Friday, August 29, 2008

The Job Hunt

The Job Hunt

It's not exactly going gangbusters. I have applied for several software engineering positions in the Boise area. Unfortunately, these positions, because they are C#, might require several months for me to become completely effective. I fear that this inability to be effective by the end of the first week might be a real problem. The notion of hiring engineers who might actually, you know, learn on the job seems to have evaporated in the last few years.

I've applied for a software engineering job at the Idaho National Laboratory (which is about a 2 1/2 hour drive from here). It's Java, and requires not only the ability to get Secret clearance, but the Q clearance and crypto clearance. This could be interesting--even if it is a long drive.

I've also applied for a not very high paying job as an historian with the Air Force. I was a little befuddled by why an historian might need this:
Position may include training in the carrying and use of firearms because incumbent may be deployed to contingency locations and participate in contingency operations.
We didn't learn about the importance of this in grad school!

I've applied to College of Western Idaho as well for a full-time teaching job. I'm just hoping that all the history Ph.D.s around here don't push me out of the way.

It occurs to me that some of my readers might be able to help.

1. There are reputed to be conservative think tanks in the U.S. I say "reputed" because most "conservative" think tanks are really libertarian, and would have no interest in having me anywhere near them. But if you have contacts with, or influence with any conservative think tanks, even a miserable salary that allowed me to do what I do remotely would be better than unemployment.

2. I'm a pretty darn good writer, and very effective as an editor. I've done some ghost writing assignments in the past for a well-known gun rights author (I'm not naming names, of course), and it worked out well. If you know of a need for a ghost writer or editor, I can do it.

3. I have done technical writing in the past, and I'm quite good at it. I'm a far better writer than the average engineer--and a lot more "technical" than most technical writers. If you know of a company that has need of a technical writer who they can tolerate working remotely, let me know.

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