Yeah, I mean, shouldn't the pony who HAS the skills get the job?

edited 20th Feb '12 7:18:12 AM by gingerninja666

What would be a good cutie mark for that?

edited 20th Feb '12 7:18:21 AM by crowlover

The Cutie Mark is a decent indicator of skills, but it's not perfect. I mean, take Cheerilee's CM; it doesn't really tell you that she's a teacher, it could just as easily be interpreted as indicating gardening skills.

@J Teeth: I get the feeling that if she had not dropped out on her own, she was probably doing poorly enough that she would have been kicked of the school anyway. This seems to be a fact that the bullies seem eager to remind her of (I still can't believe that RD was bullied).

I wonder if that fact would be a strike against her for membership in the Wonderbolts?

Well, she was bullied, but she didn't exactly roll over and take it.

Of course, that probably just further attracted their attention.

I imagine there's a handful of self-taught fliers in the history of the Wonderbolts. But lack of formal training still means Dashie's going to have to work extra hard to prove herself.

Where is it said that she dropped out again?

I don't recall.

I think these would all be questions on the application form. What is your cutie mark? What does your cutie mark mean?

Yes, some ponies would lie, but people do that on resumes anyway.

Really, I don't think we have an indication of what her grades would have been like; I mean, all signs point to her being genuinely talented at it. I get the feeling that she was one of those students that could coast by on skill; she probably didn't have awesome grades, but I don't think that she was failing.

Also, I'd take anything that the bullies say with a grain of salt; they're obviously just trying to bother her and it's not like bullies never stretch the truth to that end. I think it's more that RD's failures have a way greater effect on her state of mind than her successes do, so they focus on the failures. Wouldn't surprise me at all if they were jealous or something.

edited 20th Feb '12 7:25:19 AM by JapaneseTeeth

It's kinda fail on the bullies, because Dashie is the sort to kick back. Her abrasive nature is prolly partly their fault.

I'll give an example of how it could be bad. Two ponies are applying for a position. One pony has a cutie mark that suggests they would be good at that profession. Another pony doesn't have this as their best talent, but is still better at it than the first pony. (The first is more like a Jackof All Stats)

Cutie marks shouldn't be solely relied on, but their employers should still be aware of it. It's their special talent after all. It'd be like leaving out the 10 years one spent at med school when applying for a position at a hospital

For the most part, I would expect cutie mark discrimination for important jobs like, say, maintaining sensitive/volatile machinery. Anypony can do it, but the main repairpony needs to have affinity for the job.

For more mundane jobs, employers prolly wouldn't give two bits what your cutie mark is.

edited 20th Feb '12 7:27:16 AM by AceOfScarabs

@Crow: In that case, you'd go with whichever one is better at that specific job you're hiring for. If the "Jack of all Trades" pony is worse at the one particular job you're looking to fill, it would be a waste of their other abilities to shoehorn them into that job.

What about if you had a cleaning cutie mark when applying to be a floor sweeper

edited 20th Feb '12 7:28:46 AM by gingerninja666

You'd probably eventually end up heading up the team or something. Either that or you work really really efficiently.

Speaking of which, I should probably stop wasting time here while I'm on the clock. Later.

edited 20th Feb '12 7:29:49 AM by JapaneseTeeth

There is possibility that she could have been kicked out for disciplinary rather then academic reasons (that may actually bode worse for her as a Wonderbolts prospect). Either way I don't think she would have made it all the way to graduation.

@Ginger: It is more implied then anything else. When the bullies talk about her being kicked out she states that she wasn't, but she never says that she graduated either.

Yeah, but there's no indication of why, and no reason to assume that she was failing. I mean, yeah, she was probably a lousy student, but I think she has enough natural skill that she could probably get by.

Again, I think your cutie mark should count about as much as any qualification does. It shouldn't be the ONLY thing an employer looks at, but the applicants should still be upfront about their marks (especially if their talent would help them in their job)

Thread Hop

Wow...Only four pages. KICK IT INTO GEAR MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS!

In slightly more relevant news: I hope to try and finish my Daring Do Chapter 1 today once I manage to get some peace and quiet away from my family. :D

Anyway, I'm heading home.

See you all in a bit.

yay

edited 20th Feb '12 7:33:47 AM by gingerninja666

The problem is, though, that so many marks are vague and metaphorical. It would give an unfair advantage to ponies with more literal marks if said marks were considered too strongly.

Cutie Marks might also refer to your hobby, and in any case I would only expect cutie mark discrimination for critical jobs. Most normal workplaces won't care if your talent is for your hobby as long as you can do your work well.

edited 20th Feb '12 7:39:43 AM by AceOfScarabs

Yeah think about PP, working at a Bakery is only mildly convenient to party planing and throwing

@J Teeth: I'm just saying that that is the impression that I got when I saw her interaction with the bullies in Sonic Rainboom. To be honest, it is probably very unlikely that they will give a straight answer on that particular aspect of her backstory, so I'm just handing out some speculation.

edited 20th Feb '12 7:39:07 AM by Mio

Daring Do is not amused.