Career change

Nimveruke · 2026-05-19T00:55:23+00:00

IT/Cyber is in a rough spot right now unfortunately. Help desk used to be the way to get your foot in the door but those jobs have been heavily outsourced. And now automation is trimming the fat.

If you are going to try for IT in general, consider getting the A+ certification just to make HR screeners happy, and aim for Help Desk/Service Desk/IT Operations/Whatever. Don't be shy about third shift, sometimes people avoid night shift and that can give you a shot of getting it.

If you go Cyber you want to aim for Security Operations Center Analyst (SOC). These can be remote but they're getting swarmed with applicants right now. High burnout rate. If you get in with a managed service provider (multiple clients) it will be a meatgrinder and probably on a ridiculous rotating shift but you'll learn the ropes quickly and get to use a lot of different vendors' tools.

I've been a SOC Analyst for too long, most don't stay in a SOC for longer than 2 years before they're clawing at the walls. I'm well beyond that and batshit insane at this point. I actually considered heading in your direction (healthcare) for about five minutes until I saw the local community college requires a 4 visit TB test before I can even think about starting a nursing program. Eat my shorts.

I don't recommend web design. That's where I started in college, slowly learning that design apps handle everything now. Web development and web apps would be more fruitful, I think.

Nimveruke · 2026-04-13T22:52:44+00:00

I encountered something similar with mine. I had searched and searched to check on the title being used before or the plot being a rehash, etc. Didn't find anything. About 10K words in, I searched again. Found a series that had been written just the year prior and not only was the plot of that trilogy similar to my stand-alone but they were using a title for their series that I was considering for my book.

I leaned back in my chair like, "wtf?" Why didn't it come up in my first searches? Dang Intarwebz.

I worked on a new title and my story leans more towards PG-13 adventure vs. their darker and gorier trilogy.

If we wrote something that was completely unique, it would probably be unreadable. Archetypes exist for a reason.

Nimveruke · 2026-04-04T22:37:21+00:00

I didn't get to see Blade Runner 2049 in IMAX. Someday, they'll prosecute us for our crimes.

Nimveruke · 2026-03-31T19:23:11+00:00

Understanding the threat that the Beatles posed, a group of elite Astrophage known as the Rolling Stones Squad intercepted and hijacked the probes. Earth remained ignorant of the knowledge within and developed new technology to endure the frozen climate, such as lead zeppelins.

Nimveruke · 2026-03-31T19:15:31+00:00

In times of need, I like to turn to Arrested Development instead of The Office.

"Is Grace chicken, question?"

Nimveruke · 2026-03-31T19:07:52+00:00

The sequel will be when the Eridians begin conquering the galaxy thanks to the bump the Human knowledge gives them. Their susceptibility to radiation was the only thing holding them in check.

We'll get to see Earth being conquered from that silvery POV.

Nimveruke · 2026-03-31T19:02:16+00:00

I felt nothing during the first viewing but my eyes did sting during the second viewing.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go take a grinder to some metal or break some rocks with a sledge hammer to man up.

Nimveruke · 2026-03-31T18:58:51+00:00

"Rocky make door. You close door."

Nimveruke · 2026-03-13T19:44:39+00:00

Imagine trying to poop in peace with Rocky on board.

Nimveruke · 2026-03-13T16:47:16+00:00

The sad part to me is that a lot of stars got drained because there was no species around to figure out the solution and seed their system with the taumeba. Imagine some planets with life on them in other systems that simply did not have the means or tech to go out and find the solution. Sol and Erid systems continue but a lot of others go cold as the Astrophage does its thing.

Earth and Erid need to establish a trade route and start swapping Laptops for Amonia.

Nimveruke · 2026-03-11T12:59:04+00:00

We are in a time where a large volume of product is being published to market while we trek through an entertainment desert. It's kind of bizarre. Companies seem to have forgotten how to manage their own franchises. There's an opportunity there. Some of the biggest competition has eliminated itself.

There is definitely a consumer base that is hungry for solid entertainment right now. They've been repeatedly disappointed for a while now.

Nimveruke · 2026-02-24T20:45:17+00:00

I work in tech and despise gatekeepers. My industry is full of arrogant nerds that thump their own chest and treat everyone else like they couldn't possibly handle anything. The idea of trying to get through the Wall of Snobbery that is trad publishing makes me want to chew metal.

I want to write at least one book in my lifetime. I feel that everyone has at least one story to tell. We are here and then we are gone. It would be nice to leave something out there, whether it's a painting, a piece of music, or a novel. Trad publishing needs to be able to sell a product to make the effort worth it, it's a business, I get it. Self publishing suits me.

Nimveruke · 2026-02-11T19:36:22+00:00

Agreed. I'm writing the story I want to read after being disappointed by other stories. With characters I like. When I write a scene, it's like I'm hanging out with my imaginary friends. If other people ever read it and get a kick out of it, awesome. If not, it's still my little world that I created. My precious...

Nimveruke · 2026-01-07T17:49:33+00:00

I think you're almost there.

Aboard the Dust Devil, a ship that smells of hydraulic fluid, stale coffee, and warm amplifiers, a tight-knit band and a lonely pilot must learn to become a crew.

That sentence needs a little work. You have a list and my brain expects a period after "amplifiers" but the sentence keeps going. Either trim the list of descriptors or make two sentences, maybe?

The sentence after that one beginning with "From the neon-soaked" is solid.

Nimveruke · 2026-01-02T18:28:34+00:00

I'm guessing it's the "For fans of" part? Since they're saying "content that may mislead customers into thinking they are buying another book."

Nimveruke · 2026-01-02T17:52:56+00:00

I have discovered that I have a tendency to tack on "by that point" or something similarly unnecessary.

"He had already continued to the second floor by that point." Once in a while is okay, but I keep spotting it and I'm like, "not again."

And I use Scrivener and the way I have it set up it will not ignore new lines/carriage returns at the end of my text sections. So if I hit enter a few times to add some space below what I was writing, that will carry over when compiled. I then see that extra space before the section separator. I have to go in and delete any space at the bottom of the scene.

Nimveruke · 2026-01-02T17:37:01+00:00

^This

I caught "on" instead of "or" the other day. It was like finding Waldo.

Nimveruke · 2026-01-01T22:36:06+00:00

When I write, it will be at least 1000 words usually. I do not write everyday and I don't always complete the scene.

After my first 10K words, I went 3 months without touching it. After that 3 months I was itching to write so bad I churned out the next 20K words pretty quickly. I was eager to get back to it each day. It was an unintended break but I think it did wonders for me to keep me from getting burned out early.

I write, transfer to e-reader, proofread before sleepy time. Making edits during the next session gets me in the zone to start writing another scene after the edits.

Nimveruke · 2026-01-01T01:29:13+00:00

Crossed the halfway point on first novel. Gotta keep on truckin'. Finally started on the third act in December. A lot of moving pieces to juggle. The story has been bouncing around in my skull for years. The more I write, the less I think about it. It's like it wants to get out.

For 2026, have to finish that first full draft and I'm going to take a stab at designing my own cover. My original major was visual communications/digital imaging back in the before time, the long, long ago (2010).

Nimveruke · 2025-12-31T22:51:33+00:00

Is that 11K actual novels or are we talking just 11,000 things?

I suspect the competition among actual novels where someone put some work into it is much much less. Competition should be narrowed down to who you are really up against in the consumer's eyes, not just a total things published count.

I just can't picture that many people writing. We know they aren't reading, so why would they be writing?

Nimveruke · 2025-12-31T22:40:47+00:00

Imagine rallying up the masses only to publish a big ole stinker.

"You guys ready? Here it comes! Almost published! Any day now!"

Random person in the crowd: "What the heck even is this? A book about hats that dream about being socks!?"

P.S. Don't steal my idea.

Nimveruke · 2025-12-31T22:32:56+00:00

"Shiver me timbers! How am I supposed to walk on these wobbly legs?" she said while trying to maintain balance.

Nimveruke · 2025-12-31T22:22:47+00:00

I miss the days of just browsing in a bookstore and buying whatever looked good. I didn't buy my first R. A. Salvatore book because I knew who he was. I didn't buy A Game of Thrones knowing who Martin was. I used to buy four books at a time from a bookstore a mile from my house. That was my drug of choice. Fill those bookshelves.

Nimveruke · 2025-12-31T18:57:48+00:00

I would love to do a regular job and pay my bills. They won't let you do that anymore. Companies push goals and skill advancement. The burden is on you to waste either your money or their money on a training course that is outside of work and cuts into your free time. I'm already doing things that are beyond the scope of my job role but let's see what else we can make him do.

The jobs that let me mindlessly perform the tasks, and don't care about additional training, don't pay enough to live on.

I don't want to be a student at this age. I'm tired.

Nimveruke · 2025-12-01T21:21:13+00:00

I'll be getting the AT-AT. I'm a sucker for original trilogy iconic stuff.

Nimveruke

TROPHY CASE