Help Shinn find work! (In SoCal)

[shinn497]

So I'm a part time physics MS student with lots of research lab and education experience, and I'm trying to get more income for student loans/818 fund. I'm trying really hard to do something more applied/engineering related. Since I'm a lab rat, I always thought my skills would translate easily to the real world, but not so much. 'm wondering if anyone has any leads/connections/advice to help someone in this tough job market. I actually met a roadster owner and he said he would hire me on the spot if I knew solidworks, so I'm trying to expand my skill base and learn it and brush up my c++. Currently I'm tutoring/teaching HS students, its fun, but the work is inconsistent and I only get to save every so often. Student loans are starting to creep up too ;_;.

This job market makes me want to try again for a PhD in physics...if I'm going to be poor, at least want to devote my life to something interesting.

[SStrong]

My son has a degree in Astronomy/Physics from Rice. He is working in an environmental laboratory (at least he's moved up into management, and it's an international firm). Most people don't wind up in the field they're educated for (I didn't).

But - they can't take that degree away! (sarc), or at least I've been told that.

Sorry, I'm in South Texas, so I don't think I can help much. But good luck, and I'm sure you'll do well. And, remember, a PhD generally leaves you no alternative but teaching.

Those that can, do. Those that can't, teach.

Steve

Steve

[skullandbones]

Don't dispare. This economy is worse than we've ever experienced. I think a lot of people have forgotten that. My grandmother told me how bad it was in the 20s when the "Great Depression" hit. I think the economists are full of it as far as how we are "recovering". But if you persist, I think you will be better off finding a niche in your favorite areas as a lab rat. But with the things the way they are, it may be delayed a little longer than our usual " inflation - recession" swings. For example, in our area the real estate cycle is about 10 years and after the "little great depression", it may be on a 20 yr recovery cycle if my realator friends are right. Good luck, WEK.

[shinn497]

argh! I was told that Boeing, Lockheed martin, and a bunch of other places hire physics masters but alas defense spending is being cut ! ><

[SStrong]

Yeah, My son had wanted to be the first man to walk on Mars since the 5th grade. With the cuts to NASA, he couldn't get work even at some of the telescopes (well, he could have gone to Chile, but that didn't appeal to him). Like I say, he's doing real well at the lab he works at. Has traveled around the U.S. setting up computer programs and doing QA/QC. So hang in there, you'll find something you enjoy. The young guys working in the oil field in South Texas, with no skills, are making $10,000 a month (I know some of them). Probably not what you want to do though, 100deg, 90% humidity, rattlesnakes killer bees and lots of other stinging bugs. Yes, I've done that and didn't particularly enjoy it.

[shinn497]

A friend of mine is doing that. And no I want to stay in SoCal. I think I could do better if I moved out, but I love it here so much.

I'm trying really hard to improve my skills outside of what I learned from my physics masters. Learning Solid Works, Reviewing C++, and Molecular modeling. But I need more experience making things and especially want to get back into photolithography. How do I do that!?

[SStrong]

The more things you're good at, the more value you have to an employer. Plus, don't forget the option of starting your own business. I've never been happier since the only people I have to answer to are my clients. And computer and internet skills are important in any business today. You sound like you have the drive to do anything you want, so stick to it.

[Cobradavid]

With this announcement:
http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2012/08/nasa-ccicap-funding-spacex-boeing-sncs-crew-vehicles/
SpaceX might be hiring more people. They're in Hawthorne, CA. The head of the company (Elon Musk) is sort of a car guy - he also owns Tesla Motors.

David

[shinn497]

Cool! I'll look into it. My undergrad advisor visited them regarding their photovoltaic setup. I used to characterize cells for him that are meant for space.

Tbh, applying to a big company is so intimidating.

[Movieman]

Cool! I'll look into it. My undergrad advisor visited them regarding their photovoltaic setup. I used to characterize cells for him that are meant for space.

Tbh, applying to a big company is so intimidating.
Little story; I'm an admin over on the Xtremesystems forum(High end PC's) and a few years back one of the young guys there was just completing his BS degree and wanted to do web design.
He'd been offerred a summer job interning at Intel but was going to pass on it.
I told him that the opportunity of a lifetime was in his hands as Intel ONLY offers intern jobs to see if what they already think about an individual is true.
Thankfully he listened, worked there for the summer, went on to get his masters in engineering and today is 25 and set for life.
Follow the money and today and into the forseeable future thats where it is.
Best of luck to you.

[shinn497]

Might as well resurrect this thread. I moved to DC but I really want to work in SoCal again. I'm currently interning at a startup, freelancing as a Data Analyst at another as well as tutoring physics to make ends meet but I need something more.

Things have changed a little bit. Didn't get the Masters. It is what it is. I love school and really want to go back but it was a dead end for me. Currently Pursuing a Carreer in Data Science specializing in Python**. So if anyone knows any leads it would be great to send them my way!


**My Full Tech Stack is as Follows. I've been using the following for all my projects:

- Python - Numpy, Theano, Pandas, Requests, Scikit-Learn, Lasange, and matplotlib, and Gensim. On a side note, Generators are great for dealing with Data bigger than memory.
- Javascript - D3. Also Learning Meteor and PhoneGap. I'm scheduling myself to dedicate a weekend to making an app
- Amazon EC2
- Linux development (CLI Linux is great). I've just been learning it but it is what I use in my internship and also when sshing into EC2 instances
- C++ - SDL. I'm making a game from scratch. I've actually been spending more time doing this than data science/machine learning.
- Spark - Went through two MOOC courses from DataBrix and currently using it in my Internship to run NLP machine learning algorithms

My one weakness is I'm not proficient in SQL as i wish I was. A lot of jobs ask for like 3 years experience but I wonder, isn't it kind of easy? I know a little and can do Join requests but I'm not sure what to learn beyond that. I'm considering getting a book or taking a MOOC course. However, I also know that NoSQL solutions are all the rage these days.

My Github is Here!

github.com/datafighter

[Martin]

To be honest, the worlds demand for data scientists is about to explode. You've been developing a good core skill set for any developer, the D3 is specifically very good at data visualisation which takes you into the realm of graphic design and infographics. i.e. making sense of all the data.

You might want to look into the "R" programming language for data manipulation etc as well. I have a team of 12 data scientists work for me in one of my teams locations. The ones that have (imagine a venn diagram here) a combination of data science, technical (computer science), and business savy is a rare breed - enough so that they are all called unicorns and they earn a significant premium

As I read through the thread, it reminded me of my sister in law. A lab rat that didn't recognise the transferable skills she had. Great at setting up experiments, data analysis, managing budgets, project managing from start to finish, writing technical papers in easy to understand language etc. Then I read the final post and decided to respond in a slightly different way.

You may not have found a job in Socal or in your field of physics, but you've chosen a great field with strong career prospects. Good luck in your future career.

Martin

[shinn497]

Yeah things changed for me in the past 3 years.

I made a decision a long time ago to get to god level status in python over R. Since, as far as I can tell, they can both do the same things. I do see a lot of job openings that ask for R, so I will consider it in the future. However, that is my only incentive since python has served me very well for my personal projects, freelance work, and internship. I once even "beat" a veteran R coder in running a topic modeling algorithm on a dataset using gensim. I do love how useful python is for making scripts. I can write a python script, install it on a server, pip in the libraries i need or make a custom AMI and do my heavy machine learning remotely. It is great, ESPECIALLY for stuff that requires GPU.

I hear a lot of talk about need for data scientists and there is a big movement here in DC, which is why I am trying to enter this field. It is kind of like an investment into the future. I also know a major hub for data science work is in SF, which is where I plan to eventually land. I still need to have my ultimate project that utilizes everything I've learned. But I'll still be looking for jobs until then.

I have a question. IS there a quantifiable way of gaining business savvy? I'm learning from my internship that I'm almost like a consultant half the time. Instead of spending time coding, I pitch ideas and explain to less technically knowledgeable people how to get the most out of our data. Is this what you mean? If so, how can I demonstrate this to future employers?

[Martin]

Shinn497 - pm me and we can trade emails. Python is also a good one, but R is a statement of "I'm a data guy", whereas Python is more of a "I know how to get stuff done" statement on a CV. Both are good. I normally hire people that have both.

Martin