http://friam.383.s1.nabble.com/Guidance-could-help-tp7584356p7584358.html
Gil -
I like your term "Technomancer", very apt for this audience.
I always have plenty of advice but in this case, I'm not sure how
*useful* it is.
My feeling is that most people on this list are in one of three
categories: 1) Technomancers who had a long and successful career
during the golden age and who are now retired or semi-retired
(like your dad); 2) Technomancers in mid-career with enough
success under their belt to know it is possible to make a good
living at it, but possibly struggling (due to the economy); 3)
Technomancers such as yourself who "came of age" during the last
5-10 years when times have been "austere".
I don't think high-tech is any less realistic as a career these
days than any other career. In fact, I think having Technomancy
skills will enhance *any* career. Unfortunately all careers are
threatened these days I think... or at least muted... if not
overtly threatened. The golden age is over... but that doesn't
mean your generation (you are a millennial, right?) won't get to
experience a Platinum or Palladium age (both metals are even YET
more useful than Gold as well as having equally interesting
aesthetic properties). Singularity or no, I think the age of
magic has already returned (in the
Arthur
C. Clarke sense of the term)
It is thin solace for those lost in this challenging time of
trying to maintain or start a career in high tech, but doing
something because you love it is ultimately better than doing it
because it pays well (think teaching, art, rodeo-cowboying, indie
music, etc.) Too many of my generation (younger boomers) went
into Technomancy because it was a solid, lucrative career in the
80s, maybe even 90s. Not all of them were as interested in it for
it's own sake as the folks you know from SFx/FRIAM, etc.
- Steve
PS. I hate when the world oozes. I prefer when it splashes and
froths kaleidoscopically, unfortunately the usual chemistry that
supports that particular state does not promote focus and
connection with reality! I recommend getting out in the fresh
air and sunlight... both have a way of reducing the viscosity of
my day to a more tolerable level, one where I can hope to generate
a little iridescent chop and foam on the surface. Thrashing
around like a fool sometimes helps with that too...
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College