Starting a new job in a few weeks with a fairly large financial company doing financial advising and analysis.

nice, always good to hear about skaters that are taking care of business. i recently worked as an architect on a project for this trading software: http://activetrader.schwab.com/trading-tools/software-trading/overview.aspx?src=nmk&sv1=sSXdR7Gz4&sv2=7272437948&sv3=xpxe4op6q0. culture was sick at schlob the nob but that was the austin office. not sure about outside of austin.

I was out last night with a friend who is an architect (the building kind) and she started going off about how she can't stand it when IT workers refer to themselves as architects.  I really don't care, but this post was very timely and reminded me of it. 

After about 2 years barely scraping by doing freelance work for a bullshit women's jewelry company, I got hired a week and a half ago as a graphic designer making ads for the app company that does iMob, Original Gangstas, etc. The company is only 4 years old, started with 3 people in an apartment, expanded to 20 people last year and are currently staffed at about 80. Right now they only make free text based MMOs but they have aspirations to become a full fledged video game company and are currently producing an iPhone strategy based medieval MMO you can play with anyone in the world over 19 languages with instant translation, (a feature that currently doesn't exist anywhere else.)

I got my BA in 09 and they're paying me more than most graphic designers with 10+ years of experience in the field make. They give me a ridiculous amount of creative control and I can come into work anytime as long as I put in a full 8 hours. I'm only on a 3-month contract right now but they usually don't hire without the intent to make someone full-time.

To top it all off, every month they have a company party with free beer and food. This party already happened after my third day of work where I found out 2 of the 3 founders of the company skate! My boss used to skate with Jose Rojo as a teenager and the CEO started in 93, first video he saw was Virtual Reality, at one point in his life could switch hardflip front nose, and the dude he is currently most psyched on is Torey Pudwill, (I gave him shit about his crazy arms/weird tricks but couldn't deny how good he is.)

So in other words, I've had a pretty fucking good couple of weeks.  

The dreaded "can you recall..." interview. Had to recently do this one in front of 7 people with clipboards asking shit like, "tell me a time when you failed something, then learned from your mistakes." Refinery jobs are incredibly hard to get into without a degree or knowing someone high up. Anyone working in a plant or refinery?

As far as grocery store jobs, I worked at one for about a year and a half in high school. It wasn't that bad. Pretty easy work. I didn't think stores outside of walmart drug tested, but good luck mang.

working a summer internship at an architectural forensics firm in boston...dealing with envelope improvements, historical preservation, repairs, rehabs, renos, and occasionally contracted for new construction.  great office, incredibly low-key team, young work force, right in downtown.  hell, the first week i was there we had a huge celebration for one of the senior associates who just got engaged, and we had an open tab that i murdered in my own right.  six or so of us went up to the bar after and kept saucing, a real great lot of folks.  after years of unpaid and ungratified work, plus retail sales to scrape by before i applied to grad school, i feel like im finally going in my direction.

thanks bud.  im a year into 3 for my masters of architecture right now...doubled in architectural studies and environmental studies for my BA.  honestly, FUCK the educational system.  its crazy how disenchanted the cirriculum is with reality, and the professors are with the profession.  its seriously nuts.  getting on-hands professional exposure in the proper environment is worth TROVES over any education the system feels like compartmentalizing and handing on down to you.  dont get me wrong, the importance of school cant be underscored enough, but its fucking crazy how out of touch my grad program is with reality.

at least reality as i see it.  anyways, cant speak on VBA or SQL, but congrats on the call and best of luck!  i have a feeling grim or someone else might have some advice to offer...

I sell real estate for a living, its a pretty chill job and pays great.  Any one looking to move to atlanta?
www.buckheadatlantahomesearch.com

I worked for at&t for a while in sales, and I have an associates in business admin, working on a bachelors in finance. I applied for the position online and met with the managers of the firm and they thought I would be a good fit for the position, and it all kind of spiraled from there. I'm stoked.

I've got two more weeks at FedEx thank god. I'm over that shit man. I'm likely to quit my grocery store thing too before school starts. They pull some weird shit on you at that place. You can't just change someone's schedule last second and expect them to come in to work. I checked my schedule like 4 times yesterday - says I'm off today and I get a call a few minutes ago saying that I was scheduled for today. Fuck them, I'm not coming in.

i worked at ikea for 3 years. it's a good company they don't pay too much but you get great discounts on the furniture (up to 75% if you know how to do it, and your colleges will soon show you how). use that while you can, you'll never get furniture that cheap again.
it was all good, all the people working there were nice, we had free food and drinks for the employees all day long, a gym and even a free solarium (never used it).
if you have any swedish speaking collegues (preferable female) always remind them: "svenska flickor knullar bra"

I have a couple friends over there doing that right now too.

I want a job that starts early in the morning so I have time in the afternoon to skate. Thinking of applying at the Post Office until I go back to school.