Interview Discussion - March 19, 2018 CS Career Questions |
- Interview Discussion - March 19, 2018
- Daily Chat Thread - March 19, 2018
- Is it immature to want to change jobs because of a programming language?
- Anyone willing to share stories of incompetent coworkers?
- How do you deal with office politics?
- What can I do if I cannot find any internships?
- How would you describe a good intern ?
- Anyone get an internship through AIESEC? I feel like a lot of opportunities on there are exploiting students [Story]
- How much % increase in salary is it worth for worse work life balance, longer commute, less stability, but more exposure to modern tech/skills.
- What is your opinion on learning cobol, alongside current OO languages (e.g Java)?
- Switching languages and company environments. Need advice.
- Has anyone succeeded in applying to out-of-reach roles messaged to you by recruiters?
- When to choose your relationships over your career?
- Blackstone Innovations - Software Developer Superday
- How I landed offers from top-tier tech companies without an Ivy league degree
- Is getting a CS degree right for me?
- Need a guidance friend.
- How does being a data analyst compare to software development?
- Worked full-time for 2 years as a 'Software Developer Intern', was I exploited?
- Looks like I'm getting an offer for a more senior role at a company with crazier hours... How do I play this?
- C++ design problem practice
- I need advice on how I should proceed with this internship
- Just got accepted to college CS Major(senior), what next?
- Any tips for a new grad seeking employment as a software developer in New York?
- Is it worth it to learn computer graphics?
- Advice for Medium blogs?
| Interview Discussion - March 19, 2018 Posted: 19 Mar 2018 12:09 AM PDT Please use this thread to have discussions about interviews, interviewing, and interview prep. Posts focusing solely on interviews created outside of this thread will probably be removed. Abide by the rules, don't be a jerk. This thread is posted each Monday and Thursday at midnight PST. Previous Interview Discussion threads can be found here. [link] [comments] |
| Daily Chat Thread - March 19, 2018 Posted: 19 Mar 2018 12:09 AM PDT Please use this thread to chat, have casual discussions, and ask casual questions. Moderation will be light, but don't be a jerk. This thread is posted every day at midnight PST. Previous Daily Chat Threads can be found here. [link] [comments] |
| Is it immature to want to change jobs because of a programming language? Posted: 19 Mar 2018 05:29 AM PDT I want to change jobs but the main reason I can think of is because I'm sick of the programming language we use at work (there are other reasons too though). In my spare time I write other languages which are much nicer, and I could see myself being happier writing something else. Do you think this is an immature opinion? [link] [comments] |
| Anyone willing to share stories of incompetent coworkers? Posted: 19 Mar 2018 08:49 AM PDT Been struggling with this myself lately and would like to hear similar experience. One of them refuses to try to learn on their own or take initiative to grow. I love mentoring but it gets frustrating. Also been working with a "senior" dev who can't code himself out of a box. I offer as much guidance as possible and appreciate their effort but I'm not so sure coding is meant for them. Anyone else experience these kinds of issues? [link] [comments] |
| How do you deal with office politics? Posted: 19 Mar 2018 07:06 AM PDT I graduated uni a while ago and my bosses have been moving me up to senior over the past few months. I'm now involved in hiring, high-level planning, mentoring juniors, and unfortunately also being dragged more into politics. There's this senior designer I've always got along with but was always glad I was never too directly involved with him since he's a bit catty. We get along fine when we're out for drinks but I can tell he thinks he's hot shit and has a bit of an ego on him, to his credit he is a very good designer. I'm a full stack developer and did a web page for him on Friday. Today I'm WFH, my boss messaged me saying the designer wanted to say something so I hopped on Skype to talk to him. I get into a chat room with my engineering manager, my non-technical boss, another developer, and him. Before I can even say hello he launches into what I can only describe as a political assault on me, there was literally no reason for any of the other people to be there. His manner was very blunt and he clearly thought about what he was going to say. I was pretty stunned and it took me a second to collect myself. The man had simply been looking at the wrong environment and had just assumed I hadn't done any work, so I pretty loudly and bluntly called him out on it, told him to get his shit in order before he goes around acting like he did, then linked him to the correct environment. His behaviour just wasn't warranted, usually when I'm in a similar position to him I message the person on Slack rather than cause a scene. I really had no idea to handle it and I nearly lost my temper, I think if I was there in person I may have done. I'd always thought of software development as one of the least political professions but this was beyond anything I'd seen. It sounds hyperbolic to call it a political ambush but it bloody felt like it. I'm really not a good politician and I think more of this would seriously get to me, it's already ruined my day and this is a time when I came out better than the other guy. I'm not leaving this company any time soon, they've given me responsibility way beyond my level of experience and I've been loving it so far and it's been going so well I'm getting my own junior who reports to me. But I'm too much of an anxious person to deal with this, it was only 3 years ago that I got off meds and out of therapy for serious social anxiety issues. Sorry for the wall of text. How should I deal with this? It seems too small of a thing to bring up with the bosses but equally I know it'll get to me if I have to deal with a political environment - last time I was in this situation I was a graduate got a lot of shelter from the politics. [link] [comments] |
| What can I do if I cannot find any internships? Posted: 19 Mar 2018 09:34 AM PDT I've applied to all that are open and exhaust the job boards local to me. [link] [comments] |
| How would you describe a good intern ? Posted: 19 Mar 2018 07:34 PM PDT Hello, I just would like to know what you senior developers and mentors out there would describe as 'good intern behaviour', and how can an intern make the most out of their internship. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 19 Mar 2018 04:25 PM PDT I'm in my third, nearly fourth year of a computer science degree and have a large lack of real work experience. I decided to apply for some opportunities after seeing an AIESEC information booth at our University. One of the AIESEC volunteers provided me with links to about 4 different internships taking place in Indonesia and Venezuela that were looking for computer science students and graduates. The idea of it all sounded pretty exciting. Working abroad, experiencing a new culture, getting out of my bubble. But all of this didn't really outweigh all the negatives. Or at least I think they were negative. AIESEC requires students to pay $600 if they get accepted for an internship. We are also required to pay airfare there and back (although some places provide help with this cost). I'm already a poor student, so this would be an extremely large cost for me. On top of that, it's all unpaid experiences (at least the ones I was given). The Venezuela internship position offered me an interview. It was within my experience, but after looking into the city I would be working, it sounded really dangerous. Warnings from lots of people not to go out at all during the night, and to be vigilant during the day. Locals telling people it's not worth coming here. All of this while Venezuela is also having the biggest financial crisis ever, so things are pretty rough there. I decided not to pursue this one any further. I had an interview with a "company" in Indonesia. The interview was with some fine art grad that had this big idea for "The tinder of Indonesia", and how she wanted to "disrupt starbucks". She said she had 2 programmers each with 1 year of experience, but she felt her team wasn't passionate enough about the project and she complained that the app created so far was extremely buggy and seemed annoyed that she was given a 3 month estimate by the programmers as to when they can fix the bugs. I was told it was going to be a technical interview of my fullstack web dev experience (which I have none by the way), but it was all just the company leader talking about her idea and how she wants this to be the next Facebook, and for this company to be the next unicorn in Indonesia. She seemed ready to have me aboard (I literally answered no technical questions), but after further thinking about it, the experience sounded terrifying. I would be working in a co-working space with one other intern, while 2 other local guys worked in some other city. Accommodations would be covered and shared with one other dude. I got the impression that I would be thrown at a huge problem, buggy code, with technology I wasn't familiar with, all with no guidance except from another clueless guy like me. In the end, I decided not to pursue this opportunity. My third interview was with a startup mobile game company. This one was the best out of the three since it had an actual website, physical location and big social media presence. I have mobile game dev experience so it's the opportunity I'd actually be excited to try. Still kinda sucks that it would be unpaid and I would have to pay for accommodations with this one I should note that all of these opportunities are unpaid and I'd need to pay for airfare. I understand that a lot of people that do internships like this do it more as a sort of "voluntourism" experience, but it doesn't feel like I'd even enjoy my time there given the lack of finances and stressful job. Anyone have experience getting an internship through AIESEC? I should probably shift my focus on opportunities more close to home. Edit - And I hope I didn't give the impression that I was hating on people with fine arts majors. It's just when I asked what kind of experience she had, I was at least expecting a business degree, business experience, or some type of technical knowledge. It was just art grad. This was our team leader. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 19 Mar 2018 06:04 PM PDT So very simple scenario: current job at company A, salary roughly ~20% to 30% underpaid, but fairly stable job security, but no growth in skills and knowledge due to old tech stack. company B, same industry, same type of work, but longer work hours by 1 hour each day (9-6:30 instead of 9-5:30), and longer commute by 25 mins each day(70 mins instead of 45 mins), and more intense project deadlines. company B also has a bit less stability (a bit more reorgs and layoffs and more swings in profitability, altho at no risk of going under). Upside is company B is a bit more modern tech so hopefully I can learn and improve more. Neither company is a start up, both quite established. How much more pay % wise should I ask for in order for company B to be worth my while? [link] [comments] |
| What is your opinion on learning cobol, alongside current OO languages (e.g Java)? Posted: 19 Mar 2018 04:20 PM PDT Hello my question is just that. I'm a recent graduate at my first job... My work mainly consists of Java, spring MVC, spring boot .. I do front end stuff w jsp, html, js, jquery... Lots of fortune 500s still use mainframes therefore cobol knowledge is still relevant.. but getting sparse as everyone of that age is retiring (though people have been saying is dying for the past 30 years) it's still something that is around and lots of people tell me will be around for a long time. Now I also head the other side of it being old don't touch it. My manager wants me in both spaces, current languages and technologies as I've mentioned above but also be the person on our team who digs into the mainframe and learns cobol. Will this be helpful to my future career or harmful? I have a feeling this is purely opinion based, but I'd appreciate opinions none-the-less. Ok have to edit this due to a (now deleted) comment: I don't mean in my current job. Of course it will be helpful to do what my manager suggests. I'll happily learn it all just bcz I purely love learning and want to advance in my role. I mean my own personal skillset .. adding this to it will it make me more marketable for future opportunities? Thanks guys- [link] [comments] |
| Switching languages and company environments. Need advice. Posted: 19 Mar 2018 07:25 PM PDT It's my first time posting here. I have been a lurker on this subreddit and finally decided to post something about the position I am in. I have been working at my current small company for about 4 years now as a Ruby developer. I am just growing tired of working at the same company for so long. Ideally, I wanted to work in a larger corporations, so I can get exposure to corporate environment, potentially learn more things and have some upward mobility unlike my current position. The problem is that Ruby is not used in bigger companies. I have been working with recruiters for the jobs with my skill set and it's been going alright. However, I had a contact at one of the Forbes 50 companies and this person was able to get me into the company that positions me as a Javascript position through a consulting company they work with. The interviews were pretty easy actually and I told them I don't know much Javascript. The consulting company asked me some questions about Ruby which I was able to answer for them. Sounds awesome right? But, I will need to be training at work for a lot of it. I have been taking javascript courses online and I am still not too comfortable with it. I think I will get comfortable as I start learning more and more, hopefully. My fear is that I will be let go if I don't pick up Javascript. I have about 4 weeks before I start this new position. So, I will need some kind of crash course on Native JS, Angular, and maybe React. I get that this is a risk, but I think I will end up taking this risk. My questions are: 1. Has anyone made this kind of move in their careers? If yes, what was it like? 2. What are some resources that I can use to get up and get going quickly in Javascript? Doesn't have to be too much focused on frontend as they know I am a backend developer. [link] [comments] |
| Has anyone succeeded in applying to out-of-reach roles messaged to you by recruiters? Posted: 19 Mar 2018 05:15 PM PDT Example: LinkedIn recruiter contacted me for a Node developer position at Walt Disney, requiring 5-7 years of exp. I have <1 year of professional Node experience. It feels like a waste of my time to bother replying. [link] [comments] |
| When to choose your relationships over your career? Posted: 19 Mar 2018 08:59 AM PDT For those that decided not to move to a new city and that join company with a higher pay/better perks to stay with a significant other, how did you decide that it was the right move? Those that didn't, do you regret it or were happy in the end? For context, I currently live in DC and the SO has a career that can only really exist within the beltway. [link] [comments] |
| Blackstone Innovations - Software Developer Superday Posted: 19 Mar 2018 08:07 PM PDT Has anyone go to a Superday at Blackstone for their Innovations team as a software developer? What can I expect/what were some questions if you're allowed to disclose them? [link] [comments] |
| How I landed offers from top-tier tech companies without an Ivy league degree Posted: 19 Mar 2018 07:56 PM PDT Hi Reddit! I recently interviewed with, and received offers from, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon and Twitter. I finally went with Twitter because of their culture, the product space, and personal career growth. I wanted to help others with similar situation. I didn't graduate from a top-tier college, and I didn't have a name brand company in my resume when I graduated. I created a Youtube video that basically goes over my background, how I prepared and tools I used. Link to the video Thank you! [link] [comments] |
| Is getting a CS degree right for me? Posted: 19 Mar 2018 07:48 PM PDT Been learning very basic programming on and off since I was about 10, and recently started taking it seriously by teaching myself how to do front-end development. I feel like I could get a job doing front-end work in about a year or so at my current pace and my end goal (~5 years from now) is to be able to work remotely. I know that for front-end web development you do not need a CS degree. But I been reading about it and hear people talk about how you need to have high math skills in order to be successful in the program. Well I myself really enjoy math and have a somewhat natural talent in it (was 2 grades level ahead when I was in fourth grade, and did very well in precalc my junior year of HS). I like learning a mathematical process and applying it to whichever problems are on the worksheet/exam. But the one thing I don't like is theory. I hear CS is all about theory and not much hands-on coding or whatnot. I would much prefer to write code than to learn theory of algorithms/compilers/etc that type of stuff. I am a hands-on learner almost exclusively, so I don't know if learning a bunch of CS theory would be good for me and would rather self-teach myself programming if that were the case. I don't really know what to do. I'm 20 years old and have to start working soon. All I have is associates degree in a field that I don't see myself in 3 years from now and I worry about my future. I feel like I should had taken better advantage of my relationship with math. In the End All I know is that I really like math and good at it, I can self-teach myself programming, I would like to just write code (unless there some job I am not aware of in CS), and I hate theory. One more thing. Is there a good online CS program I can take if I decided to try this paths? Commute is going to be an issue for me as I don't know driving yet, my dad isn't going to be driving me to and from school for another 4 years, and I have to start getting my first ever job so my resume doesn't look like trash. Thanks you'll for reading and responding in advance and I look forward to getting more clarity on my life path. I don't want to screw this up because YOLO :) [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 19 Mar 2018 10:51 AM PDT Little background. I am a three year experienced Python Backend dev. Currently I work for a start up that pays well. I am at crossroad currently. I am juggling couple of carrier choices but cant seem to decide which way to go. Options
I am unable to choose among the three. I would appreciate if you guys could critique each of the choice. I am really looking to a discussion over these three options. Thanks. [link] [comments] |
| How does being a data analyst compare to software development? Posted: 19 Mar 2018 01:07 PM PDT I'm thinking to keep my options and apply to both roles since I'm a recent graduate, but I'm not sure what's the best for me in terms of salary/job satisfaction/opportunities/etc. What are your thoughts? I know that being a data analyst includes some level of programming, which is good. Is it possible to switch from a data analyst role to a software developer role if I choose to? [link] [comments] |
| Worked full-time for 2 years as a 'Software Developer Intern', was I exploited? Posted: 19 Mar 2018 03:09 PM PDT History/Context: I worked fulltime at a company where I developed backend applications for data mining in business intelligence. I get the impression that my job title—Software Developer Intern—contradicts the amount of work that I put in. I worked full-time at this startup, and I had a compensation of $12.50/hr (average local Software Engineering salary was $90k). When I asked for a raise, a year in, I got it bumped from $12.50/hr to $15/hr. As a first-generation student and person of color from LA, I definitely took up the chance to sign the contract with this hourly wage (at the time, I hadn't had prior internships, and I was a 3rd year undergraduate studying Computer Engineering at a UC). Anything above minimum wage had the impression that I was making bank. The current situation: So basically for the past 7 months, I have been applying for work in the bay area (non-local), along with working on DS+ALGs review on the side. When I speak with recruiters and hiring managers, I sometimes get the impression that many of them see my job title as 'Software Developer Intern', and they may neglect the fact that I worked alongside the 'Software - Data Engineering' team, to the point where I was no longer supervised, and I managed some of my own projects. I really hate to be judged with low competence, and I know I'm stupid a.f., considering everything everyone knows. I just want to ask... Was I exploited? And is there a way I can tailor my resume to improve any misunderstandings? I'm not sure if it's my resume, candidate scoring algorithms on the resume, or the way I am pitching myself? At this point, I just want work. 😢 I commute 6 hours from East LA to the bay area, and I sleep in my car when I have on-sites. I just want work, and I'm doing my best not to devalue my work or work a shorter median salary. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 19 Mar 2018 12:43 PM PDT So I've worked four jobs in six years. Two of those jobs were at companies where things went wrong right from the beginning and I lasted less than a year and left. I was diagnosed with ADHD, which means I can't deal well with pressure. That was why I quit my previous job (unicorn startup) and joined a more chilled out company, with lots of long term incentives and mentoring. It's been going okay, I'm also getting therapy and life coaching. I like my manager and team. I'm a senior engineer now. Recently a recruiter from a growing (still privately traded) company got in touch with me. It was for a Lead Engineer role in a new team. My role will involve a lot more design than day to day coding. That's the general direction I want my career to go in. I was curious and did the interviews. They went okay. I might get the offer. If I don't get the offer, no problem. I'm happy where I am and I can keep going. I'm worried about getting an offer. It's going to be good money for sure... I'm hoping they match my still-to-vest RSUs. Commute is going to be the same. The worrying part is the pace and the expectations. My team doesn't have very hard deadlines and we don't work on anything that's mission critical, whereas the new team seems to be more fast paced. I'm not too confident of the mentoring I might receive in the new place. In the past, I've said fuck it and tried it anyway, but it hasn't gone that well (worked great financially though). Right now I'm more concerned about being able to do a good job, have good working relationships, and contribute effectively rather than on making money and adding brand names to my resume. If I say no to them though, how can I use this to accelerate growth in my current job? My manager has been mentoring me into doing more of a lead role and getting better at coding and design. I've been here for two years now and I feel much more confident as a programmer than before. But we haven't really talked about future growth opportunities. I've just been concerned about being a better engineer. How should the conversation between my manager and me go in case I refuse this offer? I don't really want to threaten to leave, because I don't think I might follow through on that. I also have a side project going and this job is low stress enough that I can work on that after I'm home. I'm hoping to make money off of that, but that's not going to happen for a year at least. I'll have to abandon/slow this project if I have to work any longer than I currently do. So I have all these good reasons to refuse the offer (if I get it). I still feel like it's a bad career move, especially given all the stuff I hear in Women In Tech events, which say I should be more confident in my abilities and take more risks. What do you guys think of my situation? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 19 Mar 2018 08:46 AM PDT I'm currently looking for a change having 4+ year experience in c++. I prepared well and brushed up my C++. But how to prepare for Design problems. Can someone please suggest how to approach design problems. Thanks. [link] [comments] |
| I need advice on how I should proceed with this internship Posted: 19 Mar 2018 06:29 PM PDT So, It is an interview for an internship and it is my first interview for anything computer science related. I am only a sophomore and the position itself looks way out of my head. Ok so I kinda lied, I don't really have an interview, yet. I gotta schedule it for it next week but It is guaranteed that I will have one, and it will be over the phone. Now the part that makes me really anxious and I am kinda shaking just thinking about is that, one it is a phone interview and second, I do not even think I am ready to interview? I read up on the company and the intern position, and it says I will not be doing much there but still, its my second year in college, I barely passed my first java course and am on to my second. I am still confusing syntax pretty hard and overall, I don't know how to program. On top of that, I am not confident at all, I talk low and my english is dead horrible. I forget my words, and I barely am able to proceed onto my next sentence when I am talking to someone I don't know. That's where I am even more nervous, I read that it will be 2 or 3 people on the phone, and I can already imagine myself getting stuck on their behavioral questions. Even if it turns out to be one person, I will be walking around with my heart racing. If they even ask me simple basic java questions, I am confident I won't even be able to answer them. I was applying for the heck of it since I know my resume is horrible and it has nothing interesting on it so I am even more curious as to how i even got this opportunity. I am just assuming, it is one of those, everyone gets a chance or just cause I have met the minimum requirements, I don't even know. How can I mentally prepare myself to anyone who can help me. I don't think I am ready for any programming questions, and I am to nervous to even do "Explain me what you would do in x situation", such behavioral questions stump me because I am like, I am really never in these situations, or I can't think of it at that moment. I am sorry, I am more venting at this point than anything. What should I do. [link] [comments] |
| Just got accepted to college CS Major(senior), what next? Posted: 19 Mar 2018 06:18 PM PDT I'm really looking to do go into something to do with Machine Learning out of college as I think that is going to be the way the world is heading in terms of cutting edge programming. I finished the Coursera course hosted by Andrew Ng and don't really know what to do right now. [link] [comments] |
| Any tips for a new grad seeking employment as a software developer in New York? Posted: 19 Mar 2018 05:43 PM PDT I'll be graduating from a school in California this June with my degree in computer science. I've been applying mostly to jobs here in Southern California (Los Angeles/Orange County area), but due to a sudden job offer my fiancee received in New York City, it seems more likely that I'll be moving east. Her employment offer would begin around November, so ideally I'd like to find a job over summer. If anyone has any tips/advice for seeking an entry level position, I'd really appreciate it. I don't know too much about New York in terms of the types of companies/culture/etc. Thanks! [link] [comments] |
| Is it worth it to learn computer graphics? Posted: 19 Mar 2018 08:58 AM PDT So I really like learning about computer graphics, but I am worried that I cannot get a job that involves cg. Should I keep learning cg? Also is cg used in vr/ar? Also how competitive is the job market for cg? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 19 Mar 2018 05:42 PM PDT So I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this, but it seemed like a better fit here than /r/learnprogramming. I'm interested in starting a Medium blog documenting the design and coding process of some of my side projects. I have one post so far outlining my idea for the project, and another is in the works outlining the first steps I am taking to design it. Unfortunately, the posts basically end up with me rambling about my decision making process. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I am curious to know if anyone here has any advice for someone looking to start blogging about CS projects on Medium. I'm not looking for any specific advice, just general stuff. [link] [comments] |
| You are subscribed to email updates from CS Career Questions. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States | |
No comments:
Post a Comment