I recently started re-reading an old 18th century Chinese satirical novel called 'The Scholars', and I can't help but draw parallels not only between the blatantly corrupt literati of the Qing (or Ch'ing, depending on who you ask) Dynasty and the American Professional Class today, but the insane standards of both that made people waste their entire lives just to live up to them only to die trying or come up short.

In many ways, the examination system described in the novel is quite similar to the rat race people here in America run just so they can have a taste of the middle or upper class lifestyle. And as can be seen today, that's impossible for most.

In my experience, I got 2 degrees. One in Graphics Technology and the other in Database Administration. It's a pretty strange skillset to be sure, but I have managed to do some things with it and apply it to some other things I had no experience with. The problem is that no matter which jobs I apply for, I never get call backs. Why is that? There are two answers for this.

1. Employers in the tech industry expect you to be licensed in programming languages or software programs themselves. What makes this worse is that there are many different types of licenses for said languages and software. And yes, these can cost heaps of money AND you'll be expected to re-certify in a few years, shelling out even more money. To make things even worse, employers are also requiring the ability to drive to multiple locations. If you can't get a license or a car, you're screwed from the get go.

2. When they say something is preferred, they really mean required. Because many tech based areas are so saturated, you can bet your bottom dollar that employers will do all they can to make sure they get the unicorn they're looking for, possibly for little more than minimum wage because the tech industry is one of the worst offenders when it comes to abuse of guest worker programs. Employers will also make YOU pay the costs to even become employed, be it for uniforms, training or anything else you might need. In other words, employers refuse to pay the costs of doing business.

So based on those two things, I have to wonder, what the fuck is the point? Why bother wasting your life trying to be part of a group that does all it can to keep you out from the start?

See ya around,

Aspie