The student's experience is normal in dictatorial regimes. Increasingly in our country too, those in authority do not like to be called out or held accountable. The work to squash anyone who dares speak out. Universities especially are famous for this kind of behavior.

As a scientist, I have many people who deliberately do not put sufficient detail into their papers to enable replication of their experiments and results. Given the way R&D is funded these days and the constant quibbling over patents, this should be no surprise. The ancient publish or perish paradigm is still in vogue so people still publish but they also have to protect their intellectual property.

The Holy Bible is a great source of advice for character, professional, and career development. Start with the Wisdom series of books within the Bible.

One sees WTFM a lot. It is usually said by people who do not have the time to understand and respond to user questions about the material they are reading in the manual. The WTFM attitude in "user forums" that companies deploy to replace staff help desks is one reason for me to reject the product as unsupported. When I investigate a product I do check on what assistance is available. It is amazing to me how few companies provide good support to their users. I have even read company staff posts that belittle product users when they do not understand something. Another thing I have found is that good companies with solid documentation and user support sometimes get bought out by larger companies who then treat the purchased company as a cash cow. As a result, documentation and support dry up. I have dropped products as a result of this behavior. I guess some companies actually believe their product is so unique that there are no alternatives. Such is never the case. Although worthy alternatives take time to find, they are available.

If you really want to "see" a place and grow significantly from the experience, you have to live there and participate in the culture of its people. Living in an ex-pat community or looking at pictures just will not do it.

Well said J. "Climate Science" has long since lost its credibility regarding global warming and its causes. This is what happens when "prostitutes" just put their Ph.D. signature on whatever preconceived notions a funder may have. Also detrimental to the field are the attempts to justify throwing away raw data. Contrary to what these types insist, it is NOT normal to throw raw data away. Yes, raw data frequently needs to be preprocessed. However, there are many many ways to preprocess data. It is NOT normal to just pick one method and then throw the raw data away. A further detriment are the obvious attempts to keep objective discussion out of the literature. These comments come from my experience as a Ph.D. in industry. Preconceived notions do not make profit in that context. One has to focus on objective truth so that actual problems can be solved. Otherwise, original products and services can not be produced and evolved.

In Ethiopia, you have to retain your receipt for drinks purchased in the terminal because you WILL be asked for them by security personnel. But, they do not do any testing of open drinks.

My opinion is that there is way too much hype surrounding this unvetted and unavailable material.

That was certainly the case for me. Received my Ph.D. in Computer Science at age 52. It has made a huge difference for me.

The issues one will see with the cloud are the very same, if not worse, as those experienced with main-frames. What got people off main-frames was the low cost of mini and micro computers and the fact that organizations need control over mission-critical equipment and processes. Those who operated main-frames had become uncontrollable entities unto themselves. They had no accountability for corporate success but had every control over the means of success. That situation had to end and the new, smaller, and cheaper computers made that possible. Recently, I read an article about a large company that had spun off its cloud services component because the company found that its potential corporate and government customers were already getting off the cloud for the very same reasons cited in the first paragraph above.

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. The states pushed. Now Amazon is playing the game. It is too late for normal retailers.

In a very real sense, I agree with schnell. However, I do not at all see the point in becoming the boss of such numbskulls. That would be a demotion. Instead, go work for a company that encourages your enthusiasm, a company that sees such enthusiasm as a plus, a win-win situation. Working for a company that is inhibiting and dis-enabling is not good for your career nor your personal growth. Do the company executives know of your achievement or has your "supervisor" buried it? Soulskill me man, you have the right idea. Your career will be made if you continue down the performance-ethic path you have embarked upon. This path is implemented via a steady cycle of study-learn-work-produce. Your tenure will be secured and you will be very much in demand. I should know, I am 61 years old and still get calls from strangers wanting me to come work for them. You will certainly not be subject to "Finished at 35".

Indeed. Our local military base set theirs off all at once without even waiting for dark. It was a grand taxpayer-funded DoD display of "shock and awe". :) What happened was that a vicious storm was approaching and they did not want to leave all those explosives out in the open.

The US Government, including uniformed services, also grades this way. A quota is enforced that prevents supervisors from giving good reports to good employees. The only way I have seen to win in this system is to put office politics and power games ahead of meaningful accomplishment. One has to "manage up", meaning that one has to keep one's nose stuck up the right rear-end. Those are the ones who do well, not the ones who put mission first in an effort to accomplish something. Because of this, the US Government spends more and more money, creates more and more agencies, and hires more and more people while getting less and less accomplished. Is there any reason to wonder about the US' loss of world leadership, military strength, and economic prowess?

Questions and some discussion from my personal opinions: ... Have you enjoyed being a technical expert? If so, management will drive you crazy. You say you are concerned about your career partly because of office politics. You do not sound like you are any good at that game. "Management" today is all about power games and office politics. Knowing about business management, business development, business administration, and business execution are valuable. But, that does not mean you have to stop being an expert in your field and specializing in business execution. From that perspective I do not advise trying to "move up" by getting an MBA and trying to become a manager. ... Does your present situation limit your personal growth? As a technical expert myself, growth to me is having more and more freedom to do what needs to be done to solve increasingly difficult problems and undertake increasingly difficult applications of technology. (Technical team leadership is a part of that.) In this way, you build a reputation for results that does not depend on who you work for. Stay an employee if you like, especially if you would not like running a small business. However, keep your skills so high that you are in demand. Moving on is a risky undertaking but a professional person has to learn to manage risk. The time to move on is when you reach the peak of the wave, not when the wave is dying out. Still, do not ride the wave to the bottom. ... Have you taken the long view of your career? It is important to build your career in such a way that you have something worthwhile to write in a resume and say during an interview. This kind of thinking goes beyond job hunting and into career building. Having a job is not the same as having a career. On my website (http://informationanthology.net/CareerMentor/) are posted articles by myself and others on this topic. ... Best of luck in your efforts.