"[EMAIL PROTECTED]" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Quick note, I lost the job. Insufficient knowledge of modern
> systems.
> I'm out of that field.
Pippi-
Wait a second! Isn't that kind of hasty? (Unless, of course, that
computer shop was the only place for miles...)
The way I understand it, you took a short course in "A+ cert", did
well in it, and rolled out of the class (what? six months long?)
expecting to be a "master craftsman", right?
You, dear, give up MUCH too easily.
Sure, there was a lot to learn... and you worked hard at it. Now, I
hate to say it, but your success in gaining that certification was
merely THE FIRST STEP in learning what really is necessary to do
ALL of the job properly. (Just as people who have earned a college
degree quickly learn that they really know very little in the job
market. All that the school provided them was FAMILIARIZATION with
selected segments of their chosen field, along with a background
that USUALLY means they can communicate effectively, and have had
some slight experience trying to analyze a problem to come up with
a solution. Of course, they normally don't REALLY know anything
useful until they've had 2-5 years on the job, slowly being given
greater responsibilities as their capabilities improve.)
In my day (I'm 52 now) there was no "shortcut" to success with
computers of any type. The hardware was handled by electrical
engineers or electronic technicians - and the software was best
left to mathemeticians, statisticians, scientists, and the occasional
cross-over engineer or tech. (Personally, I feel that the poor techs
had to know BOTH sides, since the hardware types always said "it's
the software" - and the programmers always said "its the hardware".
The poor tech had to know enough to determine which one was lying!)
There were no courses (nor degrees) in "programming" to speak of,
and everyone in the above-mentioned groups had to KNOW at least a
little bit about the hardware: what the machine was really trying to
do - at the low-down register (assembler) level - to have any sort
of success in that business. It took YEARS to gain that sort of
experience. (And you know what? IT STILL DOES.)
My training (nothing but electronics, six hours a day, for nearly a
year... far more intensive than that required for an M.S.E.E. ) was
provided by the USAF. Then, I was sent off to on-the-job training
(on a major weapons system which used a mix of analog and digital
computers as PART of the whole - it was 1968, after all...) for
another six months (minimum) before I would be allowed to do ANYTHING
on my own, without being under the watchful eye of an "old hand".
However, I had just about three years in the service before I really
began to earn my pay. (That is, be really good at that particular
job.)
Fixing a computer is an analytical thing - much like a physician
trying to cure an ailment. There are no "rules" (first this, then
this, then that...) - the symptoms you find should be a guide.
In time, it becomes easier, because of EXPERIENCE. Eventually, the
ones that stump you are very rare - because you have seen almost
every possible type of fault, and have developed some shortcuts of
your own! (And dammit - you don't fix machines by clicking on an
icon, EVER !!!)
Hang in there, Pippi. When women were first admitted to the
maintenance ranks in the USAF, I was skeptical. ("They didn't think
LOGICALLY enough !") But in time, they learned just like the men.
Eventually, many of them were BETTER at it than the guys, even though
they approached it differently. Sometimes, that "odd approach" is
the key to the solution. Today, the USAF would lose about 30% of
its really skilled maintainers were the women to be excluded.
And civilian pursuits are just the same, here in North America.
Don't give up yet, girl! (Heheh - 40 is "just a kid" to me!)
- John T., electronic tech since 1968 - currently, an IBM Corp.
contractor, maintaining their factory production
machines (from conveyors to robots) for them.
Their "in-house" skills aren't up to the job!
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