How did I never notice this before....

Just taking a stab (in the dark here) but maybe Alec wanted someone who was not so by-the-book? Explains why Liam came across like such a dolt at times tho'

Yeah, Cora and Liam don't seem to have anything in common.

Anyways Alec Ryder explains his hirng process in his speech on Ark Hyperion before you leave. He says he wants dreamers, explorers, people who push the edge of the map. But, I think its better to say he wants Dreamers, as in builders. People who want to build a better future. Discounting the really minor characters on the team that did not make the squad later, Grier, Kirkland, etc, and also excluding the Ryder siblings...since their motivations for joining the iniative is ultimatley left up to the player...Cora and Liam settle this archetype. Liam wants to build the future in more of a meta sense, being really philosophical about it, he wants to see everyone works together. Cora is more practical about it. Building a guarden, a foundation, and seeing it grow is her modus operndai. Its really quite...in your face when you think about it.

It does make me wonder about what would happen in the unlikely event the Pathfinder, Ryder and Cora died. Is Liam next in line to be Pathfinder or at the very least put in the running? If Cora had lived and not the Ryders, would Liam have been her understudy?

In either case he doesn't strike me as the type ready for the responsibility.  

They do though, they're both poorly written.

Depends on the reasons for suspension tho doesn't it, disciplinary proceedings can be rigidly inflexible and don't allways take into account extenuating circumstances, he could've got himself suspended going against orders that would've led to a worse outcome if he hadn't used his initiative.

After all Alec Ryder would've been privvy to Liam's service records so he would've known the exact circumstances of all of Liam's suspensions, he wouldn't have taken him on if he was being suspended for being an idiot, if how ever he'd shown a willingness to think, then act, outside the box to get results, irrespective of the personal price he might have to pay, that would've gotten Ryders attention.

I'm not sure the AI was that short of recruits, from what I could tell the big limit was money and resources.

In Liam's case I suspect that it boiled down to the fact that he's pretty reactive and is more interested in making things work rather than following the rule book. Since there wasn't actually a rule book for operations in Andromeda, that kind of made sense. Add that to his background in crisis response and it seems like a sure thing. Frankly, the strangest thing I found about Liam's recruitment is the fact he left his family behind. It seemed most people either brought their families or had reasons to split from their family, and Liam didn't seem to fit either category.

I also think Liam is chosen to counterbalance Cora's tendency to be inflexible. And Cora could push back Liam's impulsiveness, that gets him into trouble.

I work together with a lot of people that make Music or/and Graphical art (yes I do both myself too), and i know a lot of people that act like Liam. They are impulsive and sometimes completely irresponsible, but at the same time they are capable to create something that is beautiful. They "get things done" by not following the known rules, but inventing new rules as they go. That can turn out great, but it can also end in disaster. But the thing is - If nobody ever "bend the rules" sometimes, nothing new will ever be discovered.

THANK YOU. Good to see at least someone is still using his brain for thinking.

Are you a former Bioware employee who was fired for being useless? I'm just trying to work out why you continue to bother.

the problem isn't that Alec hired a reckless, not by the book, kind guy like Liam.

Liam's problem is that he's an uninteresting repeat of a well trodden cliche.