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Polyanna I want to start a company just so I can give you a job
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# ? Jan 29, 2018 20:42 |
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# ? Mar 29, 2024 01:58 |
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Everything considered, that is not to bad. You work for the govt, no more than 40h and you can expect about the same job security as any other job you might find which is none. The only real risk is that they ask you to work much less than 40 hours in which case you simply again. My advice would be to take the job, shut up a while and work while you sort out for yourself why things have been going as they have been going. I am sure you read my post in the other thread, we all struggle with direction. All hail Skandranon.
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# ? Jan 29, 2018 20:47 |
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Good Will Hrunting posted:Polyanna I want to start a company just so I can give you a job No you do not Keetron posted:Everything considered, that is not to bad. You work for the govt, no more than 40h and you can expect about the same job security as any other job you might find which is none. The only real risk is that they ask you to work much less than 40 hours in which case you simply again. Honestly, yeah. I got a lot of thinking to do.
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# ? Jan 29, 2018 20:54 |
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Keetron posted:I am sure you read my post in the other thread, we all struggle with direction. All hail Skandranon. No! link please because... Took some time this weekend - after my tryst phoned me Friday evening and told me that upper management is indeed aware of the very problematic issues around my sub-team and its dealings - to reflect on what I like about my job and what I don't like: Likes - $130k comp with 4.5 years of engineering experience seems pretty decent (though money isn't that important to me) - 8 hours, very rarely more - Easy commute - Come and go as I please Dislikes - Big Data is actually pretty, pretty boring (N.B. - part of a larger existential crisis???) - Management sucks as I've bored you all with already Potential plus - New lead (TODO: determine how much old lead will bleed into his efforts) - Autonomy maybe a little? I came away with nothing but uncertainty around what direction to go in.
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# ? Jan 29, 2018 21:03 |
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No mention of your hookup in any of those categories? Ice cold
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# ? Jan 29, 2018 21:14 |
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Consulting-ish job decided not to go forward with me - I did well in the interview, but they went with someone more senior. Oh well another place that I thought I completely and loving utterly bombed actually said they liked my personality and my experience but that I'd be better on another group that's more focused on developer support, so maybe that will work out. All in all, continuing the search. I gotta say, I am somewhat concerned that I'm a month into my search and I still haven't secured new employment. I've been very selective, of course, but maybe the adage that you can get a new job in a couple weeks or so doesn't apply to me yet.
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# ? Jan 29, 2018 21:19 |
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You've been shitposting for two weeks about a job you didn't even have an offer for? jfc And it's not that the adage doesn't apply to you, it's that you admit to being excessively selective. I don't know your financial position, but if I were in your shoes, I'd be taking the first job that I can get and then keep looking for a good job while employed
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# ? Jan 29, 2018 21:23 |
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I would argue that being selective is better than just grabbing any random job that is interested. And there's nothing wrong with asking for perspective I don't have much experience with. But I get it.
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# ? Jan 29, 2018 21:35 |
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Pollyanna posted:I've been very selective, of course, but maybe the adage that you can get a new job in a couple weeks or so doesn't apply to me yet. Yeah, I actually do believe that if you interviewed hard (like it was your full-time job), tried to get as many on-site interviews as possible (regardless of company quality), managed to act totally enthusiastic for every one, and went after any offer (meaning you try to bargain them up a bit, but with the intention of accepting), then you would have a new job in 2-3 weeks. Might be one that you quit a few weeks later, but that's all anyone means when they say they can get a job on short notice.
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# ? Jan 29, 2018 21:40 |
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Good Will Hrunting posted:No! link please because... https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?noseen=0&threadid=3376083&perpage=40&pagenumber=557#post480765811
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# ? Jan 29, 2018 21:54 |
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Being selective is fine as long as you aren't hurting for cash, but keep in mind there is no perfect job. All code bases are varying levels of garbage fire, there is someone at every company that you won't like, there are days when you're going to hate everything and everyone and want to just burn it all down no matter where you work. Some of that can be minimized but not eliminated.
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# ? Jan 29, 2018 22:07 |
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Jose Valasquez posted:Being selective is fine as long as you aren't hurting for cash, but keep in mind there is no perfect job. All code bases are varying levels of garbage fire, there is someone at every company that you won't like, there are days when you're going to hate everything and everyone and want to just burn it all down no matter where you work. Some of that can be minimized but not eliminated. I am aware of this - the question is what you're willing to compromise on. At this stage in life, I value long-term opportunity and stable employment, and that's what I'll favor.
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# ? Jan 29, 2018 22:10 |
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Pollyanna should be selective, because they've had 2(?) jobs in a row that were poo poo and quickly quit/got-fired from. And you should legitimately go to a therapist because you don't seem to have a clue what you want to do, how to get there, or how to interact with other people succesfully. Like I don't doubt your last job wasn't good, but you got let go right away because you didn't even sort of attempt to toe the line and fit in. I legit wish you well, but you're not just gonna luck into a great job that works perfectly for you with your disjointed current approach of seriously considering anything that even sorta seems like a job and polling this thread for life advice.
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# ? Jan 29, 2018 22:18 |
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Being selective works best if you know what you want to select for, it can be effectively selected for, you have the ability to assess those factors reasonably accurately, and most crucially, you have the ability to capitalize on those things when you find them. Finding a great place to work and then loving it up because you don't know how to handle it is infinitely worse than finding a lovely place and dealing with it until they fire you or you quit.
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# ? Jan 29, 2018 23:34 |
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I for one am empathetic to Pollyana's predicament because I know how it feels to be abused by particularly nasty bosses or coworkers. Just wanted to add at least one post here that isn't harsh or critical since everyone here is taking a position on the matter.
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# ? Jan 30, 2018 00:01 |
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Skandranon posted:https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?noseen=0&threadid=3376083&perpage=40&pagenumber=557#post480765811 Ooh, that's good.
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# ? Jan 30, 2018 00:41 |
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Skype interview tomorrow, having never done a webcam interview before. First phone interview + online skills test went well, so not too worried - except the only webcam I have is running at around 5 FPS for some reason. Time to go blow $40 bucks on a new one for a single hour long interview! Interview's with the manager and 3 technical leads in related areas, it's a SQL/BI job which is all I've ever done. Any hot tips for a webcam interview? They mentioned the office is "casual" but it's still a fortune-500 manufacturing company, so I'm thinking blue dress shirt/no tie or jacket.
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# ? Jan 30, 2018 00:57 |
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Loutre posted:Any hot tips for a webcam interview? I often suggest people book a study room at a local library for webcam interviews, assuming it has reliable Internet. You get privacy, space to spread out materials (notebook, whatever), and usually a whiteboard.
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# ? Jan 30, 2018 01:09 |
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Good Will Hrunting posted:- Big Data is actually pretty, pretty boring (N.B. - part of a larger existential crisis???) Software development in general isn't very exciting most of of the time. You're doing all right financially and your job isn't all that time-consuming, so unless you've got a better alternative, you should probably just suck it up and focusing on your life outside of work for stimulation.
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# ? Jan 30, 2018 01:37 |
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Loutre posted:Time to go blow $40 bucks on a new one for a single hour long interview! An underused power play is to send them an invoice for the webcam. It establishes you as a dominant, business-focused individual with management potential.
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# ? Jan 30, 2018 02:47 |
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Or the passive aggressive option of submitting an expense report for the camera after you get hired.
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# ? Jan 30, 2018 02:57 |
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Cirofren posted:We do this a lot. Getting a full time employee involves coordination with HR and the CFO, separate candidate interviews with HR and the CFO, a series of tests, and a pre-employment medical. It can take months. If I need hands on keyboards in anything less than 8 weeks it'll be a contractor and if they're good it's always easier to onboard when they're already in the building. What software area requires a medical examination???
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# ? Jan 30, 2018 03:53 |
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Pollyanna you should -- *flicks board game spinner* ... Right foot green.
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# ? Jan 30, 2018 04:02 |
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Whoa if you’re going right foot green you should ask for at least 3x current salary and condition your bosses so that if they ask you to stay 20 seconds late you just say the word “door” and they break down crying. If you’re not up for that you can probably move to Detroit and go left hand red instead
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# ? Jan 30, 2018 04:17 |
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Nah, right red hand is the way to go
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# ? Jan 30, 2018 04:25 |
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can't i just play connect one instead
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# ? Jan 30, 2018 04:40 |
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meatpotato posted:What software area requires a medical examination??? The industry is heavy manufacturing / construction. Standard for everyone from site machine operators to office reception. Meanwhile I just got sent this posting: quote:Surrounded, clearly by a team of high achievers all cultivated in the broth of Scrum, you will be stepping into one of their major streams.
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# ? Jan 30, 2018 06:23 |
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Cirofren posted:Meanwhile I just got sent this posting:
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# ? Jan 30, 2018 06:34 |
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Cirofren posted:Surrounded, clearly by a team of high achievers all cultivated in the broth of Scrum, you will be stepping into one of their major streams. Are you employed by @erowidrecruiter?
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# ? Jan 30, 2018 06:43 |
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meatpotato posted:What software area requires a medical examination??? Candidate, we must discover your suitability for coding horrors. *pipes C style casts in C++ code directly into your brain* We have determined you unsuitable for our needs. Move along.
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# ? Jan 30, 2018 07:20 |
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Cirofren posted:Meanwhile I just got sent this posting: Oh, so that's what became of the guy who wrote The Eye of Argon.
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# ? Jan 30, 2018 08:29 |
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Pollyanna posted:I gotta say, I am somewhat concerned that I'm a month into my search and I still haven't secured new employment. I've been very selective, of course, but maybe the adage that you can get a new job in a couple weeks or so doesn't apply to me yet. During a rocky patch in my career it took me four months to get an offer, while using a recruiter and interviewing anywhere I could, and I'm a good enough engineer to have made it into Facebook. Insecurity comes with the territory but sometimes you gotta persist until someone you want to take a chance on takes a chance on you.
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# ? Jan 30, 2018 08:30 |
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Doing software engineering at a consulting company is the way to go. Hoping it works out for Pollyanna. Unlike in a random BigCompany where software engineers are usually a cost sink, in a consulting company you are the breadwinner who brings the company straight profit. That makes a really significant difference IMO. Your company might actually care about your working conditions and happiness. You might work with crap codebases from time to time. On the other hand, you're not seen as 100% responsible for the mess. There is variety, and you get good experience. On a good day, you even get greenfield projects. Unlike Pollyanna, or some devs in my company, I'm personally at a salaried position (with a performance bonus), so I'm not getting a straight fraction of the billable hours I put in. At the same time, if the company doesn't have a project for me, they're still paying me money. I just spend free time between projects on learning new technologies and such. pigdog fucked around with this message at 11:49 on Jan 30, 2018 |
# ? Jan 30, 2018 11:44 |
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pigdog posted:Unlike in a random BigCompany where software engineers are usually a cost sink, in a consulting company you are the breadwinner who brings the company straight profit. That makes a really significant difference IMO. Your company might actually care about your working conditions and happiness. Counterpoint, I've worked for two consulting companies in a salaried position now and lol no neither of them gave a poo poo, you're there to make them money and they would squeeze you as much as they could to e.g. spend months at a time in foreign countries at two days' notice. Management in both places very much viewed you as a resource rather than a person. Conditions will vary from company to company, of course.
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# ? Jan 30, 2018 12:52 |
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Also the other counterpoint, most product-based companies I've been at have been good to their developers because like sales they are only one step removed from billing and the connection is clear enough for them to join the dots. IT, though, TWO steps removed from billing, congrats being nothing but a cost center forever.
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# ? Jan 30, 2018 12:59 |
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ultrafilter posted:Software development in general isn't very exciting most of of the time. You're doing all right financially and your job isn't all that time-consuming, so unless you've got a better alternative, you should probably just suck it up and focusing on your life outside of work for stimulation. Is there nothing more to life than being "all right financially" and focusing on life outside of work cause if so I'm never going to make it in this world
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# ? Jan 30, 2018 15:41 |
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Good Will Hrunting posted:Is there nothing more to life than being "all right financially" and focusing on life outside of work cause if so I'm never going to make it in this world The idea that you live to work instead of work to live is a fallacy steeped in puritan work ethic and capitalist exploitation. Your job isn't the only thing about you, and a life on the whole is a terrible thing to waste. Remember that this is ultimately a means to an end, that end being properly balancing financial stability and a fulfilling life.
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# ? Jan 30, 2018 15:45 |
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I'd argue that even in companies that don't have directly technical products, the 'only viewed as a cost-center' idea is starting to shift. It was certainly true in the 2000-2010, but now, with almost everything being done with software, and much of it offered as SaaS, there's no turning back the wheel. Things like: complexity with integrating all these services, sharing important data, and business-specific intranet/LOB apps all directly add a ton of, very visible, value to most businesses. 15 years ago if you told a random, manager-level worker in a F500 that his laptop would be broken for the day, he would maybe be slowed down a bit. Today, he might as well go home, because he's so dependent. That boring, intranet, CRUD app you're writing is probably saving the company tens of thousands of dollars every year. A good engineer can easily add value and increase profits that are measured in multiples of their cost. I mean, there's a reason why even non-tech companies are paying Jr. SE salaries that probably equal or exceed what they pay their middle-managers with decades of experience.
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# ? Jan 30, 2018 15:50 |
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Good Will Hrunting posted:Is there nothing more to life than being "all right financially" and focusing on life outside of work cause if so I'm never going to make it in this world There is so much more, but when it comes to your job, that goal is pretty solid. Making it in this world can and should be found outside of work. It is not easy but can be done. Basically what PollyAnna said already.
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# ? Jan 30, 2018 17:07 |
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# ? Mar 29, 2024 01:58 |
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B-Nasty posted:I'd argue that even in companies that don't have directly technical products, the 'only viewed as a cost-center' idea is starting to shift. Another takeaway from this, is that the career path of worker-middlemanager-uppermanager is very, very dead. Many people have a hard time accepting this and thus the fewer management positions are desired by many more than there are places thus causing lower compensation and shittier work conditions. You are better off in software development as it gives you flexibility in workplace and pretty good compensation for the amount of responsibility.
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# ? Jan 30, 2018 17:11 |