That's So Maven [Formerly "Ethics" or something]

[MahrinSkel]

Employee evaluations (especially 360 evaluations) can pretty quickly turn into bloodsport if you get a critical mass of munchkins, though. Part of why they have worked out so badly in Tech, every time some version of "evaluate each other" is used.

--Dave

[MahrinSkel]

I got into a very highly rated MIS program with that I'd consider average grades in my undergraduate CS (and even one black mark against my record).  I had a few things going for me: I'm hispanic, I had better than good grades outside of my major, I had great recommendations, and I present well compared to other CS/highly technical majors.

I think I did fairly well on the placement exam (MCAT?), although I don't think I did that well. 

Not to belittle your efforts, but it is extremely likely that being Hispanic was a big factor. They are desperate to improve diversity at every level in tech, being ethnic (not white or Asian) and articulate is equal to a full GPA point (says the vaguely brown man who is fond of his walls of text).

MCAT is medical school, though. Doesn't appear to be a standardized CS/MIS aptitude test, although it appears a fair number use the MAT (Maths Aptitude Test). Which is probably a better choice than most, especially for graduate level.

--Dave

[Rasix]

Not to belittle your efforts, but it is extremely likely that being Hispanic was a big factor. They are desperate to improve diversity at every level in tech, being ethnic (not white or Asian) and articulate is equal to a full GPA point (says the vaguely brown man who is fond of his walls of text).

MCAT is medical school, though. Doesn't appear to be a standardized CS/MIS aptitude test, although it appears a fair number use the MAT (Maths Aptitude Test). Which is probably a better choice than most, especially for graduate level.

--Dave

No doubt.  I don't remember any other hispanics in the system.  I'm sure there were some. I'm not the most hispanic looking person in the world. Could have been other daywalkers.

Probably the only reason I still get Google calls out of the blue about every 3 years. 

I had to take the GRE, specifically some sort of math variant.  I don't remember completely, that was approx 12 years ago.

[lamaros]

The best advice I got at uni was from my English lit teacher, with whom I took about 3 classes, which was that doing honors was a good year, but a PHD was a waste of time.

Ironic considering his job, which for the most part he seemed to enjoy, but very apt for me. I love study and literature, but I really just love it for the personal journey, not because I want to shout my views at the world.

Honours was very rewarding in that context, but I'm sure if I went into a PHD instead I'd have gotten bored half way through and never finished, and felt like I'd just wasted my time.

Realising what I wanted to get out of university took me a long time (finished when I was 27), but it was great that when I did I actually found something of value for myself. If I'd pushed through and min-maxed any of my previous degree attempts I'm sure I'd look back and hate it.

I min-maxed and slept through the final two years of high school. It was a horrible experience and I am still pissed off at myself and the system about it. It just confused me and wasted more of my time later on.

[schild]

Min-maxing may not be the best system for Van Wilder. You would want to do the opposite. Make your college experience as inefficiently as possible.

[Cheddar]

Did Maven rage quit?  Real men post goodbye, change password to something they don't remember, and slink off to a good ol' glass of bourbon.

Have some class, man!

[Trippy]

No he didn't.

[Maven]

About 4 hours of severe depression, 12 hours of sleep, 8 hours of putting one foot in front of the other and intense self-loathing, then significant quantities of caffeine and getting homework done before I returned to some semblance of regulation and renewed determination with some acceptance.

This is about the only place on the internet I go where I interact with other users. Doubt I'm leaving anytime soon unless I get engrossed in something offline, like, I don't know, a sex cult.

[Samwise]

So are you just gonna take the class over the summer or what?   

[schild]

Don't discount the idea of a sex cult.

[Khaldun]

I think if you're gaming life, a sex cult sounds like an improvement over f13.

[Abagadro]

Eh, sorry for my drunken rant. Hopefully it was at least entertaining. I am having a fun week being a chew-toy for mega-corporations.

[schild]

Someone's gotta be the bitch.

[Morat20]

Eh, sorry for my drunken rant. Hopefully it was at least entertaining. I am having a fun week being a chew-toy for mega-corporations.

Ouch. :( That had to suck balls. On the bright side, it can only get better? 

[Abagadro]

Could get better or it could go to hell and I get fired.  So we'll see! 

[Morat20]

Could get better or it could go to hell and I get fired.  So we'll see! 

I was there last year. Like...multiple highly visible screw-ups. Some were me, some were just "Oh, here do someone else's job -- he's out of town and you've never done it before, but I'm sure you'll figure it out from these utterly useless instructions, as they're not 'instructions' so much as cryptic notes to myself". I'm a bit bitter about taking the fall for that one.

I was the closest I ever got to being fired for, you know, actual cause. (Well, they'd have let me resign I suspect).

Stressful ass shit. Hope it goes well.

[Abagadro]

I don't think I have screwed up, but could easily see becoming a goat if things blow up.

[Soln]

But every student (and employee, etc.) should have their own goals, should be playing their own game and be playing it to crush.

This can be hard to accept, but I agree fully.  I may not want to admit that I am surrounded by competitors, but I am.

And channeling Schild -- if you can't see who's ahead of you and how, you're not really competing.  And from my experience, especially in Universities, if you're not trying to compete, it's very likely that you won't get the chance to do so for long.  Meaning: competition for most of us is not optional.  You will be excluded ("crushed") eventually  (like going broke).  

[Margalis]

When I was in college basically anyone with a CS degree was coming out with a bunch of attractive job offers, so I guess the idea of school being highly competitive didn't occur to me.

[Paelos]

Maven's in accounting though if I remember correctly. I can speak with some authority on this.

Nobody gives a fuck about your college experience in the accounting world. They care if you can pass the CPA exam. Once you do that, you're basically proven as a commodity and you can take a job anywhere without them questioning your credentials. The only thing that matters from that point on is your work experience.

Now getting your last year of accounting as a Masters Degree can be tricky if you try to get into one of the top schools. But again, that hardly matters. I didn't get into UGA for my Masters. I did get into Georgia State. Absolutely nobody referenced this once in my interviews. Once you pass the CPA exam, nobody looks at where you learned accounting other than to ask you sports questions.

[Ironwood]

Actually, it's the same over here.  You could spend the entire four years putting candles up your hole, as long as you get the bit of paper at the end of it in some fashion and then pass the further accountancy exams.

So, basically, we're reinforcing the WTF here.

[Paelos]

Everyone just figures if you can do this one thing, you know accounting.

Which is hilariously untrue. The average CPA here has to spend 40 hours a year in training just to stay current, and that's probably not enough.

[Ironwood]

Nevertheless, that's how it works.  Given that the accountancy firms over here do the training, weeding out the incompetent is usually done at that level.

I'd be more worried about the company you get into, rather than the Uni, to be honest.

[Nebu]

Let's be honest here.  Once you land your first job, nobody cares about your college grades.  The only reason grades matter at all is if you plan to attend graduate or professional school. 

[Ironwood]

There's that.

I have an English Degree, for fucks sake.

[Engels]

I don't think I have screwed up, but could easily see becoming a goat if things blow up.

Well, if you do become the goat, and you find yourself with digestive troubles, we have the man for the job.

[Shannow]

I don't think I have screwed up, but could easily see becoming a goat if things blow up.

Well, if you do become the goat, and you find yourself with digestive troubles, we have the man for the job.

And you'd be a hit with the sex cult.

[Ironwood]

Don't forget your leggings.

[Nebu]

I don't think I have screwed up, but could easily see becoming a goat if things blow up.

Since I can't teach a goat to shit, I'll be of no help if you become the goat.   

[Engels]

Well, I was hoping that the scathing review would have encouraged study.

[Maven]

CPA has been marketed as the Never Worry About Employment Ever Again license.

Despite this, I don't feel I can slacken my academic effort. But we'll see how I feel after I start taking better care of myself. It's possible I'm stressing over academics because other areas of my life are empty or unfulfilled and it is coming out as overachievement and whirlwind tilting.

[Samwise]

So are you just gonna take the class over the summer or what?  

I still honestly want to know how the original story ends.

[Mazakiel]

CPA has been marketed as the Never Worry About Employment Ever Again license.

Despite this, I don't feel I can slacken my academic effort. But we'll see how I feel after I start taking better care of myself. It's possible I'm stressing over academics because other areas of my life are empty or unfulfilled and it is coming out as overachievement and whirlwind tilting.

I'm currently going back to school for accounting myself.  From what I understand, for accounting you can't slack off completely, but it's not like it's 4.0 or bust.  As someone currently on the hunt for an internship, the GPA requirements I've seen for jobs have been everywhere from 2.75 to 3.5.  Big 4 firms tend to be pickier about academics. 

Beyond that, as said above, once you clear the initial hurdle of that first job, no one cares.  My first degree only ever came up in idle conversation, and thankfully no one ever asked about my GPA, because I did not take school seriously enough the first time through. 

[Paelos]

There's that.

I have an English Degree, for fucks sake.

A Scotsman with an English degree. You broke my irony meter.

[Paelos]

I'm currently going back to school for accounting myself.  From what I understand, for accounting you can't slack off completely, but it's not like it's 4.0 or bust.  As someone currently on the hunt for an internship, the GPA requirements I've seen for jobs have been everywhere from 2.75 to 3.5.  Big 4 firms tend to be pickier about academics. 

Absolutely true. If your goal is to work for the Big 4, then you need to be an overachiever grades wise. People will tell you this is a good thing to work there. It's not. It's a horrible soul-sucking experience that will leave you drained and hating your life. However, you can leave in two years with your full credential, and much of the work experience you get will be seen as usefull in large corporate companies.

If your goal is to work for IBM, or Coke, or Apple, or whatever in big dog companies of the world? You need to excel in Big 4 accounting. If your goal is to work in a local or regional business? That's not a big deal.