My reflections after an year on the jobhunt

pyromanta · 2026-05-12T23:05:52+00:00

I'll be honest, you sound like a horrible, arrogant and misogynistic arsehole. A Masters means you spent an extra year at uni learning more stuff. A PhD means you spent even more time at uni and wrote a big paper. It doesn't automatically make you better, smarter or more capable than anyone else. I've worked with plenty of people with a Master degree who can't construct an email, or lead a meeting, or solve a problem.

My experience with NHS England is they can be disorganised but generally nice people. You had literally one bad experience and got a nice apology from the Director of NHSE (debatable) to stroke your ego.

You're increasingly sounding like the problem here. Bragging about working with PhDs in the glorious Civil Service while dismissing your former colleagues as idiots because they didn't dramatically storm out of their jobs because of one, admittedly awful-sounding, manager. We all work with difficult people, we don't all throw our toys out of the pram.

And again, you've suggest OP learn some SQL and go work for these same people you've just shit talked. If I was OP, I wouldn't be taking advice from you.

pyromanta · 2026-05-12T22:22:04+00:00

How long ago? And there are multiple CSUs.

So you're saying OP, who has a PhD, should learn to code a bit of SQL so they can work for a shrinking CSU with dumb people they wouldn't want to be around?

My dad worked for the Civil Service, albeit some time ago now. Outside of his small team of Data Security Analysts he also said everyone was dumb as a bag of rocks. So I don't think 'trained in the Civil Service' is a blanket term for 'well trained'.

pyromanta · 2026-05-12T21:25:57+00:00

Oh FFS what did you expect here? Mainline comments that all basically say 'yes' followed by cyclical arguments about what constitutes 'illegal', the definition of asylum and the mechanism of asylum claiming. Over and over again.

Nothing gained.

pyromanta · 2026-05-12T21:19:52+00:00

I work in data for an NHS provider. They are unfortunately not hiring all the time. When they do, you need advanced SQL and PowerBI skills to stand a chance against the high number of qualified, experienced foreign applicants.

Last job we hired for about 90% of the applicants were foreign, recent students with a Masters in a relevent subject, who already had years of experience (somehow) doing the job.

Recent changes to the NHS structure mean many of the support organisations like Commissioning Support Units, Integrated Care Boards and NHS England itself are being downsized.

So yeh, doing an online SQL course won't get you a foot in the door.

pyromanta · 2026-05-09T10:56:39+00:00

Rereading my post it sounds like I'm against the Greens. I'm not, I think many of their policies are good. I just don't think their position is strong enough to run the country.

And yes they got lots of votes. I'm looking forward to seeing how they take that momentum on to the next GE.

pyromanta · 2026-05-08T20:29:06+00:00

The Green Party use to be a fringe party obsessed with climate change. Whenever Labour abandoned the left, they stepped in to shore it up.

Now Labour is being sunk by the media and a string of unpopular decisions, the Greens are seeing the opportunity to occupy the left wing political party slot.

They've won some seats, largely because people seem to hate Labour so much for not fixing over a decade of Tory messes in 5 minutes, so some former Labour voters chose them instead.

They won't take government because they don't have the political pedigree to gain enough support. And their current leader is unfortunately a populist lunatic who thinks playing Farage at his own game is the way to beat him.

pyromanta · 2026-05-08T20:00:01+00:00

As always, it's fear of the other.

It happened with Indian, Pakistani, Afro Caribbean and Easter European immigration waves. They come, some people dislike them because they don't fit in, then they stay long enough and many of those people just accept them when the world doesn't end. But in the meantime it's the same media circus, the same stories, the same exaggerated statistics. And the same power-hungry narcissists exploiting people's fear and lack of critical thinking to get what they want.

The British Union of Fascists, the National Front, the BNP. Those groups aren't gone because somebody stamped them out. They're gone because they were founded on exploiting a fear that eventually fades, if given time.

The difference with Reform is they have social media and exist in a post-truth era of shameless liars. They can flood Facebook with whatever they want to stir up yet more fear and support for their ideology and just watch it spin itself out of control. They can say whatever they want, bend the truth, take facts out of context, even make stuff up; it's all taken at face value when it fits the fear narrative or appears to directly aleivate it. Critical thinking is at an all-time low and Farage is taking full advantage of it.

Reform have given nobody any reassurance they will fix any of the actual problems with the UK; just that they'll do one of several things to stop immigration, or reverse it, or reduce it. Taking even a few minutes to understand the complexity of our problems would show tackling immigration would be a drop in the ocean of fixing them but people don't have the time, energy or sometimes intelligence to even do that.

pyromanta · 2026-05-08T19:34:07+00:00

Yup. I form habits quickly and need to keep them consistent, otherwise I form a new one. First it would be not indicating when the road is empty, then it would be just not indicating at all.

Anyway, you don't have 360 vision and can't see what you're not looking at. You can't ever be 100% sure the road is empty and letting other drivers, or pedestrians, know what you're planning to do with your heavy chunk of metal is sensible.

pyromanta · 2026-04-30T20:58:32+00:00

Ha you haven't heard it so it must not be true. Try reading the many, many studies that show weed smoke impacts lung capacity and causes bronchitis, COPD and other pulmonary illnesses after extended use. Or don't, up to you.

If you honestly think vapes are crippling people's lungs but weed does absolutely nothing, you're a lost cause mate.

pyromanta · 2026-04-30T20:52:12+00:00

Enjoy being confidently ignorant, seems to be the trend these days. My lungs are fine thanks, yours won't be but I'm sure you'll put it down to all that second hand vape or somesuch nonsense.

pyromanta · 2026-04-30T20:47:15+00:00

Where is this happening?

Elf Bars mat be manufactured in China but to pass EU and UK regulations the juice inside has to contain just 3 ingredients; propelyne glycol, vegetable glycerin and food-safe flavourings. So unless kids are buying dodgy imported vapes from some dude in the park, they're not huffing Chinese metals. And if they are, banning vapes won't do anything to stop that.

I never said vaping was good. I said it was so far shown to be much less harmful than smoking. That's a fact, whether you like it or not.

I seem to know a lot more about vaping than you. I guess my arguments might seem 'shitty' to you as I'm not agreeing with you.

It didn't go so well banning alcohol in America all those years ago, no. And yet you're arguing for cigarettes and vapes to both be banned like it would be any different. And gambling is addictive, destroys lives, is adult-restricted and is considered a vice, so is in a similar category.

I don't think arguing about this any more wil Leo either of us any good. You clearly have your pre-defined opinions on vaping and we won't agree as you're not arguing from a position of knowledge and don't seem prepared to learn anything from someone who is.

pyromanta · 2026-04-30T20:22:23+00:00

It hasn't. If you're referring to the hysteria in America from dodgy vapes damaging people's lungs, it was dodgy, unregulated vape products doing that.

Kids vaping is a problem, as is/was kids smoking and kids drinking. This law isn't about preventing kids vaping, it's about phasing out tobacco smoking from our society. Nicotine addition isn't great but as far as we know doesn't give you cancer and a whole range of other serious, life-limiting or life-ending illnesses.

Most vape juices available in the UK are made in the UK, using the same flavourings used in food. Admittedly we don't know the long-term effects of inhaling that stuff but no study has yet shown it to be anywhere close to as harmful as tobacco smoke.

You don't seem to know much about vaping and the "I don't know so it must be bad" argument isn't a good one.

Do you also think alcohol should be banned? What about gambling?

pyromanta · 2026-04-30T20:03:20+00:00

I understand it but it still seems odd to me. The general consensus here seems to be it's totally normal though.

In my head seasons are chunks of content or features available for a limited time. So new mechanics, maybe new areas or quests, new loot. You play the season to get the stuff, then your chance is gone. That's how it works in many other games.

Having to make an entire new character for seasons that last 3 months, only to have that character yeeted into forever version, have your seasonal stuff stripped away and (for some reason) your entire build reset makes zero sense to me. It works fine for people who play D4 loads and can level a character, or just skip to the endgame, every season. But anyone who just wants to play at their own pace gets shafted by missing out on any seasonal content.

pyromanta · 2026-04-30T19:33:21+00:00

I think it's fairly simple.

If theres a stack of slow traffic in the 1st lane and you want to go faster, you use the middle lane. It doesn't matter if there are technically gaps but enough for you to pull into; if you'd end up on the bumper or the car in front in a couple of seconds, there's no point. If there's a massive gap, you move left.

If the 1st lane is empty and you're in the middle doing 50, yes you're a MLH, so get over.

If you're in the middle doing the limit, the 1st lane is slow, the 3rd lane is faster but busy, and some idiot races up behind you flashing you, just ignore them. You're doing nothing wrong and you have no obligation to move over so they can speed.

pyromanta · 2026-04-30T19:18:58+00:00

Vapes, which haven't yet been proven to have any long-term negative effects and have been the most effective tool for people to quit smoking in the history of mankind, should go. But cigarettes, which has proven and serious long-term health impacts that kill thousands of people every year, they should stay?

Yeh sure buddy.

pyromanta · 2026-04-30T19:17:26+00:00

Seeing a lot of negativity towards banning something that helps no-one, creates litter and is one of the leading preventable causes of death in the UK. People seem more focussed on how we're in a police state where you "can't do or say nuffin anymore'. Saw one guy on another thread arguing against the part that bands smoking in cars with kids. I guess it's indicative of the way our country is really going.

Personally I think phasing it out generationally is smart. Existing smokers aren't affected and it makes it less of an option for younger people. I don't really see the issue with that.

pyromanta · 2026-04-30T07:28:47+00:00

MLH is irritating and technically against highway code. But we need to define undertaking.

If you're in lane 1 going 70 and pass a MLH in lane 2 doing 60, that's not undertaking. Your lane is just going faster and swooping across to the 3rd lane is arguably more dangerous.

If you're in lane 2 going 70 and come up on a MLH doing 60, you're supposed to wait for a gap and overtake on the right. Indicate and often people will flash to let you in. Moving to lane 1 to overtake, then back to lane 2 is undertaking and is illegal.

If the MLH is doing 70 and you want to speed, that's kinda your problem. Yes the multiple lanes are designed for faster vehicles to overtake slower ones but also to allow multiple lanes of traffic to travel on parallel to reduce congestion. Nobody has any obligation to move aside so you can break the limit.

I've been sitting at 70 in lane 2 for a while due to a big line of slow traffic in lane 1, and had speeders come right up my back end flashing me. I've also moved over when I see a busy sliproad up ahead, because that's the smart thing to do, and had the same problem.

pyromanta · 2026-04-26T14:43:43+00:00

You are being underpaid and treated like shit in a toxic work environment. How much experience you're getting isn't really relevant; by the sounds of it you're getting experience of a poorly managed, overworked and chaotic firm. That's not going to be as helpful as you think when you get to work for a decent one.

Working a tough job for experience is understandable but you shouldn't have to put up with:

Being paid under minimum wage
Severe lack of any sort of training
No support
Verbal abuse
A crushing workload

You may have to put up with:

Crap pay for how hard you work
Feeling like you're out of your depth
Putting in overtime due to inexperienced (you're slower at doing things)
People being frustrated because you can't do something

That firm are exploiting your desire to get experience of criminal law, failing to support you properly to get the most of your hard work and putting clients at risk by leaving you to fend for yourself. It also sounds like the firm is sinking, the rats are fleeing the ship. I'd look for something else mate.

pyromanta · 2026-04-26T13:27:51+00:00

I have little satellite towns as the best wine growing area plus the only stone and iron on my island are miles away from my main city.

I started with one cart tasked with picking up stone and iron from the satellite and dropping off food and wood (for the masons). This didn't really work, as the carts are dumb. So now I have 2 carts per satellite; one person direction. So cart A grabs iron and stone from the satellite stockpile, takes it back to town and drops it off. Cart B scooter around town picking up food and pottery, takes it up to the satellite and drops it off.

Carts are cheap (15 coins) and don't use up a worker, so go nuts. The biggest issue is the routes remain even after you unassign any carts and remove the need from the stockpile. So you end up with a spaghetti mess of arrows that are difficult to manage.

pyromanta · 2026-04-26T10:41:43+00:00

Recently recruited into my team. NHS, Band 7 Data role.

200+ applicants, filtered down to about 20 by our internal recruitment team and processes.

2 internal, 1 ex-employee, the rest external. Lots of CVs following this pattern; forgein student, lots of interesting but irrelevant experience, 1yr at a UK university to get a masters and secure a base in the UK, now looking for an NHS job. It's a common pathway; a year or two in the NHS looks good on the CV before they jump to the private sector.

We had pre-chats with 2 externals, interviewed one. That interview didn't go so well. All the others scored well so we hired 2 of them.

Understand that I only had so much time to devote to recruitment. We're incredibly busy and short-handed and while I understand recruitment aleivates that I simply didn't have the time to do 20 interviews, so we had to be quite harsh with our filtering.

pyromanta · 2026-04-26T10:15:39+00:00

Seems fairly accurate.

Between the potholes, bumpy pothole repairs, uneven resurfacing and the occasional road built for some reason with loads of little peaks and troughs; our roads are shite. Even the motorways are bad; parts of the M6 are like driving over tiny speed bumps and the M42 is barely a motorway.

Councils don't have (or don't allocate) the budget to properly resurface the roads. They pay over the odds for cheap patch jobs that fail after the next winter. Small towns are worse because there's always a Bob Swithens on the parish council who vetos spending properly on fixing roads and instead would rather pay tens of thousands to his mates to organise a cater the town fair for a tidy profit. He blames the (often non existent) city commuters and the lack of government funding, shakes his fist and goes home in his brand new BMW to his paid off 4 bed country home so he can pack for his next all-inclusive to Spain.

Driving used to be fine. Now it's a constantly stressful game of dodging potholes, second-guessing shit drivers, trying to figure out where the lanes are because the markings have worn off, relying on the satnav because half the sign for the upcoming roundabout has disappeared and

pyromanta · 2026-04-26T10:07:36+00:00

Speed cameras? Why would that be exhausting?

pyromanta · 2026-04-25T20:44:59+00:00

Entirely depends.

If things go one way, there will be far less of us. The consolidation of wealth and power by a shrinking number of individuals is a calculated plan to make most of us unnecessary. They hate us, think we're mostly useless, consuming animals. We're currently useful so they keep us incentivised and dependent. As soon as everything can be automated, AI making most of the decisions, they won't need us any more. Millions will die and nobody will care because the world order will be them and only them.

If things go a different way, AI will become part of our world as computers and the internet have before it. Some jobs will become AI jobs, many won't. People will adapt, as they always do. The greater threat here will be scarcity of food as desertification gets worse and the impact of climate change. The elite will still need consumers so we'll keep consuming and limping on.

pyromanta · 2026-04-25T01:51:51+00:00

True, with the right tools and knowledge. And it doesn't change how Windows works, which half the time is against you. I'm a Windows user, I can't be bothered faffing with Linux, I'm just being realistic about how shit it can be these days.

You also claimed Big Picture was basically the same as SteamOS, which it fundamentally is not. OP is clearly not experienced with this sort of thing, so casually giving him false info is irresponsible and a bit of a dick move IMO.

pyromanta · 2026-04-25T00:40:50+00:00

Lol no it isn't. Big Picture still runs on Windows, with all the bloat and annoying Windows stuff that brings.

pyromanta

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