I'm a recent graduate who has been learning Perl over the past year or so. I feel strong in the foundations of the languge and have picked it up rather quickly. Now I'm in the San Diego job market and am trying to decide the direction to go. My primary thoughts as of late have been to focus on entry-level jobs in Software Engineering and Systems Administration. My original train of thought was that I want to get in somewhere and work with Perl and Unix/Linux no matter what I'm doing. Now I'm wondering whether or not I should be more picky as to the job types I choose. If I were to jump at a Software Test Engineer job would this have the potential of pigeon-holing me into the testing and Q/A field and similarly with Systems Administration would I likely become stuck in the Admin field? Or are these the normal steps taken by entry-level individuals. Just curious as I don't know anyone that's gone through the motions yet.
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Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated failures. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. --Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933)

In reply to Career question by PerlJam

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