My ideal job: Picking moody music for movie soundtracks.
Reality: I have a job interview in the morning for an administrative position at a firm mediating legal meetings and conferences and providing court reporting/mediation recording resources.
My ideal job: Picking moody music for movie soundtracks.
That would be really interesting. There are some movies to where the soundtrack/score is done so well that everytime I hear it, I'm emotionally affected.
I don't know if it's a dream job, but I would love to just make designs/patterns for various geeky needleworks.
This is going to sound very girlie, but I would like to do fashion design. Two reasons keep me from actually doing it. One is the cutthroat industry itself and the next is not knowing how to sew at all. Well, I could learn to sew and make my own clothes at least!
I have a name but I am not sure what to do know. I was wonderign how some of you guys would approach this?
You applied, right? Talk to the guy in charge of recruiting and just "touch base." Y'know, "Hey, did you get my applications? You have any idea how long it'll be before you notify people?" That sort of thing. Maintain contact and establish in their mind that you're really interested in the position.
So what do you do for the ATCC? I've always wondered what it's like to work for them. Do you have warehouse filled with freezers or something?
I sent the e-mail today, now I just need to wait. I have save some money so at least I can relax for at least 3 months (relaxing means look for another job while studying for the MCATs and reading). ATCC is a pretty neat place to work, I am an Associate Biologist on the Quality Control department (We used to be Biologist I but it all changed last year, people seem kind of angry because of the change). So basically I run specific biochemical tests for bacterias to make sure that they are truly what they are, that they are not contaminated, and that they grow on their respective medium. We also run DNA sequencing on each bacteria. I would personally think that the DNA sequence would suffice. We do have a warehouse filled with freezers, and we take very good care of our seeds
So basically I run specific biochemical tests for bacterias to make sure that they are truly what they are, that they are not contaminated, and that they grow on their respective medium. We also run DNA sequencing on each bacteria. I would personally think that the DNA sequence would suffice.
Well, most phenotypic tests are like an order of magnitude less expensive than sequencing, so you might as well do it in parallel. Besides, we don't necessarily have every phenotypic variation mapped to a specific gene sequence, so just knowing the sequence may be insufficient.
I take it the point is largely to monitor the stability of the cultures? Make sure they're not mutating or some such thing? Do you get to do any other fun stuff, or is it all basically grunt work?
So basically I run specific biochemical tests for bacterias to make sure that they are truly what they are, that they are not contaminated, and that they grow on their respective medium. We also run DNA sequencing on each bacteria. I would personally think that the DNA sequence would suffice.
Well, most phenotypic tests are like an order of magnitude less expensive than sequencing, so you might as well do it in parallel. Besides, we don't necessarily have every phenotypic variation mapped to a specific gene sequence, so just knowing the sequence may be insufficient.
I take it the point is largely to monitor the stability of the cultures? Make sure they're not mutating or some such thing? Do you get to do any other fun stuff, or is it all basically grunt work?
You are right, we do the biochemical test while we run the DNA sequence (most of the time I run full sequencing). The fun stuff comes when there are problems between the biochemical tests and the DNA sequencing. That is when we get to work with R&D; and do some research and run some more extra test such as RiboPrints, VITEKs, RAPIDS, and APIs. If we Research and Development se it necessary we go ahead and do a "name change".
Man, I thought my lab and Cornell University were the only people still using that thing. It's a pain in the ass. I wind up doing PFGE typing whenever I need to do any kind of subtyping. The VITEK is pretty freakin' great. Big fan of that.
Man, I thought my lab and Cornell University were the only people still using that thing. It's a pain in the ass. I wind up doing PFGE typing whenever I need to do any kind of subtyping. The VITEK is pretty freakin' great. Big fan of that.
I am also a big fan of VITEK if only because is super easy to run it is also fun (my co workers enjoy practicing in how many tries we get the right amount of MacFarlens per run). RiboPrints are a pain and very costly (I think $500 per run) we have to wait for at least 8 work orders so we can run them all together. However, I gotta say that R&D; are the primary RiboPrint users at ATCC.
Trust me, a lot of getting ahead involves self-promotion. There's absolutely nothing wrong with telling someone that you're good and that they should hire you/promote you/acknowledge it. Just be ready to back it up, and don't trash other people while you're doing it.
Promote yourself; don't demote others.
Remember, this is coming from a guy who just got promoted in an agency that took an 11% budget cut. People all over the country are losing jobs, but I'm moving ahead. I earned it through hard work, yes, but hard work itself isn't enough.
I finally got a call-back from an awesome IT shop that I interviewed with a few weeks ago. They want me to come in for a "third interview," which is basically salary negotiation. I could potentially be making within the top 25% of people in Rochester (which is kind of sad, and kind of awesome).
I had an interview on my lunch break with a service that specifically places Legal Assistants, Paralegals, and Legal Secretaries. They informed me that I am currently under paid for my level of experience and they have two positions that are promising. Huzzah!
Hoping and hoping and hoping every day that the startup I just joined will get some funding so that I can quit my soul-sucking job. Luckily I have little doubt the company will get the funding it needs, I just want it to happen ASAP. It is absolutely abhorrent how much of my potential value is being wasted here.
Hoping and hoping and hoping every day that the startup I just joined will get some funding so that I can quit my soul-sucking job. Luckily I have little doubt the company will get the funding it needs, I just want it to happen ASAP. It is absolutely abhorrent how much of my potential value is being wasted here.
UPDATE: So I decided to say "fuck it" and I'm quitting my job anyway. It's a significant risk for me, since I have a well-paying job, and will soon have no income at all until my new company gets proper funding. But I want to be a true entrepreneur, and that involves taking risks, even during such a terrible economic time. Now I just have to wait a couple weeks before I can devote all my time to what I want to do. A bit nervous, but also very, very happy ^.^
Yes, but calculated ones whose return is greater than the investment.
I'm not saying that staying in a soul-sucking job is a good thing, but were you really going to suffer that much more by staying there until you knew the startup had funding?
I just hope that you utilize this downtime to do something more profitable than getting a paycheck.
Yes, but calculated ones whose return is greater than the investment.
Sure. It's not like I'm completely unprepared. My current lease ends in four months, and I have enough savings to stay there until then if funding does not happen sooner rather than later. And yes, the return of this will be much greater than what I'm doing now.
I just hope that you utilize this downtime to do something more profitable than getting a paycheck.
Oh yes. I fully intend to utilize my new spare time to some big side projects. And I will call on the people on the forum to keep me from shit-talking about this too.
Comments
Reality: I have a job interview in the morning for an administrative position at a firm mediating legal meetings and conferences and providing court reporting/mediation recording resources.
Given unlimited time/money, I'd want to make nature documentaries, especially underwater ones.
{yeaahh}
I might have probably worked to become a Formula D or Rally driver if I had known about it earlier.
Edit - I was older than you when I drove my first Amateur rally. Seriously, You can do it.
I don't know if it's a dream job, but I would love to just make designs/patterns for various geeky needleworks.
ATCC is a pretty neat place to work, I am an Associate Biologist on the Quality Control department (We used to be Biologist I but it all changed last year, people seem kind of angry because of the change). So basically I run specific biochemical tests for bacterias to make sure that they are truly what they are, that they are not contaminated, and that they grow on their respective medium. We also run DNA sequencing on each bacteria. I would personally think that the DNA sequence would suffice.
We do have a warehouse filled with freezers, and we take very good care of our seeds
I take it the point is largely to monitor the stability of the cultures? Make sure they're not mutating or some such thing? Do you get to do any other fun stuff, or is it all basically grunt work?
The fun stuff comes when there are problems between the biochemical tests and the DNA sequencing. That is when we get to work with R&D; and do some research and run some more extra test such as RiboPrints, VITEKs, RAPIDS, and APIs. If we Research and Development se it necessary we go ahead and do a "name change".
Trust me, a lot of getting ahead involves self-promotion. There's absolutely nothing wrong with telling someone that you're good and that they should hire you/promote you/acknowledge it. Just be ready to back it up, and don't trash other people while you're doing it.
Promote yourself; don't demote others.
Remember, this is coming from a guy who just got promoted in an agency that took an 11% budget cut. People all over the country are losing jobs, but I'm moving ahead. I earned it through hard work, yes, but hard work itself isn't enough.
I'm not saying that staying in a soul-sucking job is a good thing, but were you really going to suffer that much more by staying there until you knew the startup had funding?
I just hope that you utilize this downtime to do something more profitable than getting a paycheck.