I attended Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas and on August 16, 1986 was awarded the degree Bachelor of Science in Computer Science. Even though I had quite a bit of hardcore programming experience starting back in 1982 my resume was rather weak. This was mostly due to bad advice given to me by some of my peers. If I had actually included on my resume everything I had already accomplished getting a job would have been a snap.

I moved back to Austin, Texas, and lived with an old friend for a few months. I spent my days scanning the Austin-American Statesman newspaper for computer jobs and found several that looked really good. I sent out dozens of resumes, expecting dozens of offers (or at least replies) but having a blank resume doesn't really help you much. I eventually came across a computer operator job at a life insurance company that was not even five minutes from the house. I had done this type of work part-time while attending Lamar and it was rather easy. This job was not really what I wanted but I figured it wouldn't hurt to get some more experience and I liked the short commute. Also, having a paycheck would be nice, even if it was a small one. Note that top of their class computer science majors were starting at around $35K a year in those days. This job paid about $8 an hour.

I went to the company for an interview and was surprised to see at least fifteen other people there, all crammed into the lobby. I figured the company was hiring for multiple positions, but after talking with a few people it was obvious we were all there for the same job. I thought that was rather odd. Eventually my name came up and I was brought up to the third floor to meet the manager of the department. I don't recall his name so I will refer to him as "the guy". While in his office I noticed he mumbled a bit when talking but I could get his meaning from the syntax. He seemed impressed by my degree and asked if I was going to be okay with just a computer operator job. I said sure, you have to start somewhere, and maybe I could pick up programming at some later time. He asked me a few more things (like where I lived) and then offered me the position. I thought that a bit odd too, with all of those other people waiting for their shot at the interview. Strange, right? It was Thursday and he asked if I could start the next day and I said sure.

He led me back down to the 1st floor where all of the other people were waiting. He told a girl to go tell them the job had been filled and to go home. She was a bit surprised at this, but did what he asked. The guy didn't seem to have any remorse whatsoever. As we walked past everyone to get to HR I saw more than one evil glance or stare come my way. I was happy to get the job but sure didn't like the way this was handled.

I showed up early the next day and was introduced to several employees in the department. All of them went through the custom of saying hello and all of that, but something didn't feel right to me. I figured maybe they were just worried that I would not be a good employee. After the introductions the guy and I got to the actual work. The lab we worked in was incredibly large, and had whirling tape drives and other stuff all over the place. It was also LOUD. Hearing protection didn't seem to be used but this was definitely not a place you would want to spend a lot of time in. No one there seemed to notice the noise but I sure did. The guy started by showing me all of the equipment and then we sat down at the main terminal. It was very similar to what I had used before and eventually he let me do the typing. He was very pleased at my typing accuracy and speed, and I began to think that maybe I could have a real career at this place. Start as an operator, get into programming, show them how good I am, work hard, and then retire to Hawaii or where ever. That's how it works, right?

We worked on some more commands and on several occasions I had to get him to repeat what he said. His mumbling was very hard to understand and the noise certainly didn't help anything. When he talked all I could hear was "Mumble mumble mumble mumble mumble ... Aw, right?". Nothing I said to him fixed this and by Wednesday I could tell he was getting very annoyed with me. I began to realize that maybe this wasn't going to be such a good job after all.

I had noticed two younger guys coming in at around 2 pm every day and so on Thursday began to strike up a conversation with them. They were on the evening shift and at first it went well. However, as soon as I started asking some questions about the job the chat ended very abruptly. At this time I had no idea why this happened. However, I was definitely noticing a trend here with the other employees. They were cold and indifferent to me, and it had been getting worse all week. I kept wondering if I was doing something wrong.

Because I was having so much trouble understanding the guy, and the way the other employees were acting towards me, I began to think maybe I should just give up on this and look for another job. I got my wish when the guy asked me into his office at lunch time on Friday and said I was not up to where I should be at this point. I started to mention his mumbling and all that, but how do you do that without being disrespectful? I also thought about the other employees, and how of lot of them didn't seem to do much. Sure, they read newspapers and drank coffee, but very little real work was being done. I decided to take the high road and told him that had always been a bit slow learning new things and that I would just try harder. He really liked this and said we would give it until next Friday. He also said that he liked me personally and that he hoped I would "make it", but that the needs of the business came first. He managed to say all this without as much of the usual mumbling which was good. I told him I understood and then went back to the terminal after lunch.

Later in the day, while helping some co-workers do some filing of tapes and such, I finally realized that they all had an intense dislike for me. Most of them didn't even try to hide it. One older lady in particular had a really bitchy attitude. I think she was mostly a secretary and probably not paid much, maybe even less than me. I also noticed that the tasks we were performing were extremely trivial for anyone who can follow instructions and seldom if ever make a mistake, but they acted as if we were loading tubes full of plutonium or whatever. I couldn't wait to be done with this nonsense so I could go back and play with "my" terminal.

After quitting time I went home and thought about the job all weekend. Late Sunday night, after discussing it with my housemate, I decided to just quit. I felt really good about this decision and at around 8 am on Monday I called the department to let the guy know I was resigning effective immediately. The older bitch lady answered the phone and said he wasn't in yet. I asked if she could please relay the message to him that I was going to look for work elsewhere and to thank him for the opportunity. I could actually hear the delight in her voice as she thanked me for the call. She said some very nice things to me and was the happiest I had ever heard her. As I hung up I realized that even as bitchy as she was at least she didn't mumble.

That Monday I resumed my search for jobs in the newspaper and noticed their ad for "my" job in the Wednesday edition. It was gone about a week later, and then showed up again a few weeks after that. This occurred again and again over the course of the entire year.