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ebubar
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« Reply #4155 on: 07-19-10 at 07:09 pm » |
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If it helps anyone out, I got a reply from one of the hiring contacts about my application. Basically was "if there's a match, then we'll call you". Although the contact guy was for Physics/Semi-conductors and not electrical engineering...I'm guessing HR got confused by my application, as I hear rumors that they're not the brightest bulbs. Also, for what its worth, I was recommended by a current examiner friend of mine that I should try to bypass HR altogether and apply directly to the hiring-contact for the specific field your applying in. That will likely be my plan if they hire for a more physics-sy unit in the fall (especially since I know people currently in that unit!). Regardless, I'll be calling tomorrow to see if I can get more info on decisions/hiring start dates and will post my finding. Best of luck to everyone!
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bald & chained
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« Reply #4156 on: 07-19-10 at 07:58 pm » |
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Thanks for the info. I indeed played down the astronomy and jacked up the more general skills of reading technical documents quickly, generating original ideas , critiquing others work, etc.
dunno, doesn't seem like a useful skill for a patent examiner, although it did work for Einstein  |
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qdot
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« Reply #4157 on: 07-20-10 at 09:32 am » |
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If you start at grade 9, step 10 then what step will you be after 6mo?
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cherryblue
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« Reply #4158 on: 07-20-10 at 10:18 am » |
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If you start at grade 9, step 10 then what step will you be after 6mo?
look at the salary table for gs11. find the one with a higher salary than your current one. or you could read the previous posts cause this question has been beat to death. im sure your decision to take the job wont hinge on the promotion steps anyways. just be happy if you even get an offer because lots of people havent heard anything. |
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ebubar
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« Reply #4159 on: 07-20-10 at 11:07 am » |
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I think most people are hearing "don't call us, we'll call you".
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Agent007
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« Reply #4160 on: 07-21-10 at 09:24 am » |
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qdot, PM sent
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cerass84
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« Reply #4161 on: 07-22-10 at 02:23 pm » |
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Does anyone have any recommendations on apartments near the PTO?
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jango
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« Reply #4162 on: 07-22-10 at 09:29 pm » |
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I really want to wait out the decision of joining the USPTO. Can i say i want to start in July or should i say I can start in May and then defer it once they make the offer?
That's not really how it works. Even for the people with "experience" that they're hiring right now, there is still going to be a shorten training period in the academy to learn the PTO systems. Unless there is going to be a July class, you have to start when they want you to start. You'll have to ask if there is going to be more than one class this year. I recently got the email from HR stating that I am to be considered for the position and that I need to send them the additional forms and official transcripts. From my conversation with the SPE, it seemed that the training period would last 4 months. Firstly, can someone share their experience about the training academy? Secondly, I'm currently studying for the LSAT which I plan to take in October. Is there a way I can defer my start date till after the test? I just think that starting a new job while studying for the LSAT might not be a good idea.  |
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EchoPlayer
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« Reply #4163 on: 07-22-10 at 10:48 pm » |
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I really want to wait out the decision of joining the USPTO. Can i say i want to start in July or should i say I can start in May and then defer it once they make the offer?
That's not really how it works. Even for the people with "experience" that they're hiring right now, there is still going to be a shorten training period in the academy to learn the PTO systems. Unless there is going to be a July class, you have to start when they want you to start. You'll have to ask if there is going to be more than one class this year. I recently got the email from HR stating that I am to be considered for the position and that I need to send them the additional forms and official transcripts. From my conversation with the SPE, it seemed that the training period would last 4 months. Firstly, can someone share their experience about the training academy? Secondly, I'm currently studying for the LSAT which I plan to take in October. Is there a way I can defer my start date till after the test? I just think that starting a new job while studying for the LSAT might not be a good idea. Congrats to you! I applied for GS-7 in BMED and still waiting for their call  What grade level are you starting at? Did you have any special qualifications like military exp? Thanks!  |
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uvagurl13
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« Reply #4164 on: 07-23-10 at 06:03 am » |
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I really want to wait out the decision of joining the USPTO. Can i say i want to start in July or should i say I can start in May and then defer it once they make the offer?
That's not really how it works. Even for the people with "experience" that they're hiring right now, there is still going to be a shorten training period in the academy to learn the PTO systems. Unless there is going to be a July class, you have to start when they want you to start. You'll have to ask if there is going to be more than one class this year. I recently got the email from HR stating that I am to be considered for the position and that I need to send them the additional forms and official transcripts. From my conversation with the SPE, it seemed that the training period would last 4 months. Firstly, can someone share their experience about the training academy? Secondly, I'm currently studying for the LSAT which I plan to take in October. Is there a way I can defer my start date till after the test? I just think that starting a new job while studying for the LSAT might not be a good idea. Can you defer your LSAT? (Sorry if stupid question)... I'm not a lawyer. What Tech Group are you being considered for? Strange... I wasn't asked about official transcripts (they have unofficial) but was asked to fill out OF-306 and PIV. Last year I filled out these forms and the hiring freeze went into effect, so if you defer who knows maybe another hiring freeze will occur LOL |
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jango
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« Reply #4165 on: 07-23-10 at 10:02 am » |
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I have a CpE / EE background with over 5 years of industry experience - most probably going into computer networks. I guess I can delay the LSAT if I'm not ready or if I feel like I'm rushing into it.
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DogDayPM 9er9er9er
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« Reply #4166 on: 07-23-10 at 10:18 am » |
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I have a CpE / EE background with over 5 years of industry experience - most probably going into computer networks. I guess I can delay the LSAT if I'm not ready or if I feel like I'm rushing into it.
Jango, there's also a lot of time between now and October. Note that for some people, once they get the hang of how the LSAT is organized and particularly get the idea of the types of logic puzzles questions, the LSAT seems like a pretty straightforward exam. In your shoes, I'd go to a book store and get a $20 prep book and go to www.lsac.org and buy their prep materials and some former exams. Then I'd sit down with the books for a solid week and play with practice questions, then give myself a real-time test using a former exam. If I did pretty well on that exam and felt like I was really getting the hang of it, I'd figure to be ok studying just weekends and some evenings leading into the exam. If instead I crashed and burned on that first practice test, I'd probably give it one more week and try again, and at that point start worrying about whether I could juggle the new job + studying or deferring (taking into account exactly how/when I'd need to seek exam date deferral). Good luck to you. I just wouldn't want you to waste a lot of time, only to find out later that you're one of those people for whom the LSAT is pretty much intuitive. EDIT: Sorry, I should say that by "a solid week" what I mean is 2-3 hrs per night after work plus most of a Saturday (6-8 hrs) and 4 or so on Sunday. I didn't mean 10-12 hours a day for 7 days. |
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« Last Edit: 07-23-10 at 10:41 am by DogDayPM »
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Any and all disclaimers you may see on this forum used by members more experienced and/or smarter than I, are hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.
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Robert K S
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« Reply #4167 on: 07-23-10 at 02:20 pm » |
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A week isn't long enough to prepare for the LSAT. (Frankly, six months isn't long enough.) Unfortunately, I don't think sustained and prolonged preparation is a guarantor of improved performance on the test, either. It's too tricky of a test in many respects to make any kind of preparation an assurance of a better score.
There is no way I'd be trying to prepare for the LSAT and doing something else at the same time.
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Only after final does the fun begin.
Everybody else's advice disclaimers are herein incorporated by reference.
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MLM
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« Reply #4168 on: 07-23-10 at 03:19 pm » |
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I prepared for the LSAT on-and-off for a full year (not yet being fully committed to changing careers and going to law school), mostly on weekends and sometimes in the evenings after I got home from work. Baby steps, all the way. I took lots of practice tests and thought I was as prepared as I was going to get, and I was right. I did worse on the actual exam than during practice, so I prepared some more and took the LSAT a second time and got the exact same score. So I think the LSAT is partially preparation (i.e., "knowing the test"), and mostly skill. I know some people who did well without even trying, and others (like me) who struggle with standardized exams no matter how hard you try.
At the very least, get one of those do-it-yourself books and become familiar with the format of the exam and the techniques needed to manage your time and maximize your score (such as, every answer is worth 1 point, so don't waste 10 minutes on one question, and, there's no penalty for wrong answers, so it doesn't hurt to guess).
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DogDayPM 9er9er9er
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« Reply #4169 on: 07-24-10 at 10:03 am » |
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A week isn't long enough to prepare for the LSAT. (Frankly, six months isn't long enough.) Unfortunately, I don't think sustained and prolonged preparation is a guarantor of improved performance on the test, either. It's too tricky of a test in many respects to make any kind of preparation an assurance of a better score.
There is no way I'd be trying to prepare for the LSAT and doing something else at the same time.
Sometimes a few weeks is all you've got. But I wasn't suggesting Jango use only a week, but rather use that first solid week to get an idea where s/he stood with the exam. Like the subsequent poster MLM noted, for some people the exam is fairly easy, while for others it's not. There are people who tend to do well on just about any multichoice exam, and others for whom essay is a much better test format, some for whom any standardized test will be a hurdle despite intelligence. |
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Any and all disclaimers you may see on this forum used by members more experienced and/or smarter than I, are hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.
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