It's not everyday that Google has openings for people lacking computer science degrees or PhDs in computational linguistics, and even less frequent that their small Santa Monica office has them. So when they do, it's of interest.

Yesterday Kenny posted news that Google seeks "quality evaluators to work with engineers and linguists to help improve the quality of next-generation internet services." Might as well see about that, eh?

Update resume; send to Kenny; he puts it into their system and talks me up; manager calls a bit later and we chat for 20 minutes or so; he signs me up for a formal phone interview next Monday.

The bad news is that it pays only $20 an hour, which would be a significant pay cut, though not totally unbearable if the perqs are decent, which they may not be because this is only a contractor position most likely lasting 8-12 months. I'll know more on Monday about that.

The other drawback is the position's lack of creativity. It means reading ads all day and evaluating their appropriateness for web pages on which they appear. Not too exciting; QA never is.

Still, it would be working with a team of people at a fun place. CSUN cubicleland couldn't be any duller. I realized last night that none of the people who work around me ever attend any of the office parties, and many of them never smile -- if you ever see them.

On the other other hand, a daily commute to Santa Monica wouldn't be much fun either, and trying to move closer into a more expensive neighborhood for a temporary job that pays less doesn't seem rational.

Of course the argument about getting a foot in the door with a great company is not to be dismissed lightly. Let's see what Monday brings.