The search goes on, but why are you looking at me?

     So I have been recruiting for a little while now and yet I still also have a BSA resume out on the web (Carreerbuilder and Monster), and all too often I get a request from a recruiter who is asking me to do Java development or DBA work or some other job that is so vaguely associated with my skill set as a geek that I wonder why they decided to write to me. Then, after about 10 minutes of looking at my own resume, I figure out what has happened.

** Let me put this in Standardized Test form:

Java is to Javascript as:

a.) Oracle is to Database
b.) C# is to OOP
c.) UML is to diagram
d.) Charlie Sheen is to Emilio Estevez

    The answer is D, though they have some similarities and more or less come from the same place (both are owned by Oracle now, both came out in 1995) one is REALLY different from the other and they don't like to be mistaken for each other. Geeks would be happy for JS to still go by LiveScript for the same reason Emillio is glad his brother doesn't go by Carlos Irwin Estevez, because it's damned embarassing when other people get confused.

Now those of you who are reading this may be saying to yourselves, "Well yeah, you are a geek, you automatically know that" and I will answer, "No, well not really"

    You see, I know the difference between Java and Javascript, that is for sure. I would look at Java code and only have a vague idea what was going on, unlike with Javascript which I understood since I HAD to, as I was doing a lot of web programming.

    But what I diddn't know until now was how to describe the difference between Java and Javascript so that a non-programmer would understand it. Where did I find that information....why the font of some of the worst misinformation on the planet......wikipedia.org.

     I know what you are thinking, and yes Wikipedia has more half truths and rumors than Survivor, The Bachelor, and Insert reality show name here (sorry, I really am a geek and 2 reality show names is my limit) When it comes to the history of Geekdom, however, Wikipedia is pretty reliable. After all, it was built by geeks. Geeks may not care about American History or Pop Culture, but we do want everyone to know where we came from (probably because we spent our teens being told we came from Mars by our then peers)

So recruiters next time you get a job req, that reads something like this:

Client X needs a SQL DBA who has strong experience in UDB and DB2 with multiple years of Crystal and can administer a MOSS Server while programming in RedHat....etc. etc. Look up some of those terms...you will find that:

MOSS = Sharepoint
UDB - IS an SQL (Structured Query Language) Database If a DBA only has MSSQL he can still likely do it, he just won't want to
RedHat - is a Linux Server (scripting yes, programming no (shut up any Open Source geeks reading this, you know what I mean))

     All these things can be found within the first Paragraph or two of Wikipedia articles on these technologies. Take a minute and read, then go and find your Business Development person (or whoever took the order) and give them a meaningful glare while requesting they get some more information from the customer. Trust me, you'll spin your wheels a lot less and don't forget, if you have a question.....ask. You can even ask me, I'll answer. I Promise.