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 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarke%27s_three_laws>)
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...
Another day as my world oozes along.
I'll make this succinct for the benefit of the Technomancers on both
lists.
Greetings fellow Technomancers:
Where and or how does one go about getting some notion of how
realistic a career goal is these days?
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