The Worst Jobs in Science: The Sequel

The Worst Jobs in Science: The Sequel from Popular Science lists this year's list of the worst jobs in science. Computer Help Desk Tech makes the list at #11.


Don’t hate them because they’re inscrutable. These are people who love the subtle power and intricacies of computers, yet who must spend their days incarcerated in windowless rooms telephonically holding the hands of 16-bit blockheads. One computer tech in Delaware recently had an urban legend spring to life when a user called to complain, apparently in all sincerity, that his computer’s “coffee cup holder” (actually the CD drive) was broken. “We should all be issued sidearms so we can vent our frustration,” she says. It’s a lot to swallow for $35,000 a year. No matter—these jobs won’t last long in the U.S.; they’re being offshored to India in mega-numbers. RTFM indeed.

ea_spouse: long hours in the game industry

ea_spouse blogs about the long hours in the game production industry.

The stress is taking its toll. After a certain number of hours spent working the eyes start to lose focus; after a certain number of weeks with only one day off fatigue starts to accrue and accumulate exponentially. There is a reason why there are two days in a weekend -- bad things happen to one's physical, emotional, and mental health if these days are cut short. The team is rapidly beginning to introduce as many flaws as they are removing.

I don't really know what to say about this. I am conflicted, as I believe people should be allowed to work as much or as little as they want, and employers should be able to ask employees the same. However, this seems like really bad business practice. Why burn our good programmers?

Check out the comments in the original post, and also this /. article on the same blog posting.

Jeopardy College Tournament Game Won by "1337" Student

Thousand Robots: Jeopardy College Tournament Game Won by "1337" Student


Tonight was round 1 of the Jeopardy College Tournament. One of the contestants, Kermin, a comp-sci/engineering student from Carnegie Mellon University, had a commanding lead (well over $10K) going into Final Jeopardy.

His final wager had Alex Trebek scratching his head, but Kermin was clearly sending a message to fellow computer nerds. His wager:

$1337

In leetspeak, 1337 translates to "leet" or "elite."

Due to his correct response in Final Jeopardy, Kermin ended up with $31,542, which makes it likely he'll wind up in the final rounds of the tournament. It was a clever gesture, perhaps one that only could have been outdone if he had wagered $1132, which would have left him a final score of $31,337.

Somewhat relatedly, "Video Games" was a category earlier in the game, (Everquest, Grand Theft Auto, and Unreal Tournament were all correct responses) and "Blogs" was a category a few weeks ago.

Project Foil

Attention Bored Students: check out Project Foil