The Water Cooler

1:55 AM

Close here

0

Q: What is the best job title for a generalist developer?

I recently was asked what the best job title would be for a generalist who works over a wide range of disciplines. The job would be a mixture of development (say 70%) and working directly with account managers/clients to help them resolve any issues with websites. I don't really want to say a j...

title

And here

0

Q: Leaving teaching - options for career change

I hope all are well. I have been a high school teacher for 14 years, teaching Science, Maths and Physics. Even though it is still a good job, I am looking for a change. I am also completing my PhD in physics this year. My question is, asides from university lecturing and laboratory research, ...

career-switch

And here

-2

Q: Noisy workplace and don't want to use headphones: is a white-noise generator my best option, and if so what features are most important?

I work in a noisy cube farm that is often distracting. I've been unable to correct the noise problems at their sources and I don't want to wear headphones or earplugs, so it appears that using a white-noise generator (under my desk, perhaps) is my other option (as recommended in this answer to a...

work-environment

I also edited this question heavily, but couldn't find a good question focused on going over why employers discourage shorter employment terms, and how to deal with shorter-term employment on a resume. Perhaps someone could make one? (Looking at you @Chad)

0

Q: How do I bring up a change of job within the same company?

After interviewing for a job in a new technology that has great long term prospects, I joined the company despite relatively low pay. After joining the company, I was assigned to different technology doing tasks very different from the job I accepted and interviewed for. Because of the large gap...

new-job job-change

Monica Cellio

@jmac why? (Read the comments.)

jmac

2:54 AM

@MonicaCellio Sorry for the delay -- the question is less a Workplace question than it is a product-related question (how should I pick out a white noise generator?). I don't think the linked question is appropriate either (as it is a shopping question as well). Basically, the workplace-related issue (workplace noise) isn't the subject of the question, since you've already decided how to resolve that issue (white noise generator). Now you're just figuring out which one you should buy.

Monica Cellio

3:36 AM

@jmac The related question has been open since September. Neither seems different from the ergonomics questions that have been deemed on-topic. I did ask if there was a better approach -- just because the other question & I didn't come up with one doesn't mean there isn't one, after all. But hey, if this site is really not The Workplace but Employment, just update the scope so people like me aren't misled. (BTW, I'm not new to the site, so I've seen a lot of questions go by...) ...

So if you guys want to close, go for it. Or I'll delete it -- whatever. I now know to go elsewhere for answers in the future.

jmac

3:58 AM

@MonicaCellio Sorry for the poor word choice in chat. My reason for posting them is not for a knee-jerk closing, but rather to bring attention to a question I thought should be closed and could be reviewed by other members. If I had known you'd read it (and really, I should have been a bit more tactful about this), I would have said something along the lines of, "I think this is a shopping question more than a workplace question since the solution to the workplace problem has already been decided"

@MonicaCellio I think there is a difference with the ergonomics questions, because the ergonomic questions are related to the entire office, or how to go about dealing with a workplace issue (ergonomics) rather than a personal one (product choice). That said, I don't really agree with ergonomics questions being on topic, but I don't feel I have a good enough reason to fight to have them deemed off-topic.

@MonicaCellio At any rate, my intention wasn't to be rude or dismissive of your question, and I apologize for coming across that way. I am usually here on a very different time than the bulk of users, so I post those in chat so that folks can take care of them when the UK/US wakes up.

Monica Cellio

@jmac Other sites use chat the same way; there's no problem with calling attention to posts here. (You should always assume that anything you write on the internet is public and could be seen by anybody.) From my perspective your opinions on these types of questions are out of sync with actual practice on the site, but you did get a couple other people to DV with you, so who knows? People aren't necessarily consistent. We'll see what happens. ...

I've been concerned about site definition for a while; I know TW has the numbers to possibly graduate soon, but I'm not sure it's a viable site. So I hope graduation is still some time away, so people can figure out what it's really supposed to be. My comment about workplace versus employment was serious.

jmac

I don't know about the site definition, I don't really know much about SE, I just do my own thing in my own corner in my own time zone, and tackle overlap/friction/problems when they come up (like this one)

I do assume that everything I write on the internet is public, and that's why I'm not being mean-spirited in my comments, I just wasn't tactful (and I apologize for that part)

Monica Cellio

@jmac with respect, I see you've been here for two months (and amassed quite a bit of rep in that time), so I recommend spending some time reviewing meta and older questions to see where this site has been.

@jmac thanks, appreciated.

jmac

Yeah, if I wanted to be Joe Pro StackExchanger, I would definitely get involved in the whole history and whatnot.

But to be honest, I just like answering questions, and trying to keep the site my vision of useful.

Monica Cellio

I've got to drop off -- that time-zone thing you were mentioning cuts both ways. :-) Good appropriate-time-of-day to you!

jmac

4:08 AM

1pm here -- sleep well.

Thanks for the chat.

NickC

4:36 AM

@enderland Call me crazy but I'd like to see questions like this be on-topic. In an analogy to Stack Overflow, this would be perfectly on topic. I need help with my problem (and somebody else might someday have a similar problem too). Of course, the most general questions get the most upvotes and attention, but would SO have ever taken off if users couldn't get answers to very-specific, very-localized questions?

In SO I struggle to even think of too-localized examples. At Area 51, too few questions is our only poor statistic; I personally don't object to questions like this as bad for the site.

RhysW

8:33 AM

@jmac Nice edits on this btw jmac!

-1

A: After a job interview, is it inappropriate if I want to talk to an employee in private?

It is not considered to be inappropriate at all and in some interviews this has been part of the interview process. Here are some helpful hints during your interview staying both positive and on track. If you could describe your corporate culture in three words, what would you say? This questi...

This answer basically hijacks the question and answers questions that aren't being asked

Jim G.

11:16 AM

Joe - I just cancelled out the downvote with an upvote. And I'm going to ask @NickC to purge the comment spam. — Jim G. 7 mins ago

^^^ @NickC - Just an FYI.

Transcript for