Still available for hire…

OK - so here’s the situation. I’m a computer science graduate that has spent the last 2 years in industry as a software developer, primarily making web applications. However in the last year I’ve become very aware that I don’t actually like doing what I do - in actual fact, thinking about it, I didn’t really enjoy Uni all that much either but I kept my head down and got on with battling through. I did OK in the end, I got that all important 2.1 overall and that opens a lot of doors, but bloody hell it wasn’t any fun. Met some decent people though.

So what is it about computing that I don’t like anymore? That’s the hard part, because I’m still interested in it. But I think the difference is that I’m now a user of techology rather than a builder of it, if that makes sense. I’m bored of it to be honest and the whole thing is so frustrating. So I really need a change.

The problem is, then, how do I go about undoing all this hard work? I know what you’re thinking - why would I want to undo all of that crazy effort that I put in over 4 years of blood, sweat and tears (and trust me, there were some very painful late nights in the labs). I’ll tell you why I need to do this - it’s stopping me from getting the jobs that I want and am better suited for: creative media jobs. I’ve become very interested in advertising and I want to create adverts. I love photography, design, colour and creative writing like songwriting and poetry. Working as a radio presenter for Radio Cherwell has only highlighted the fact that I hate my day job and it’s so far away from what I am or where I want to be, it makes me cry like a girl. 

The difficulty is that my CV (or “resume”) just doesn’t show people this. Because of their preconceptions of what an IT grad is meant to be (long haired sociopathic goth with a fetish for dragons and a fear of daylight) they think all I can do is nasty number-crunching and techy programming stuff. Or web development. This is crap. I specialised in Artificial Intelligence which whilst has some maths in it (some even I can handle) it really touches upon philosophy and biology. I studied software engineering, which is all about design. There’s more to me than you realise.  My CV shows what I’ve done, where I’ve been, not who I am and where I want to go. This needs fixing somehow. *Shakes fist in anger*

A lot of people have been suprised by my turn around away from computing - it’s been part of me since I was a kid, and for a long time there was nothing more fun than fixing/breaking computers. But I found girls and music and friends. When I got around to choosing a degree (about the same time actually) I really didn’t know what I wanted to study so just went with what I knew. For a long time I wanted to be a doctor but given my a-level choices (eng lit, history and computing) that wasn’t going to happen. I also wanted to be an army officer and that didn’t exactly work out well.

So here I am, with a degree in something that I didn’t really enjoy, in a subject that I’m no longer interested in, being scrutinised by morons (recruitment consultants) that don’t want to listen. Oh, and I handed in my resignation a few weeks ago to persue a new career which, after a promising start, I’ve been unsuccessful at landing. Technically I’m unemployed in a few weeks time.

My name is Paul. And I’m available for hire.

1 Comment

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  By lblblb, May 23, 2008 @ 9:32 am

  hey! LB in da house. woo yey! Anyway (serious face on) i felt exactly the same when i left uni, after 4 years, it was enough. I was tired of their outdated course and found it really boring. After starting where i work now ive moved into something a lot more dynamic, using new technologies, new methods. It really hit me the other day that i hardly enjoyed any uni at all (apart from as you already mentioned, the people!) and i realised that all they really did is taught us the fundamentals of computing, the basics for development. Now ive moved into working with an awesome team, and have got my hands on things we didnt even touch on at uni - .net development, silverlight, UI design, and suddenly its not just a job where you are stuck *just* coding anymore. Its totally changed my outlook since i left uni and all i could see was one long tunnel with no light at the end. Anyway, if you feel like theres nothing left in it for you, then thats totally understandable, i know what it felt like to be completely dissillusioned. I wonder if i was just lucky to stumble on something to make me change my mind, or if im just easier to please than you! I think you will make an excellent creative type, and i really hope you find what you are looking for. Ever thought of becoming a UI specialist? We hired a guy here who was incredible, just mocked up new web2.0 style UI’s for our existing web apps all day long, got paid loads, and was contracted….very flexible, and your degree would back you up as a relevant qualification for UI design. Let me know if you need to talk anytime!! Laura

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