Habama! from Massachusetts,
Sorry for the lateness of this week's column, but I'm sure that you've all been busy preparing for the recent Technical Job Fair. How did things go? Would someone please email me at ( bfan2 "at symbol" yahoo "dot symbol" com ) to tell me what goodies the companies were giving away?
I wrote this from my bedroom, where my computer is located. I had considered moving the computer to the living room, where the television is, or moving the television to the bedroom. No, it wasn't to watch the presidential candidate debate (taking place in downtown Boston, at UMass Boston). I've made a decision not to watch the debates.
It seems that fewer people watched this debate than of all the other previous debates. I don't think that it's because people don't care (although they don't). Instead, I think that today people like to get their information filtered through the media and on the street. As an example, I've managed to spend my summer without having watched a single episode of Survivor (I saw a bit of it at the Motel 6 in Nashua, but I turned the channel as soon as I realized what I was watching). However, I am not entirely ignorant of Survivor. What do I know? People at rats, got voted off the island, one guy walked around naked, some woman walked around in a bikini, contestants received all the rice they wanted. What else is there about Survivor that I could possibly want to know?
If I were going to watch any television at all, I would have watched Dark Angel, even though it looks ripped off from Heinlein. Did anyone see it?
In Boston housing news, Fleet Bank (a mega bank which just gobbled up BancBoston) put an ad in the 10/1/2000 Boston Sunday Globe about the need for affordable housing. "Vacancy rates in Greater Boston are less than 1% for single family homes and 3.1% for rental units." In the 9/17/2000 edition, there was an article about how foreign students, fresh off the boat, were experiencing great difficulties in finding an apartment. In the 8/27/2000 edition, an article about the soaring prices of condos. Even so, a Harvard Housing Studies administrator said, "If you're forced to pay $1,800 [a month] for an apartment in Boston," paying high prices for a condo may still be a good deal. Average price of a condo in Boston: $248,895. From the 8/20/2000 edition, some articles about the housing crisis for college students. An interviewed student was "unable to find a studio apartment close to campus [Northeastern U.] with rent of less than $1,000." I'll write about brokers fees next time. (You pay an extra month of rent for the privilege of leasing an apartment. That's on top of the first month's rent, last month's rent, and a security deposit, and you don't get the brokers fee back!) In the 8/6/2000 edition, a leasing agent says, "If you're lucky, $900 will get you a tiny studio with a toilet and a hot plate. Expect to pay $1,100 with no upward limit for a one-bedroom apartment. Two-bedroom units are getting $1,500 and up."
OCTOBER 5, 2000 IS THE DEADLINE TO SUBMIT RESUMES FOR ON-CAMPUS INTERVIEWS WITH THE FOLLOWING COMPANIES. GO TO THE CAREER PLANNING "ONLINE CAREER OFFICE" WEB SITE TO APPLY:
Job seekers, here are your assignments for this week.
It only gets better...
Here are job ads found in the Boston Sunday Globe. I've selected some of more prominent and/or amusing ads:
EMC: On the front page of the Boston Works section, one of the enemy is advertising. "Are you a Terabyte Thinker in a Gigabyte World?" It looks as if they have positions in Cambridge, Southboro, Hopkinton, Westboro and Milford.
Ericsson: has a full-page ad on Page 3. Data Backbone and Optical Networks division. (www.ericsson.com/datacom)
Edgewater: has an add with a race car, surrounded by the words, Java, C++, VB, HTML, COM, SQL, XML, UNIX, IIS, NT.
Sanders: just had an open house and another ad in the paper. I'm not sure why I like writing so much about Sanders, since I won't consider companies with substantial military/defense activities. I think that my train of thought goes: Sanders, Colonel Sanders, Kentucky Fried Chicken, popcorn chicken, MC Hammer.
Some random ads for companies of no distinction: Eprise, DegreeC, NerveWire, Zcorp.
Centillium Communications (centillium.com): claims "The Hottest Technology AND up to a $50,000 Sign-on Bonus!" This can't be real-- can it?
Brooktrout: has a nice logo (a leaping trout) and a catchy slogan ("Your hook into the new network.")
Availant: claims that they offer 26 days off a year, "one of the industry's best vacation policies." Let's see. New Year's, Memorial, July 4, Labor, T-day, Black Friday, X-mas, 4 days between to New Year's, and a floating day makes 12. That leaves 14 days of vacation. Surely someone must have a better vacation policy?
KMC Systems (kmcsystems.com): They have a 9/80 schedule (every other Friday off). "Why isn't this guy at work on Friday?" (picture of many reclining on a hammock). Because his co-workers are at work, picking up his slack!
If you have any questions about academics, job hunting, or the Boston area, please email me at ( bfan2 "at symbol" yahoo "dot symbol" com ) and I'll try to answer them.
Until next time,
Ben