[00:00.00]Narrator: Listen to a conversation between a student and a counselor.
[00:05.67] FEMALE STUDENT:Hi, I'm Tina Morley.
[00:07.34] MALE COUNSELOR Oh, Tina. Yeah, good to meet you. [00:09.27] You told me on the phone that you're looking for a part-time position?[00:12.36][00:18.05] so I was hoping ?[00:19.50] MALE COUNSELOR: There was one ?but that got filled a couple days ago.[00:22.20] FEMALE STUDENT: Oh no, really? [00:24.24] Thing is ?I've gotta do something to pay for expenses. [00:27.48] And, well ? I-I', not afraid of hard work.[00:30.80] MALE COUNSELOR I guess not! [pause, then explanation] [00:33.12] Y'see, I always have to check the class schedules of potential applicants ...to make sure they're full-time students in good standing. [00:40.23] And...your schedule this past semester ...I mean, everything from computer science to African history to zoology and physics ...[00:48.51] How do you manage with such a heavy class load?[00:51.30] FEMALE STUDENT:Pretty well, actually. [00:52.72] If I do get a job, of course, I may have to cut back to a more normal schedule, [00:56.60] but...y'know, there are so many great subjects to learn about.[00:59.69] MALE COUNSELOR Ah, a generalist.[01:01.28] FEMALE STUDENT:Yeah. It's gonna be hard for me to pick just one thing to specialize in.
[01:05.17] MALE COUNSELOR Say, that gives me an idea. [01:06.69] Uh, you're pretty comfortable on a computer, right? [01:09.72]...with learning new software applications?[01:12.23] FEMALE STUDENT:Sure, I'm pretty good at that. Why?[01:14.63] MALE COUNSELORWell, last week I got a call from the folks over at the Visualization Project. [01:18.60] They want to add a couple part-timers to their staff.
[01:21.42] FEMALE STUDENT:The Visualization Project?[01:23.17] MALE COUNSELOR Yes. They help professors from all different departments turn information into something their students can see. [01:28.66] You know, instead of just writing on a blackboard, more and more professors want to project information onto a screen. [01:34.93]And ...how do I say this ?[01:36.97] some professors are really good in their own subject areas, but when it comes to computers, well ...
[01:42.90] FEMALE STUDENT:I get the picture. So they use the Visualization Project to create... what...[01:47.65] like, graphs of different sorts?[01:49.45] MALE COUNSELOR Right. Graphs of economic trends, for instance, or population growth. [01:53.59] And sometimes dynamic maps—maps that change on screen to show, for instance, how trade ebbed and flowed over the centuries along various routes between China and the Mediterranean.[02:04.29] FEMALE STUDENT:Wow, that'd be interesting.
[02:06.35] MALE COUNSELORYeah, and that's just what they do for classroom lectures...[02:09.64] A project staffer might also be asked to help professors pull together some of their research data and model that visually. [02:16.65] They claim that putting their data in a map, for example, or a moving image, helps them see connections ...new relationships in data on, say, animal migration patterns that they might miss if they're just looking at numbers on a piece of paper ...
[02:29.76] FEMALE STUDENT:That's terrific. [02:31.30] Uh, what about working hours?[02:32.97] MALE COUNSELOR They're pretty flexible. [02:34.36] Staffers can go in to work day or night ...[02:37.18] They just hafta make sure it's all done by the time the professor needs it. [02:41.57] So, shall I give you the number to call to get in touch with these people?[02:44.57] FEMALE STUDENT: Oh, would you? [02:45.30] To think I came in just hoping to get something in the dining hall!