[CS-FSLUG] Jobs / Prayer request

[N. Thompson]

Hi

I've got a confession to make, I know I should focus on my school work and 
give it 100% but at the same time there are things that I really want that I 
would like to have but can't afford; Because of this I've tried a few times 
to get a job but have failed because I had no idea what to do after dropping 
off my application/resume and I've never gotten any phone calls back.

My school work takes up several hours a day, I've always been apprehensive 
about getting a job because the other kids at school who have them never seem 
to have their homework done, I don't want to believe that getting a job will 
do the same to me but as it is some nights I spend hours finishing homework 
while others I have no work to do and can't help but consider that I'd be 
getting further if I had a job and was therefore earning some money during 
that time.

I would like to ask for some advice on what to do, please understand that I do 
not want to drop the idea of getting a job nor do I want to delay but there 
are a few reasons why I think I should reconsider. First several nights of 
the week I wouldn't have time for it; I've heard from peers that the minimum 
number of hours worked a day has to be three, that means that if I went to my 
job immediately after school was over and did my three hours I still wouldn't 
get home until some time after 7:00PM leaving me with very little time to 
take a shower and get my homework done. Secondly I can only walk to where I'd 
be working since even if I had my drivers license right now I still wouldn't 
have a car to get there in.

I've considered options such as doing odd jobs but I have had no luck finding 
any I could do, I have even browsed Rent-A-Coder but there I'm competing with 
more experienced people that are frequently already willing to do the job for 
a low price in order to avoid the job going to someone else. I have some 
qualifications but not much, I was formerly familiar with Java but by now 
most of it has slipped away, I know C++ to some extent but I've only been 
using it for two years in between heavy shool work and I can't write any 
graphical, network enabled, multi-threaded, etc... programs for profit since 
I've only got a non-commercial Qt license in Windows and a GPL Qt License in 
Linux. I've also considered the possibility of writing freelance games to 
earn money but that in itself requires a substantial amount of cash and 
experience of which I have neither so far.

As you can tell by now my options are limited, I can mention my skills in case 
anyone knows where I could go from there:
- Some experience with Linux as a Desktop OS (mostly Fedora, MDK, Lycoris, 
SUSE, Xandros and to a lesser extent Slackware)
- I have some experience making RPMs for Ark Linux but so far I've only built 
a few and I had help from other Ark developers, I have however successfully 
modified the KNemo application's source code for better integration with Ark 
(it has a menu option to start Ark's network setup tool) by myself.
- Some experience with the C++ programming language but not enough to make a 
commercial quality product yet, also I don't have a commercial Qt license 
which is quite expensive.
- Very good academic performance at school, if I remember correctly of the 
grades I can recall I last had an average of 86% in math, 92% in history , 
91% in Psychology and 95% in Christian Ethics, unfortunately I cannot recall 
my mark in physics. 
- I can only recall having three assignments in late this semester out of the 
100s of assignments I've gotten, showing that I'm quite dedicated to getting 
my work done on time

I am hoping for suggestions from my fellow list members, I know another one of 
my options is to scrap the idea of getting a job until later but I've tried 
that and every time I think about something I would like to have but can't 
afford I start thinking about getting a job again. I'm hoping to get some 
advice that will help me find a job that will not interfere with my school 
work or prevent me from reading my programming books for an hour or two 
before bed. As it is the only such option would be a job in which can work 
when I have the time, something which cannot be found in any of the local 
stores or businesses that I know about.

If anyone has some suggestions as to what I might do, or would just like to 
pray for me I would really appreciate it.

Nathan.

-- 
http://celerate.blogspot.com/