employment
grrlscientist | November 13, 2007
Carry a cool wand;
The unconfirmed rumor is that his boss told him: "You can keep your job if you wear that outfit for the remainder of 2007."
grrlscientist | November 2, 2007tags: book review, white-collar unemployment, job hunting, Bait and Switch, Barbara Ehrenreich
While I was flying back to NYC last weekend, I read (yet another) book about job hunting. This book detailed the obvious; that searching for a white-collar job is not as easy as you might think, as you'll learn in Bait and Switch: The (Futile) Pursuit of the American Dream by Barbara Ehrenreich (NYC: Metropolitan Books; 2005). In this book, Ehrenreich posed as an unemployed white-collar worker, in search of a job in public relations and event planning. To avoid being identified as a journalist via a…
grrlscientist | October 3, 2007tags: researchblogging.org, H-index, impact numbers, scientific journals
A friend, Ian, emailed an opinion paper that lamented the state of scientific research and the effect this has had on science itself. In this paper, by Peter A. Lawrence, a Professor of Zoology at University of Cambridge, the main point is that modern science, particularly biomedicine, is being damaged by attempts to measure the quality and quantity of research being produced by individual scientists. Worse, as this system careened out of control, it gave rise to a new and more damaging trend: ranking scientists…
grrlscientist | July 6, 2007This is for my Australian readers out there, especially those of you who are seeking to improve your resume .. the Australian division of Durex condom makers is seeking 200 men and women to test their condoms and to provide honest feedback regarding the performance of the condoms. To select their researchers, Durex is having a little writing contest; potential research applicants are asked write a short letter as to why they are best suited to the role. Winners will receive free packs of condoms and will be entered into a drawing for A$1,000 ($854; £425).
"With this job on your CV, it…
grrlscientist | July 2, 2007tags: employment, urban dictionary, modern euphemisms
As our workforce has become increasingly hostile towards the very workers that it depends upon and our world at large has become hostile to the very idea of individuality, there have been new words developed that hide the true function of those who seek to destroy modern civilization as we know it. Below the fold is a list of a few of these euphemisms that were sent to me by a reader for you to enjoy;
Blamestorming
: sitting around in a group, discussing why a deadline was missed or a project failed, and who was responsible.
Seagull…
grrlscientist | June 22, 2007tags: employment, science, math, engineering, streaming video
Why would any sane and intelligent American even consider getting a college education in science or math when it can mean months or years of unemployment or underemployment? I mean seriously, large corporations are hiring H1-Bs instead of American workers, and academe can only absorb so many graduates -- in fact, far fewer than the number that graduate every year. So in short, there is no shortage of math and science graduates in this country as I have often said, despite the fact that Bush and his cronies repeatedly claim there is…
grrlscientist | June 19, 2007This is something that should make you oh, so proud, to be American. NOT.
According to the lawyer on this video, "Our goal is to NOT find a qualified or interested American worker so we can get the foreigner a green card".
This streaming video shows one big reason why qualified Americans can be unemployed for years, until they give up trying to find a job at all, in fact. In the meanwhile, these employers are hiring H-1B foreigners and paying them, on average, 20% less than a similarly qualified US worker. According to my sources, Lou Dobbs investigated this streaming video and presented a…
grrlscientist | May 30, 2007tags: pre-employment test, psychometric test, employment
Just when you thought that employers had thought of everything, now there is a new pre-employment test that identifies individuals whose minds might wander while they are on the job. The test developer, Professor Nilli Lavie, of University College London, said that her psychometric test could help weed out people who could be a risk in jobs such as pilots and bus drivers.
Psychometric testing reveals a lot about character traits among potential employees. As a result, many large companies are especially interested in using these tests…
grrlscientist | May 19, 2007tags: immigrants, employment, labor, politics
As Congress debates an overhaul of the nation's immigration laws, several economists and news media pundits have sounded the alarm, contending that immigrants are causing harm to Americans in the competition for jobs. But are they?
[A] more careful examination of the economic data suggests that the argument is, at the very least, overstated. There is scant evidence that illegal immigrants have caused any significant damage to the wages of American workers.
The number that has been getting the most attention lately was produced by George J.…
grrlscientist | May 15, 2007tags: health, obesity, exercise, employment
This is really nifty, if you ask me. A workstation has been designed by the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota that will allow sedentary office staff to work out while they work. This workstation, designed to be used between two and three hours per day, has a treadmill, along with a plexiglass panel with two adjustable arms bolted to it that are designed to hold a computer and keyboard/mouse. The treadmill speed can be adjusted by the user, and also can be used to stand and work or to sit and work.
A study was recently published in the British Journal of…
grrlscientist | May 13, 2007tags: high-voltage line repairman, unusual jobs, streaming video
This streaming video gives a brief glimpse into the life of a high-voltage wire repairman -- only half a million volts pass over this man's body during the course of his workday! What an amazing job to have [3:18]
grrlscientist | May 7, 2007tags: employment, politics
Correct me if I am wrong, but has Wolfowitz been in trouble for only a month or so? How many of you have had a job that you could quit due to political reasons, rather than rent reasons? And does that make those people more ethical than the rest of us? I certainly never have had a job in my life I could leave on a moment's notice (and for political reasons) and I suspect that most of you haven't, either;
Kevin Kellems said an ongoing scandal surrounding his boss made it difficult for him to remain effective in his role at the Washington-based institution.
Oh, cry…
grrlscientist | April 24, 2007tags: wage discrimination, sex discrimination, equal pay for women day, employment
Today is Equal Pay Day for women -- that happy day day when women's 2006 wages are equivalent to those earned by men in 2006 -- and 2007 is already one third of the way over!
But, you ask, these are modern times, aren't women paid the same as men, especially college-educated women? It might surprise you to learn that this is not true. According to a news report that I heard this morning on National Public Radio, women college grads begin their post-college careers by earning 80 cents for every dollar earned…
grrlscientist | April 7, 2007Did you know that there is no shortage of American citizens who are fully-trained scientists and engineers who are currently unemployed or underemployed? Instead of hiring well-trained and fully-qualified scientists and engineers at home, American employers are looking overseas to meet their employment needs because they wish to pay substandard wages, reduced or no benefits, or they wish to otherwise abuse their scientist-employees with little or no accountability for their actions. As one of these unemployed scientists, I have experienced all of these scenarios first-hand at one time or…
grrlscientist | March 3, 2007They don't say it on this video, but I'll say it here; this is what happens to out-of-work scientists. They don't stop making experiments at all! Instead, they find new experiments to conduct in the absence of paying work.
Are you afraid? Well, if so, please be sure to employ your local unemployed scientist in a scientific field.
I forgot to mention that grrrrrrl scientists like to blow up things, too.
grrlscientist | October 17, 2006
Image source.
As some of you know, I have been seeking a job for several years (I won't embarass myself by saying exactly how many years). Needless to say, I have made a few discoveries along the way, one of which is how to decipher job ads. Below the fold is a dictionary of words and phrases that a friend sent to me. These words and phrases are often included in job ads for jobs that turn out to be something other than what they should have been based on the ad description. Feel free to add your own, too.
Ability to take charge: Your boss works 60-70 hours a week and has been looking…
grrlscientist | October 14, 2006If you were 62, unemployed and broke, what would you do to avoid living on the streets? Well, if you are Timothy Bowers, you rob a bank. ...
... and make sure that you get caught.
Apparently, Bowers is like most people out there, because he cannot pay all his living expenses by working at a minimum wage job.
Judge Angela White asked if he truly wanted to spend the next three years in prison.
"That would suit me fine," Bowers said. "At age 66, I would receive full Social Security benefits," which he can collect as soon as he gets out of prison.
My only comment is that the bank teller could…
grrlscientist | October 14, 2006Does anyone else out there in America think this is long overdue?
More than 650 economists, including five winners of the Nobel Prize for economics, called Wednesday for an increase in the minimum wage, saying the value of the last increase, in 1997, has been "fully eroded."
Critics claim that most people who earn minimum wage are teenagers with after-school jobs, but this is just not true. However, even if this were true, I don't think this is a valid argument against paying fair wages.
The economists wrote, "While controversy about the precise employment effects of the minimum wage…
grrlscientist | July 18, 2006
Well, well, well, will wonders never cease? It seems that I have been offered a job. Of course, no papers have been signed yet, so anything can happen between now and the time that the job starts.
Basically, I was asked to teach evolution to non-majors at a private Catholic college this autumn. Of course, I have to stay alive until September when the semester begins and then, if they haven't changed their minds and they keep their promise to hire me, I will earn approximately half (or less) of my monthly rent, along with absolutely no medical/dental insurance benefits whatsoever, nor any…
grrlscientist | June 27, 2006
Dear XXXX,
Thank you for your rejection letter. After careful consideration, I regret to inform you that I am unable to accept your refusal to offer me a position.
This year I have been particularly fortunate in receiving an unusually large number of rejection letters. With such a varied and promising field of candidates it is impossible for me to accept all refusals.
Despite your outstanding qualifications and previous experience in rejecting applicants, I find that your rejection does not meet my needs at this time. Therefore, I will assume the position in your organization this…