IronRing



  • As I prepare to enter the Real World�, I'm taking the time to apply to a number of companies via their websites. One thing that many of them have in common is that they use "IronRing" to handle the application process. The first sign that things weren't going well was when the résumé upload form rejected "resume.pdf" for having more than 50 characters. Figuring that it was just a compatibility issue with Safari/OS X, I continued until I got to this menu:

    [URL=http://img82.imageshack.us/my.php?image=degreewtfev0.jpg][IMG]http://img82.imageshack.us/img82/3774/degreewtfev0.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL][URL=http://g.imageshack.us/thpix.php][IMG]http://img82.imageshack.us/images/thpix.gif[/IMG][/URL]

    I'm not really sure what a "College / High School degree" is or how a "BA/BS Degree" differs from a "Bachelors Degree." In any case, I completed the application and logged out.

    I went to another company's website and started the application process again, which involved creating a new IronRing account. However, there was a major issue:

    [URL=http://img72.imageshack.us/my.php?image=applicationwtfuj9.jpg][IMG]http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/5489/applicationwtfuj9.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL][URL=http://g.imageshack.us/thpix.php][IMG]http://img72.imageshack.us/images/thpix.gif[/IMG][/URL]

    To clarify, that's ExxonMobil's application being displayed inside the Sabic webpage. Ultimately, I had to switch to FireFox to work around the issue. Perhaps I was naïve to assume that these sites would work with a WebKit browser, but WTF?



  • Welcome to The Real World

    Most large companies don't use niche products nor do they support them. You'll notice that they worked just fine on a commonly used application.

    Learn from that and you'll be just fine. Continue to insist that things work on what would be called 'hobbiest' applications in another age and you'll find it hard going.



  • Perhaps I was naive..?

     

    Yes, yes you were.  In my experience, you are expected to program to make it work on IE.  You can fight and they might allow you the time to test to make sure it mainly works on Opera/Safari/Firefox.  If I was dumb enough to say, "We can't release it yet, it hasn't been tested on WebKit." I would be laughed out of my bosses office.  Actually, first my boss would ask if WebKit was some new testing program, then I would explain that it was a browser, THEN I would be lauged out of his office.



  •  Funny enough, it works exactly the opposit where i am. It must work with mozilla (firefox). Then, if we have time, it is tested with IE. Reason? It's intranet applications and firefox is the only browser that is available on all desktops.



  • @tchize said:

     Funny enough, it works exactly the opposit where i am. It must work with mozilla (firefox). Then, if we have time, it is tested with IE. Reason? It's intranet applications and firefox is the only browser that is available on all desktops.





    Same here, difference is we develop in firefox to use firebug. If it works on our dev machine in FF then we say "use firefox" and it solves the issue. Lota workstations are locked with IE6 on em though, we try to work around the issue sometimes.



    Though I noticed if you work at it to figure out what is wrong with your code and it only worked with one browser due to quirks, converting into a more "standardized" algorithm in the website makes it work in most browsers. That and jQuery helps. However most of the time Priority 1 is IE, everything else is always if we have time. I only interviewed in one company where they stated "our priority is to ensure that it works in IE 6,7 Firefox, Safari, and Opera"



  • Ahhh, to be naive again....

     Give him a few months in the field.  Apathy will inevitably set in, and he'll be perfectly happy hacking something together for the lone browser specificied in the contract.  That's how the other 99% of the folks in this field operate, anyways.



  •  @DKNewsham said:

    I'm not really sure what a "College / High School degree" is or how a "BA/BS Degree" differs from a "Bachelors Degree." In any case, I completed the application and logged out.

     Not to be difficult (and I'm sure you know), but:

     - Bachelors degree:  *Any* form of Bachelor's degree

     - BA Degree:  Bachelor of Arts

     - BS Degree:  Bachelor of Sience (sp)

    Yes, I know, I can't think of a Bachelor's Degree that isn't a BA or BSc, but lord only knows there must be some odd exception.

     - College / High School Degree:  I have no idea why there's a "high school degree" in there, but where I'm from, a College Diploma is *very* different from anything you would get from a university.  You'd be lying to select any other option (except MAYBE technical/vocational degree) if you selected college in that case.

    But, overall, I agree it's a really poorly designed form.  And very America centric too, I can't even imagine what I'd be able to select, having a high school diploma, but never having done anything called a "GED".  None of the other ones fit...



  • @DKNewsham said:

    I'm not really sure what a "College / High School degree" is

    I think it's a euphemism for "Degree not found"! 

    @DKNewsham said:

    or how a "BA/BS Degree" differs from a "Bachelors Degree."

    Well, a "BS" degree is one of those ones you get offered in spam email.... 



  • @shepd said:

    Yes, I know, I can't think of a Bachelor's Degree that isn't a BA or BSc, but lord only knows there must be some odd exception.
     

    What? I have a Bachelor of IT but I originally started studying for a Bachelor of Engineering. My wife has a Bachelor of Commerce. My sister has a Bachelor of Education. Are these "odd" exceptions?



  • @Zemm said:

    @shepd said:

    Yes, I know, I can't think of a Bachelor's Degree that isn't a BA or BSc, but lord only knows there must be some odd exception.
     

    What? I have a Bachelor of IT but I originally started studying for a Bachelor of Engineering. My wife has a Bachelor of Commerce. My sister has a Bachelor of Education. Are these "odd" exceptions?

    Is that a Bachelor of IT, or a Bachelor of Science in IT?



  • @Carnildo said:

    @Zemm said:

    @shepd said:

    Yes, I know, I can't think of a Bachelor's Degree that isn't a BA or BSc, but lord only knows there must be some odd exception.
     

    What? I have a Bachelor of IT but I originally started studying for a Bachelor of Engineering. My wife has a Bachelor of Commerce. My sister has a Bachelor of Education. Are these "odd" exceptions?

    Is that a Bachelor of IT, or a Bachelor of Science in IT?

     

    A lot of Aussie unis provide degrees like the Bachelor of IT, which are completely indistinguishable from a BS with IT majors.

    It makes things easier for enrollment by providing more obvious course structures, and allows different entrance requirements through UAC (Universities Admission Centre, or something like that) which coordinates pretty much all initial university enrollments.

    I don't really see the point, since if you fail to qualify to enroll in a Bachelor of Computer Science (my degree), then you're still likely to qualify for a straight BSc, during which you can study all the same subjects.



  • @Carnildo said:

    Is that a Bachelor of IT, or a Bachelor of Science in IT?
     

    Bachelor of IT



  • @DaveK said:

    Well, a "BS" degree is one of those ones you get offered in spam email.... 
    Heh. Over here, lax regulation on "private schools" gave rise to the U of McDonalds, as I call 'em. Do you want french fries with your BS degree?? Geeze, I thought a degree on "Bilingual Secretary" was a joke until these guys came out. Damn!


  • @campkev said:

    In my experience, you are expected to program to make it work on IE.  You can fight and they might allow you the time to test to make sure it mainly works on Opera/Safari/Firefox.  If I was dumb enough to say, "We can't release it yet, it hasn't been tested on WebKit." I would be laughed out of my bosses office.  Actually, first my boss would ask if WebKit was some new testing program, then I would explain that it was a browser, THEN I would be lauged out of his office.
     

    What I would like to know is why the server-side portion of any web application or even lowly form would not work on basically every popular browser.How can you fuck up POST to the point where this stuff happens in a non-IE browser?

    We have a resume upload thing on our corporate website, and I can most definitely promise it'll work on all browsers, including Webkit-based ones.

    We put requirements in the spec about the site needing to operate in all major browsers.



  • @shepd said:

     @DKNewsham said:

    I'm not really sure what a "College / High School degree" is or how a "BA/BS Degree" differs from a "Bachelors Degree." In any case, I completed the application and logged out.

     Not to be difficult (and I'm sure you know), but:

     - Bachelors degree:  *Any* form of Bachelor's degree

     - BA Degree:  Bachelor of Arts

     - BS Degree:  Bachelor of Sience (sp)

    Yes, I know, I can't think of a Bachelor's Degree that isn't a BA or BSc, but lord only knows there must be some odd exception.

     

    I believe that not all IT related fields are considered BS.  At the college I went to there is an Information Technology degree that covers things like "How to use Excel" and other thrilling classes that support IT (more help desk type stuff).  This degree was not considered a Bachelor of Science it was a Bachelor of Arts.  So, maybe they are wondering which kind of IT degree you have: a weak admin one (BA) or the real deal (BS).



  • @amischiefr said:

    I believe that not all IT related fields are considered BS.  At the college I went to there is an Information Technology degree that covers things like "How to use Excel" and other thrilling classes that support IT (more help desk type stuff).  This degree was not considered a Bachelor of Science it was a Bachelor of Arts.  So, maybe they are wondering which kind of IT degree you have: a weak admin one (BA) or the real deal (BS).

    True. Over here, the Bachelor Degrees are typically separated into two main branches:

    Licenciado (BA)

    Ingeniero (BSc, and Ingeniero actually means engineer)

    Well, the university I graduated from has Licenciado en Sistemas Computacionales Adminsitrativos (BA Administrative Computer Systems) and Ingeniero en Sistemas Computacionales (B.Sc. Computer Systems Engineering). The "Administrative" one was basically something about learning administrative software, and no actual software development.


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