How about this option? The world is a safer place for little boys everywhere.

Come on. Somebody had to go there.

SiO2

Somebody has way too much time on their hands.

SiO2

You're stating the obvious and missing the point.

SiO2

Thank you. You know how slashdot goes. I always assume the worst.

SiO2

I've been to Europe, so, yes, I have seen and used the public transportation system. (Props to the Netherlands and Germany!) The U.S. just needs to take a look at its infrastructure and wonder whether all of that stimulus might be spent on other endeavors that have a greater impact on the greatest amount of people. We should not be so concerned with keeping the car companies alive for the short term. Let us thing in the long term.

SiO2

I appreciate your points. However, I'm more than a little bitter thinking that the money I have paying into the system for so many years is going to a foreign company, especially when I'm having such a hard time finding a job in my home country. Nobody is hiring.

I apologize if I offended you.

Oh, and one more thing. We don't need more cars. We need decent freakin' public transportation in this country. In Europe, it's everywhere. Here, you have to live in a "major" city and even then it's shaky at best.

I don't mean to sound like a conspiracy-theorist but the U. S. car companies have been fighting against public transportation for years. Woodward Ave. in Detroit used to have a decent trolley service that was heavily used in the city and surrounding suburbs. Henry Ford killed that fairly quickly.

SiO2

"...Nissan received $1.6B under the same program."

Nissan? Why is the United States government giving money to Nissan? Shouldn't the Japanese government do that and not the U. S. taxpayer?

I know that I'm going to catch hell for this and probably get modded a troll. So be it. However, as a currently unemployed U. S. citizen who has had a job and paying into the system since I was twelve, I have to wonder where the hell is my federal government bailout money? State unemployment doesn't pay hardly anything. The U. S. government gave over a billion dollars to a foreign company, but a hard working citizen like myself, who really wants to work, gets next to nothing.

I apologize for the rant.

If anybody is looking for a systems/network administrator, who has over twenty years of solid experience, in the NE Ohio area, let me know.

SiO2

I'm a firm believer in staying in school as long as possible. It can't hurt.

That being said, any degree or certification will only teach you how things work in the lab. That's not real world. Everything always works wonderfully in the lab. However, once you dive into some corporate abortion of a network, it's sink or swim. That's real world.

I have a Master's in English. I've been working in IT in one form or another for just over twenty years, most recently as the network/server administrator at a university. So, I guess my point is that it doesn't matter what kind of degree you have. The experience of actually working in the field goes a long way.

Best of luck in whichever path you choose.

SiO2

I have a master's degree in English, but I've been working in IT for twenty years. (I'm 38, BTW.) Some of the brightest people I've known in the IT industry never went to college. I think that it's a matter of talent. You either have it or you don't.

There are two questions that I always ask prospective hires. Did you take apart your toys when you were a kid? Do you prefer Captain Kirk, Piccard, or Janeway? Answer those two questions sufficiently, back it up with a decent employment history, and you have the job.

A CS degree will teach you how things work in the lab. That's not real world. You have to dive in, get dirty, and do trial-by-fire to really make a career in IT. At least, that has been my experience.

Regardless, best of luck in your pursuits.

SiO2