[PLUG] A training cooperative?

Richard Seymour rseymour at spamcop.net
Fri Aug 2 18:13:18 UTC 2002


ptkwt at aracnet.com wrote:


> Then of course the question of 'where' comes up?  Maybe FreeGeek?  They've got
> bunches of machines on a network.


I was just about to pipe in on the "jobs" thread that when you're stuck 
between jobs, check out volunteer opportunities. FREE GEEK, PLUG, K-12 
Linux, and Personal Telco all come to mind as opportunities for people 
to get hands on experience. Here's a suggestion for folks between jobs:

* Figure out how much time you can commit to a volunteer group (on, say, 
a weekly basis). Leave enough time to (a) enjoy your time off, and (b) 
continue your job hunt.

* Contact a group (like those listed above) and offer your services.

* Talk with someone at the group. Explain what you know, what you'd like 
to learn, and what you kind of already know, but need experience in.

* Think about what kind of a project would both look good on your 
resume, and help said organization.

* Sketch out a time line for that project and offer to do it for the 
organization. Make certain that you'll be motivated to do it without the 
incentive of a paycheck.

* Make a backup plan for the organization in case you actually get a job 
mid project.

* Do the project, do it well. Document it. Show other volunteers what 
you did.

* Get a letter of recomendation from the group. Put the reference and 
the work on your resume.

This is a great way to get some hands on experience, plus help out the 
cause.

Another opportunity is to take what you already know and teach it. Think 
about being a speaker for PLUG (regular meetings or advanced topics), or 
coming down to FREE GEEK and offering to teach a class of some sort. 
(Talk to Laurel if you come down.)

FREE GEEK is what I know best, since I work there, so the following 
applies to FG, but can be adapted to other groups as well.

We've been talking about doing a series of seminars that, taken as a 
whole, would form a basis for understanding a broader aspect of system 
administration. For instance on the theme of networking, there could be 
seminars on:

* Boolean logic and binary math (needed for understanding how netmasks work)

* How do IPs work?

* What are the seven layers in the OSI Network Model and what are they for?

* How does DNS work?

* How does DHCP work?

* What about encryption and authentication? A security overview?

* Etc...

Anyone wanting to teach this sort of thing ought to come by FREE GEEK, 
open (currently) noon to eight Tuesday through Saturday, and find out 
how they can help.

Right now, FG has a lot going on, so we need self directed people to 
come in and make this kind of thing happen. There's also a not 
insurmountable, but nevertheless real, scheduling problem given that a 
lot is going on at FG.

Anyway, my point is: if you're stuck between jobs make the most of that 
time. Hunker down and do something you want to do. That's got to be 
better (in at least some ways) than ending up with a job you don't like 
anyway.

:-)


-- 
My! People have a way of coming and going so quickly here!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
    Richard Seymour, the Man Behind the Curtain
CHEEP GEEKS      Anarchy Software       FREE GEEK





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