|
JuanGoat posted:I didn't get a 2x pay increase, but I got a decent bump. I'm really glad I went through with it too, because my initial reaction was to be happy that I'm employed and accept the offer as is. Instead, I got a decent pay increase for an hour spent on a carefully crafted counter offer. Negotiating is surprisingly fun, too. Thanks for the help everyone! Congrats! Enjoy your internship and don't be afraid to look for something better once you're done with it. There are plenty of opportunities to do some really cool stuff in the bay area.
|
#
?
Mar 17, 2015 16:27
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 31, 2024 16:08 |
|
|
Flashing Twelve posted:My biggest worry is that 9 months on the job before leaving will look terrible on my resume. Is there kind of a special exemption because it's my first job? If so, would I be obligated to do 18 months/2 years in the new job? I plan on leaving (and not returning to) my city in about a years time. You really should just stick it out to make it an even year. Even if that means Jan 29 - Jan 1, you can still write Jan 2014-Jan 2015 on your resume. It looks a LOT better to not have 9 month stints on your resume - my lovely resume haunts me to this day.
|
|
#
?
Mar 17, 2015 19:02
|
|
|
Stoph posted:You really should just stick it out to make it an even year. Even if that means Jan 29 - Jan 1, you can still write Jan 2014-Jan 2015 on your resume. It looks a LOT better to not have 9 month stints on your resume - my lovely resume haunts me to this day. I'll definitely do this. I'll be a little bit shy of a year by the time I get the word about promotion so it shouldn't be too hard. Skandranon posted:If you truly feel this way, it is indeed time to move on. While your concerns of appearing to be a job hopper are something to consider, and the fact you COULD end up some place worse, in my opinion it is most important to feel like you are progressing. If learning things is important to you, you will being to hate yourself and everyone around you if you stay where you cannot learn or do anything new or interesting. That they are willing to push for a 30% raise when promotions are frozen is a really good indicator of your worth to them, and a good signal that you could be doing much better elsewhere, so you should feel confident. I recently moved to a new job where yes, I did get more money, but the most important factor for me was the opportunities to learn new things and progress. At my previous job, I was barely doing any real development work (as a Senior Developer), and even the perk of working from home 80% of the time did nothing to improve how that made me feel about the job. Get your resume up to date, update linkedin and start applying for things that sound interesting to you. You HAVE a job now, that you do not hate, so you can take your time, but your time there is probably coming to a close. Best to accept it and move forward confidently. Yeah, I think this is the best option. Since I wrote my post, a planned project involving some technologies I was interested in picking up was killed off permanently. I was tossing up between hanging around for that or leaving, but now that's gone I don't see any future growth where I am now. Polishing up my resume and looking around for good opportunities now. I forgot how much job hunting sucks 
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2015 14:39
|
|
|
JuanGoat posted:I didn't get a 2x pay increase, but I got a decent bump. I'm really glad I went through with it too, because my initial reaction was to be happy that I'm employed and accept the offer as is. Instead, I got a decent pay increase for an hour spent on a carefully crafted counter offer. Negotiating is surprisingly fun, too. Thanks for the help everyone! That was also the most important long term lesson of your internship. Always negotiate.
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2015 15:27
|
|
|
Jr. Developer trip report: made it to the in-person and found the place was probably not going to be a good fit for me. They cram the developers next to eachother to promote team synergy something, which might do that but also has the effect of cleaning out your sinuses as the smell of goonlord developer B.O. compounds. The interview was a joke - no whiteboard, no discussion of my coding sample, just some Java trivia questions that I went about 50/50 on and then a long list of "have you used (name of framework)?" followed by some variant of "No but I know it's for _____" or "Never heard of it, sorry." I think their definition of Junior (ready to code tomorrow using our chosen libraries) was different than my definition of Junior (CS degree, practical day to day exposure, but no real Development with a capital D experience). Not to say one is more correct than the other, just a bad match.
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2015 15:51
|
|
|
boho posted:Jr. Developer trip report: made it to the in-person and found the place was probably not going to be a good fit for me. They cram the developers next to eachother to promote team synergy something, which might do that but also has the effect of cleaning out your sinuses as the smell of goonlord developer B.O. compounds. It sounds like their definition was "memorized a bunch of easily googleable poo poo before the interview".
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2015 16:58
|
|
|
1/10 would not work
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2015 17:02
|
|
|
boho posted:Jr. Developer trip report: made it to the in-person and found the place was probably not going to be a good fit for me. They cram the developers next to eachother to promote team synergy something, which might do that but also has the effect of cleaning out your sinuses as the smell of goonlord developer B.O. compounds. I would say yours is more correct. Definitions are useless if we all use our own. Consider yourself lucky, you dodged a bullet there.
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2015 17:10
|
|
|
Jr. positions requiring several years of experience are pretty common these days, it seems. It makes no loving sense. e: Also common seems to be wanting a crazy variety of skills while advertising low salary range and experience requirements; these people don't know what they gently caress they're doing. Evil_Greven fucked around with this message at 17:17 on Mar 18, 2015 |
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2015 17:13
|
|
|
They can demand all they want but it doesn't change the quality of applicants coming in the door, it just takes them months to grudgingly come around. If you're nervous interviewing, you should remember all the people on social media who you are competing against. It's really not a high bar, and if you get a lovely interview, remember that it's more them than it is you because if you were that wrong for the position than you are wasting each other's time and that's all on them.
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2015 17:21
|
|
|
boho posted:Jr. Developer trip report: made it to the in-person and found the place was probably not going to be a good fit for me. They cram the developers next to eachother to promote team synergy something, which might do that but also has the effect of cleaning out your sinuses as the smell of goonlord developer B.O. compounds. I really seriously do not understand how some companies seem to play up having "open collaborative space" where developers are sitting side by side at the same desks, all in one big room, is some kind of perk. I have a mini cubicle thing and I'd love an office or something like that. I think that's been debated at length in this thread, but yeah. Also you might want to consider looking for internships along with junior positions if you have zero experience. Some smaller/medium companies might hire interns even after graduation. Just a thought; those three months experience might land you a better position to start.
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2015 18:13
|
|
|
Doghouse posted:I really seriously do not understand how some companies seem to play up having "open collaborative space" where developers are sitting side by side at the same desks, all in one big room, is some kind of perk. I have a mini cubicle thing and I'd love an office or something like that. I think that's been debated at length in this thread, but yeah.
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2015 20:23
|
|
|
Tunga posted:I can beat everyone for the ridiculous work environments for development: my company plays music through speakers installed around the office via a Spotify playlist that anyone can add things to. I work in the middle of an active warehouse and have to avoid forklifts &c. while wandering around. Additionally, we have half walls so no noise privacy just loads of slamming pallets and shouting warehouse dudes.
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2015 20:45
|
|
|
The March Hare posted:I work in the middle of an active warehouse and have to avoid forklifts &c. while wandering around. Additionally, we have half walls so no noise privacy just loads of slamming pallets and shouting warehouse dudes. If I saw that during an interview, my response would be, "Ha ha ha, but seriously, where will I be working?"
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2015 21:35
|
|
|
Does anyone have any advice for trying to secure an Internship with a much less than stellar GPA? I transferred schools and tried engineering which absolutely ruined my GPA and invalidated my pre-transfer GPA (It was a 3.2, now its a 2.2). I've gone back to Comp Sci, but I'm just getting rejection after rejection and I don't know what to do at this point. Not even friends inside companies I've applied to can help because no one will even look at me with a GPA so low.
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2015 22:15
|
|
|
Concentrate on your portfolio rather than your gpa?
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2015 22:29
|
|
|
I've listed undergrad projects and undergrad research I've been doing, but it doesn't seem to make a difference.
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2015 22:32
|
|
|
How do they know your GPA? Is your GPA on your resume?
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2015 23:02
|
|
|
bartkusa posted:How do they know your GPA? Is your GPA on your resume? Its not listed on my resume, but most of the application pages request that I enter my most recent GPA as a required field, and most places also list internship requirements as at least a 3.0. Even the internships that don't list a 3.0 requirement I get a generic "You were not selected as one of the possible candidates for this position" email after a week or two.
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2015 23:13
|
|
|
Dotcom656 posted:Its not listed on my resume, but most of the application pages request that I enter my most recent GPA as a required field, and most places also list internship requirements as at least a 3.0. Even the internships that don't list a 3.0 requirement I get a generic "You were not selected as one of the possible candidates for this position" email after a week or two. Stop applying to jobs where you have to list your GPA?
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2015 23:20
|
|
|
Tunga posted:I can beat everyone for the ridiculous work environments for development: my company plays music through speakers installed around the office via a Spotify playlist that anyone can add things to. Write a script that just continuously adds https://open.spotify.com/track/2Uu4AnnMTJpevC0IrwAuOW to the playlist until they cancel this horrible idea. Bonus points if you figure out how to do it in such a way that it fingers the person who thought up the idea. Dotcom656 posted:Its not listed on my resume, but most of the application pages request that I enter my most recent GPA as a required field, and most places also list internship requirements as at least a 3.0. Even the internships that don't list a 3.0 requirement I get a generic "You were not selected as one of the possible candidates for this position" email after a week or two. Meet people and get your resume in that way instead. Finding people on social media or meetups or IRC or their apartment closet at night that work at the company you're interested in and messaging them directly works if you're able to not be a creepy weirdo about it. Or just put your major GPA down instead of your full GPA for a "technically not lying" method around those things.
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2015 23:28
|
|
|
The March Hare posted:I work in the middle of an active warehouse and have to avoid forklifts &c. while wandering around. Additionally, we have half walls so no noise privacy just loads of slamming pallets and shouting warehouse dudes.
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2015 23:38
|
|
|
Dotcom656 posted:Does anyone have any advice for trying to secure an Internship with a much less than stellar GPA? Getting noticed for an internship just through an online application is tough in the first place. There's a few things that you can do (including the project/gpa suggestions above). a) Go to campus recruitment events. If you manage to impress the person that you talk with at such an event, chances are they will set you up with further interviews, regardless of your GPA. b) Try asking any friends that you have at BIG_COMPANY to forward your CV to their HR contact. This circumvents whatever automated GPA/keyword filtering systems lay between you and an actual human in HR. c) Reach out to company recruiters directly via LinkedIn. A lot of them even solicit direct contact from folks. I got my internship and eventual job this way. In all cases, make sure your CV and LinkedIn profile are up to scratch.
|
|
#
?
Mar 19, 2015 01:21
|
|
|
Is anyone here familiar with the programming bootcamps in the Los Angeles area? There's a lot of them, so many that apparently this time last year California started cracking down on them. I'm interested in them, and looked into a few but honestly so many reviews sound like they're bought("I didn't have any programming knowledge, I took the 12 week program and now i'm making $80k a year! Wow!") that I'm extremely skeptical of most reviews. That said, I have only seen a couple of negative things, so I'm still interested. I'm still pretty new to programming, but i'm thoroughly convinced this is what I want to do. I have been working my way through the Codecademy lessons on various languages and even going back to just debug code for people who are having problems just for fun. Unfortunately, a 4-year degree is pretty much out of the question for me but I still want to dive into this. I was hoping to get some simple entry code job and work on other projects while doing whatever that job is, then pursue something in game dev in a few years when I have more experience, connections and languages under my belt. But, the bootcamps seem to be all over the place in terms of quality, reviews and quality of people going into and coming out of them. I was hoping to find a person or persons with actual experience going through one in the Los Angeles/Orange County area so I could have a better direction.
|
|
#
?
Mar 19, 2015 06:15
|
|
|
Vincent Valentine posted:Is anyone here familiar with the programming bootcamps in the Los Angeles area? If you're serious, you'll go to San Francisco. I started learning to program seriously in February 2014 (though I had a few years of doing stupid little projects, I didn't consider myself anywhere near employable). I went through Hack Reactor from June to Sept, accepted a job the day I got back to LA, and now I'm making significantly >100k at a caliber of company that I wouldn't have ever dreamed I'd be able to work for. I've been singularly focused, and wouldn't have gotten this result without major personal sacrifice, but my point is it's doable.
|
|
#
?
Mar 19, 2015 07:32
|
|
|
Fish Ladder Theory posted:If you're serious, you'll go to San Francisco. I started learning to program seriously in February 2014 (though I had a few years of doing stupid little projects, I didn't consider myself anywhere near employable). I went through Hack Reactor from June to Sept, accepted a job the day I got back to LA, and now I'm making significantly >100k at a caliber of company that I wouldn't have ever dreamed I'd be able to work for. How was hack reactor? Was it their Javascript curriculum? I'm looking at enrolling in MakerSquare in Austin, which HackReactor recently acquired, but I've been hearing mixed reviews. How much programming experience did you have? How was the job hunt after? Did a lot of people drop out of your cohort? I wonder about their high job placement rates, I know some places artificially inflate them by encouraging people to drop out.
|
|
#
?
Mar 19, 2015 20:13
|
|
|
Raskolnikov2089 posted:How was hack reactor? Was it their Javascript curriculum? I'm looking at enrolling in MakerSquare in Austin, which HackReactor recently acquired, but I've been hearing mixed reviews. It was transformative and incredible. Yes, the same curriculum you should be getting now at MakerSquare. The job hunt was a breeze. Right out of school I interviewed at just two places, but both of them offered. I just recently went through another round and got an offer from each place I interviewed at again. I've been able to be fairly selective, too. No one dropped out. They let one person repeat the second half of the class after he failed the assessment, and as far as I know he's now employed. The job placement rates are real, and the salary is too, as far as I can tell from talking to the alumni in my cohort. My previous experience was a high school APCS class that I did badly in, messing around in second life, and about 3 failed attempts to actually get good at programming prior to the one that stuck. It's accurate to say that I barely knew anything. I studied more or less full time for the four months leading up to the class, then spent 16 hour days 6 days a week while I was there making sure I learned poo poo.
|
|
#
?
Mar 19, 2015 20:44
|
|
|
Raskolnikov2089 posted:How was hack reactor? Was it their Javascript curriculum? I'm looking at enrolling in MakerSquare in Austin, which HackReactor recently acquired, but I've been hearing mixed reviews. I went to MakerSquare last summer (when they were still Rails focused) and had a great experience. I know that my cohort had a very strong job placement rate, with several of us having job offers before the end of the program. I haven't kept in touch with everyone from my cohort, but a quick check on LinkedIn shows 100% of the class (minus 2 who were not planning on pursuing full-time development jobs) is currently employed in a development role. The biggest cons in my experience were: The founders were very young and definitely going through growing pains. The quality of instruction varied greatly from instructor to instructor. The gap between the top students and the lower rung was very pronounced, especially at the beginning of the program, which made things move very, very slowly for the first couple of weeks.
|
|
#
?
Mar 20, 2015 00:04
|
|
|
I wish we had that kind of thing in my country, I'd definitely sign up.
|
|
#
?
Mar 20, 2015 04:08
|
|
|
Odette posted:I wish we had that kind of thing in my country, I'd definitely sign up.
|
|
#
?
Mar 20, 2015 05:35
|
|
|
Zephonith posted:Your profile says you're in NZ - there's Dev Academy in Wellington. I vaguely remember hearing that they're planning to open up in Auckland at some point as well. Holy poo poo, I had no idea they cost so much.
|
|
#
?
Mar 20, 2015 06:54
|
|
|
How do you guys feel about those UnitedHealth 13 month programs that have you rotate through different roles? I graduate in May and have a job right now but I don't think I want to stay here because while I'm learning things I'm not getting paid well nor do I have benefits. I've been busy as poo poo with schoolwork and work work to start applying places but I logged into linkedin and there was United in my messages.
|
|
#
?
Mar 20, 2015 08:11
|
|
|
Odette posted:Holy poo poo, I had no idea they cost so much. Appropriate avatar.
|
|
#
?
Mar 20, 2015 09:30
|
|
|
Odette posted:Holy poo poo, I had no idea they cost so much.
|
|
#
?
Mar 20, 2015 21:14
|
|
|
I'm not super fond of that, to be honest. It makes sense and is understandable why, but I feel that coding schools should be more accessible for people who aren't as well-off as the programs assume them to be.
|
|
#
?
Mar 21, 2015 20:42
|
|
|
Pollyanna posted:I'm not super fond of that, to be honest. It makes sense and is understandable why, but I feel that coding schools should be more accessible for people who aren't as well-off as the programs assume them to be. I'm not super fond of things costing more than they cost to make either, but whaddya going to do?
|
|
#
?
Mar 21, 2015 20:45
|
|
|
Pollyanna posted:I'm not super fond of that, to be honest. It makes sense and is understandable why, but I feel that coding schools should be more accessible for people who aren't as well-off as the programs assume them to be. And who do you propose pay for the cost of running these programs, if not the people directly benefiting from them? I mean, they're a tiny fraction of the cost of a four-year degree but seem to result in similar outcomes (employment at good-paying dev jobs).
|
|
#
?
Mar 21, 2015 21:41
|
|
|
A lot of them do have scholarships for women and minorities, however. I know Hacker School in NYC does, at least.
|
|
#
?
Mar 21, 2015 21:46
|
|
|
bonds0097 posted:And who do you propose pay for the cost of running these programs, if not the people directly benefiting from them? I mean, they're a tiny fraction of the cost of a four-year degree but seem to result in similar outcomes (employment at good-paying dev jobs). Another potential model, used by App Academy (and possibly others), is that you tie tuition payment to the success of the program. They offer the camp for free, and if you get a job after the program you pay them 15% of your first year's annual salary. Further, I know Hacker School is straight up free - the scholarships are offered to women and minorities in order to cover housing/expenses for the few months you are there. Hacker School charges nothing, and takes basically recruiter fees from companies that hire from their camp - so in that way the people hiring their students, arguably the ones benefiting the most and most able to pay, are paying for the tuition.
|
|
#
?
Mar 21, 2015 22:01
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 31, 2024 16:08 |
|
|
The March Hare posted:Another potential model, used by App Academy (and possibly others), is that you tie tuition payment to the success of the program. They offer the camp for free, and if you get a job after the program you pay them 15% of your first year's annual salary. Further, I know Hacker School is straight up free - the scholarships are offered to women and minorities in order to cover housing/expenses for the few months you are there. Hacker School charges nothing, and takes basically recruiter fees from companies that hire from their camp - so in that way the people hiring their students, arguably the ones benefiting the most and most able to pay, are paying for the tuition. Well, looking at MakerSquare and AppAcademy (which is actually 18% of your first year's salary) both being in SF, it would seem to me that based on AppAcademy's reported average first year salary (105k), that it's a fair bit more expensive to use AppAcademy. Furthermore, since you have to pay AppAcademy off within 6 months, you're looking at 36% of your first six months of salary going to them, which sounds rough. Though if you have no way of getting financing for something like this, or 16 grand on hand, perhaps it's still the better choice. Hacker School seems neat.
|
|
#
?
Mar 21, 2015 22:28
|
|