Gawker: valleywag, 10 worst jobs

Finding the worst-entry level job in tech: Round Two

Nicholas Carlson — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 20:00:00 EDT

We're on to Round Two in our worst-tech-job contest. We've whittled down 10 terrible gigs down to five:

Follow the link for each job to see a picture of their locations, a list of key responsibilities, first hand accounts of why each job is so bad and how much they pay. Then, come back here and vote, below.

(Photo of Arrington and Scoble by Brian Caldwell)

Pick your career poison: temporary Google database admin vs. IODA intern

Nicholas Carlson — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 19:40:00 EDT

The last matchup in this round of our worst-job tournament: temporary database administrator for Google, contracted through WorkforceLogic, vs. content acquisition intern, IODA. Given the compensation disparity between these jobs — IODA doesn't pay its interns, while WorkforceLogic reportedly pay database admins as much as $70,000 — it seems like a no-brainer. Remember, though, just because WorkforceLogic will deploy you to the Googleplex, that doesn't mean you'll ever be a real Googler. Not to the Stanford and Harvard grads munching on their Bacon Krispy Kreme burgers. At least at IODA, you'll deserve the scorn heaped on you by the paid wage slaves. Pick the worse fate, below.

Some Facebook employees consider themselves so underpaid that they resort to cheating the company, but by a margin of 60 percent to 40 percent, readers think it's better to work there than MySpace, according to our last matchup.

Pick your career poison: Facebook user operations analyst vs. MySpace customer support specialist

Nicholas Carlson — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 18:40:00 EDT

He won't sell, but can Mark Zuckerberg successfully carry Facebook through to an IPO? That's what the latest matchup in our tournament to find tech's worst entry-level job comes down to. Otherwise, the key responsibilities for Facebook's user operations analysts and MySpace customer support specialists are very similar. Even the pay is roughly the same. A tipster tells us Facebook pays its customer service reps $34,500 per year — though that number might be higher now that Facebook stopped handing $600/mo. housing subsidies. Readers figure MySpace pays $37,000. So what's it going to be? The slightly lower-paying job at the risky startup with higher upside or a gig at News Corp.'s shiniest Web toy? Vote in our poll below.

In our last match, 70 percent of you said you'd prefer to assist Mashable CEO Pete Cashmore in all his needs than assemble linkdumps for Jason Calacanis as a Mahalo part-time guide.

Pick your career poison: Part-time Mahalo guide vs. Pete Cashmore's personal assistant

Nicholas Carlson — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 19:20:00 EDT

The class of 2008 has already begun to realize the tragedy of actually having to work for a living. Cheer up, kiddos; it could be worse. You could be employed, part-time, cutting and pasting Google search results for Jason Calacanis's Mahalo. Or you could serve as Mashable CEO Pete Cashmore's personal assistant — the entry-level gigs facing off in our third matchup to determine the worst job in tech. Vote below.

When we wrote up our list of tech's 10 worst entry-level jobs, we figured Cashmore will pay his assistant around $55,000 per year. But since, we've learned that number is well high of the mark. Readers figured Cashmore will pay $51,000 per year. We've heard Mahalo pays guides between $30,000 and $35,000 per year, but commenters on our original post told us we got it wrong. Wrote Richeem:

Figuring Mahalo's current pricing for the average page, wait time for acceptance, and any other factors a "good" ptg would be lucky to make $50/day. I highly doubt they are accepting more than 5 pages per day per ptg! Specially given the fact they have 120+ pages pending review.

Readers later guessed $32,000 per year.

In our last matchup, working as a Microsoft Windows support professional handily trounced the Yahoo finance internship in our last matchup, 59 percent to 41 percent.

Pick your career poison: Microsoft customer support vs. Yahoo finance intern

Nicholas Carlson — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 18:20:00 EDT

Its time for the second match in our single-elimination tournament to find the worst entry-level job in tech. In our first poll, the drudgery of working as a Google online sales and operations manager narrowly edged out the perils of being an Amazon.com support engineer, 53 percent to 47 percent. Today's contest: Getting paid by Microsoft to take angry calls from Vista users all day, vs. fetching coffee in Yahoo's finance operations. Making the contest even harder: If Carl Icahn has his way, both might soon find their paychecks signed by Microsoft CFO Chris Liddell. Vote below.

We estimated Microsoft pays its Windows support professionals $40,000 a year and readers guessed $38,000, but commenter nosaturn1 wrote of our estimate, "pay was alot better than that when i was an entry back in 2000. better by a whole lot more." We figured Yahoo pays its interns about $12/hour or $21,000 per year. Readers figured its a little higher — more like $25,000.

Check out the key responsibilities and read first-hand accounts of both the Yahoo and Microsoft jobs, and then come back here to vote.

Pick your career poison: Google online sales and operations manager vs. Amazon.com support engineer

Nicholas Carlson — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 10:00:00 EDT

We picked the ten worst entry-level jobs in tech. Now, in a single-elimination tournament, we're going to let you choose which gig is truly the worst. Round one begins with Amazon.com support engineers versus Google online sales and operations account managers. We'll let your fellow readers advise you before you choose:

Some commenters couldn't believe we included the Google job on our list. Wrote one particularly unsympatethic commenter, Elaine Chow:

WAAAH I WORK FOR GOOGLE BUT I'M ONLY A CSR PERSON BECAUSE I WAS ONE OF THE DUMB ONES THAT COULDN'T GET A MORE 'CREATIVE' JOB WAAAH!

But another commenter, claiming to be a Google employee, explained exactly why we put the job on our list:

I'm [a Google customer service rep] and there's no opportunity for job growth. All you do all day long is customer service. In the beginning, the free food and perks prevented me from killing myself.
but now, the novelty of the cool perks is gone, and i'm left with the dismal realizationthat my job sucks. So yeah, WAHHHH I WORK AT GOOGLE AND ITS LIKE EVERY OTHER MIND NUMBING JOB OUT THERE. Plus, all the managers suck. I think more people complain about the fresh out of B-school managers — who all want to be all stars when really their only job is to make sure we're answering emails — than anything else.

No commenters defended the Amazon job. In fact, most echoed Dangster, who wrote:

These aren't valid reasons why this particular jobs sucks. I have a friend who works as a support engineer at Amazon, and his job sucks because he has to work nights, weekends, and holidays, in addition to his normal 40hr/week schedule.

Added another commenter, Edgewise: "As for the description, it doesn't quite evoke the drudgery."

We hear Google customer service reps get paid between $45,000 and $65,000. Readers guessed $57,000. As for the Amazon job, we guessed it paid $80,000; readers guessed $70,000, but a former employee who commented on the story said no one working as a support engineer at Amazon gets paid more than $60,000.

Check out both the Google and Amazon jobs, then come back here and let us know in the poll below: Which is the worse entry-level job in tech?

Guess how much tech's 10 worst jobs pay

Nicholas Carlson — Tue, 27 May 2008 20:00:00 EDT

To come up with the estimated pay for tech's 10 worst entry-level jobs we spoke to former and current employees, HR reps and friends of friends working these jobs. But still, some of our commenters expressed disbelief over the salary estimates. "80 grand for an entry level job? Time to apply and kick those whiney losers out! Let's see how they feel about their new job bagging groceries at the Safeway," wrote mwbeeler. Loakim said:

Boo fucking hoo. I clicked through about 4 of those and if they are representative, then getting paid 60-70K right out of college at an "entry" level job is nothing to complain about, regardless of the "tough" working conditions (ceiling too low? CSR work? no windows? cubicle? oh the torture!!). I spent half my life to get a Ph.D. and will barely be making that as an asst professor at a major research university.

We like our estimates, but we're willing to bow to the wisdom of the crowd, or the madness thereof. Save for IODA's unpaid internship — no point in guessing there — we've created a poll for each job. Take your best guess.

By the way, if you actually work one of these jobs, create an anonymous Gmail account — or Yahoo Mail, if it's the Google job — and tell us the real number.

Review the job's key responsibilities, first-hand accounts, and how much we estimated it pays.
Is this your job? Let us know how much it actually pays.

(Photo by eston)

The real Bud Cook illustrates the horrors of Facebook customer service

Nicholas Carlson — Thu, 22 May 2008 18:20:00 EDT

In describing what's so bad about working customer support for Facebook, one of the 10 worst entry-level jobs in tech, we wrote: "Meet your customer: USC's own Bud Cook, class of 2010. Fratastic!" Cook promptly wrote us:

I just would like to know why I, Bud Cook (yes its the real Bud Cook USC class of 2010 you referenced in your story), would make that job a bad one. I have never sent anything to anyone over at facebook. Futhermore, how did you get my name and information? And why did you put me in your story? Im not in a fraternity either dick.

Cheer up, Bud. We didn't mean it personally. We just think that responding to emails from angry college students is no way to make a living. And you rather proved our point.

Tech's 10 worst entry-level jobs

Nicholas Carlson — Tue, 20 May 2008 22:00:00 EDT

Soon America's most bright-eyed graduates will enter the workforce and make their workaday homes in cubes at Google, MySpace, or Amazon.com. And they will suffer not just the indignity of having to work for a living, but also the dispiriting realization that a job at a cool company isn't always that hot. These employers, and the others hiring for tech's 10 worst entry-level jobs, listed below, will look spiffy on a resume someday, but for now the only good these jobs promise the world is the pleasant feeling you and I can share knowing we're not the ones stuck in them.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I should note that I wouldn't have been able to get any of these jobs out of college. I didn't finish with a 3.8, do a year of service in Nicaragua or file any patents during my sophomore year. But the worst part of this list is the fact that the people taking these jobs did. To paraphrase Dan Lyons, there's something distinctly evil about the way Google and the other companies listed below hoard the world's best and brightest and put them to work on creating more efficient text ads or, worse, tasking them with taking phone calls from angry customers.

Follow the link for each job to see a picture of their locations, a list of key responsibilities, first hand accounts of why each job is so bad and how much they pay.

(Top photo by star5112)

Executive administrative assistant to Mashable CEO Pete Cashmore

Nicholas Carlson — Tue, 20 May 2008 20:59:59 EDT

Executive admin to Mashable CEO Pete Cashmore

Key responsibilities:

You will process large volumes of email, forwarding them to appropriate department or translating them into action items and priority tasks.
Provide high level and comprehensive administrative support to the CEO and business development team, including complex calendaring and detailed travel plans and agendas.
Coordinate meetings, documents and other aspects of multiple project teams.
Prepare promotional materials for events and business development opportunities.
Ability to develop, implement, understand general startup business operations, work flows, and procedures as appropriate.
Effectively handle as much as possible on behalf of the CEO and business development, but exercise good discretion and judgment with regard to involving them as appropriate.
Ensure budgets, schedules, and performance requirements are met by company vendors related to office management.
Track leads and forward them on to appropriate departments.
5+ years related experience working in a very fast paced Web startup or VC environment.

Why so bad?

Cashmore's job — to talk on his cell phone, take cabs, and meet with the Internet famous — is now yours. Without the ad revenue or the fawning fans.

Estimated pay: $55,000. Apply!

Next: Analyst, user operations, Facebook
(Photo by n-re-k)

Support professional, product: Windows, Microsoft

Nicholas Carlson — Tue, 20 May 2008 20:59:58 EDT

Support professional, product: Windows, Microsoft

Key responsibilities:

Represent Microsoft and communicate with Microsoft's Strategic OEM partners via telephone, written correspondence, or electronic services regarding technically complex escalated issues. Frequently, these problems will not only be technically complex, but will be politically charged situations requiring the highest level of customer skill and diplomacy both externally and internally.

Why so bad?

There's a reason the number of companies that report owning Apple computers is up from 48 percent In 2006. It's the same reason Microsoft cut Vista Ultimate Edition's price from $399 to $319 in February and General Motors plans to skip this version of Windows entirely. Customers aren't happy about Vista. Take this job, and you'll get to hear exactly why. Over and over.

Estimated pay: $40,000. Apply!

Next: Executive admin to Mashable CEO Pete Cashmore

(Photo by ilikeyesterday)

Database administrator (temporary), Google

Nicholas Carlson — Tue, 20 May 2008 20:59:57 EDT

Database administrator (temporary), Google, contracted through WorkforceLogic
Key responsibilities:

General administration on database systems which includes maintaining data stores, schema objects, security and access privileges, software installation and configuration.

Why so bad?

A tipster tells us:

My officemates friend out of college got hired by Google, and first day there he got put in a tent-cube outside with random people. You face another person smaller than a conference room table across. Rows and rows, and he wasn't even in the right group. So you sit with people who have nothing to do with you.

Also, we hear:

Everybody is a "sysadmin" these days, so companies don't pay nearly as much. It's the new ghetto tech.

Also: Don't forget that working this position you won't be a "real" Googler. Real Googlers won't!

Estimated pay: $70,000. Apply!

Next: Support Professional, Product: Windows, Microsoft

(Photo by revdancatt)

Customer support specialist, Fox Interactive, MySpace division

Nicholas Carlson — Tue, 20 May 2008 20:59:56 EDT

Customer support specialist, Fox Interactive, MySpace division
Key responsibilities:

Moderate or review content (images, video, user postings, and other user generated content) to ensure content adheres to MySpace Terms of Use and guidelines

Be knowledgeable on the MySpace Terms of Use

Remove or escalate content that violates Terms of Use

Meet productivity and quality targets

Assist on special projects as needed

Why so bad?

Meet your customer: JeNNaLyN.
Estimated pay: $33,000. Apply!

Next: Database Administrator (Temporary), Google, contracted through WorkforceLogic

(Photo by Robert Scoble)

Content acquisition intern, IODA

Nicholas Carlson — Tue, 20 May 2008 20:59:55 EDT

Content acquisition intern, IODA
Key responsibilities:

The Content Acquisition Team are the people responsible for reaching out to independent record labels and signing them to IODA so they can make their music available through iTunes, Napster, Rhapsody and dozens of other download services.

Why so bad?

A former IODA employee tells us:

When I worked at IODA [a digital music aggregator] I think the worst job ever was being an encoder. Those dudes hated it. Just ripping CDs all day and filling the information to the database.

Estimated pay: unpaid internship. Apply!

Next: Customer Support Specialist, Fox Interactive, MySpace division

(Photo by tmd)

Support engineer, Amazon.com

Nicholas Carlson — Tue, 20 May 2008 20:59:54 EDT

Support engineer, Washington-Seattle, Amazon.com
Key responsibilities:

Supporting platform infrastructure and systems architecture, including operating systems, hardware/storage configurations, and performance tuning using Linux, system calls, memory management, and program debugging.

Why so bad?

Sysadmin work is the new "tech ghetto," we hear. Also, Amazon's workspace is its own special hell, one employee tells us:

At least 60% of the developers work in concrete or drywall boxes without even line of site to a window. Amazon's offices are depressing; oppressively low ceilings.

Estimated pay: $80,000 Apply!

Next: Content acquisition intern, IODA

(Photo by Robert Scoble)

Online sales and operations account manager, Google

Nicholas Carlson — Tue, 20 May 2008 20:59:53 EDT

Online sales and operations account manager — Mountain View, Google
Key responsibilities:

Provide outstanding customer service and sales support to Google's advertisers, publishers and/or users.

Manage customer inquiries by phone, e-mail and/or live chat.

Collaborate with Specialists, Engineers and Product team members on new feature development.

Implement creative ways to improve our client relationships and increase revenue by up-selling and promoting other Google products.

Provide strategic advice and help solve technical issues by working closely in a consultative role with key clients.

Why so bad?

Consider that one employee told us that the above job description dresses up what Google actually expects customer service reps to do with their time.

Google managers like Paul Carff *specifically* make plans to dress up the job descriptions of what are essentially CSR positions, to lure top talent from top universities. Where they do mention CSR-type work, it's often called a "minor" or "infrequent" part of the job.

No wonder another tells us: "I know of at least 6 different employees who cried every single day."

Estimated pay: $45,000 to $60,000. Apply!

Next: Support engineer, Amazon.com

(Photo by emerce)

Analyst, user operations, Facebook

Nicholas Carlson — Tue, 20 May 2008 20:59:52 EDT

Analyst, user operations, Facebook
Key responsibilities:

Respond to contacts from users regarding a variety of site issues
Enforce our Terms of Use by carefully monitoring reports of abuse on the site
Analyze user interaction with the product and communicate this analysis to others within the department and company
Identify inefficiencies in work flow and suggest solutions
Interface effectively with other teams

Why so bad?

Meet your customer: USC's own Bud Cook, class of 2010. Fratastic!
Estimated pay: $45,000 plus equity for 2009 IPO. Apply!

Next: Operations finance, analyst intern, Yahoo

(Photo by eston)

Operations finance, analyst intern, Yahoo

Nicholas Carlson — Tue, 20 May 2008 20:59:51 EDT

Operations finance, analyst intern, Yahoo
Key responsibilities:

This employee will be a member of the Global Project Management Organization focused on supporting Projects and documentation of systems and processes for multiple projects including customer-centric systems, revenue, accounting and financial systems, operations finance systems and human resources.

Why so bad?

Our most recent report from inside Yahoo:

Everyone's grabbing on to things that are significant to say why they're there. Rehashing job descriptions. There's lots of internal jockeying and posturing. No one wants to be the person without a seat when the music ends.

Meanwhile, Yahoo AMP, the brand advertising product that's supposed to save the company, remains underfunded and understaffed. And then there's the confusion of Icahn's raid and Microsoft's new bid for Yahoo's search business. Guess who gets to do the paperwork?

Estimated pay: $12/hr. Apply!

Next: Part-time guide, Mahalo

Part-time guide, Mahalo

Nicholas Carlson — Tue, 20 May 2008 20:59:50 EDT

Part-time guide, Mahalo
Key responsibility: "Help our users by handcrafting and curating search results."

Why so bad?

It's not, really. Wikipedia contributors, for example, have to do the same job for free.

Estimated pay: $30,000 to $35,000. Apply!

Home: Tech's 10 worst entry-level jobs

(Photo by Conrad)