WoW, work, blah...

I'm trying to remember how to play WoW again. I have a level 23 druid which I loaded up last night, along with my level 42 hunter. It was fun, but I felt like I couldn't remember what any of the buttons did. Still, it's a fun game. I have about 6 weeks to play it before it costs me more money. Since I'm still unemployed, I think that's about how long I have to find a job of some sort too.

Unemployment in America is stupid. When my parents were kids, you could walk into almost any place and ask for a job. Many would turn you away, or require qualifications you didn't have, but that was the way it worked. When *I* was a kid, you could still do that for "normal" jobs. However, we were told that if you went to college you wouldn't have to look... employers would contact you and offer work. With a Computer Science degree, I should be able to get a job and they'd train me in the details since the degree meant I knew how to learn.

Well... they lied. In 2005, lots of people need jobs. As a result, you don't get training anymore. You don't get offers. You have to beg. It really feels that way. Unless you happen to know someone who works somewhere that's hiring, you have only random chance to help you stumble into a job that you can do. I've seen lots of jobs flow through the classifieds in the last year, and I've applied for the tiny handful that I know how to do. Employers are now picky enough that if you don't already know how to do the job on day 1, they'll pass and wait for someone who does.

I really regret bothering to get a degree today. Had I dropped out of college in 1991 and helped form a local ISP, I might well be a millionare today. Had I never bothered to go to college at all, I might have a solid pension by now. Instead, I got 5 years of good paychecks, and now that cash is gone. I'm thinking I'll be very lucky if I can get an office job somewhere... typing reports, filing, hell... I'd be happy stocking shelves at this point.

Oh well. On the plus side... I did beat Civ IV earlier. I had to use the spaceship victory, although I might have won on score too. In the end, I was well ahead of everyone but Rome used spies to suck technology from me and also started to build the ship. A few well placed nukes slowed them down and ensured my victory though. /spit. Nobody beats the Russian Empire.