cannot-remember

Introducing acoustic absorption to the room like an anechoic chamber isn’t going to do much for sound isolation. If you want to prevent sound getting out you should seal up your room to make it as airtight as possible. This usually means sewing up the weak points such as gaps around doors / windows. You can also introduce more background noise in the areas where you don’t want others to listen but ultimately you might not have control over those spaces

This mirrors my story almost exactly. Bachelors and masters degree in engineering (not software). Got a job in a large company that had a software team. Essentially just moved into that team by helping them with work. Built up my skills both on the job and in my own time for what the job market was asking for. Transitioned to full time pure software eng job in a new company, never looked back since

Curious non-American here. Is this really so ridiculous?

This device is used in commercial apple stores for transferring data off customers old, non-apple phones. Pretty straightforward service, hardly a curious device.