Repost: Intro to Experience Dump

Originally posted April 10, 2007, now archived here.

Once upon a time, after I got my first PC, I used to list all the software I had used. The idea was to show off that I was computer semi-literate, had laid hands upon Lotus 1-2-3, and of course should be hired for accounting-related work for which knowing Lotus 1-2-3 was increasingly mandatory.

I never did get that accounting job. However, I did almost get a combined cost accounting and “design a computerized cost accounting and quality control system” job, which didn’t exist but was inspired by my resume, that would have been slightly over my head at the time, but a fun challenge. More fun than commuting to Lowell from the South Shore would have been. I’d gotten a 96 average in a cost accounting class that had easily a 50% dropout and failure rate; thus that element of the almost job.

Ultimately, though, the practice of listing that stuff, and emphasizing computer mad skillz, got me technical support work. Even then the list was starting to get too long, and it’s long since to the point where you’d shorthand some and leave the rest unstated.

Heck, I haven’t even created a resume since 1997. I’ve done a few fits and starts of “if I needed one, what would it say,” but that was the last full-fledged one, and it was for internal consumption, so might not fully count. In which case, my last general resume was written in 1994. Using Ami Pro. I guess it really is worth taking stock. As I mentioned the other day, I am in a unique window in which I could leave being self-employed, or keep it entirely on the side, and go for a “real job.” Or a mix of part-time stuff that might include “real job” elements. I recently saw a paid tech blogger at a commercial site not know something so elementary that it made me wonder why I’m not doing something like that.

At any rate, this doesn’t pretend to be a resume. It doesn’t pretend to be short. It’s an info dump for my benefit, and if you’re curious enough to go through the list, or want to compare notes or add comments on your experiences or computer/software/work history, then cool.

Each of these posts will at least link back to this one by way of explanation. They will be subject to update if I think of things I might have forgotten. I might have them link each other. They’ll be categorized, but my categories might seem a bit vague or odd in places. Oh well. Since I’m dividing it all up, perhaps I’ll add more commentary than the original list format might have implied. For what it’s worth, the things I have listed so far run to four pages in Word. At 14 points, since I like a good view of what I am typing, so it’s not really as long as it sounds.

Of course, if I want this to be a complete exercise, I’ll need to talk about more than the technology list dump. It’s also about what I have done, what I enjoy doing, and what I prefer to avoid. I’ll undoubtedly get to that.

So, here goes…

Experience Posts (links to reposts):

Intro to Experience Dump
Hardware Experience
OS Experience
Word Processing Experience
Spreadsheets and Accounting
Graphics and Presentations
Database and RDBMS
Dictation Software
Communications, Internet, PDA, Blogging
Legal Industry Software
Backup and Compression Software
Miscellaneous Software
Security, Spam, Malware…
Call Center and Tech Support Tools
Languages and Programming Tools
Server Software
Software Creation

Employment and College
Experiences and Accomplishments Scratchpad