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You have to force yourself to do it. It is hard if you tend to be in the introverted side but it is definitely a necessity. I've gotten all of my best jobs through networking and being persistent. It's rare that I've even had to formally apply for a job. Of course, it is different now that I am pursuing a different field but, fortunately, I've got contacts in IT now so that definitely helps. You should try some local events in your area and professional organizations for your field.
I guess I would be considered "bougie" by some people for my personal tastes but, again, as an adult I could care less whether or not I'm accepted by the AA community. There is too much going on and too many people out here to worry about one group, even if you are ethnically part of that group. My college was a prime example of that. My dorm was full of students from all over the world which was an amazing experience. I guess this is why I love diverse settings so much today. I experienced the "crabs in a barrel" syndrome mostly in high school. There was a bit of an unspoken resentment between the General Ed population and the Science and Tech kids at our school. The Gen Ed students didn't really care about school for the most part and lived to disrupt classes, annoy teachers and start fights. I had a mixture of friends from both sides and, unfortunately, you saw the difference in the households of my Gen Ed friends. Their parents really didn't give two hoots about their grades or attendance. One girl I knew had it really bad in her household and she almost didn't graduate because she missed so many classes. It's pretty sad that this is a common issue in a lot of AA households. I don't know why people have children yet refuse to parent them properly.
The architecture profession has the highest percentage of unemployed professionals. I checked out one local school and the recruiter was practically begging me to enroll. As much as I'd love to be an architect, I refuse to go through schooling, an extended internship and seven certification tests to basically end up with no job.
I took my first coding class online with General Assembly. It may have been that the class you took was taught poorly. Try taking an online class and see how you do. The GA instructors are amazing and really break down the material thoroughly. I took an HTML/CSS course and really enjoyed it.
Also, have you checked your resume to see that it matches with what employers are looking for? It is important to have buzzwords that match the requirements. Try looking on Indeed/Craigslist/Monster, etc to see what employers are asking for and tailor your resume to match. If you don't have the experience, volunteer somewhere on your off time to gain the needed skills. That's how I got into IT with very little knowledge.
Did you attend college in Atlanta? If so, was it a PWI or an HBCU? I'm sure that the type of college you attend makes a HUGE difference in your social experiences.
It was something I've struggled to learn. Part of it isn't so much introveredness. Most of it has been social awkwardness. I have been the type of person who could be in social situations where I couldn't identify with what anyone was talking about. I think that often translated into my networking skills. The job I have, I was actually sought after.
I never heard the term "bougie" or knew what it was until I watched the Bernie Mac Show. I notice this term is only applies to Black females. Never heard it used against men. My own case, I rarely worried about acceptance among certain African-Americans. At one point, I did worry. I stopped that after about a year. Suddenly, I became more concerned about getting out of high school and away from my surroundings. As for my sister, I don't think she cares either about being accepted by African-Americans. She barely has any Black friends. I started seeking out the African-Americans who were headed in the same direction as me. I also made friends with African students when I got to college. I was the type of kid who was comfortable with having both White friends and Black friends.
I got along with international students as well. I still have friends among them today. That was just how I rolled. If I could identify with someone, it didn't matter what ethnicity someone was, or gender.
In my high school, the crabs in a barrel mentality was more petty. There was no magnet program or IB. Just college prep and tech prep. No rivalry. The persons who messed with me the most were the ones who weren't going to college, who were basically nonchalant about school.
I always thought architecture was highly sought after. It is still something hard to believe. I don't know why architects would have high unemployment rates. I know it is happening. Why, I don't know.
I haven't checked by resume since getting a job. I should. In the past, I did try and use buzzwords.
I went to a PWI. My university was also one of the largest in the state, over 20,000 students. I attended college in the suburbs of Atlanta.
This really depends on where you live. I grew up in Houston and Dallas.
I got made fun of for "acting white" but this came mostly from my cousins who lived and went to school in the hood or the Baptist church my parents would go to. I was the cousin in the suburbs going to the "white" schools. This was mostly in elementary and junior high. I remember my AIM SN in junior high had "Oreo" in it and one of my good friends was Uh-Oh Oreo (if you remember those). By the time I was in high school, no one gave a damn. If you were smart, you were smart. The clowns were looked at as...clowns. They were the ones daydreaming or trying to be slick and cheat during tests. When I was in high school, being smart was the thing to be because it meant you were probably gonna have money in the future. In college? ****. You better be smart and not the class clown because you will really look like the dumbass. Unless you can mix both like some people could (including myself...I wanted to learn, but I still said my piece). The reason why the girl probably kept making fun of you is because you took a lot of offense to it and/or were sensitive about it and showed how it affected you to her so she kept doing it.
This "acting white" thing went both ways though. When I would play basketball with my white friends, they would say my basketball abilities were natural and when we would go to parties, there were rumors from the girls that I had something extra because I was Black. Or they would ask me to dance or teach them how to do whatever dance. In Texas we didn't give a damn about race or if you were "smart" or "dumb" or "cool" after the junior high stage.
After being in LA for about five months now, I have to say that I'm surprised at the amount of Blacks that are here. Pasadena/Altadena, South LA and the South Bay, Inglewood, and the IE. Only areas where I felt out of place was when I was in Laguna Beach and in Simi Valley. The office I work at now has 14 people and 4 including myself are Black (four Blacks, six Whites, and four Hispanics, and we just got rid of our Asian temp who was here for a couple of weeks).
I lived in the exurbs of Atlanta. My experiences happened out there. I do believe that if I have lived in certain parts of Greater LA, my experiences would have been different. I would have been exposed to a culture far different from what I was exposed to in middle school or high school.
Most of the IE is safe. San Bernardino (one of the most messed up cities in California), Perris, the High Desert, and parts of Rialto and Riverside are the exceptions, but as a whole the IE's reputation is a lot worse than the reality. There just isn't much that would attract tourists in the IE, but it's not somewhere that's too dangerous to go to.
I heard there is some white supremacist activity in the IE and even in the Antelope Valley.
How hard is it to read the US News & World Report rankings. I'm pretty sure it was a magazine before the info was posted online. How hard is it to ask teachers until someone can point you in the right direction? How hard is it to think, "Hmm, if I want to do X, Y, or Z, maybe I should ask someone that does this for some advice?" Nobody is saying it is easy, but other than luck (like being born in the right family), you have to put the work in. I think of Arnold Schwarzenegger. It's not like the guy grew up with bodybuilding gyms in Austria. He even admitted that it was looked down on as a hobby. He still managed to find a way to do what he had to do. Now, on the luckier side of things, I read Chris Gardner's book. The dude had it ROUGH (to put it nicely) growing up. Still, when the opportunity came, he asked a guy that did what he wanted to do how to do it and did it.
They do literally expect me to be Ricky Ricardo, but he's the best way I can describe the stereotypes they apply to me until they talk to me. From my perspective, it makes no sense, but that's because my idea of a chicano is someone like the guys in the movies I mentioned or something like the lowrider culture. Obviously, we're not all like that, but I think you see what I mean (we don't dance, most don't even like salsa, merengue, etc.
Google DJ Quik and look up with his Compton gang affiliation. Hipsters aren't going to move in there until they get rid of that and account for the immigrants that will outbid them by housing 7 to a 2 bedroom house (exaggeration to illustrate a point, but my friend's family was like that). I'm not aware of Mexican gang activity in Compton, but I assume that is something else to deal with. My own hometown is trying to clean up, but they are outwardly against outsiders moving in and want to keep the place as homegrown as possible. The city of Los Angeles is trying to force change, but it is meeting heavy resistance with the locals.
See my response above. I agree that a mentor is recommended and good parenting helps, but it only puts the odds in your favor, it doesn't guarantee anything. It makes things harder, but so what? One of my early jobs was working for an Indian immigrant that came here with nothing, started his own business and became a millionaire. I'm sure this dude had to work his ass off, but he got the job done. In my hometown, nobody even wants to go to college because they can make more money than most non C-level executives working in unions, so they all find ways to get into the unions (we're talking 6 figures in 2 years with no college degree). I myself have a connection to 3 union jobs if I wanted them. I don't, so I went another route. When the union jobs go away in the future (and at some point they will or they will make lower wages), I'll bet the kids that would have grown up wanting to work on the docks will start looking for new ways to make money.
I have never needed a letter of recommendation in my career. My language skills and my study abroad experience were all the interviewers ever cared about.
They should go to the Bay Area or Silicon Valley. Lots of Asians with high paying jobs unless you don't consider software engineering or the financial sector to be high paying fields. They work their asses off and have to put up with a lot, but they get it done.
My black friends would call you a dumbass if you got anything less than a B. I knew a guy that got a fail and we were like, WTF? You get a D for at least showing up. Now, if you were a straight A genius or like me you "talked smart" they would call you professor, but that's what kids do. I just shot back and made fun of my friend for being fat or another's nose or big head, etc. No blood, no foul. Making fun of people is what kids do.
This is true but it depends on who you are surrounded by as an adolescent and what type of school you went to. The county I grew up in has a horrible reputation as far as schools are concerned. My program was only one of two science and technology programs in the entire county and I'm sure it still doesn't compare to a private school education. i remember having a book that broke down the rankings of the schools but at that age and with no experience, I wasn't even sure of the process of choosing the best schools and selecting a major. Not every HS student is surrounded by adults who are willing to share information and mentor young people like NYWriterdude stated earlier. I only knew what my parents shared with me and got an idea of other careeroptions from friends' parents and some of my cousins. It wasn't until later that I met people in various career fields and learned of more career options that I could potentially pursue. I'm sure the same thing happened with Chris Gardner and Schwarrtzenegger. I only saw the Gardner movie and I believe he was either in his late twenties or early thirties when he met the stockbroker and decided to pursue that career field. When you are a child or adolescent, your social circle tens to be a lot smaller than when you are an adult.
Unless someone is exposed to a wide variety of cultures, they will make a lot of assumptions. That is why it is good to make your social circle varied so that you can learn from others.
Compton won't be an overnight thing but if population growth in big cities continue, they will eventually start creeping in. According to another thread I am reading, they say that their might be another housing bubble very soon so who knows if the current trend of moving to the major cities will change overnight. It's hard to speculate.p at this point.
As far as everyone's different experiences go, I'm sure it has something to do with the demographics of the schools. I'm not sure why it was like that at my school but I'm sure glad I didn't fall into the trap of not taking HS seriously.
It was something I've struggled to learn. Part of it isn't so much introveredness. Most of it has been social awkwardness. I have been the type of person who could be in social situations where I couldn't identify with what anyone was talking about. I think that often translated into my networking skills. The job I have, I was actually sought after.
I never heard the term "bougie" or knew what it was until I watched the Bernie Mac Show. I notice this term is only applies to Black females. Never heard it used against men. My own case, I rarely worried about acceptance among certain African-Americans. At one point, I did worry. I stopped that after about a year. Suddenly, I became more concerned about getting out of high school and away from my surroundings. As for my sister, I don't think she cares either about being accepted by African-Americans. She barely has any Black friends. I started seeking out the African-Americans who were headed in the same direction as me. I also made friends with African students when I got to college. I was the type of kid who was comfortable with having both White friends and Black friends.
I got along with international students as well. I still have friends among them today. That was just how I rolled. If I could identify with someone, it didn't matter what ethnicity someone was, or gender.
In my high school, the crabs in a barrel mentality was more petty. There was no magnet program or IB. Just college prep and tech prep. No rivalry. The persons who messed with me the most were the ones who weren't going to college, who were basically nonchalant about school.
I always thought architecture was highly sought after. It is still something hard to believe. I don't know why architects would have high unemployment rates. I know it is happening. Why, I don't know.
I haven't checked by resume since getting a job. I should. In the past, I did try and use buzzwords.
I went to a PWI. My university was also one of the largest in the state, over 20,000 students. I attended college in the suburbs of Atlanta.
You would probably get along very well with Nigerians and (some) West Indians. They are very serious about their academics. You may have experienced issues with social awkwardness because you hadn't found your group yet. I don't feel comfortable with everyone but once I find some common ground, it is easy to have great conversations and get to know people. I'm not a huge fan of small talk but I have found that it helps to break the ice and once you get to know someone, you can get into the deeper stuff later.
Weirdly enough, I seem to get along well with Whites from Europe the best and some Whites from the west coast. One of my best friends is from Germany. I guess we got along so well because she was genuinely interested in learning about AA culture when she moved to the US and I didn't get a sense of fakeness or perceived racial superiority from her. As long as you treat me like an equal, I'm cool with you. I can tolerate genuine questions about my race/culture but I will not have anything to do with someone who think is they are better than me because they are White or any other race. Mutual respect is key to a good friendship.
Yes,met is upsetting that the architecture field is not in demand because I am a fanatic about architecture. Apparently, the decline stemmed from the housing market crash. Construction suffered as well. It is picking back up but not to the levels seen before the crash just yet.
I find that the students who pick on others definitely are the ones with no future plans. It is sad because it most likely stems from parents who don't care about them.
I used to recruit tech workers (which is why I decided to get into tech after seeing the salaries). Update your resume with your current job and job duties. Make sure to list everything and look for the most popular buzzwords in your field. Then, tailor your resume accordingly. Also, be sure to put your resume on every major job site (e.g. Indeed, Monster, etc.) I'm not sure which ones are the most popular these days but I'm sure you can find them with a quick Google search. I don't know if you've ever been recruited but the recruiters will call you non-stop as long as your resume has those buzzwords. I still get a lot of calls for my previous position but I am moving into a different area of tech now. Also, check to see what the most popular software/apps are for your field. For example, a requirement for architecture would be knowledge of AutoCAD and/or Revit. Graphic designers need Adobe CC suite skills. If you don't know those programs, take a Coursera/Udemy course and then be sure to put it in your resume. Also, I volunteered somewhere to quickly pick up the skills i needed to get an entry-level position in tech and put it in my resume which landed me an actual job in the field pretty quickly. I'm sure you could do something similar in your job. A lot of non-profits will let you volunteer and pick up new skills (if you can fit it into your current work schedule). Hope that helps!
Thing about LA and blacks is that the most desirable areas of LA (Beverly Hills, West of the 405, Orange Co, beach, etc) are not where blacks generally live. Most blacks live far far away from those areas so it seems like the population is low. Also LA is so spread out it makes it seem like the numbers are low. Overall the black population is large in LA but once you factor in where LA "hot" spots are vs where blacks stay it makes it seem like the black population is lower. The average black person visiting LA is going to Santa Monica, Hollywood, etc and not to Compton or the IE. The average person visiting LA do not want to drive that far out to where they are because of the distance and traffic. Its kind of like Atlanta with the Asian population. We have a good Asian population but most of them live in Gwinnett County. The average person visiting the city will probably think that the Asian population is low
That makes a lot of sense. I would like to move in one of those desirable areas or it wouldn't be worth the move. North, North West and West LA are the sweet spots. That's just my opion.
Last edited by OceanViewer; 05-06-2016 at 08:51 PM..
That makes a lot of sense. I would like to move in one of those desirable areas or it wouldn't be worth the move. North or West LA are the sweet spots.
There are a lot of people that would disagree with that assessment. Me included.
There are a lot of people that would disagree with that assessment. Me included.
Count me in.
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