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I'm just starting to work on a career change from paramedic to programmer. I want to avoid going to school because 4 years of slogging through a degree while taking a huge hit on my income and time sounds very unattractive. I consider myself very self-motivated and have taught myself other skills in the past. I was planning on devoting at least 20-30 hours a week to this, part of which will be at work since I get a decent amount of downtime to twiddle my thumbs. On top of that for the next month I have very few responsibilities. I'm stuck in Medellin, Colombia attending to someone going through various surgeries. I'm going to use a bulk of my time working on programming so by the time I get back I'll have some sort of jump start. I am starting with Python. From there I'll explore and narrow down my interests in the wide programming field. How long should I expect to go from zero experience to hero (paid employment)?
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Sep 21, 2014 04:37
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Doghouse posted:Cool, thanks. I haven't gotten the offer yet but am expecting/hoping for it in a week or two - my internship is ending and my manager has told me that he is telling the higher-ups to hire me full time. So we'll see. Don't forget to ask when the plan actually kicks in, too. At a previous job I didn't ask, and it turns out the answer was "After you've been here for 6 goddamn months, sucker." Also, if you don't already know, ask about the vesting schedule for their 401k match, if they have one.
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Sep 21, 2014 05:22
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Engin3 posted:How long should I expect to go from zero experience to hero (paid employment)? It depends on how smart you are (and how good at self-directed learning you are).
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Sep 21, 2014 12:40
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Drastic Actions posted:I did get referred to a realtor via our HR person, and I should be going to look at some of what's left next weekend. My goal is to get something I can deal with for a year, and then look for something better when I actually live there. The area is not too much of an issue, provided it's close to the green line, since there is a station stop right next to their office. Drastic Actions posted:I'm okay with older buildings, considering I'm currently living in one right now. I'm more sad that it's going cost me more (from what I can tell, twice as much I've gone through a few different places in Boston, and the best advice I can give is looking at no-fee rentals on craigslist or finding particularly nice buildings and getting in touch with the people who run them is the way to go. Also, depending on where the office is, you can get a super sweet pad juuuuuust outside of Cambridge or Boston, where there's a ton of gentrification happening. Jamaica Pond, Somerville, Alewife, etc have tons of new, well priced places. gently caress realtors so bad.
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Sep 21, 2014 14:34
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Che Delilas posted:Don't forget to ask when the plan actually kicks in, too. At a previous job I didn't ask, and it turns out the answer was "After you've been here for 6 goddamn months, sucker." I'd assume that the Affordable Care Act has killed long waiting periods like that but definitely find all this stuff out. Remember that anything in their offer package is a negotiation lever, too. I have also successfully negotiated job offers based on their 401k plan. One place told me a base salary over the phone, but failed to mention until I asked that the 401k plan included a 1% match vested over five years. Worse, the only investment choices were some Fidelity funds with sky high expense ratios. I politely pointed out how lovely their 401k was and used that to get a bump on base salary. I am glad I did that, because during the 2008-2009 economic mess they outright suspended any 401k matches anyway.
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Sep 21, 2014 17:39
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kitten smoothie posted:I'd assume that the Affordable Care Act has killed long waiting periods like that but definitely find all this stuff out. Some quick googling says a maximum of 90 days, which on premium group plans can cost a company thousands of dollars (and therefore save that thousands of dollars if they make you wait the full 3 months). Yeah, certainly worth looking into. I consider a 5 year vesting schedule to be worth exactly zero dollars, partly due to situations like you described, and partly because it goes month to month - that is, after 5 years the only money that's fully vested is the money that they put in on my very first month. I'm likely to leave a company before 5 years anyway. (Keep in mind that I'm not saying the 401k is worth nothing. Being able to set aside $17,500 pre-tax is a huge deal. Just that a small percetage 5 year vested match is not really adding anything to it).
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Sep 21, 2014 21:06
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Even if it was brief a trip the gently caress out of Florida energized me in a way nothing else could. How do you find a job with a lot of traveling as a part of it in this industry? I know consulting is a thing. How do you even get into that? What other options are there besides "move when you change jobs/have enough saved up money."?
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Sep 22, 2014 02:47
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gently caress them posted:Even if it was brief a trip the gently caress out of Florida energized me in a way nothing else could. A job with a lot of traveling is a lot less fun than you might think. Visiting new places is neat. Living out of hotels and never being in town long enough to hang out with friends or go on a date is not so neat.
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Sep 22, 2014 03:20
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So I should just get a real salary and travel  WELP
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Sep 22, 2014 03:34
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Isn't 60k in Jacksonville a perfectly decent salary? http://www.bestplaces.net/cost-of-living/jacksonville-fl/seattle-wa/60000 But making more money and going where you want to go, is the way to go. PM at my work recently took off like 2 months in a go to travel Europe, then came back and a week later went to Burning Man. Obviously took some unpaid time to do it, but if your salary is high enough it's not a big deal.
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Sep 22, 2014 03:58
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gently caress them posted:Even if it was brief a trip the gently caress out of Florida energized me in a way nothing else could. Mniot is right. I'm a consultant (although not as a developer-for-hire, necessarily -- I mostly do devops-type automation these days), and my next few weeks involves two trips to Boston, a week in Dallas, and a day/evening in Connecticut, followed by a few days in Long Island. A month ago, I was in Kentucky for a week. This sucks all around. It involves sacrificing evening/weekend time for travel, not seeing my girlfriend, and basically putting my at-home life on hold while I'm gone. Also, filling out expense reports sucks. Of course, the worst is when the client is in reasonable commuting distance, except it's a really lovely commute. This is especially problematic in New Jersey. I live in the more "rural" northwest corner (close to the NY and PA borders), so if I get a client in Jersey City, NYC, or (god help me) Long Island, that can mean anywhere from 2 to 4 hours of commuting each way. I could see it being fun if I were younger, more attractive, more personable, and more single. But I'm none of those things, so it just means that I work all day, get sleepy at 8 pm, and fall asleep watching Netflix on my tablet at 9. The plus side is all the days when I can work from home, and even the shittiest project I work on only lasts a month or two. I get to see a vast array of companies that I would never, ever want to work for. There are tons of consulting firms out there, you can find them on the normal recruiting sites. I got my job because a former boss ended up here, and he contacted me because there was a long-term contract that needed an extra developer. Although I can see why you'd want to get out of Florida -- I was in Miami for a week back in March or April, and it was pretty terrible. 
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Sep 22, 2014 04:12
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I'm pretty late, but the startup stuff was pretty helpful. I'm going to apply to a few along with the bigger tech companies I've been looking at. Unrelated: my actual title is something like Business Associate. I forget what the exact title is, but it gives absolutely zero indication that I'm paid to write software. So I changed my title on my resume to Software Developer, and ever since I've been getting more interviews. Will this gently caress me over when I get an offer, HR does a background check, and they see that that's not the real title?
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Sep 22, 2014 04:12
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Cicero posted:Isn't 60k in Jacksonville a perfectly decent salary? http://www.bestplaces.net/cost-of-living/jacksonville-fl/seattle-wa/60000 This is a sort-of dumb way of looking at it, IMO. The cost of living is lower, but the life you live and opportunities you get in Jacksonville are going to suck compared to what you get in Seattle. Living in a better area means you get paid more, you just have to spend it on stuff that almost any person would consider worth paying for. And even if the cost of living is 70% higher, if salaries are also 70% higher, then your living expenses are going to be a similar percentage of your take-home - which means that what's left over is going to be a similar percentage, which is great because it's a similar percentage of a much larger number.
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Sep 22, 2014 04:28
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I probably should have just pushed hard to get the gently caress out of dodge in the first place, but prudence is only ever the wrong option in hindsight. At least now I'm in a place where I can take my time to find something ideal, since I'm not suffering anymore. Time to figure out how to spice up the resume with what I've done where I am now, I guess. Just list the finished projects?
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Sep 22, 2014 04:45
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gently caress them posted:Even if it was brief a trip the gently caress out of Florida energized me in a way nothing else could.
If you answered yes to these questions, then consulting may be the answer for you! I had a travel-heavy job at one point, working for an ERP firm on their professional services staff. Being away from my wife sucked. My friends just began to assume I was gone all the time and stopped calling me to invite me to things. I worked for some bad clients, including a couple governments. I traveled enough to accrue enough miles for a free round trip in coach every 2.5 weeks, and when I went on my honeymoon I used points to snag a €600/night suite in a palace in Versailles, but the points don't really make up for the stuff that goes along with the travel. There is a certain type of person for whom this works well, if you're young and you're ok with slogging through it. I have known quite a few people who basically took jobs like this, hired on straight out of school, and still "lived" with their parents on weekends, meaning zero rent. They didn't actually go there that often, they'd have the client fly them somewhere other than home on the weekend and use accrued hotel points to cover a place to stay. They were able to plow nearly all their salary into savings. Most of them did that for 5-6 years, bought houses with cash, and got the hell out of consulting.
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Sep 22, 2014 04:53
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We hired some dude in May who is like the biggest sperg and so loving obnoxious and now he's interviewing people. Can't wait to see who he brings to the team! Had he interviewed me I probably wouldn't have joined.
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Sep 22, 2014 16:16
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How much of a correlation is there on "being good at math" and "being good at programming"?
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Sep 22, 2014 16:29
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gently caress them posted:At least now I'm in a place where I can take my time to find something ideal, since I'm not suffering anymore. It sure doesn't sound like it. VisAbsoluta posted:How much of a correlation is there on "being good at math" and "being good at programming"? Computer science is math. It just not always the numbers kind of math. Instead of 2+2=? it's more like false OR true = ? Edit: Anecdotal, but I had a professor that that graduated in Math at MIT then went on to research and teach in the CS dept. at my school. perfectfire fucked around with this message at 16:36 on Sep 22, 2014 |
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Sep 22, 2014 16:30
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VisAbsoluta posted:How much of a correlation is there on "being good at math" and "being good at programming"? It depends on what you mean by math. If you mean "computation", none. If you mean "problem solving" and "abstract thinking", a lot.
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Sep 22, 2014 16:35
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Che Delilas posted:after 5 years the only money that's fully vested is the money that they put in on my very first month. I'm likely to leave a company before 5 years anyway. Wait, is that how vesting money works? I thought it was after the 5 years (in this example) then ALL of the money that has been matched is now the employees.
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Sep 22, 2014 17:51
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Careful Drums posted:Wait, is that how vesting money works? I thought it was after the 5 years (in this example) then ALL of the money that has been matched is now the employees. Different companies/plans have different vesting schedules. Some plans might have all your funds be fully vested by your 4-year mark or somesuch, rather than having funds be individually vested over time.
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Sep 22, 2014 18:06
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Careful Drums posted:Wait, is that how vesting money works? I thought it was after the 5 years (in this example) then ALL of the money that has been matched is now the employees.
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Sep 22, 2014 18:22
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bonds0097 posted:Different companies/plans have different vesting schedules. Some plans might have all your funds be fully vested by your 4-year mark or somesuch, rather than having funds be individually vested over time. Like, at my company the schedule is *year 1: 0% *year 2: 0% *year 3: 100% So I've been here a year. I expect that in two more years, ALL of the money I'll have gotten matched over this past year and the following two years will be mine 100% fully vested, not just 'okay now you start getting to keep the money matched from us from this point on'. IDK
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Sep 22, 2014 18:32
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Careful Drums posted:Wait, is that how vesting money works? I thought it was after the 5 years (in this example) then ALL of the money that has been matched is now the employees. In every company I've worked in, your interpretation is correct. If you contribute $10k/yr with 100% match vested 25% a year over 4 years, this is what happens: Year 1: $20k in account, $10k contributions, 2.5k of 10k match is vested Year 2: $40k in account, $20k contributions, 10k of 20k match is vested Year 3: $60k in account, $30k contributions, 22.5k of 30k match is vested Year 4: $80k in account, $40k contributions, 40k of 40k match is vested
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Sep 22, 2014 18:36
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baquerd posted:In every company I've worked in, your interpretation is correct. If you contribute $10k/yr with 100% match vested 25% a year over 4 years, this is what happens: Whew, okay thanks.
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Sep 22, 2014 18:38
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Yeah, that's been how it was for me, too. When I left the company with the lovely 1%/5 year match, I did so with 18 months of service. I got to keep 20% of every pitiful dollar they matched, as opposed to it being a FIFO thing. A previous place I worked didn't give you any matching contributions at all for your first 2 years, but once you got the match it was all yours. My current company matches me from day 0 and it's all mine. But yes, my company RSUs are on a FIFO basis. I got a RSU grant on hire that vests over 4 years. Sometimes they throw in additional RSUs with your annual comp review, and every instance of that would be an additional grant with a freshly started vesting clock.
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Sep 22, 2014 18:48
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mustermark posted:I've gone through a few different places in Boston, and the best advice I can give is looking at no-fee rentals on craigslist or finding particularly nice buildings and getting in touch with the people who run them is the way to go. My mom helped me do apartment hunting in Boston just recently and she ended up getting taken in by a scammer. We lost about $6k. Don't use Craigslist. I've heard that Somerville, Cambridge, etc. are all really good for renting. Not exactly IN Boston, a bit out of it, and the commute can be kinda balls sometimes, but it's a good option. I'm in Brookline right now, and it's not bad at all - but very expensive... --- So I'm actually at a coding school/bootcamp type place in Boston right now! It just started, but it's gone really well so far. I feel like I've got a much better handle on how to start my dev career, and I have way less uncertainty and anxiety about it.  So I'm very happy with where my career is going right now.I still need to ensure that I gain employment at the end of the program, obviously. The program has its own connections to the local industry, but I'd love to know what other resources I have around the Boston area for a burgeoning web developer. Although I'm not tied to it - I'm also interested in mobile development! (Also started reading The Pragmatic Programmer. It's answered a lot of questions I had but didn't know how to put into words.)
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Sep 22, 2014 18:53
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Pollyanna posted:
(glad you're moving ahead in your new career path)
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Sep 22, 2014 18:57
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Thermopyle posted:I'm pretty sure I told you to read that like a year ago! Yeah but now I'm taking my Ritalin again so I remember to do so (thanks :>)
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Sep 22, 2014 19:01
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What bootcamp is it?
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Sep 22, 2014 19:05
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Pragmatic Programmer is one of my favorite books. Not just about programming.
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Sep 22, 2014 19:09
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General Assembly. I checked it out on recommendation from a friend, and it looked really good - plus it has some CS bits as part of the curriculum. I'm taking the intensive Web Dev course, and it's basically a 9-5 plus homework. It's good for anybody who's literally just starting out, although it may be a bit overwhelming. I'm looking forward to the rest of it 
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Sep 22, 2014 19:10
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VisAbsoluta posted:How much of a correlation is there on "being good at math" and "being good at programming"? perfectfire posted:Computer science is math. Computer science is far more closely related to mathematics than it is to the actual practice of writing computer programs for, like, work. But anyway, as a major point, mathematics trains you to be constantly thinking about edge cases - if a proof doesn't work in every case then it doesn't work, and similarly if a function can't handle every possible combination of inputs then the function is defective. Hopefully this leads to relatively robust code, attention to detail, sound program designs, a good eye for defects, good unit test coverage, etc.
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Sep 22, 2014 20:23
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So I got contacted by a recruiter after applying for a job, and everything since then has sort of been flaky and weird. First, she asked me to reply to her email with a copy of "[my] updated resume" and a cover letter for job A. When I did, I didn't hear from her for five days or so. Today I emailed her asking if everything was okay, and she emailed me back saying something like "yes, everything is fine, I submitted your resume for job B, I'll let you know when they contact me, p.s. sign this right to represent form over the internet real quick, k?" I really want to get out of my current, lovely, non-programming job, but I'd also not like to end up an indentured servant. What do I do?
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Sep 22, 2014 20:43
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Literally Elvis posted:So I got contacted by a recruiter after applying for a job, and everything since then has sort of been flaky and weird. the form basically says "you can't work for anyone unless you contract through us" so i wouldn't sign it without making sure it was for that specific employer. or just go around the recruiter because gently caress recruiters. e: oh sorry i missed that you're not already programming. i would just read it for red flags and go with it, just to get your foot into the door.
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Sep 22, 2014 20:55
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Literally Elvis posted:So I got contacted by a recruiter after applying for a job, and everything since then has sort of been flaky and weird. I would think that with your personal projects (you made that song you were conceived to app, right?) you could get a good programming job on your own without having to go through a lovely recruiter. I'd be very careful about signing anything from some shady internet recruiter.
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Sep 22, 2014 21:04
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Careful Drums posted:Whew, okay thanks. At my last company they matched half my contribution up to a certain percentage, 5 year vest at 20% per year, calculated from the date of each contribution. In other words, piecemeal like I described. So I guess the point of all this is to reiterate that you need to figure out exactly what their benefits package entails so you can negotiate with correct information.
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Sep 22, 2014 21:06
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Back to "consulting sucks" talk for a moment... here's another reason why it sucks: I just had my entire week abruptly shuffled around on me and all of my travel arrangements have to be changed, cancelled, and rebooked at the last minute. 
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Sep 22, 2014 21:07
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Time to see how soon I get interviewed. gently caress it. Going home. PDF of the resume. Any glaring mistakes? EDIT: Found the missed space on the third bullet, italicized clerk, capitalization issues on the stuff at the bottom, also Twitter Bootstrap, not twitter Bootstrap. Fuck them fucked around with this message at 00:53 on Sep 23, 2014 |
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Sep 22, 2014 23:01
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bonds0097 posted:I would think that with your personal projects (you made that song you were conceived to app, right?) you could get a good programming job on your own without having to go through a lovely recruiter. I'd be very careful about signing anything from some shady internet recruiter. I must be doing something horribly wrong then. 
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Sep 22, 2014 23:04
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