(Part 2) Reddit mentions: The best job hunting & careers books

Sorry for the delay.

You have an abundance of great work. Stellar, really. But let's get deep and picky about it since you wanted the feedback. Please keep in mind that these are just my opinions. I'll do my best to rationalize all of them, but other people may suggest different things, and surely there will be people who disagree with me.


The format
The font and spacing do need some alterations in my opinion. Unless you have over 10 years of achievements, you should always keep your resume to 1 page. The means that you need to be as efficient as possible with the space on that single page. In your current formatting scheme, the left hand side of your resume is awfully blank. You could be using that space to talk more about what's already on there, or to talk about more stuff. Alternatively, on average a recruiter may take about 15-17 seconds to review your resume. So you want the important stuff to be eye catching.

Education
Short and simple. I would like to see your GPA though.

Experience
These sections are always hard because of how you have to sell yourself. Saying "Founder and Sole Developer" feels like it's too redundant. Emphasizing on working alone personally seems distasteful. What confuses me the most about this section is that you phrase everything to be in improvements (which is great under normal circumstances), but with you saying that you're the sole developer, it sounds like you were actually just fixing your own problems. If you have a game publishing platform with that many users, you should have the name of the platform/url to the platform right there. Your second bullet is two sentences, so it shouldn't be one bullet. I personally dislike the wording of "cut by two orders of magnitude". Just use the difference in numbers. It sounds too wordy/distracting that way. The third bullet is again holding two bullets worth of ideas. Remember, you have the emphasize what is skim worthy. Single bullets that are too long (basically more than one line) become less attractive to skim. There should be good justification for something to take up more than one line. Also, I would remove the tidbit about users being from the US. 250 million users is a ton. The demographics are maybe something you bring up in an interview, not on the resume though. I like bullet 4. Bullet 5 doesn't really tell me anything. I understand not mentioning client names or anything, but be more specific about the domains. Bullet 6 also doesn't tell me a whole bunch. Tell me what type of tasks your tools help with. Is it testing? Did you create some plug-in with shortcuts that saves time typing in your e-mail or something? I have no clue. I like the internships. Short, simple, and still descriptive.

Skills
I suggest putting the Skills section last. The reason being that you should be slipping in technologies that you've used throughout the rest of your resume. Having the skills section last is almost like a summary, and a quick reminder of skills that you have. In psychology, the serial position effect states that you're more likely to remember data from the beginning and ending of data sets. So while they might kind of skim over the technologies you mention in the middle of your resume, at least at the end they just get a listing right there, boom. It's a nice refresher of what you can do.
Projects
Re-word the first bullet. Instead of saying "daily/weekly/monthly" just say "scheduled". In bullet two, re-word it to start off with "Saved over 10,000 hours by..." That's a fantastic number to see, so you want it right at the front to make the reader go "oh crap, how'd he do that". I think the 3rd bullet is fine. The chrome extension I would remove. It's a great project, don't get me wrong, but there are many many people who are very weary of malicious security programming projects. I understand that you probably didn't have much mal-intent, but you have to think about your audience. If you're applying to a position where security knowledge is relevant, then that's awesome to have there, but otherwise I'd remove it.
Leadership
So, I don't think you should have this section at all. I believe that your leadership skills should be emphasized elsewhere. I don't think you need an entire section on leadership experience. I would rename the section to like "Additional experience", and remove your bolded bullet headers and treat them like regular bullets. I don't like that all of a sudden, you have a change in how you emphasize things. It isn't consistent to the rest of the resume. The Leading bullet sounds like it should be in your experiences section under a job header. In the second bullet, the 8 awards should be rephrased and moved to your Achievements section. The charity bullet feels long and wordy. The way it is worded makes it very confusing. Did you raise $50,000 total or $50,000 for each cause? I would simply re-word it towards something like "Raised over $50,000 to help towards various international causes". As specific as you want to be in your resume, you also want to balance it with enough information to make people curious, because you'll never be able to perfectly sum up your experiences/history on your resume. You want to have natural transitions into conversation. This would be one of those times to exploit that. That's an awesome achievement, and if I were interviewing you and saw my revision on your resume, I'd engage you to hear more about it. I'd be interested.
Achievements
I would move your first bullet to be in your education section. Also, did you really mean 0.05% or did you mean top 5%? The last bullet is awesome, congrats on 3rd place. That's stellar.

Hopefully you find this useful. Maybe there's something in there that you kind of agree with :P

I suggest you looking at this: http://www.careercup.com/resume
Also, if you want really in-depth information on resumes: The owner of the famous Cracking the Coding Interview, as well as the founder of CareerCup, wrote a book on just that: http://www.amazon.com/The-Google-Resume-Prepare-Microsoft/dp/0470927623

I agree with your advice SolidCopper.

How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling

How to Win Friends and Influence People

What about a part-time job?

What about offering to work for free just for the opportunity to learn something new with someone around town?

Learn legal research?

Get a dog?

Start a business?

Learn to grow cannabis? I'm not saying to illegally grow it. I'm saying that you can read and learn, and that there is a market for skilled growers catering to the medical cannabis sector, especially, for example, those that suffer from epilepsy and want to try high CBD strains. So you could study up on all this, and then apply what you have learned after you graduate and have a good career helping others.

Prepare for the ASVAB and go to the Navy's Nuclear School?

Go outside and run.

Let books be your friends.

What I learned was that the folks that I thought were true friends in high school were not.

Spend your time on self-improvement.

Learn new things.

Learn new skills.

PT. Exercise.

Learn. Read. Read. Read. Read.

"When you sell a man a book you don't sell just twelve ounces of paper and the ink and glue - you sell him a whole new life. Love and friendship and humour and ships at sea by night - there's all heaven and earth in a good book."--Christopher Morley

"Books are the quietest and most constant of friends, they are the most accessible and wisest of counsellors, and the most patient of teachers."--Charles W. Eliot

"In a library we are surrounded by many hundreds of dear friends imprisoned by an enchanter in paper and leathern boxes."--Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Reading early in life gives a youngster a multitude of 'friends' to guide intellectual and emotional growth."--Carroll D. Gray

"A book that [is] fitly chosen is a life long friend."--Douglas Jerrold

"Literature is my utopia. Here I am not disenfranchised. No barrier of the senses shuts me out from the sweet, gracious discourses of my book friends."--Helen Keller

"Outside of a dog, a book is probably man's best friend, and inside a dog, it's too dark to read."--Groucho Marx

If I could be a senior in high school again, in good health...and know what I know now...I would seek out older men and women. I would ask for their advice. I would read and learn.

I graduated as high school valedictorian and had 7 high school superlatives. Once you're out of high school, this "friend" stuff in high school, it's not the same.

Ricky Gervais writes: "... I suppose I was cursed with some early success. I was smart. The smartest kid in my class. Then the smartest kid in the next class and so on. I actually used to pride myself on the fact that I didn't have to even try to pass exams. This is my greatest regret. It's a
disgusting attitude and potentially a waste of a life. Writing and directing "The Office" was the first thing I ever tried my hardest at. The reward was revelatory.

At 40 I was addicted. Not to success. I was addicted to trying my hardest. That's the reward in itself. It's what life's about. The struggle. It's the only way you can be proud. You can't be proud of
luck.

Born clever? So what? What are you going to do with it? Your best, I hope, and no less."

Well, the trick is to do one step at a time. Your goal is a very reasonable one, but you'll want to focus on the foundation first. For a non-programmer, I would recommend starting off with Code Academy or Coursera. The advantage of the second link is that it immediately provides you with a sense of direction while learning a language. Code Academy's Python tutorial is really nice in providing interaction with your code. Regardless, you'll want to first gain a sense of syntax on your language of choice.

After you're familiar with at least one language, the next most important thing is to become familiar with data structures and algorithms. This book on Amazon is amazing for giving beginner advice in the area: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1468108867

The book is not overly complex and mathematical compared to many other books, and it provides a fairly reasonable foundation for any beginner. If you ever want to practice writing basic algorithms out (optional), visit Codility's lessons to try things out. Once you can comfortably complete some of their lessons with a high grade and understand their topics, you should be ready to dive into the math/finance side. I feel that at this point, the Max Dama paper is a great way to get an overview of the basics. Regardless of the financial instruments you're trading (I've mainly worked with equities), you'll need a sense of portfolio management. Here's two books that may be worth running through:

http://www.amazon.com/Quantitative-Equity-Portfolio-Management-Construction/dp/0071459391

http://www.amazon.com/Expected-Returns-Investors-Harvesting-Rewards/dp/1119990726

They're both equities based (and I could be wrong here about FX), but it's probably a good idea to get a sense of how to measure returns. Regardless of the asset class you're planning to trade, all algorithms should be rigorously backtested and simulated (traded with virtual money) prior to being moved into production, and one of the best ways to improve your outcome is to know how to measure the returns and risks associated in your backtesting/simulations.

Hope this isn't too much information at once, but it should be a start. The first two courses throw-it-out mentioned in Coursera is a great start too.

Edit: I'd also take some time to browse some of the links on the sidebar in this subreddit. Some of those links are immensely helpful (especially the Statistical Learning one). Many of the strategy links are fairly easy reads and are recommended as well.

I took this exam in California (San Mateo) and I am an Ohio Resident so that meant air travel and space considerations.  That's important because the number of references, for me, was limited as I was not willing to chance them travelling in a checked bag.

First, a little background:  I started as an industrial electrician in 2006.  I pursued my engineering degree part time starting in 2008.  I earned my AS in 2012 and BS in 2015.  I began working in the engineering space in 2011 at a consulting firm, then moved on to a large OEM then finally found myself at a power engineering and services company.

This exam is not easy but it doesn't have to be brutal if you can properly prepare yourself.  Take it seriously and you'll be fine.

My study schedule was more haphazard than most.  I have 2 kids (8yo and 3yo) and an otherwise active lifestyle so finding the time meant just grabbing what free hours were available, when they were available.  Basically, I studied for 1-2 hours a night (no less than every other night) for the 4 months leading up to the exam.  1 month out, I set aside 4 hours on a Saturday and 4 hours on a Sunday and did the NCEES practice test in two parts to assess my status.  From there I focused my efforts on problem areas.  All in, I believe I had some 200-250 hours if I include some pre-studying before the 4 month mark.

My primary resource was Engineering Pro Guides.  I used the Technical Study Guide as the guiding document and supplemented with other resources.  I used all of the following throughout studying but they are listed in order of importance relative to exam day:

1. ENG Pro Guide Technical Study Guide -- https://www.engproguides.com/power-pe-exam-study-guide-tools.html
   
   

• Get all of his practice tests.  They are very, very good.
  
  

1. The Electrical Engineer's Guide to Passing the Power PE Exam by Graffeo -- http://www.powerpeexamguide.com/
   
2. National Electric Code, non-handbook (I was an electrician before so I didn't need the extra weight of the handbook) -- https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/national-electrical-code-2017-edition-nfpa/1123827199#/
   
   

• I'd get the tabs for this no matter your level of familiarity
  
  

1. Electrical Machines, Drives and Power Systems by Wildi -- https://www.amazon.com/Electrical-Machines-Drives-Power-Systems/dp/0131776916
   
2. Power System Analysis by Grainger -- https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/power-system-analysis-john-j-grainger/1100151989
   
   

• I didn't use this one much on the exam but there are some odd ball items in here that can be helpful
  
  

1. National Electric Safety Code -- https://catalog.nfpa.org/National-Electrical-Safety-Code-2017-Edition-P17436.aspx
   
   

• Try to borrow this one if you can as its expensive but there are not likely to be a lot of questions needing it.  Easy points if you have the book though.
  
  

1. Various printouts bound in 3-ring binders for topics I struggled with but weren't well covered in the above.  For example, battery calculations, certain power electronics, certain equipment standards, etc.
   
   Like I mentioned above, I was an electrician before I got into engineering so my base code knowledge was above average.  That said, ENG Pro Guides has an excellent practice test.  Find your way through that a couple of times and you should be fine.  The key is to learn how to use the index and recognize key words, not memorizing the whole book, which is impossible.
   
   Hope this helps.  Feel free to ask anything else and I'll do my best to answer.
   
   Thanks and good luck!

My suggestion: https://www.amazon.com/Start-Home-based-Detailing-Business-Home-Based/dp/0762778768

There isn't anything "ground breaking" here but it will set you mentality in the direction of doing it.

Real friends won't let you work for free, and they damn well will not ask you to do stuff free. Now if you need to build a portfolio, there is an exception, your fee is in advertising/marketing material. But you really only need a few vehicles before you should stop this. Don't work free, free will attract things you don't want. I started out setting a high expectation with my costs. My cheapest packages attracted a customer base I didn't want. I very quickly dropped my cheapest interior and also exterior details, only leaving the packaged deal which I don't sell to at all. It literally exists for a quick detail for well maintained vehicles. My prices push away customers, and I am simply not bothered by this. Odds are they are not the customers I want to build my customer base on. Sure maybe I miss out occasionally, but I suspect I've been better off with my starting at prices creating a "price gate" than not. Honestly from some descriptions, the cost would have been doubled and they didn't even want to pay the starting price. I know my worth and I am going to get my worth, or I won't take the job. I also am closing down 1 business(covered my first year of transition) with money saved and a side value from that business that should cover year 2 and 3 easily. With my savings, good chance I could go 5 years without seeing a profit, though if the latest indicators say anything, I am not even remotely worried about this. 0 marketing and business is gaining momentum unexpectedly. But seriously, this is a luxury service, charge accordingly. I am not here to wash cars, I am here to detail, there is a difference.


I will tell you now that this approach will take a slower growth rate, but it is generally a solid growth rate. From a lot of people I've talked to, after a year or two things just beginning snowballing, I've already gotten a little taste of this this month, and I just started my 2nd year of business. (Though in Ohio, winter isn't much for business...)

You're getting great advice on surviving school, so I'll try to address "joining the workforce":

• Read this book. I can't tell you how much I wish it was around when I was getting my degree. It gives you a straightforward blueprint for what you should be doing in school. It's written by an awesome woman and it's spot on in every respect. The sister book "Cracking the Coding Interview" is amazing too when you get to interviewing for internships/jobs.
  
• Software is maybe less credential driven and more "meritocratic" than many fields, but software companies are looking for a story of success just like anyone else. High GPA is very helpful, extracurricular leadership is very helpful, etc. The book says all this I guess. But nothing matters more IMO than:
  
• Personal projects. Start building webapps, write a tech-focused blog, get a GitHub account, get involved with an open source project, whatever floats your boat. Work on tech outside of your coursework and make it something you can link on your resume. Start right now.
  
• Start getting internships as early as possible. Schools will generally tell you to wait till you've finished your sophomore year, but get one the summer of your freshman if you can swing it. If not an actual internship, at least something tech related. Tech internships usually pay really well too.
  
• You might think you are not good enough/experienced enough to write a blog, make a webapp, contribute to an open source project, get an internship. This is not true. a) The only way to get good at something is by doing it and feeling like you suck at it b) doing anything at all - no matter how crap it seems to you - will put you ahead of 90% of your classmates.
  
• There are a lot of shithead alpha-nerds making hiring decisions but there are also a lot of enlightened, woman/queer friendly people and places. I had a great experience interviewing for an internship at Google and I've heard good things about Facebook and Microsoft interviews. Smaller places are a mixed bag. Don't get discouraged, there are great places out there.
  
• Stick with it.

Entry level "PhD-level jobs" outside of academia are few and far between in Neuroscience, but consistency and planning will land you something eventually:

Start here: [Versatile PhD] (http://versatilephd.com/), [SfN Neurojobs] (http://neurojobs.sfn.org/jobs), ["So what are you gonna do with that?" Book] (http://www.amazon.com/What-Are-Going-With-That/dp/0374526214), [A PhD is not enough! Book] (http://www.amazon.com/PhD-Is-Not-Enough-Survival/dp/0465022227).

Also [www.indeed.com] is probably the best job hunting site I have found out there.

My first piece of advice:
Start job hunting and making connections now. "PhD-level jobs" are hard to find and you will have to lower your expectations a bit, especially on your first job. While long term, the degree can be a huge advantage, that is not the case immediately after grad school and you will need to be flexible.

As you explore, you will see some immediate career options are:

Adjuncting with the hope to land a faculty position at a Community College, academic scientist, medical scientist (at a hospital lab), medical devices, teaching high-school, government (NIH, NIMH etc.), science writing (grants, journals, editing etc.), learning code/stat programs (R, Python, SAS, SQL, MATLAB etc.) and taking those quant skills into 'big data', or going the more typical pharma industry route.
Consulting is another popular option, but they typically like people with some industry experience (I've seen on average 10-15 years).

The pay varies wildly on all of these, but if you are looking for the biggest bang for your buck that lines up with your (hopefully still present) passion for Neuroscience...

The pharmaceutical industry would be a great place where a Neuro PhD could thrive. From my colleagues in Neuroscience who eventually got some type of industry job, two truths rang through before they made the transition:

1. Either they had their foot in something before/during gradschool which is why they were getting a PhD in the first place (the minority).
   
2. Post-doc and then industry (the majority).
   
   Unfortunately, a post-doc is almost unavoidable based on today's job market. I've seen people taking industry post-docs, which are competitive, but lead to the nice jobs and salaries you believe your degree entitles you to.
   However, there are several who took academic post-docs and bought themselves time, experience, and a bloodlust for a good job, which eventually landed them something that was 70k+ in industry and they can work up from there.
   
   Point is, there are options out there. The key is persistence, research, flexibility, and of course: networking.
   
   

Sure. I left three years into my Ph.D. program, between my second qualifying paper and quals proper, circa 2012. (I reenrolled for a hot second in 2013 to brush off my QP, turn it into a masters' thesis, and defend.)

I had some research-related disagreements with my advisor which were the actual flashpoint, but it was really more a matter of weighing my options: looking at just what I would have to do, and what I might be missing out on, over the next 3-5 years just to have that X% chance at a tenure-track job. I'm also really big on work-life balance, and though academia has been making some improvements there very recently, in most areas it's still got a long way to go.

On the whole, it worked out pretty well: I went into science communication, took a few different jobs, and now I'm working for one of the leaders in the field. I'd definitely set the groundwork for a non-academic career, though, long before I actually left -- volunteering for non-profits, keeping in touch with industry connections, etc -- and I was also fairly successful at turning my academic background into an advantage rather than an irrelevancy: highlighting the interplay between linguistics and communications, bringing quantitative analysis to a field that doesn't always know what to do with metrics, working for organizations which handle scientific research and academic affairs, etc.

So I'd definitely recommend anyone considering a non-academic career (which, frankly, based on the numbers, should be most of us) think about those same things; when I was first starting off, I found Versatile Ph.D and So What Are You Going To Do With That? to be the most useful, but there could be other resources that have popped up since then. No matter which path you take, though, best wishes making it happen!

Never lie. That said I have been "unqualified/underqualified" for every position I have held if you look at measures like years of experience. This isn't a deal breaker. Put yourself in the hiring managers shoes. If you want to have a team that is working on bleeding edge technology and projects you have to make some compromises on experience. Particularly if you don't have a enormous budget to throw around. The critical things I look for are below.

Smart - I deal with complex problems everyday. A requirement for working with my team is that you can keep up.
Passion - Am I hiring someone who is passionate about the work and role. Do you work with this stuff in the spare time or just for a paycheck.
Ambition - If their is a gap in skills is the applicant going to work hard to fill the gap as quickly as possible. Would you read books and do research to learn the concepts.
Attitude - Are they a good fit for the team. Can I explain what needs to be done and count on you to solve problems and proactively tell if you are struggling.

Look for smaller companies where you will have the opportunity to wear as many hats as possible. The pay will be lower but your playing a long game with your career :) get the experience and find out which hat you like best.

Here is are two great books on the topic.

https://www.amazon.com/Smart-Gets-Things-Done-Technical/dp/1590598385

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1119087252/ref=mp_s_a_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1484396909&sr=8-6&pi=SL75_QL70&keywords=stretch+book

Good luck!

Oh and when you land that next position. This book will help get you off on the right foot.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1422188612/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1484397012&sr=8-1&pi=SL75_QL70&keywords=first+ninety+days

OK so this is a really simple thing, but if you plan on teaching with PowerPoints behind you, I really recommend this book called "slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations."

As the title suggests, it's a handbook of visual guides for creating better PowerPoint presentations. It's mostly visual hierarchy and other Gestalt basics, but I found it super useful for making presentations that were actually useful for the students as opposed to just being there. It was recommended to me about eight years ago by my mentor, and I've been following what it says ever since.

>I teach myself about 30 minutes to 1 hour of coding per day

you need to spend way more time than this. you're done with your dissertation - you should be spending like 8 hours a day on it.

1 year of full-time study is absolutely plenty of time to be proficient enough to land a job as a quant at a hedgefund.

i never went out for those jobs but the easiest way to figure out what you need to know in order to land a job is to reach out to someone that works at a hedgefund and just ask them. here's a list of the top quantitative hedge funds:

http://www.streetofwalls.com/finance-training-courses/quantitative-hedge-fund-training/quant-firms/

look up people that work there (or have worked there) on linkedin and message them. be polite and brief and succinct. eventually someone will talk to you and give you a good idea of what you need to know.

if you want to build models, off of the top of my head (from what i remember) you'll need to know a lot of undergrad data structure stuff (basically all of CLRS), SDEs (oksendal), optimization (boyd, bertsekas), basic stats (casella). all of this is pretty straightforward - read the books and the do the problems. the harder part is convincing someone you can come up with a strategy that's novel.

if you want to implement models, you need the data structures and optimization but you also need to pretty god damn good at very tight C++ (maybe ocaml if you go to jane street).

in general wilmott is a better place to ask https://forum.wilmott.com/

also wouldn't hurt to read this https://www.amazon.com/Heard-Street-Quantitative-Questions-Interviews/dp/0994103867
though it's mostly for analysts.

And I have these in my list on amazon. Would love to get some opinions on them:

 

How to Win Friends and Influence People

by Dale Carnegie

 

Secrets of a Freelance Writer: How to Make $100,000 a Year or More

by Robert Bly

 

Words that Sell

by Richard Bayan

 

Tested Advertising Methods

by Caples and Hahn

 

Writing That Works

by Kenneth Roman and Joel Raphaelson

 

Confessions of an Advertising Man

by David Ogilvy

 

The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing

by Al Ries and Jack Trout

 

The Robert Collier Letter Book

by Robert Collier

 

Nicely Said: Writing for the Web with Style and Purpose

by Nicole Fenton and Kate Kiefer Lee

 

Letting Go of the Words

by Janice (Ginny) Redish

 

Essential English for Journalists, Editors and Writers

by Harold Evans

 

Can I Change Your Mind?: The Craft and Art of Persuasive Writing

by Lindsay Camp

 

Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer

by Roy Peter Clark

 

Read Me: 10 Lessons for Writing Great Copy

by Roger Horberry and Gyles Lingwood

 

Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This: The Classic Guide to Creating Great Ads

by Luke Sullivan

 

WRITE IN STEPS: The super simple book writing method

by Ian Stables

 

On Writing Well

by William Zinsser

 

The Wealthy Freelancer

by Steve Slaunwhite, Pete Savage and Ed Gandia

 

Write Everything Right!

by Denny Hatch

 

The Secret of Selling Anything

by Harry Browne

 

The Marketing Gurus: Lessons from the Best Marketing Books of All Time

by Chris Murray

 

On Writing

by Stephen King

 

Writing for the Web

by Lynda Felder

 

Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content

by Ann Handley

 

This book will teach you how to write better

by Neville Medhora

Is it possible to make a life out of traveling and WWOOFing? Yes.

Is college that important? It depends what is important to you. Are you interested in a field where you need further education that you couldn't get with "real life" experience, such as engineering, technology, medical, and so forth? Are your parents totally set on you going to college? If yes, would you be okay with their disappointment?

My story:
I had been attending a small, private university for a year. I was in a major that doesn't give one hopes of a high income career and realized I would spend many years of my life after graduating in debt. I had always wanted to travel for an extended period of time and decided to do it. My parents were very supportive of my plan; my mom was scared (I'm female) and my dad was jealous as he wanted to travel when he was younger but did not.

I found this book and spent a year saving up about $2,000 (USD). I would of saved more but I had my own apartment at the time. I spent the next four years traveling in Central America, Australia, New Zealand, Hawai'i, and various parts of the American bible belt. I WWOOFed, work-traded at hostels and music festivals, worked at a banana farm, worked at restaurants and much more.

I've since settled into a beautiful city and have been here for two years. I have a great garden, from all that WWOOFing experience. :) I still have the desire to travel but I think it'll mostly be visiting the farms and people I've already have connections with.

I learned way more about the world, myself and how to be a good person during my travels then I believe I would have in university.

You'll see this one recommended a lot :
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. It's a classic and for good reason. I always find myself going back to it. In fact there are quite a few books I'd argue that build upon it

Another very good one is by Leil Lowndes called
How to Talk to Anyone. It gives a lot of useful tips on how to make conversations exciting and vibrant.

Also, John Sonmez's books are really good too because they focus on communication skills from a developers point of view. I really liked these because it also teaches how to develop your career and start your own brand:

• Soft Skills
  
  
• The Complete Software Developer's Career Guide
  
  
  
  These are just off the top of my head, I'm sure there are plenty more. Hope that helped!

OP try giving this text a read: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0615930417/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl_nodl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0615930417&linkCode=as2&tag=seatintecoac-20

Basically a CC functions like this: Credit card companies make the bulk of their money from three things: interest, fees charged to cardholders, and transaction fees paid by businesses that accept credit cards.

Think of a credit card as a short term loan, so if you were to start lending money, what would you look into first? Determining who your target market is. Is the CC for college students, first time creditors, arm forces members, state employees, mid income or new creditors with 0 credit?

How are you finding your CC company?
Will you have crediting investors who would get profits from the collected interests over time it will you have shared holders of a financial institution?

Think about how you would go about establishing credit worthiness, credit interest tiers, payment methods, insurance, security and fraud etc.

Hope this gives you something to start on.

Buy the book Smart and Gets things Done. It's a really good read with some solid advice. The title says it all, you want someone is smart, but also pragmatic enough to get things done. A smart person who re-invents the wheel with every project or switches frameworks regularly is probably going to end up being trouble.

I interview a lot and here's a few things I've learned:

• Always ask the same technical questions. If you vary the questions it's hard to get a good gauge of who did better, especially in situations where you like several candidates for one role.
  
  
• Ask an easy technical question, like stupidly easy that anyone can get "what is a div?", "what javascript native function gets a reference to an element?". The point here is not to test technical knowledge but to test personality. If a person gets upset and says "I know what I'm doing, this is easy, why are you asking me stupid questions?" that reeks of unprofessionalism. In my mind that person lacks social skills and will have difficult working in a team. Especially cross functional teams where not every person is a web developer or even developer period.
  
  
• Ask medium/hard questions. These are what you use to assess the technical chops of a candidate. Ask real world questions relating to the technology and make people white board it. Also be lenient on syntax errors, people get freaked out and may get a few thigns wrong. It's more important to see if they understand concepts. For example, we were interviewing for an angular role and someone used ng-visible instead of ng-show. He used it correctly, but probably just got nervous so I let it slide.
  
  
• Ask really hard algorithm questions. Like the easy question, the point here is not the answer. I couldn't care less. The point is to see how the candidate reacts under pressure. Do they throw a fit and start saying "it's unfair" ( I had a guy do this)? Do they quit without trying and say "no I'm not gonna try"? Or do they have a conversation with you, mention that they haven't had to do something like this but will try and talk out the answer with you? This is the best result, but I love this type of question because I want to know how the person will react under stress. We don't have a lot of stress, but as any development job, it might come up.
  
  
  As for format, he's what I recommend:
  
  
• Start with an introduction on your team and self. Briefly mention what you do.
  
  
• Ask the candidate to talk about their experience. Watch what they say, are they speaking all technical terms? Are they discussing recent projects from a high level. This will tell you a lot about how they thing. Also ask questions about what they talked about. Do they answer or ignore you? I had a guy who would not let me get a word in edgewise. And when I did ask a question he would ignore it and just say "you gotta hear this!"
  
  
• Technical questions on a whiteboard. If the room doesn't have a whiteboard, get one :)
  
  
• Towards the end ask the candidate if they have any questions. Good candidates will ask about the job ,culture, expectations etc. Not asking anything is a red flag for me.
  
  Sorry for the lengthy post, but I hope this helped.
  
  Edit: Forgot to mention. For internal candidates, you have to be a bit more careful. Be honest and talk to your boss about what you think. If the person can't cut it, you have a responsibility to say it now rather than live with the consequences later. If you pass an internal candidate and go with someone else, don't feel bad and he/she asks about it just refer them to your manager.

My first year in the Master's program I took a seminar in Culture and Economy. We had a pretty good stack of books we read through out the semester. I highly recommend these.

Stephen Gudeman- The Anthropology of Economy

Wilk and Cligget- Economies and Cultures: Foundations of Economic Anthropology 2nd Ed

Marshall Sahlins- Stone Age Economics

Karen Ho- Liquidated: An Ethnography of Wall Street

Colloredo-Mansfeld- The Native Leisure CLass: Consumption and Cultural Creativity in the Andes

Nancy Munn- The Fame of Gawa: A Symbolic Study of Value Transformation in a Massim Society

Michael T. Taussig- The Devil and Commodity Fetishism in South America

Taussig is a great writer. Wilk and Cligget's book is good for basic foundations Economic Anthropology. Karen Ho's book is also a great institutional ethnography as well. Happy Reading!

First, be SURE you know what you're doing. It only takes one botched job to sink a new detailer. I've seen it happen multiple times when a high schooler tries it out as a summer job and messes up a paint job with his new orbital polisher. People care a lot about their cars, so you need to be good enough to make a difference without overreaching.

Second, advertise! You're going to need to get your name out there. Go to a car club, put an ad in the newspaper, flyers around town, anything to get the business rolling.

Third, read up on starting up and running a business. There will be some unforeseen hurdles you'll have to go through if you're creating a business and not just under-the-table cash. Things like insurance, setting up an LLC, starting a business bank account, getting licenses, taxes, etc.

Fourth, be realistic. You're not going to get very lucrative jobs starting out. They'll likely be things like "clean up all this pet hair and cheerios dust from the back seat of my minivan" rather than full paint restoration.

Finally, and maybe most importantly, I recommend reading this book.


Good luck! Be sure to stop over at /r/AutoDetailing for some expert opinions!

> Total overkill. Bad idea.

I disagree to a certain extent. Go ahead and the get the books. But before you read all the CCNA books, please read Radia Perlman's 2nd Ed book, Interconnections: Bridges, Routers, Switches, and Internetworking Protocols. http://tinyurl.com/7sln2p6 It provides authoritative and comprehensive information on general networking concepts, routing algorithms and protocols, addressing, and the mechanics of bridges, routers, switches, and hubs. Her book is mostly theory, but then the Cisco books will make a lot more sense after that.

> Buying hardware now doesn't help you with the entry level exams as they are more adequately covered by simulators and it just increases the chance it'll be outdated and useless for future exams.

Buying an outdated c2600 will help him out in an interview. When I'm interviewing NOC people / junior network admins, I want them to know the following:

1. How to console into a Cisco device.
   
2. How to password recover a Cisco device.
   
3. How to upgrade the flash and DRAM on a Cisco device.
   
4. How to set up a tftp server.
   
5. How to upgrade the IOS on a Cisco device.
   
   He will need at least one piece of equipment to play with and say he has experience doing the five things stated.
   
   > You need experience for the higher profile jobs, and that means working your way up from the bottom.
   
   Not totally true. It saddens me when people start at help desk because they don't know any better. I'm going to keep harping on this - you have to people network to find a great job. It's not just how much experience you have, it's who you know and who knows you.
   
   
6. Get on LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com) and start people networking. I'm not going to explain LinkedIn to you, there is plenty of information out there.
   
   
7. Go to your local Cisco Users Group. If there isn't one in your town, ask your local Cisco office or a Cisco VAR (value added reseller) if they can help you start a group.
   
   
8. Make your own business cards and become your own consultant. Be an "IT Consultant" for "<Your Name> Computer Services" or something more ingenious than what I can think of off hand. VistaPrint is your friend, and don't get the free ones, they make you look cheap when you want to look professional. Hand them out at the Cisco Users Group.
   
   
9. Read books on how to find a job and how to sell (yourself.) Read this book - Guerilla Marketing for Job Hunters - http://www.amazon.com/Guerrilla-Marketing-Job-Hunters-3-0/dp/1118019091/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323786299&sr=1-2
   
   
10. Read this other book - Little Red Book of Sales Answers: 99.5 Real World Answers That Make Sense, Make Sales, and Make Money - http://www.amazon.com/Little-Red-Book-Sales-Answers/dp/0131735365/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323129165&sr=8-1
    
    
11. Check your local chamber of commerce web site and start researching companies in your area. Once you find a few that you would like to work for, contact the CIO / CTO of the company and ask to do an informational interview because you want to know what it's like to work in IT for a company. If you don't know what an informational interview is, Google it.
    
    You do all this and more, chances are you won't be a help desk grunt hating life and not moving up.

Saw a similar thread yesterday and I responded with this:

Just thought I'd give some advice as I have learned programming over the last year and was hired as a developer four months after starting my journey.

I was pretty overwhelmed with all the different options there are out there, however I'd recommend to sit down and first think about how you like to learn. Some people like to read, others like to watch or listen. This will help you filter out the methods that may not work for you.

I started with a programming school called launch school. It is $200 USD per month however during my salary negotiation I got my employer to take care of this cost as I can only do the program part time and it will likely take me another year of learning to complete.

I would suggest picking a program or method of learning and sticking to it. Immerse yourself with coding and push yourself through when you get bored or want to give up and try another program or method of learning. If you are like me and have trouble staying on track, take a break and come back to it.

Finally, I just started to read a book called the complete software developers career guide and I wish I read it when I was deciding on how to start learning.

The Complete Software Developer's Career Guide: How to Learn Your Next Programming Language, Ace Your Programming Interview, and Land The Coding Job Of Your Dreams https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B073X6GNJ1/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_NisBDbMBN03E1

If someone wants to discuss my journey, let me know! I now work on two very successful SaaS applications and there are only 3 developers where I am employed. It has been a life changing journey from last July!

I was in a similar place a couple of years ago. Had been a high school teacher, then a programmer. Was looking to switch to social work, but didn't exactly know what social work even was. I bought this book and found it very helpful -- just social workers in a variety of fields, describing a typical day for them:

https://smile.amazon.com/Days-Lives-Social-Workers-Professionals/dp/192910930X/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1540490741&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=days+in+the+lives+of+social+workers&psc=1

​

Best of luck to you! I'm now in my second year of a three-year MSW program and definitely enjoying the classes and my field placement.

What matters the most to me:

• Your ability to demonstrate that you can program in person. If your interview doesn't require you demonstrate some basic programming in person, their department may have other issues.
  
• Portfolio. Have a github account and open source projects? You're at the front of the pack.
  
• Human references. Basically, anyone that can verify that you're responsible enough to show up on time, complete a job, and communicate potential issues before they catch on fire.
  
  It's assumed that if you can program well in a couple languages, that you're capable of learning whatever toolset they use, especially for entry positions.
  
  GPA, though? Maybe larger companies call and verify, but I've never bothered checking or requested a transcript. I've had people with 3.5's that weren't motivated or fast, and I've seen people with 2.5's that were brilliant. Corporate might care more than a small business.
  
  I'd recommend grabbing a copy of Smart and Gets Things Done, which is targeted more at people hiring, but will show a lot of what to expect, and what the competition is.
  
  Also, get an internship your senior year (or earlier, if you have the time). You don't need to plan to work there forever, but getting something on a resume, some professional references, and some perspective on what the industry will be like is incredibly valuable.

Sorry to hear about your troubles!

Hmm, for job hunting I'd recommend:

Break The Rules: The Secret Code to Finding a Great Job Fast

It has the best way of looking at "selling yourself" to people I've ever seen in a book. Plus it came out in 2001 and you can buy it for a penny + shipping.

If you're interested in working for yourself (starting work now, not waitin around), I'd recommend:

Secrets of a Freelance Writer: How to Make $100,000 a Year or More

Or anything by Robert W. Bly. The guy's a genius.

For idea-generating for non-writing self-professions, I'd recommend:

The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future

If you create your own start-up, Bly has a marketing book too. I'd get that. Anything business-related written by the guy is worth its weight in gold.

If you don't see a job in sight, I would highly consider self-employment, just because you can start today. I think it's great that anyone, anywhere can say "I'm now employed" if they want to. There is responsibility for paying yourself, of course, but now no one can fire you, and they don't take a percent away from your earnings. You get all the kickback. And it's not a pyramid scheme-ish company like Amway, where layers of people are all getting a chunk of your profit (just like any other job you work for other people).

You sound intelligent and experienced; you should go for it if you've got the gumption.

If I was running an 'Interviewing for PM roles 101' first and foremost I'd go over this article by Ken Norton. It runs the gamut of questions I've had over the course of many interviews and sets expectations around a possible interviewers frame of mind.

For books I have three: Cracking the PM Interview, Swipe to Unlock, and Decode and Conquer. Cracking the PM Interview is a general overview of what PMs do, how to prepare for interviews, and general interview questions. Swipe to Unlock give reasons for why certain PM decisions were made and the strategy behind it. Decode and Conquer has more interview questions, but also sample answers to them and is a bit more technically-focused.

My recommendation is to come up with something you want to build and explore what it would take to do that. For example, what if I was interested in who would win the Oscars? I might use Twitter's Search API and explore which movies come up the most with the hashtag Oscars. What would that take? Well, I would have to integrate with Twitter security so they know it's a valid request, use Twitter's documentation to figure out how to search for terms, and then import that into a data analysis tool to do sentiment analysis. In an interview I discussed what I would build, worked through what features I would want to add, and a roadmap for deployment, which was a fun exercise!

If that is the case. Look in your area at the software companies. check to see if they are hiring, if so, see what they are looking for in an applicant. It might give you some clarity on what to study. Also look the company up on LinkedIn and reach out. I was always advised that by my professors. I personally want to work for microsoft (i have a few friends in Seattle and it is a "good" company to work for), very demanding I know. It will be a lot harder to focus on one aspect with a large company like that. I am currently reading this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073X6GNJ1/ref=kinw_myk_ro_title I have kindle unlimited so it was free. It is a good resource if you are stuck.
as for the passion part. IDK man, I am in the same boat right now. honestly, I think it is just a wall you have to force your self through. Make a list of 20 projects. 8 easy ones (tic tax toe, calculator etc), 8 intermediate ones, and 4 dream ones. put a lot of detail in the "dream" ones. Then make the 8 intermediate ones parts of the 4 dreams ones. umm like a break down. if you want to make a game. one of the intermediate ones can be a user input program, a second can be a physics one, a third one can be graphic output and so on. I know of me and many others i get lost in the OVERWHELMING complexity of things. I freeze and cant move forward. Maybe learn some programming start to finish processing/design. Do not worry about the code, just get your ideas on paper. Start with the mission statement. then break it up into sections. Pretend you are working with a team of developers, where you are each role. but you act separate. Shrugs. In all honesty the best path might be to take an online course from a college and just get into the work force

Bebop to Boolean Boogie is pretty good. Very easy and fun book to read. Covers a ton of great entry level topics.

https://www.amazon.com/Bebop-Boolean-Boogie-Unconventional-Electronics/dp/1856175073/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=bebop+to+boolean+boogie&qid=1573568129&sr=8-1

Then move towards something more FPGA specific like

https://www.amazon.com/FPGA-Prototyping-Verilog-Examples-Spartan-3/dp/0470185325/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=fpga+verilog+examples&qid=1573568177&sr=8-2

Knowing C will probably hurt you more than help you. Forget what you know about C when learning Verilog. You need to approach learning Verilog in a different manner. Verilog is not another top-down procedural language expressing instructions one after another. There are some general programming tenets that still hold true, and attention to detail in regards to syntax is important. But forget about line-by-line procedural execution because that's not how these hardware description languages work. You need to learn DIGITAL DESIGN before you learn Verilog....

EDIT: for clarity and to tighten up my thoughts.

No, you're not alone. I was a sysadmin for a while but I went back to school for botany. I had always been into biology but I got into IT for the $$$. I still do a bit of IT work. I like to offset the IT sterility with my plants; works for me.

I've got a lot of ideas and doing the nursery thing is one of them. I read this book on running a nursery and I found it to be adequate. I mean, you're not going to learn everything you need to know from a book. I've heard good stuff about this book but I haven't read it (yet).

Get your hands in the dirt, sure, but don't forget that your computing skills can be a huge asset. Specifically automation if you decide to go the hydroponic food greenhouse/warehouse route that's going to be a lifesaver. They talk a little bit about computers in that first book I mentioned and (bless their hearts) it looks like the nursery industry is severely limited in their computer integration. Just spitballing here: I think that doing a few things Arduino controlled would be smart. I'm talking about cycle timers (for timed on/off operations), sensors (numerous things), irrigation controls. This sort of thing can give you a big leg up on the competition I would think. Don't throw out the baby with the bath water.

I've been mostly finding that website coding is insanely helpful.

HackerRank, CodeForces, TopCoder are all great resources for "competition" problems (which translate really well into interview problems and problem-solving in general).

I read this book, it actually proved to be a lot more helpful for my Riot Games interview, since it had to do a lot with "in-depth" thinking, which this book is great at helping break down (I always found "Cracking the Coding Interview" to be way too high level, especially if you're in a pinch): http://www.amazon.com/Data-Structures-Algorithms-Made-Easy/dp/1468108867

(NOTE: If you're a primarily Java developer, there's an equivalent book for the above, just search "Data Structures and Algorithms in Java", from the same author)

I learned a lot more from that book than I did McDowell's, since I found that this author actually cared about doing "deep dives" into each of the topics presented. I own an earlier edition - not to say this one isn't great, I'm actually pretty sure the "algorithmic puzzles" he presents are a lot more relevant to current programming interviews.

There's also the age-old CLRS, which I found to be useful for any kind of theoretical computer science topic (Runtime analysis, big-O, etc): http://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Algorithms-Edition-Thomas-Cormen/dp/0262033844/

Let me know what you think! -- I've been using both of these to get my next job (hopefully full-time)! ^_^

It's quite faschinating from an anthropological perspective. Our society values degrees over actual knowledge so much. One of the more worrying consequences of this is in Wall Street.

When they hire, they only hire the Smartest^^TM people from the smartest^^TM collages (Harvard, Yale etc). The people that are pulled into the system don't necessarily have to have degrees or an actual valuable education, just having entered the right bachelor program is enough.

These peoples are then rewarded on how well they act within the cultural system of Wall Street. If they conform and manages to do some decent work they survive, and are labeled as fucking geniuses by Wall Street and a society that worship Wall Street.

The longer consequences of it is that Wall Street builds a competence-pool that's not necessarily smart, just able to conform to a system that in-itself isn't always too smart or well designed to created educated people.

Because if Wall Street was so smart, why are we entering recessions every 10th year, and why are we destroying the planet for short-term profits? Why are Wall Street driving bubbles that they know are bubbles?

They believe that loyalty to the wall street system is smartness, because people at Wall Street are "fucking smart".

TLDR: Listen to Liquidated

Karen Ho's "Liquidated: An Ethnography of Wall Street" explains how the meritocracy is racist, even though the idea is used to cover up that perception. Check it:

>On Wall Street, “economic outcome” is seen as constituted through skill, merit, and education, not such “externalities” as race, class, and gender.

>...

>The singular pursuit of the bottom line serves as a deterrent against any residual flare-ups of institutionalized racism, sexism, and classism, sweeping the specter of bias onto the terrain of other institutions.

 

But here's how the "meritocracy" actually works:

>The complete equating of smartness with these institutions, the identification of historically white colleges as global, universal institutions, as well as the wholesale erasure of the white upper-class male privilege embedded in these universities are part and parcel of how excellence is understood. Central to Wall Street’s construction of its own superiority is the corollary assumption that other corporations and industries are “less than”—less smart, less efficient, less competitive, less global, less hardworking—and thus less likely to survive the demands of global capitalism unless they restructure their cultural values and practices according to the standards of Wall Street. In a meritocratic feedback loop, their growing influence itself becomes further evidence that they are, in fact, “the smartest.”

Wall Street will recruit mostly from Princeton and Harvard and Yale, and then recruit a bit at other less prestigious schools within a certain quota.

>Instead, Princeton and Harvard recruits bring to the table just the right mix of general qualities and associations: they are not too technical or geeky (MIT), not too liberal (Yale), not too far away (Stanford), and their universities carry more historical prestige than the remaining Ivies (Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, University of Pennsylvania). Possessed of a combination of traditional cachet, class standing, and pedigree, they can show prima facie evidence of their “excellence” by virtue of their schools’ (presumably) exclusive selection processes; and they demonstrate a constant striving for further “excellence” by virtue of their participation in the intense process of recruiting and their evident desire for a high-status, upper-crust lifestyle.

>Finally, Wall Street maintains pinnacle status and differentiates between elite schools by utilizing quota systems and other divisive mechanisms that reproduce Wall Street/university hierarchies.

 

So, yeah...meritocracy is racist because it favors whites through a complex system of hierarchies. And that's only on Wall Street. Sara Ahmed is currently doing a project on complaints in institutions that confronts racism and sexism in institutional life, often the primary means of proving one's merit in our economy based on skilled labor.

I don't even know why I bothered typing this out. But it's too late, I'm committed and I'm pressing Enter!

I know a few people who managed to live abroad more or less indefinitely by taking small jobs at backpacker hostels. There's a book out there somewhere called Work Your Way Around the World.

I'm amazed at the way other foreigners here in China waste money on things like taxis and "western" restaurants. The bus is basically free...maybe $0.15? And a bowl of noodles in an alley somewhere is still less than a dollar.

Plane tickets account for 90% of the money I spend annually and that's because my dates aren't flexible enough. If you don't really give a shit when you leave or when you come back you can save more money than you can believe. Sometimes the best bet is buying something months in advance; sometimes the best deal is getting a redeye flight that leaves tomorrow and the airline can't fill all the seats.

I've lived in Japan for a couple years and Australia for one year. Assuming you're a U.S. citizen and not in school, your options are pretty limited. You can do a year-long working holiday in Australia or New Zealand, I know for Australia at least, you can apply online, and I got my response back in a a few hours. In Japan I got the job first and the company provided me with a visa. If you are in school, you should look into a study abroad program. As far as your other questions, you do need a visa to work in another country, you file your taxes like you always do (but with a different form, it's on the IRS web site), your citizenship and residency remain unchanged. There's a book called Work Your Way Around the World that you might look through to get some ideas, but it's not particularly relevant to US citizens, since we don't have much to choose from in the working holiday department. Finally, pack half what you think you'll need. Good luck!

Anything in this series is brilliant. Explains things at a very basic level, in friendly english. It will help you a lot. Good luck!

I don't work in the game industry, but maybe these books can help you out.

Books

• Break Into The Game Industry: How to Get A Job Making Video Games
  
• How to Score Your First Game Job: And What to Expect from the Videogame Industry
  
• Breaking Into the Game Industry: Advice for a Successful Career from Those Who Have Done It
  
• How to Get a Job in Video Games
  
• Get in the Game: Careers in the Game Industry
  
• How to Become a Video Game Artist: The Insider's Guide to Landing a Job in the Gaming World
  
• Land a Job as a Video Game Tester
  
• Beginner's Guide (Video Game Careers Book 1)
  
• VGC Ultimate Edition (Video Game Careers) (Volume 4)
  
• Inside the Video Game Industry : Game Developers Talk About the Business of Play
  
• Video Games: An Introduction to the Industry
  
• The Video Game Industry: Formation, Present State, and Future
  
  Articles
  
  
• How to get into the games industry – an insiders' guide
  
• Game Developers, what is getting into the gaming industry really like?
  
  Videos
  
  
• Top 10 Tips for Getting Into The Video Game Industry
  
• "How does a person get a job at your videogame company?"
  
• What's it's really like to work in Game industry
  
  Edit: Added more things to read and watch.

I can't give any advice for SEA. I don't know how much you've looked into it already, but some assorted resources people seem to like:

Max Dama - On Automated Trading

Jane Street - Probability and Markets

Cliff Asness - A Brief and Biased Survey of Quantitative Investing

Heard On the Street

A practical Guid to Quant Finacne interviews

A summary of quantative trading

[Mark Joshi - On Becoming a quant] (http://www.markjoshi.com/downloads/advice.pdf)

How's your programming and statistics? Those are probably the two things you can improve the most on your own to give you the best chance with interviews.

Tell stories about the projects that you've worked on that demonstrate the skills that the position requires. This indirectly shows you're an effective communicator, and it also engages the interviewer on a conversational level.

Misc other things:

• record yourself speaking and telling these stories. practice and improve.
  
• practice positive, assertive body language. this will improve your confidence and is a good social signal to interviewers.
  
• you know that they're going to ask, so have explanations on why you only have 1 exam passed
  
  If you have some time, I would highly recommend buying & reading "Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters". It really helps you frame "you" as something that employers want. Hard to explain, but it'll help.

I'm not a sales guy but there's one great book on sales which I think everyone great with sales has read.

How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling

you will want to read this book https://www.amazon.com/So-You-Want-Start-Nursery/dp/0881925845, as well as vol 2 of the "Ball Red Book" . https://m.barnesandnoble.com/w/ball-redbook-volume-2-jim-nau/1100440834 Talk to your nearest agriculural school extension service for a crapton of free info on how to get started and contact your nearest farmers market to ask questions on what people have been buying and how to participate. START SMALL. DO NOT START INVESTING IN EXPENSIVE GIANT GREENHOUSES OR IRRIGATION SYSTEMS. The first book will give you lots of info on systems that can scale and how to kludge them together. I have worked with multimillion dollar growers who started out years ago with a cheap hoop greenhouse and a crop of 100 poinsettias. Slow and steady! GOOD LUCK!

Days in the Lives of Social Workers

> Spend a day with social workers in 58 different settings, and learn about the many career paths available to you. Did you ever wish you could tag along with a professional in your chosen field, just for a day, observing his or her every move? DAYS IN THE LIVES OF SOCIAL WORKERS allows you to take a firsthand, close-up look at the real-life days of 58 professional social workers as they share their stories. Join them on their journeys, and learn about the rewards and challenges they face.
>
> This book is an essential guide for anyone who wants an inside look at the social work profession. Whether you are a social work graduate student or undergraduate student, an experienced professional wishing to make a change in career direction, or just thinking about going into the field, you will learn valuable lessons from the experiences described in DAYS IN THE LIVES OF SOCIAL WORKERS.
>
> The 4th edition includes four new chapters, a new appendix on social media and mobile apps, and features a foreword by Elizabeth J. Clark, executive director of the National Association of Social Workers.

Just throwing this out there:

You don't have to quit your job to see if you can get equal or better pay elsewhere (or at your current soul-sucking job).

I recommend Break The Rules: The Secret Code to Finding a Great Job Fast.

It was written by one of those scumbag corporate shills who are either really good at faking liking their job, or actually like their job (even worse!). They also have a Ph. D. in the subject and seem to specialize in corporate jobs.

Noteworthy things from the book:

Teaches you how to take credit for things that you don't usually take credit for.

Example: Everyone working under you had to be earning money for someone, right? You can take credit for the hours they worked (you scheduled them), the money they made over however much time you've worked there (easily in the millions of dollars; probably hundreds of millions if you're with a company that makes a lot of money, possibly even in the billion range if you've been there long enough and the company is huge, all because you were the "lead" of their projects). Basically, any money that was made under you as the manger....TADA! You get the credit. Why? You would get the blame if everything was messed up. That's all it takes for you to justify using those huge numbers, even if you don't make the policy that leads to you getting those numbers. Doesn't matter, and the numbers impress other bosses. You can also use those numbers to negotiate higher pay from your current employer. "We're not gonna find a boss like GeneralMalaiseRB anytime soon! Pay the man, he makes X amount of money, which he just showed us on his spreadsheet! There's a go-getter there, that GeneralMalaiseRB. Can't fool him into working for pennies anymore!" they'll all say, once they read your numbers. You know what morons people are for spreadsheets in corporate culture. It's almost like they have to be, by some insane logic, or their entire system will crumble.

But even if getting a raise won't work, you can use those numbers to get a job that pays well. Hell, you probably don't even need to stay in your specialized area anymore. You said it yourself; your skill is in being a boss.

Anyway, I am too lazy to type out all the rest the book is good for, but it's a good book, and you don't have to quit your job first to use it.

God. Goddess. Earth Mother. Whatever... Save us from Wall Street Analysts...

Seriously, these folks don't know their ass from their elbow and make oodles on money in a business where they never have to actually answer to their recommendations and predictions because they change jobs and start analyzing different fields every 12 to 18 months.

These are the same people who, for much of the 1990's kept saying that there was no future in Digital Cameras and that Kodak should pour all of it's development efforts into PhotoCD. (source: http://hbr.org/2010/07/wall-street-is-no-friend-to-radical-innovation/ar/1 and the linked journal article).

There was a terrific ethnography published a few years ago that really gets to all of the underlying issues with the entire Investment Banking and Analyst structure. If you're remotely interested in the topic, it's a great read:
http://www.amazon.com/Liquidated-Ethnography-Street-Franklin-Center/dp/0822345994

I would recommend picking up a good book first. Renny Doyle. Great read. Pick up the nanoskin medium grade sponge, instead of clay. Much more user friendly and cheaper than most clay.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0762778768?cache=93c53338cc8c8b985cd3678d7df4f7a9&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70&qid=1413444641&sr=8-9#ref=mp_s_a_1_9

From The Complete Software Developer's Career Guide

1. Start becoming friends with people well before you need help from them
   
   
2. Attempt to help them before they help you
   
   Though depending on how close you are to graduating, these may not be options for you. But they generally result in a non-fake way to network.

I haven't read the book /u/logosogol posted, but I had this book for school and it's pretty in-depth, with a decent amount of AC/DC fundamentals as well. Sometimes it gets a bit involved but it is mostly pretty practical.

Bebop to the Boolean Boogie. Amazing book by a great author and a fun read.

Thanks for your input.

I'm intending to get college credit for this intenship. My major itself had 4-5 classes that focused a lot on programming. My computer science minor included anther 3-4. The internships I'm pursuing aren't radically different from what I learned in school. There shouldn't really be any issue with this, right?

I'm taking advice from The Complete Software Developer's Career Guide, where he says to specialize in something. I've tried sending in lots of resumes as more of a "jack of all trades", but that didn't seem to be effective either.

I figured I needed to do something to stand out. I changed up my strategy 2 months ago by focusing on .NET and widening my search to all around the country rather than just the state. I still have a few other languages and frameworks on my resume, such as Ruby, C++, JavaScript, jQuery, and SQL. I just haven't gone deep enough into the different frameworks for Ruby, C++, and JavaScript to really focus on them, like I have for .NET.

Thanks, for posting this Reddit. Uhm, what helped me out was this book called : "Breaking Into the Game Industry" Breaking into the Game Indusry

It's a really good book that makes great key points that are valid, and its a short read! It'll take you about two hours to read the entire thing. Check it out! :D

Oh yeah if you want a book for interviews, by far the best one I've read is this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Break-Rules-Secret-Finding-Great/dp/073520201X/

The reviews only have it as 4 star, but I give it 5 easily. It gives really practical knowledge. The guy who wrote it used to hire people for competitive corporate positions, and he also has a Ph. D. in management and I think also marketing. So if you just want a book for interviews, I would get that one first. Unfortunately I do not think it is available in digital format, but the used ones are super cheap, and again, I cannot recommend enough.

I read a book a long time ago about this topic. I’m not 100% sure but I think this was the book:
https://www.amazon.com/What-Are-You-Going-That/dp/0374526214/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1536648062&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=a+guide+for+ma+and+phd+seeking+career&dpPl=1&dpID=41BYA1B5RSL&ref=plSrch

The gist is that if you want to get any kind of job and not just lab-related jobs, it’s all about marketing yourself. You can tell employers about all the “hard lab skills” you have on your CV and they couldn’t care less. Or you can find out what qualities the employers are looking for and connect these qualities with the “soft skills” you cultivated under pressure during PhD/research training. The book can give you many ideas of how to do that.

Occasionally employers (usually of small businesses) are willing to give you a junior position without the technical qualification after a vetting period if you demonstrate that you can learn really fast, you get along with them, and you are motivated to learn the skills. Hackernoon has some stories like this.

Corporate identities are typically grid based, so if you haven't read it already Timothy Samara's Making and Breaking the Grid may be useful.

It's likely you'll be restricted to an already existing brand, so probably no need to learn more about corporate branding. Your challenges will be staying fresh and inspired within a limited structure, typeface and color palette.

If they require you to work on corporate presentations, Duarte's Slideology is a must-read.

If it involves data visualization for annual reports and such, Alberto Cairo's The Functional Art will be very relevant.

Hope that helps.

How I Raised Myself From Failure to Success in Selling by Frank Bettger.

It's old but it is a story of an ordinary guy that managed to do remarkable things. While still being a good guy.

For what it's worth, the book that kickstarted my interest and understanding in digital electronics was a weird little book called Bebop to the Boolean Boogie. The one I read was the first edition; I stumbled on it randomly on a bookshelf (back when we had these things called bookstores; get off my lawn).

It managed to be a perfect mix of entertaining and informative, and helped the concepts sink in.

I read an excellent book on this subject, by Tony Avent, who is an excellent nurseryman. Basically, he said nurseries do well as mom and pop operations with $50,000 in annual revenue and minimal expenses, or as large operations with a dozen employees with over $1,000,000 in annual revenue.

Read Avent's book; he goes into marketing, employee management, irrigation, shipping really everything. I live near Tony Avent's nursery, he locates and breeds unusual new vareities, which sell for premium prices.

Have you read Decode and Conquer (http://amzn.to/29G0irv) and How Google Works (http://amzn.to/29G0p6k)?

Some videos:
https://userbrain.net/blog/product-management-videos-that-are-worth-your-time

But still, I'd love to keep learning. Especially about improving people skills. It gets more important as you move up.

Maths, statistics, generalised statistical methods - the number theory behind stats.

Finance, calculus etc

There was a book we used to use to give people the idea of what we're looking for:

https://www.amazon.com/Heard-Street-Quantitative-Questions-Interviews/dp/0994103867

It's old old old now, but nothing gives one the out-of-the-box mindset they are after like this.

I'm from the UK and loved my time as a quant. It was a young man's game. There are not many good old quants/mathematicians.

Is this the book? http://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Freelance-Writer-Third-Edition/dp/0805078037

I'd love to hear which book you used and what parts you found most valuable!

There's a book I read many years ago titled Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters. https://www.amazon.com/Guerrilla-Marketing-Job-Hunters-3-0/dp/1118019091 It has a bunch of slightly dirty tricks for getting a job. While I haven't read the current version, I remember finding it helpful.

One idea you might consider are looking for announcements of people appointed to a new job, figuring out the person's old job, and applying for that.

By far, the best way to get a job is to ask friends. Most jobs vacancies aren't announced or posted. Many are just filled by word of mouth. So, tell everyone you know that you're looking for a job and tell everyone to send you any information about any job openings. Naturally, this assumes that your current employer won't be upset at this.

Texts and Reference Books

Days in the Lives of Social Workers

DSM-5

Child Development, Third Edition: A Practitioner's Guide

Racial and Ethnic Groups

Social Work Documentation: A Guide to Strengthening Your Case Recording

Cognitive Behavior Therapy: Basics and Beyond

[Thoughts and Feelings: Taking Control of Your Moods and Your Life]
(https://www.amazon.com/Thoughts-Feelings-Harbinger-Self-Help-Workbook/dp/1608822087/ref=pd_sim_14_3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=3ZW7PRW5TK2PB0MDR9R3)

Interpersonal Process in Therapy: An Integrative Model

[The Clinical Assessment Workbook: Balancing Strengths and Differential Diagnosis]
(https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0534578438/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_38?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ARCO1HGQTQFT8)

Helping Abused and Traumatized Children

Essential Research Methods for Social Work

Navigating Human Service Organizations

Privilege: A Reader

Play Therapy with Children in Crisis

The Color of Hope: People of Color Mental Health Narratives

The School Counseling and School Social Work Treatment Planner

Streets of Hope : The Fall and Rise of an Urban Neighborhood

Deviant Behavior

Social Work with Older Adults

The Aging Networks: A Guide to Programs and Services

[Grief and Bereavement in Contemporary Society: Bridging Research and Practice]
(https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0415884810/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1)

Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy

Motivational Interviewing: Helping People Change

Ethnicity and Family Therapy

Human Behavior in the Social Environment: Perspectives on Development and the Life Course

The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work

Generalist Social Work Practice: An Empowering Approach

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association

The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook

DBT Skills Manual for Adolescents

DBT Skills Manual

DBT Skills Training Handouts and Worksheets

Social Welfare: A History of the American Response to Need

Novels

[A People’s History of the United States]
(https://www.amazon.com/Peoples-History-United-States/dp/0062397346/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1511070674&sr=1-1&keywords=howard+zinn&dpID=51pps1C9%252BGL&preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch)


The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Life For Me Ain't Been No Crystal Stair

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Tuesdays with Morrie

The Death Class <- This one is based off of a course I took at my undergrad university

The Quiet Room

Girl, Interrupted

I Never Promised You a Rose Garden

Flowers for Algernon

Of Mice and Men

A Child Called It

Go Ask Alice

Under the Udala Trees

Prozac Nation

It's Kind of a Funny Story

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

The Yellow Wallpaper

The Bell Jar

The Outsiders

To Kill a Mockingbird

What's your budget?
How old is your friend?
What equipment do they have already?

Regardless of age, I would recommend this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Bebop-Boolean-Boogie-Third-Unconventional/dp/1856175073/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1314736370&sr=8-1

Some other ideas:

• GC to sparkfun.com
  
• Subscription to Make magazine
  
• Some kind of Arduino
  
• Good multimeter, soldering iron, tweezers, magnifying glass
  
  
  

Hey man, I interviewed a couple of months ago at a trading firm in Chicago for an Analyst/Quant role. Aside from the one the other user mentioned, this one was super helpful for me too!

Just read an interesting book on that and apparently, for the number of hours they work, most entry-level investment banking people are making well below minimum wage. The book was written by an anthropologist (Stanford undergrad, Princeton PhD) who left her PhD to work in an investment bank. She talks about how important degrees are and how there are "Harvard" companies and "Princeton" companies and hierarchies surrounding where you got your degree. Not incredibly written but really interesting.

Link. Review.

I recommend this one a lot, but it really is my favorite: How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling by Frank Bettger. It doesn't require very much mental horsepower to apply the techniques that he presents to interpersonal and professional relationships, even if you're not in direct sales.

The future direction of news and how it can be improved
Links in this section are RSS feeds

Jay Rosen is my favorite author on the subject:

• His Posterous
  
  
• His blog... PressThink
  
  
• Twitter
  
  Jeff Jarvis is nothing to shake a stick at either:
  
• Blog - BuzzMachine
  
  
• Twitter
  
  And finally, we can't forget Clay Shirky:
  
  
• Blog
  
  
• Twitter
  
  Presentation design and using visuals to increase group effectiveness.
  Links in this section are to books
  
  
• Nancy Duarte's Slideology and Resonate
  
  
• Garr Reynold's Presentation Zen and The Naked Presenter
  
  
• Dan Roam's Back of the Napkin
  
  
• David Sibbet's Visual Meetings
  
  
• Jeff Conklin's Dialogue Mapping
  
  EDIT: formatting

A friend recommended this book: The Google Resume by Gayle Laakmann McDowell

I would recommend it over any such service because it really helped me fix up my resume.

Pretty sure you mean Joel Splosky

(warning: Amazon link!)

For my technologist program focusing on power systems (Canada) we used Electrical Machines, Drives, and Power Systems. It covers industrial control, generators, motors, power electronics, transformers, utilities and some PLC. It's qualitative and focuses on application, construction and operation. It does contain math but it stops at complex algebra for analysis with phasors. Not sure what level you're interested in refreshing but it can go pretty in depth with some heavy readings. I'm in eng school now and although it's not quite an engineering textbook, it kinda falls under the requested categories.

Education! Detailing, business, and marketing. Start with Renny Doyle's book on starting a detailing business.

If that resinates with you, pony up the money to get trained. You could learn on the job, but the risk and the ramp time are too high IMO.

Good luck!

[edit: sorry about the link, mods. I was being lazy.]

This book: slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations https://www.amazon.com/dp/0596522347/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_vexlyb1DWMW7Z

This is a pretty good book and is also only 4 months old, so very up to date.

Hey, I've been where you're at. Consider going to school such as University to focus on a niche in the games industry. E.G: Comp Sci for programming, HCI, for design, etc. Or you can go to a specialized game school that teaches you everything. Albeit, these don't prepare you very well for the industry unless you work incredibly hard, and or are a wunderkind.

One thing that helped me is the book by Brenda Romero Breaking Into the Games industry. It's a pretty solid primer for your question.
https://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Into-Game-Industry-Successful/dp/1435458044

Edit: misspelled Brenda

Much like a boat, or an airplane, the original purchase price is only the beginning of the expenses. You have a lot more research ahead of you. Depending on where you plan on going with this, I'd suggest either Building Your Own Greenhouse, or So You Want To Start a Nursery.

Heard on The Street is a great book to prepare for interviews. ^^Psst, ^^up ^^here, ^^there's ^^a ^^free ^^pdf ^^if ^^you ^^search ^^on ^^google.

> To me, that is only delaying the inevitable, which is reducing the admission of candidates to Ph.D. programs.

That would be a positive development, wouldn't it? I think universities should stop accepting so many graduate students, who provide cheap labor for their advisors. If jobs aren't available, universities should stop overproducing them just because it is cheap and convenient for them, without taking into account that these students will be underemployed after they graduate, not to mention that they would have spent a large part of their youth poor and stressed out. Instead of hiring cheap graduate student labor for doing research, they should hire people in more permanent positions like tenure-track faculty, lecturers, research scientists, etc.

So What Are You Going to Do With That? is a good book about seeking alternative careers. It is written by two humanities PhDs, but the general principles are applicable to everyone. It is one of the recommended books suggested during career exploration/development workshops conducted by the graduate school career center.

Read Bebop to the Boolean Boogie, it'll give you a basic run through of the hardware basis of modern day computing. It's a fun read too.

Check this out for a newbie friendly introduction to digital systems:
https://www.amazon.com/Bebop-Boolean-Boogie-Third-Unconventional/dp/1856175073/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1494656076&sr=8-1&keywords=bebop+to+the+boolean+boogie

https://www.amazon.com/So-You-Want-Start-Nursery/dp/0881925845

I'm currently reading this now. Pretty good info on starting a nursery.

Ms. McDowell covers this and many other questions in her (famous) book http://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Tech-Career-Insider-Microsoft/dp/1118968085/ref=dp_ob_title_bk

edit: well the old one has more reviews http://www.amazon.com/Google-Resume-Prepare-Microsoft-Company/dp/0470927623/ref=sr_1_6_twi_kin_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1449708818&sr=1-6&keywords=Gayle+Laakmann+McDowell
I guess her book Cracking the Coding Interview is more popular than the ones linked, but oh well. I forget exactly what she says.

Try reading this book 'The google resume' it might help.
http://www.amazon.com/Google-Resume-Prepare-Microsoft-Company/dp/0470927623

Just few resources to help develop problem solving/programming skills:

/r/dailyprogrammer

Project Eular

Data Structures and Algorithms (recommended a lot by Mosh Hamedani)

And the obvious /r/learnprogramming / StackOverflow etc. for when you need help.

If you haven't read it yet, you might also be interested in slideology, because it is specific to presentations.

Highly Recommend this

> I'm looking at jobs in quantitative software engineering roles, like Jane Street, DE Shaw and Two Sigma.

Then brush up on your probability and statistics brainteasers. That, and algorithmic brainteasers (like things to do with linkedlists, arrays, etc).

Sample book is Heard on the Street by Crack or Quant Job Interview Questions and Answers by Joshi et al.

You don't need to know finance for Jane Street. They emphasize that...

Applying online usually means you will go into the HR blackhole. Not worth your time and energy.

Go buy this book and read it:

Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters 3.0: How to Stand Out from the Crowd and Tap Into the Hidden Job Market using Social Media and 999 other Tactics Today

http://www.amazon.com/Guerrilla-Marketing-Job-Hunters-3-0/dp/1118019091/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1346603946&sr=8-1&keywords=guerilla+marketing+for+job+hunters+3.0

Also get on LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com) and learn how to use it.

Buy this or find one at a library: https://www.amazon.com/Heard-Street-Quantitative-Questions-Interviews/dp/0994103867. If you can do a lot of the problems in there you're probably set. Some firms ask about derivatives pricing or programming depending on the position. It's also a good idea to have some idea of current financial news, read Barron's, the Economist, WSJ, etc.

Go and purchase this book. It has everything you'll need to know for starting out.

Most likely this one: https://www.amazon.com/Start-Home-based-Detailing-Business-Home-Based/dp/0762778768

Heard on the Street

> Slide:ology

This one?

slide:ology

Despite that these references are more for "industrial applications" though:

http://www.amazon.com/Electric-Motors-Drives-Fundamentals-Applications/dp/0080983324

http://www.amazon.com/Electric-Motor-Control-Stephen-Herman/dp/1435485750

http://www.amazon.com/Electrical-Machines-Drives-Systems-Edition/dp/0131776916

You may be able to find a preview on Google Books to confirm suitability for your application.

You should probably check out this book.


http://www.amazon.ca/Electrical-Machines-Drives-Power-Systems/dp/0131776916

This I think would be informative here, and to all the conversations happening on this thread.

>Financial collapses—whether of the junk bond market, the Internet bubble, or the highly leveraged housing market—are often explained as the inevitable result of market cycles: What goes up must come down. In Liquidated, Karen Ho punctures the aura of the abstract, all-powerful market to show how financial markets, and particularly booms and busts, are constructed. Through an in-depth investigation into the everyday experiences and ideologies of Wall Street investment bankers, Ho describes how a financially dominant but highly unstable market system is understood, justified, and produced through the restructuring of corporations and the larger economy.

Alla base c'è sempre la pigrizia (o la mancanza di tempo). Lo strumento che accompagna una presentazione (sia in presenza, sia online) dovrebbe servire a tenere desta l'attenzione di chi ascolta e ad appoggiare il discorso, non sostituirsi ad esso. La gente è lì per ascoltare, non per leggere.

Se poi è necessario trasmettere informazioni scritte dettagliate, allora si preparano delle fotocopie da distribuire (meglio alla fine, altrimenti tutti si mettono a leggere durante la presentazione) con tutto il testo che si vuole.

Nella mia esperienza, spessissimo i relatori mescolano i due supporti e creano slide fitte di testo, per lo più illeggibili dai posti più lontani della sala. I peggiori leggono quello che viene proiettato, commettendo un doppio errore: di solito danno le spalle al pubblico (per leggere) e, ovviamente, vanno più lenti della platea, che sta leggendo a mente, quindi annoiano.

L'argomento comunque è sviscerato su mille siti e libri. Io ho trovato molto utile il testo www.amazon.com/gp/product/0596522347

This is not accurate. No degree in itself prepares you for a profession.

> What they tell us time and again: Their doctorate — while a valuable education that most don’t regret — has little or no connection to their current work and profession.

This does not support the title:

>your doctorate will not prepare you for a profession outside academe

In general, every job seeker with a PhD needs to read good professionalization advice, like:

So, what are you going to do with that?

Navigating the Path to Industry: A Hiring Manager's Advice for Academics Looking for a Job in Industry

but also, reliable up to date information about job prospects, all indicators to which says PhDs are in growing demand in multiple industries:

3 Myths About a Job in Industry After a PhD … Debunked

In a first, U.S. private sector employs nearly as many Ph.D.s as schools do


Cheeky Scientist


>Please don’t send me an email or a Tweet telling me I’m wrong about that. I’m not

She sounds pleasant.

If you haven't bought and read [this] (http://www.amazon.com/Start-Home-based-Detailing-Business-Home-Based/dp/0762778768/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1463790719&sr=1-1&keywords=renny+doyle) book yet then you're doing it all wrong IMO.

The core issue at stake in a financial crisis is liquidity. To have a functioning economy, money has to move back and forth between parties. Debt is a major source of liquidity, as it allows people to both hold money and spend it at the same time.

The purpose of stimulus spending during a recession is not only to "kick-start" the economy, but also to add a huge influx of cash into the market. After Japan's crash in 1991 they refused to provide a sufficient influx of liquidity into the economy. They have never recovered.

A strong central bank manages not only interest rates, but also liquidity. Have you ever heard of the crash of 1987? Probably not, because the Fed immediately added liquidity and the economy was able to recover.

Clinging to the gold standard extended the length of the Great Depression, because in a Gold Standard economy you can't add liquidity.

My main point is that people need money to do business, and if everybody is hoarding theirs, you need a central bank to start handing it out. Without a central bank, we'd be screwed in situations like these.

If you're curious about financial crises and their impacts:

This Time is Different: http://press.princeton.edu/titles/8973.html and
Liquidated: http://www.amazon.com/Liquidated-Ethnography-Street-Franklin-Center/dp/0822345994

are both fantastic and revelatory.