Freethought & Rationalism Archive

seebs · 01-22-2003, 12:40 PM

My employer has layoffs; this is the third round since I started, and they got me this time.

In the short run, that means more free time; in the long run, it means that, for the first time in nearly 10 years, I need to find a job. *sigh*.

Godless Dave · 01-22-2003, 12:53 PM

That sucks, seebs. We live in the same town and I know the job market isn't too hot. Mind if I ask where you worked?

Dave

seebs · 01-22-2003, 12:58 PM

I worked for Wind River Systems, but really, I worked for what used to be BSDi, we did a Unix-like OS. I did development and documentation for the last couple of years. I know the job market is rough - so I'm hoping to get lucky and find people who need vast quantities of SGML documentation of stuff they currently only have source for, because there are *VERY* few people who can read source and write decent documentation from it.

I'm looking at this as a chance to think about changing career paths a bit, but that assumes I can find any kind of work at all. Tough market.

SanDiegoAtheist · 01-22-2003, 01:07 PM

Ouch - sorry to hear that seebs.

Heh, we use Wind River for our In Circuit Emulators at work. We've also done 3 rounds of layoffs

Cheers, and hope ya find a new job soonish,

The San Diego Atheist

Mageth · 01-22-2003, 01:10 PM

seebs, sorry to hear that.

Out of curiosity, what is your degree in? If it's an engineering or science degree, and if you have technical writing experience (which it appears you do) and enjoy writing, you might want to consider checking to see if there are any IP lawfirms in your area that hire technical advisors to write and prosecute patent applications.

seebs · 01-22-2003, 01:13 PM

My actual *degree* is in Psychology, but I've been doing computers, writing, and such for over ten years.... Good idea about the law firms, that might fit. I can read and write heavy technical text, and analyze it tolerably well.

I'm also an actual programmer, for whatever that's worth.

Pseudonymph · 01-22-2003, 01:24 PM

Sorry man...I really hate to see this happen to anyone. Shit anymore it's happening to almost everyone I know.

Of course...if this is the same Wind River corp that developed "WinPoet" I may just have to tear your arms off.

We support that software here and it's been a fun headache the whole time.

Anyway, best of luck to you....Hope it all works out!

Mageth · 01-22-2003, 01:27 PM

The problem is that you probably won't get hired as a TA at an IP lawfirm unless you have an engineering/science degree. Not all (probably most) IP lawfirms or lawfirms with IP departments hire TAs to begin with (I happen to work at one that does). And most if not all who do would want to hire someone who qualifies to take the USPTO's (U.S. Patent and Trademark Office) Patent Agent exam to become a Patent Agent. Requirements to qualify to take the exam include having one of a set of named engineering and science degrees, although there are a couple of ways around this, e.g. taking and passing a PE exam or with a non-named degree and @40 hrs of engineering/science courses. Unfortunately, experience in the field doesn't qualify.

seebs · 01-22-2003, 01:29 PM

Hmm. Might be worth trying to work on qualifications for something like that somewhere down the road. I can always check around.

seebs · 01-22-2003, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Pseudonymph

Of course...if this is the same Wind River corp that developed "WinPoet" I may just have to tear your arms off.

We support that software here and it's been a fun headache the whole time.

It may be. I was in the "BSDi" group - we did the BSD/OS operating system, never touched anything else.

01-22-2003, 12:40 PM	#1
seebs Contributor Join Date: May 2002 Location: Saint Paul, MN Posts: 24,524	Waah. Lost job. My employer has layoffs; this is the third round since I started, and they got me this time. In the short run, that means more free time; in the long run, it means that, for the first time in nearly 10 years, I need to find a job. sigh.

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

01-22-2003, 12:53 PM	#2
Godless Dave Contributor Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: With 10,000 lakes who needs a coast? Posts: 10,762	That sucks, seebs. We live in the same town and I know the job market isn't too hot. Mind if I ask where you worked? Dave

01-22-2003, 12:58 PM	#3
seebs Contributor Join Date: May 2002 Location: Saint Paul, MN Posts: 24,524	I worked for Wind River Systems, but really, I worked for what used to be BSDi, we did a Unix-like OS. I did development and documentation for the last couple of years. I know the job market is rough - so I'm hoping to get lucky and find people who need vast quantities of SGML documentation of stuff they currently only have source for, because there are VERY few people who can read source and write decent documentation from it. I'm looking at this as a chance to think about changing career paths a bit, but that assumes I can find any kind of work at all. Tough market.

01-22-2003, 01:07 PM	#4
SanDiegoAtheist Regular Member Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: San Diego, CA, USA Posts: 281	Ouch - sorry to hear that seebs. Heh, we use Wind River for our In Circuit Emulators at work. We've also done 3 rounds of layoffs Cheers, and hope ya find a new job soonish, The San Diego Atheist

01-22-2003, 01:10 PM	#5
Mageth Contributor Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Deep in the heart of mother-lovin' Texas Posts: 29,689	seebs, sorry to hear that. Out of curiosity, what is your degree in? If it's an engineering or science degree, and if you have technical writing experience (which it appears you do) and enjoy writing, you might want to consider checking to see if there are any IP lawfirms in your area that hire technical advisors to write and prosecute patent applications.

01-22-2003, 01:13 PM	#6
seebs Contributor Join Date: May 2002 Location: Saint Paul, MN Posts: 24,524	My actual degree is in Psychology, but I've been doing computers, writing, and such for over ten years.... Good idea about the law firms, that might fit. I can read and write heavy technical text, and analyze it tolerably well. I'm also an actual programmer, for whatever that's worth.

01-22-2003, 01:24 PM	#7
Pseudonymph Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Texas Posts: 813	Sorry man...I really hate to see this happen to anyone. Shit anymore it's happening to almost everyone I know. Of course...if this is the same Wind River corp that developed "WinPoet" I may just have to tear your arms off. We support that software here and it's been a fun headache the whole time. Anyway, best of luck to you....Hope it all works out!

01-22-2003, 01:27 PM	#8
Mageth Contributor Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Deep in the heart of mother-lovin' Texas Posts: 29,689	The problem is that you probably won't get hired as a TA at an IP lawfirm unless you have an engineering/science degree. Not all (probably most) IP lawfirms or lawfirms with IP departments hire TAs to begin with (I happen to work at one that does). And most if not all who do would want to hire someone who qualifies to take the USPTO's (U.S. Patent and Trademark Office) Patent Agent exam to become a Patent Agent. Requirements to qualify to take the exam include having one of a set of named engineering and science degrees, although there are a couple of ways around this, e.g. taking and passing a PE exam or with a non-named degree and @40 hrs of engineering/science courses. Unfortunately, experience in the field doesn't qualify.

01-22-2003, 01:29 PM	#9
seebs Contributor Join Date: May 2002 Location: Saint Paul, MN Posts: 24,524	Hmm. Might be worth trying to work on qualifications for something like that somewhere down the road. I can always check around.

Freethought & Rationalism Archive

The archives are read only.