Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with realworld

We're Game

cmoj — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 21:56:54 -0800

What are some free online or downloadable (mac) multiplayer games to be played by people in the same room?

What else can I do with a BA in English?

SansPoint — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 10:22:31 -0800

I recently got a job in a pre-sales position, and I'm a bit worried that it isn't going to work out. What else can I do with my English degree and skills, especially in this economy that does *not* involve going back to school? Okay, about a month ago I started a new job with a company that does B2B technology pre-sales. It's not going well. The job isn't bad, the pay is good, but I'm floundering and having trouble meeting my goals.¹

So, I've decided to ride it out here for a while, hoping the other shoe doesn't drop, and look for something to take this job's place. Thing is, unlike while I was actively looking, the economy has taken a serious turn for the worse. Also, I'm worried that having a BA in English (no "Avenue Q" please) is going to be a problem in finding anything that pays decently enough to live on. (I just signed a lease for a 1 bedroom apartment at $750/mo, and I have student loans to deal with.)

What I want a job that's intellecutally stimulating, something creative. At the very least, I have experience in fundraising for non-profits, but my attempts at finding a development position over the summer amounted to nil. I almost got a part-time position with a temp agency with a medical college to do editing, but this company contacted me first, with a full-time position. I couldn't find any entry-level editing positions anywhere. I really, really, REALLY don't want to take an internship. I'm not up for teaching. I'm $50,000+ in debt, so going back to school isn't an option. I already have a second, part-time job. I don't drive.

What the hell can I do? Someone, point me in the right direction. I've read a few of the similar questions, and none really have helped--even the last one of these I posted! My resume is here. I'm getting a bit worried and desperate.

¹ What my biggest problem is at my current job is that I have trouble making contacts. It's a telemarketing job, and while I can usually get a good conversation, and book an appointment when the prospect is bookable, I can't reach anyone. I make 200+ calls a day and end up speaking to receptionists and getting voicmail prompts rather than the IT folks I need. If someone wants to help me there, too, I'd appriciate it.

Work Hard and Hope for the Best, or Stay Safe and Lose It All?

dmaterialized — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 00:43:10 -0800

Am I making a huge mistake? I'm deciding whether I should take a term off from my beloved college in order to work in the "real world", scraping together money for a study abroad program (Semester at Sea). My instincts say to do it, but I'm suddenly hesitant and wonder if others might have suggestions. Here's where it stands. I planned on making tons of money this summer doing freelance work (in a job that in the past has made me quite a bit of money), but that didn't work out. Instead of having a wad of cash at the end of summer, I've basically broken even. Now I have to figure out what to do next-- and as senior year looms, things seem to be getting desperate.

I intend to go on Semester at Sea this spring (my final term)-- yes, I managed to convince the faculty to let me! SAS is literally the most important goal I have, and I desperately need to be on that boat, but I'm not sure how to make ends meet-- especially since the cheaper rooms all got snatched up and it now costs $5,000 more than it was "supposed" to.

I'm an entering senior in college, paying for the whole thing myself and have no family assistance whatsoever (thanks to a lot of financial aid, I have just enough cash to finish two terms there, but that isn't much). Semester at Sea costs $23,000 -- not including personal expenses or additional fees that might come up. Of that, roughly $12000 of my aid will transfer, and there is a $10k workstudy grant if all goes well. That pretty much means I could go-- though without a cent to spare (not even enough for things like plane tickets etc).

If I forego college for one term, it hinges on getting a full-time job (9-5) as well as supporting myself through my existing freelance work and bartending (which I haven't yet gotten a job in, but feel like I will if I give it some more time). I can stay at a friend's place for very little rent, and will have ultimate freedom (one of the things I seek most in life). I'll be running myself into the ground, but I really think I might be ready for the "real world": at least, I hope so. And at the end of it, I would be able to save up some money and have an amazing trip--potentially even able to buy a nice f/2.8 for my DSLR!

Things to consider: I would be leaving behind some people I care very much about and who I might not see again (including a long-term relationship that I'd pretty much have to give up on), I would need to graduate college a term late (and miss a whole year of watching my friends grow up), and I don't know how the job market is in NY (though I have an incredible amount of skills, I seem to have consistent trouble getting work normally). The advantage is that I would be applying for a fulltime position (with more than 4 months available to work) and I imagine there are certainly more opportunities for those than for part time/internship work. If it doesn't work, though, the whole thing is a bust.

If I stayed at college, I would be dirt-poor (just like always) and potentially miss out on being able to afford the trip (even if I got a gig bartending in the town, it wouldn't be enough to save up). Even things like visas, memory cards, or plane tickets might be more than I could handle. I have credit card bills that I would need to set money aside to pay over the 3 months I'm at sea, and I'm not sure how I could do that either. It would be so comforting, so easy, to go back-- but I'm not sure it's the right choice in the long run. I sense that I'll be changed a lot after SAS and I think being independent beforehand might be really important.

I'm pretty much at the max of my financial aid, though it's possible I might be able to take out a $5-7k loan. My credit's not great, so I'm not too sure of my chances of that.

I'm just trying to think this out-- what seems to you to be the sanest idea? Strike out and hope that a job will be waiting (I'm doing tons and tons and tons of research), or go back and be happy, finish school, and move on as best I can (my college is paradise on earth, and nothing else will ever be quite like it)? And what other options might I have for this kind of thing? Are there appropriate loans I might look into that are outside the normal structure of financial aid?

The whole thing is incredibly scary to me, but exhilarating... is it really just a question of courage, and working is obviously the right choice, or am I right to be cautious of abandoning ship in this economy?

After the eurail pass, the white picket fence?

vytae — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 11:29:52 -0800

Past and present world travelers, backpackers, and real-world avoiders: where are you now? Answers to previous AskMe posts indicate that many of you have abandoned or postponed the "real world" to go on grand adventures around the world at some point in your lives. You decided to wander around Europe or Asia for a year after college, you joined the Peace Corps, you dropped out of corporate life to hike the Appalachian Trail, etc. Any time someone asks, "Should I go?" the majority of you answer with a resounding "Yes!"

My question is what you've done since your grand adventure, and how (or whether) you've adjusted to a more "normal" lifestyle. Did your extended travel experience get the wanderlust out of your system? Did you return to a nine-to-five cube-farm job that satisfies you, now that you've seen the world? Or did your post-college trip turn into 30 years of traveling around the world on the cheap? Or maybe you came home with the knowledge that you could never stand the rat race, and now you lead some kind of "alternative" lifestyle back home. Whatever it is that you're doing now, I want to hear about how you made the transition. Is it possible to build a satisfying life after an incredible vagabonding experience?

How to learn applied .NET from top to bottom?

debacle — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 21:13:37 -0800

Looking for resources on specific programming topics, with a particular teaching methodology (basically, applied examples and real-world walkthroughs). Some of the topics are C#-specific. Some are more general, but would preferably be taught from a C# (or at least .NET) perspective. A) The resources would preferably be in book form, however I'll take anything that fits further criteria.

B) If I need to refer to several resources to learn what I want to about one topic, that is OK - as long as the resource doesn't confusingly mingle the topic material with other material.

C) *Very* important is the teaching style. I'm *not* looking for a syntax reference, or simple "Hello World" examples on how to use each of the language features, etc., that I want to learn about. For the most part, I am interested in learning how these features can be applied from the ground up to solve real-world problems; and how to identify how each feature can be helpful in solving such problems.

D) Any text will make certain assumptions about the prior knowledge and experience of its readers. Ideally, these resources would make assumptions that are as close as possible to my own knowledge and experience.
1. I have quite a lot of real-world experience with C++ (but little with multithreading, network communication, or UIs).
2. I have written some small- and medium-sized tools in C#, with and without simple GUIs.
3. I have done some (annoying) work in managed C++, bridging a C# application with unmanaged C++, both static and dynamic libraries.
4. I know some basic principles of multi-threading, but have little hands-on experience with it.
5. I have only implemented simple GUIs, and the few I have made from scratch have been C#.
6. I have not substantially utilized any of the "higher-level" features of C# in my code (attributes, delegates, etc.).
7. I have only just started working with the new features in C# 2.0. Basically, all I have used are the built-in generics classes.
8. My Managed C++ experience is in VS7, but I have recently ported some of my existing code into VS8, which exposed me to some of the new keywords and syntax rules in MC++ 2.0.
9. Most of my .NET programming experience has felt like I was writing a C++ application with C# syntax. I don't know how to properly use the extra features that C# offers, so I stuck with what I know, while enjoying the streamlined development process.

E) That being considered, here is my list of topics:
1. General best practices for C# (from the ground up).
2. Design patterns in C#.
3. The features of C# that set it apart from languages like C++. Including: attributes, delegates, events, etc.
4. The new features/syntax of C# 2.0.
5. Managed C++, with a focus on how to properly use it to bridge unmanaged C++ to C#.
6. The new features/syntax of Managed C++ 2.0.
7. General multithreading resources, from the ground up (preferably from a C# perspective).
8. Multithreading specifically in C#.
9. C# UIs, from the ground up. Ideally, would move on to available open source extension packages such as DotNetMagic.
10. How multithreading can/should be applied to UIs (preferably from a C# perspective).
11. General socket and network communication resources, from the ground up (preferably from a C# perspective).
12. Sockets and network communication specifically in C#.

F) When I say "from the ground up", I mean, from the basics and *all the way up*. Basically I want these resources to provide me with the power to work on my own to gain the experience necessary to become a "guru" in these areas. Again, if it takes several resources to provide all of this for one topic, that's not a problem.

Are there truly virtual worlds in existence?

Kickstart70 — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 10:52:00 -0800

Are there real/virtual worlds yet? Does this yet exist, in any rudimentary fashion: A game or other 'real world overlay' where the people involved travel in real space with visual and audio input that comes from the game, and where the game uses some method to track their real world location and interactions with others.

Ie. A bunch of people put on their helmets, view the world through eyepieces (completely or mostly hiding the real world), and stumble around on a flat surface interacting with the virtual world and other people with helmets on.

If it does exist, in a simplistic fashion, who is doing it and are there videos of people as they 'live' in this virtual world for short periods?