me if I wanted to come in again. I called him immediately and asked when he was free and that I'd love to come in. I get transferred to his assistant, I told her I was free the next day and she set it up for 11:30. I couldn't have been more confused/excited that this was about to happen, I had been supplementing my unemployment with pushing http://www.zuzii.com real hard tweeting, facebooking, buying ads etc... and though it still continues to do well, this was real, the opportunity to get in somewhere that I could really run with for a second, pretty much dream job or at least the job that leads to an amazing one a lil down the line.

I get ther 15 minutes early, I go into his office, hes just as straight up as he was the first time. "OHHHH now I remember you, I liked your work, glad to see you back." This confused me even fucking more, he forgot me, but glad to see I'm back? So I jokingly told him what he had told me in our first meeting. His eyes got a bit wide, then boom, he laughed patted me on the back and then we looked at my work again. Him and the CD poking and prodding asking what my role was in the projects, what I used to do this etc...

Then I was assigned a test. I was given a property that they own, http://www.urbanbaby.com that is in dire need of a face lift and some mobile work done ( iPad app specifically). They wanted to see one screen of a concept for an app. Super stoked, I went home again sent everyone a thank you email and went to work. I delivered two screens, and a 4 page pdf in less than 24 hours from walking out of the meeting.





I got the call shortly there after that they want me to start on the 3rd, and that we will go over details via email. Dont really know if there is anything good to pull from this other than the obvious: work hard, fast, and over deliver? Hope it helps.

Thanks again for everything dudes, this place has been super helpful.

congrats paul

super duper smooth shoehorning a zuzii plug into the mockups.

20% unemployment of people in their 20's. They should read this thread, great stuff, most of you really take life by the balls.

A year ago, I left my ivy league research job & academia-track on the east cost for various reasons and moved to the midwest. I've been taking classes, applied to Physician Assistant programs, and was accepted to one last week. It's about as intense as med school, so I'll be sacrificing a lot of time with my girl, family, and dog and probably mostly stop DJing - leaving it to the professionals . But, I've never been more excited about a new chapter in my life.

If anyone out there is interested in the PA process, hit me up, I'll tell you all about it.

damn laflures. huge moves man. congrats!

+1