Big 4 Discussion - April 25, 2018 CS Career Questions |
- Big 4 Discussion - April 25, 2018
- Daily Chat Thread - April 25, 2018
- Is it just me or is Stack Overflow an incredibly toxic place?
- What are examples of junior developer Work tasks and what is expected from an entry level programmer?
- How do you find ideas for programming projects
- Best way to ask for written offer to negotiate with another company?
- I have just completed my first C++ course. How do I continue to learn and sharpen my skills?
- How far would you commute?
- Got my first offer for a junior role, now feeling anxiety set in...
- How do you compare salaries between two cities while factoring in cost of living differences?
- Second Career, BSCS or BS Software Dev
- Has anyone made the switch from developer to [technical] program manager / TPM?
- I'm undergoing a background check. Could this be perceived as lying on my resume?
- Choosing Between Research Opportunities
- Transition from Support to Development
- Pretty sure my manager thinks less of me after I’ve asked for a raise. Is this common?
- Need some advice
- Where can i learn more about how the internet/networking actually works on the lowest level?
- Out of the game for a few years of military service, I want back in badly, what's the best way?
- Do Front End Skills Transfer into Data Careers?
- What internships exist for Spring-Fall?
- [Update] Can’t handle project manager anymore
- Is Waterloo's reputation growing in Silicon Valley?
- Looking at applying to the TDP program at Capital 1
- Job hunting in D.M.V area.(Entry lvl)
- How to handle the stress?
| Big 4 Discussion - April 25, 2018 Posted: 25 Apr 2018 12:07 AM PDT Please use this thread to have discussions about the Big 4 and questions related to the Big 4, such as which one offers the best doggy benefits, or how many companies are in the Big 4 really? Posts focusing solely on Big 4 created outside of this thread will probably be removed. Abide by the rules, don't be a jerk. This thread is posted each Sunday and Wednesday at midnight PST. Previous Big 4 Discussion threads can be found here. [link] [comments]  |
| Daily Chat Thread - April 25, 2018 Posted: 25 Apr 2018 12:07 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 just me or is Stack Overflow an incredibly toxic place? Posted: 25 Apr 2018 01:40 PM PDT Whenever I have programming questions I use Google, and if that doesn't work I use Reddit. My coworkers tell me to use Stack Overflow because apparently it's better than Reddit. Well I've posted a few questions there, I've never gotten an answer only people who scold me for the way I'm asking my question, telling me to do my own research, etc. Is that website always that bad? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 25 Apr 2018 01:40 PM PDT I have difficulties Finding out what an entry level or junior developer should be able to produce, code wise. What did you do as junior developers at your first jobs? I find it hard to relate what i write on a hobby basis, trying to follow best Practices for programming and project development to what is expected In from you In the industry. Hope you Can help. [link] [comments]  |
| How do you find ideas for programming projects Posted: 25 Apr 2018 01:56 PM PDT I graduated last year in Computer Science and I've gotten a job at a Technical Help Desk and I'm hoping maybe after putting a few years in behind the desk I could hop over to the software engineering side of the building (They code in C#, something I never learned). The issue is I feel like my skills are very rusty. There's already so much I feel like I've forgotten since i left school and I wanna start again, but I just feel like I need an idea, but whenever I try to think of some project I just come up empty handed. How do you find ideas for coding projects? [link] [comments]  |
| Best way to ask for written offer to negotiate with another company? Posted: 25 Apr 2018 07:38 PM PDT I have an offer from company A & B. I'd prefer to work at company A but company B has a higher total compensation. I want to negotiate my offer with company A but they're asking for the written offer from company B. I've only received company B's offer details verbally. I have told company B that I needed some time to decide so they don't know that I have an offer with company A. My question is, should I be upfront to company B for the reason I'm asking for a written offer? I'm thinking if I ask without a reason they'd be curious why and I'm not sure how they'd feel about giving a written offer for negotiation purposes. [link] [comments]  |
| I have just completed my first C++ course. How do I continue to learn and sharpen my skills? Posted: 25 Apr 2018 03:59 PM PDT I am a week away from completing my junior year in college, and also my first year of programming. Last semester I took a course on Python, which helped me get an understanding of how to program in a basic sense. This semester, I learned C++ and really enjoyed it. At first, it took a while to understand the language, but after I caught on I gained a lot of interest. After I complete the course, I want to continue to improve in C++. As of now, all I have to my resume is school projects. I think about how interviews for a programming position would go as of now, and I feel like just referencing the seemingly unapplicable (albeit time consuming) projects I've completed wouldn't serve to impress... I'm unsure how I can continue to get better at programming now that I won't be assigned weekly projects. What should I seek to learn that I was not taught in my last semester? Are there assignments I can find online that would hone my skills? Should I just watch instructional videos? To be honest, although I know there's so much more for me to learn, I have no idea what that would be. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 25 Apr 2018 08:57 AM PDT So, I've just received a job offer but I worry that the office is too long of a commute and I will get burned out on driving so far away after a few months. The new company is offering a 20% pay increase over my current pay, but there doesn't seem to be anything otherwise special about the offer. I live within 15 minutes of the largest city in my state, so there would theoretically be plenty of opportunities there. The office is about a 40 minute drive from my house, mostly highway. Anyone else have a similar commute? What is the longest you would commute for a new position? [link] [comments]  |
| Got my first offer for a junior role, now feeling anxiety set in... Posted: 25 Apr 2018 11:02 AM PDT Hey everyone. Just got my first offer on the higher side of my ballparked salary range which is great, but now I'm getting anxiety about the whole thing. It's for a junior full stack developer position. I know HTML and CSS as much as any other jerk who's made static websites but I know hardly any JS. The interview process focused more on computer sciencey things which is how I nailed it, but I'm not sure if these guys know I know no JS at all. Luckily their backend is C# which I'm fairly comfortable with. On top of that my commute is about an hour...Not looking forward to doing that twice everyday. Do or did any of you get anxiety about commutes or skill level before starting in your first position? I don't know what to expect since I've only ever done freelance work on my own with stacks I was comfortable with. Do they toss you right into ticket quotas and all that shit, or do they give you some time to learn the ropes? Again, it's a pretty big company (engineering firm so not directly tech focused), so I'm hoping there's a bit of a cushion for me before I get thrown into the grinder. I'd love to hear your stories and how you overcame similar feelings :) [link] [comments]  |
| How do you compare salaries between two cities while factoring in cost of living differences? Posted: 25 Apr 2018 05:30 PM PDT Sorry if this has been asked before, I did a quick search but didn't find anything that really answered my question. Let's say I work full time in a given city and I'm looking for a new job and targeting a salary of $100k. If I'm moving to a new city in a different state with different cost of living and want to know what salary I'd need to equal a $100k salary in my current city, what's the most realistic way to calculate that? I know there are online CoL comparison tools that will give you a ratio between two areas (ie City A is 70% as expensive to live in as City B). Is it as simple as applying that ratio to my desired salary in my current city? For example, if I want $100k in City A, I should aim for a salary of roughly $70k in City B, or are there other factors to take into account as well? I'm curious to hear from people who relocated for a new position - how did you come up with a salary you were comfortable with? [link] [comments]  |
| Second Career, BSCS or BS Software Dev Posted: 25 Apr 2018 02:04 PM PDT tl;dr 35 year old career switch. Want to get working (live in NYC, not relocating) - will BSCS vs. BS Software Dev make a huge difference either way in my job opportunities post graduation? Not looking to hit the lottery, or necessarily be on the bleeding edge of stimulating work - just build things and apply a great work ethic and attitude to a new career that will fit my life.
Ok, short version above. This'll be the longer version, but I'll try to keep the important stuff at the top, and fill in personal details below.
I have a family now (18 month old) and the lifestyle of a fine dining chef doesn't fit my priorities anymore. Been a hobbyist coder my whole adult life, and spent the last 8 months or so brushing up on math, starting some projects, and doing some MOOCs. Decided I want to switch it up and go into professional software development. I like the idea of working with Android development - but I also, frankly, like the idea of having a somewhat stable job with good benefits and...something less than an 80 hour work week! All three of those things are pretty rare in the high-end restaurant industry.
Overall, I think I'll do great with the soft skills needed to succeed. I'm great at interacting with teams, being organized and focused, being humble and outgoing to learn. Creative problem solving? Basically 80% of my daily activity. Working under pressure? I could teach a masters course.
But, I gotta get that paper. I'm going to do WGU for a BS. Why that? Fits where I am in life. Not trying to take 4 years to get the degree, and I'm going to need to be able to be flexible with my study and class time. Researched enough to be aware of the tradeoffs I'm making by going to an online-only school without much of a reputation, but after listing the pros and cons, it's my best path - if you've got opinions on it, I'd love to hear them. Looking at the two programs they have ( BSCS program, or BS Software Dev ), and while I have no FEAR of the math requirements in the CS degree...I'm looking at the differences in classes and it feels like the Software Dev will get me work ready. Look for yourself, but mostly the higher math (discrete math, etc) classes in the CS degree are replaced by coding classes in the software dev degree. I've had to work hard to achieve the goals that I have, and I have no qualms with doing the more difficult CS degree, but look - I don't want to be a computer scientist. I want to be a builder of things. Maybe one day leads teams of builders. Maybe become entrepreneurial eventually. Will a degree based more on coding classes make me work ready, or am I losing so much without the CS on my resume that I should just keep working the languages and systems myself and learn the curriculum in the BSCS.
Thanks everyone, and BTW this sub has been a huge help over the last 8 months! Hope to return the favor when, uh, I have a CS career.
ETA: Here are the two program guides for the different programs, for comparison. https://m.wgu.edu/content/dam/western-governors/documents/programguides/2017-guides/it/BSCS.pdf https://m.wgu.edu/content/dam/western-governors/documents/programguides/2017-guides/it/BSITSWC.pdf [link] [comments]  |
| Has anyone made the switch from developer to [technical] program manager / TPM? Posted: 25 Apr 2018 06:48 PM PDT Hi everyone, I work for a pretty major tech company, and I've been there for just over 4 years, right out of University. I've been in the same problem space the entire time, as a developer, so I'm pretty intimate with our technologies and products. I have been presented with an opportunity to move into a TPM role for this same problem space. The managers recommended I consider the role since I've expressed interest in moving into a more management-oriented role, and they told me "you have the right personality and you'd be best at it." I am seriously considering this move, as I feel like I've been burned out by daily software development, and frankly I don't feel like I'm learning a lot anymore [it felt like I was learning at a logarithmic pace). I actually applied for a PM role as one of the big companies as an intern a few years ago but didn't get an offer. Does anyone have experience in making this switch? How did it work out for you? Did you feel it presented you with positive career and salary opportunities? [link] [comments]  |
| I'm undergoing a background check. Could this be perceived as lying on my resume? Posted: 25 Apr 2018 12:40 PM PDT EDIT: The company I'm joining is Facebook if that makes a difference. Here is an anonymous version of my resume with company names redacted and potential incongruences highlighted in red: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1o8kmdWSNdVDd2TCMfoyT33nvqL8KQbJa My resume says that I was enrolled from September 2012 to December 2016. On the background check form I put the same dates of enrollment but I was also asked the date my degree was issued. I put August 2017. The reason is:
I was not enrolled during 2017 except for the 6 weeks in summer during which I completed the final course. So I put 'Sep 2012 - Dec 2016' on my resume. I don't think they'll care about this because at the end of the day I started work in Jan 2017, the experience I said I had and still ended up graduating anyway. I'd like to know if this is something worth bring up with my recruiter so that there is no confusion later when my background check is complete. One other minor thing is that I put 'Teaching Assistant' as one of the titles for my job at university in the background check form. My resume says 'Software Engineer'. It was not a TA position. I was developing a program for the finance department but the universities internal system only had an option for TA. Is this worth clarifying either? [link] [comments]  |
| Choosing Between Research Opportunities Posted: 25 Apr 2018 03:42 PM PDT I'm a freshman CS and Math major at a pretty large state university. I have been offered research positions in the labs of two professors and I'm struggling to decide which one would be the better choice. This first one is with a CS professor in his machine learning lab. Basically, I would get to choose my own machine learning related project and research it independently with his guidance. While I love the idea of researching a topic of my choosing, and the professor is really well respected, he is known for being extremely busy. In fact, I haven't even had direct communication with the guy, he just accepted my application. I will, however, be taking one of his classes next semester. The second is more of a research assistant role with an industrial engineering professor who is researching the effects of disasters on the various infrastructure systems in a city. While he is not a CS professor, the research is basically creating simulations and models in Python for optimization purposes. He isn't a CS professor, but the project is very programming heavy. In addition, I've actually met with him in person and discussed the research. I need to make the decision by tomorrow morning lol, so any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! [link] [comments]  |
| Transition from Support to Development Posted: 25 Apr 2018 11:21 AM PDT Hello all, I am 25 years old with a B.A. in Information Systems and about 3 years of experience. I am currently working as a Service Desk / Sys Admin hybrid for a large company and been here for just about a year. I got a taste for programming through my university and learned a little bit about a bunch of programming languages but never enough to fully work as a Dev. I am most skilled in PHP, SQL, and JavaScript with some knowledge of Python and HTML/CSS. My question is what steps should I take to step away from the support aspect of IT and transition more into Development? My plan was to work as a Help Desk to get my foot in the door to then apply for a position as a Dev (we are a SaaS company) but it seems like they want way more experience. I really do not want to pigeon hole myself as a Support guy so how can I distance myself from Support and get more Dev focused for my career? What skills should I learn or classes should I take to begin working as a programmer? (most interested in web apps, desktop apps, or data validation). [link] [comments]  |
| Pretty sure my manager thinks less of me after I’ve asked for a raise. Is this common? Posted: 25 Apr 2018 01:21 PM PDT So I've been working at a security tech startup here in the Silicon Valley. I've been here two years now at a salary of 85k. My workload and responsibilities have increased greatly at that time but I don't feel my salary is appropriate for the amount of work I'm asked to do. I recently asked my boss about a raise and he kinda brushed it off, saying soon. Afterwards I've noticed him being short with me at times, like if a feature I've written has a bug reported he kinda gets on my case. I'm just wondering if this is something I should've expected, and if there was a better way I could've approached the raise discussion? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 25 Apr 2018 12:01 PM PDT I spent 4 years of my undergraduate degree pursuing a life sciences degree but during my fourth year, I realized my passion for computer science and software engineering. As a result, I'm on track to graduate with a double major in biology and computer sciences by the end of my fifth year. However, this would mean that I graduate with 0 internships under my belt. Would it be wiser for me to graduate the year after (so 6th year in undergrad) to get at least 1 internship before I graduate? Or should I graduate asap and apply to a full time position? As well, what steps should I take from now until graduation to improve my employability (I'm working on some personal projects this summer but what else should I do?) [link] [comments]  |
| Where can i learn more about how the internet/networking actually works on the lowest level? Posted: 25 Apr 2018 08:24 PM PDT I consider myself pretty knowledgable in pretty much every aspect of computers except for networking/the internet. I understand that the internet is a series of computers connected obviously, but i really don't understand how it works on the lowest level. Are there any good resources to learn with about this? [link] [comments]  |
| Out of the game for a few years of military service, I want back in badly, what's the best way? Posted: 25 Apr 2018 12:52 PM PDT Hi all, hope this is a good place to start off asking a couple of simple questions. So I went to university to do computer science and absolutely loved it to death. I never really 'got' school, but finally found a tremendous passion for programming and problem solving. I passed out with a 1st, and went into higher education with them. My main areas of focus/personal projects were C/C++, though I went through the standard JavaScript/Java/mySQL/OpenGL sort of areas too. However living the student life had a really bad effect on my health, I was seriously overweight and hardly slept, I was often in the office till the early morning hours, and had no real life (even more so than the average programmer). I decided to do something different and so signed on with the armed forces (in the UK for reference), and am now an officer of weapons engineering (and have been for 5 years now at the age of 27, I'm also 4 stone lighter). That department covers everything from computers and fire control to ordnance and explosives, although we obviously don't do much programming as the end user, or as an officer. This is what I do at the moment. My intention is to give a years notice (as is standard) in the next couple of months, and I'm desperate to get back into the industry again and banging my head against the wall in front of an editor. I'm interested to know your thoughts about the best way to go about that? I'm writing my own stuff and pulling some old projects out, I've been writing in Unity with C# (it just interests me) but also C/C++ again in Visual Studio. How difficult is it after a few years out of full time to get back in to development, and would my time in the military be of any credit? Do you think there is any benefit to retraining (courses/university courses etc)? What sectors are good to look at. I focused on game development at university but am also interested in cryptography/banking software. How much call is there for C/C++ in these areas? And if I want a career writing C/C++, where should I go? Finally, is professional accreditation (IEng/CEng) of any benefit in the industry in general? My other aspiration is to move from the UK to the USA, which doesn't really belong here but I guess is worth mentioning. It's always been a great dream of mine. Thanks in advance for any answers. [link] [comments]  |
| Do Front End Skills Transfer into Data Careers? Posted: 25 Apr 2018 04:36 PM PDT I'm a software dev with ~1.5 years experience working in front end. I worked with some good companies and have experience in the React/TypeScript/ES6 stack. However, I'm looking to transition into the fields of data engineering or data analytics/science. I see a lot of positions in this field which will mention things like 'front end skills are a plus'. But I'm wondering how much of an intersection data jobs really share with front end? Is it common or useful to employ front end integrations with data visualizations or otherwise? [link] [comments]  |
| What internships exist for Spring-Fall? Posted: 25 Apr 2018 08:10 PM PDT I'm going to be spending 2.5 years at community college. By the time I finish my last fall semester, I would have just over 70 credits. UC only accept fall transfers (except Merced) for TAG. Therefore, I'm completely free from January - September 2020. [link] [comments]  |
| [Update] Can’t handle project manager anymore Posted: 24 Apr 2018 08:24 PM PDT I work in consulting. I posted a few weeks back about a project manager that has been getting our team to do ridiculous demands at the worst times: Anyways he has been getting people to do work when they're on PTO, odd hours, etc. He's getting people to do work at 11pm. He's very condescending ("hello?? Are you there?? EMERGENCY?"). My boss, my team lead, and my technical director all have a problem with this guy. He's on the other side of the world because one of our customer is over there. Most of these tasks really do not need to be done at that very time but he doesn't say anything. He just says I'm not trying to get beat up by the customer but then he just beats us up instead. It's sad because I really like the company I work for. I like my manager. I like my technical director, and the project I'm on is used by millions of people, but our PM literally is incompetent. He just says yes to every demand. I asked my team lead if I can remove a pending release (something easily recoverable and can just be put back into the release train). He said yes so I removed it from the release train around 5 pm. When we removed the item from the release train, the customer got an email and my PM said that they want the release train going immediately because management is trying to be control freaks. Our customer likes to play the blame game and use it for leverage over us. They're a really big customer who's a household name. I respect that. But I also need to put a boundary up. Edit: Deleted the slack message since I have gotten a lot of good answers already. [link] [comments]  |
| Is Waterloo's reputation growing in Silicon Valley? Posted: 25 Apr 2018 07:40 PM PDT As a high school student about to head to Waterloo for Computer Science co-op, I'm pretty curious if the school's reputation is growing. UWaterloo has come a long way since its inception only 60 years ago so I'm wondering how far it will reach. Five years ago, any student could have got into the school with 90ish average. Now, there are 15 students competing for 1 seat. The question is what the school will be like five years in the future, when I graduate. [link] [comments]  |
| Looking at applying to the TDP program at Capital 1 Posted: 25 Apr 2018 03:52 PM PDT Hi all, I'm a systems engineer college hire at Microsoft, and I've been working on a couple of apps for self-study. I have a lot of experience in infrastructure/authentication/messaging technology as far as systems engineering goes, but no practical experience in programming. I want to pivot into a software role, and I'm looking at Capital one's TDP program as it is a college hire program and wanted to see if this was something I could do based on potential. I graduated about 2 years ago, so i'm not sure if there is some cut off. my question is: What are the chances that I can get this role assuming I do well in the interview? I don't have proper DS/Algo knowledge, and really my programming knowledge is mostly beginner (can create functions/classes and make API calls to get data) Are they looking for fully functioning jr. devs, or are they looking for smart people they can groom? [link] [comments]  |
| Job hunting in D.M.V area.(Entry lvl) Posted: 25 Apr 2018 07:13 PM PDT A bit depressed about not being able to secure a job/interviews after a full month of job hunting. I assumed it would be easier since there are a lot of job openings. I did get some phone interviews and email offers but most lead to nth. I currently have A+, CCENT and 6 month internship exp as Desktop support. My 2nd plan is to get CCNA R&S and then job hunt again. Anyways, is it normal to be like this for this area? I would greatly appreciate to hear any suggestions or your experiences. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 25 Apr 2018 08:21 AM PDT This is mostly a rant but if you want to hear my story, keep reading. I'm on a small scrum team of 9, 3 testers, 1 manager, 2 frontend, and 3 backend engineers including me. Out of the two backend devs, one plays Minecraft on her phone all day, one talks big about his blockers all day but spends 3 hours in bathroom everyday. So whenever testers have issues they come to me. My daily routine is working on my task for 2 hours, then every tester come to me to push me for developing stories, and soon enough front end engineers tell me some endpoint isn't working, then manager asks eta for my own story. Whenever I have questions with the testers they are either just idling on their phone or literally watching soccer or checking out best flight deals. While I'm drowning every minute. I am by no means a slow dev, I come in earlier than everyone everyday and leaves after everyone strolls out. Im able to complete one endpoint in half a day while the other dude who chats all day takes normally 2 full days. Our sprint basically has no ends. When a story is done, demo, PO approve, then repeat cycle. Every morning during standup I try to bring up the issues and actual stuff I am looking to get done "so I'll be booked for the day..." Manager tells me this is a team sport and I should help out others. Then after standup testers spend a couple minutes asking me when's x going to be done so they can have the glory with the POs. Oh, and not to mention the guy who's a master at bathroom breaks has 15 years of experience. What should I do? Hurry up and start applying? Or should I try to "chill" and start my bathroom sessions too? Or keep developing? [link] [comments]  |
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