I’ve been contacted by recruiters rather frequently since about my sophomore year of college with perhaps 4 or 5 jobs a year, maybe 2 of which will be outright job offers and the others invitations to interview. A fairly significant part of this is my resume’s rank within search engines for keywords that recruiters seem to target (not deliberate, but it does demonstrate that buzzwords are a necessary evil), but more recently, I’ve started getting contacts on social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook. Since I’m not exactly the typical demographic of these sites, my profile tends to highlight things I find worthy in my own life, such as my research efforts, and as a result conveys a very positive image (something that will diminish in effectiveness, as other people are deliberately, and usually insincerely, replicating this behavior now that they’ve finally caught on to how well it works). However, there are two other significant variables that have increased quite sharply in the last few months – the reputation of the companies and the frequency of contact.

It began with Google. Then AT&T contacted me. Then Exxon-Mobil. Now apparently someone is trying to hook me up with GE. I’ve never been contacted by such large companies before, and never at the one-a-week rate they seem to be coming in at now. Maybe it has something to do with my recent MS?

It’s a good thing, but some of these offers are tempting when I’m resolved to finish my Ph. D. (as quickly as possible, since I’ve accepted that I will never be challenged by any process other than admissions in formal education, stellar credentials notwithstanding). And how would I respond once I did graduate? Do I play hardball? Try to negotiate the largest salary possible by playing the offers off on each other? My goal has never been to make a lot of money, except as required for other goals (such as Project Polymath, which is going to require a lot of funding). On the other hand, I have a very acute sense of how much my skills are worth and I can’t stand the feeling that I am being exploited. I have over 15 years of programming experience at 22 and two degrees with awards up the wazoo to prove it, for Pete’s sake! I’d like to think that people don’t see my credentials and immediately think “cheap college labor”. That’s just insulting; my accomplishments are the best testament to my skill because they indicate not only what I can do, but what I’ve already done.