🚀 go-pugleaf

Felt I ought to add my two cents worth (American):

I Co-Op'd for two years at the US NIST (National Institude of Standards
and Technology). This experience was invaluable and has given me a big
advantage over my peers ever since. WHY? I learned that to succeed in
the computer world, you had better understand as many facets of the 
field as possible - networking, operating systems, database mgmt,
programming languages, software engineering, user interface 
technologies, basic principles of the hardware. What does this give
you? FLEXIBILITY! In my experience, corporations do not what a 
button-hole fit for any specific job. They want someone with good
QUALITIEs as well as good capabilities. Qualities like initiative, 
dependability, honesty, and ability to work with many different
types of people. 

Now this is a lot to ask of anyone. In fact, in my experience most
people do not even come close. I have worked with (and for) way
too many marginal people in my career. But that is the real world
we live in. New graduates face a tough challenge - instead of being
looked at as bringing fresh thoughts, innovation, etc - they are
viewed as being cheap labor that will require a lot of EXPENSIVE
hand-holding by existing more Senior staff. This view is really
stupid and short-sighted if you ask me. After all, everyone was
new at one point or another.

So my advice to new graduates - learn as much as you can about
as much as you can, hone your people skills, accept criticisms
willingly, and maintain your self confidence. If you are a GOOD
person, people will eventually recognize you as good and place
their trust and faith in your professional views. 

Enough pontificating...

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Steve Norman                  +             Disclaimer:
Sr. Software Engineer         +   All views are those of the Author.
Martin Marietta Astronautics  +        Feel free to disagree.
Denver, Colorado, USA         +      After all, this is the USA.
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