BILL ROLFES: BECOMING OBSOLETE IN THIS 'COMPUTER AGE'

by Bill Rolfes

One of these days I will have to catch up with the 1990s and learn how to use computers, or else find a job selling shoes for the next 40 years.

I did finally get an e-mail account last semester through the University, but I really didn't figure out how to use it until a couple months ago.

At first I was frustrated. I didn't know if my account was working because my mailbox was always empty. Finally my brother, who lives at home with me, started sending me e-mail. I was excited to receive my first message from him until I read its contents, which was a repeating message of two words: "Kill Bill . . ."

Now that I know how to use e-mail, I don't feel as much like a caveman, but my knowledge of computers is still seriously lacking. I am able to get on the Internet and search for subjects, but I always seem to be going about it all wrong.

Its a shame that I know so little about computers because we are knee-deep in the "Computer Age." Nowadays, everything is hyper-fast and technologically advanced, and I'm going to drown in all of it if I don't catch up with the times.

Employers rely on the computer skills of their employees now, and those people who are computer illiterate will become obsolete. My aunt is the managing editor of a publishing company in Chicago. When she advertised for an assistant, she received several hundred resumes. The first thing she did was divide all the journalism school graduates from everybody else, and threw out all the non-journalism resumes. Of course, it alarmed me to hear this because if other publishers used this same procedure for selecting new employees, then I must be attending the wrong school since UM-St. Louis does not have a journalism program.

After reading about 100 resumes and setting up interviews, my aunt narrowed her search down to one graduate of Northwestern University who was only about two years older than I was. My aunt said what made this young man stand out was good computer and Internet skills. He can search the web and download 10 pieces of information about any subject in under an hour. He also set up and maintains the company's home page.

My aunt's assistant said he didn't know anything about computers when he started his last year of college. He said he bought a book about setting up web sites and would go to the computer labs and "mess around." He taught himself basically all of his computer skills.

I took Computers and Information Systems during intercession 1995. But since it was during intercession, I didn't get a chance to learn anything. We went through the material so fast I did not retain any information. Learning and becoming proficient in using computer software requires actually working with it for more than one day.

Well, I guess I'm on my own now. Maybe when I'm unemployed a year from now I'll get myself to "mess around" with web sites.

Hopefully, I can make myself learn before then.