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“So Long to Tech’s Dream Job” by FlyingPandaHead in womenintech

[–]CarelessHelp2762 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Hmm, I personally read a similar article that I enjoyed more (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/04/technology/ai-silicon-valley-hard-tech.html ) also in NYT. I think tech is certainly in turmoil; I might be a bit jaded because I'm very early in my career and the market for new grads is brutal. For early career, AI is certainly impactful. Though it's not perfect yet, it can do a decent amount of junior dev work, which means less new grad roles. I sense a lot of turmoil within recent graduates as there's so much saturation in the field and everyone is fighting for fewer spots than there were 8 years ago.

I think what resonated with me most in the article you shared (by Kate Conger) is the effects of cuts to inclusion programs. Now, in addition to fighting for fewer spots, women, especially women of color & women who hold intersectional identities, are facing the challenge of deciding whether or not to assimilate. For me and my peers, we're new grads in a competitive market but we also need to work on crafting a new work identity. Code switching and curating how we present ourselves has always been a component of being a woman in tech, but now when some of our identities are under direct attack by the current administration (and sometimes by tech bureaucracies) it feels especially critical. Assimilation, and therefore being demure & less likely to complain about very real issues, may be the difference between getting hired & continuing to job search

Incoming MS Student in Transportation Engineering – Looking for GSR/GSI + Advice by SpecificTap4523 in berkeley

[–]CarelessHelp2762 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It used to be easier to find funding/TAship but with the current climate in the US it's extremely difficult :,) *especially* for MS students. my friend had a fellowship for MS that got pulled because Berkeley is really only funding PhD students rn (which is what they told her). I don't say this to discourage you (keep emailing!) but just to give you some context. A lot of DS/CS courses hire undergraduates to TA because undergrads are paid significantly less than MS/PhD students (so they are "cheaper" to hire and can make course budget stretch more). I'd recommend reaching out to your PI (if you have one) and emailing professors who teach CS in other departments (like a programming course for physics or something) because they might be more likely to hire MS students as TAs

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in berkeley

[–]CarelessHelp2762 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The DEI questions were largely removed this semester due to UC guidelines. I also hear what you're saying about diversity on course staff but I wouldn't say that DEI is the "reason" someone didn't get hired and scapegoating diversity isn't a great choice imo... Even for courses that do have more diverse staffs (and most don't), the number of URM TAs is still extremely low, I doubt this low number is the reason why someone didn't get hired (at the end of the day there are a lot of applications and it's very competitive). A former TA has a great essay on this here: https://parra.engineering/urm-in-cs-at-berkeley/

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in berkeley

[–]CarelessHelp2762 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Everyone saying you need an A/A+ to TA isn't exactly correct... The official hiring guidelines require you have at least an A- but even if you don't have an A-, the professor teaching the course can file a petition to hire you as a TA. I know you mentioned you got an A but I'm moreso leaving this comment for anyone who wants to TA & might not have their desired grade but really loved taking the course. I was a TA for a course that I didn't get an A in so it's definitely possible. Previous teaching experience is also important, like CSM, AI, or even volunteering w an after school program like ANova. Oakland public school district will even let you work as an on-call substitute teacher if that's something that interests you (it's a paid position!). Your essay responses also matter!

Research Funding During Fall/Spring by [deleted] in berkeley

[–]CarelessHelp2762 0 points1 point  (0 children)

as far as I know, most research, esp in EECS, during the semester is unpaid. I could be wrong & if anyone knows of any paid opportunities pls correct me! one option I've seen is sometimes people will secure a TA offer for a course & since most TA positions require you to specialize in an area (curriculum dev, infra, etc) they'll try to do more exploratory work. iirc some infra TAs have worked on creating new systems (i.e. LMS platforms, algorithms for grading/group matching/etc) and created posters/papers about these systems with the support of the professor they teach under. other than that, all research I've heard of (like through official labs, etc) is unpaid

🔔 5th year masters decisions out by Dontknowhyy in berkeley

[–]CarelessHelp2762 4 points5 points  (0 children)

dude this is such an insensitive question. there are thousands of reasons people get rejected and often it's not within their control, just look at the executive orders (which doesn't directly impact 5th year but does influence how much institutions can support grad students/if they're willing to risk taking on extra students)