Resume Advice Thread - April 24, 2018 CS Career Questions |
- Resume Advice Thread - April 24, 2018
- Daily Chat Thread - April 24, 2018
- What's strong opinion of yours changed because of your latest job?
- Storing Plaintext Passwords in 2018
- What's a job that will appear respectable to future employers while I am segueing into a CS career?
- What are some good resources for (truly) Entry-Level positions?
- If employers don't want to hire entry-level devs because they don't want to waste time training them, what exactly don't they want to waste time on?
- GSOC or Goldman Sachs?
- Advice from technical founders about how engineers can stand out from the applicant pool
- I am lost and hope you guys can help me find my path
- Article echoing state of current job market for experienced engineers
- As a freshmen going into second year, what should I do during the summer?
- Maybe I'm going through this wrong?
- Recent bootcamp grads I have some questions
- How long can I stay at a company learning what I don't want before it becomes too late?
- Where to find entry level contract work?
- Pure Math PhD graduating in 2019. Wanting to shift to work in SWE or DS or ML. Need Some advice on finding summer intern and future career building.(long post)
- Is it feasible for someone to work full time (40 hours/week) and enroll part/full time in college
- Take "stipend" job as a freshman?
- How often do you find yourself with nothing to do?
- College decision for CS: is out of state worth it?
- How do I publicly showcase my side projects if they can be used illicitly?
- What was your job hunting experience like in the Midwest/South and what do you do now?
- Looking for some advice on career next steps
- Summer internship, should I choose CV or a job I like?
- Considering going to the Bloc.io bootcamp... concerned about job prospects in smaller city.
- What does your manager do?
| Resume Advice Thread - April 24, 2018 Posted: 24 Apr 2018 12:07 AM PDT Please use this thread to ask for resume advice and critiques. You should read our Resume FAQ and implement any changes from that before you ask for more advice. Abide by the rules, don't be a jerk. Note on anonomyizing your resume: If you'd like your resume to remain anonymous, make sure you blank out or change all personally identifying information. Also be careful of using your own Google Docs account or DropBox account which can lead back to your personally identifying information. To make absolutely sure you're anonymous, we suggest posting on sites/accounts with no ties to you after thoroughly checking the contents of your resume. This thread is posted each Tuesday and Saturday at midnight PST. Previous Resume Advice Threads can be found here. [link] [comments]  |
| Daily Chat Thread - April 24, 2018 Posted: 24 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]  |
| What's strong opinion of yours changed because of your latest job? Posted: 24 Apr 2018 06:57 AM PDT As developers we often have strong views on just about any aspect of the work. Occasionally those views change when we see alternatives implemented properly or when we actually see consequences that we didn't expect or underestimated. What was your biggest moment of doubt? [link] [comments]  |
| Storing Plaintext Passwords in 2018 Posted: 24 Apr 2018 12:07 PM PDT I work for an organization where we manage multiple projects for state government employees. Of the projects I have worked on, I have found every user database table stores passwords in plaintext. This was extremely alarming to me, so I brought it up with management and they allowed me the time to fix this critical mistake. Fast forward to today, I am assigned a new project, with a new user db. Lone behold all the passwords are plaintext. Only this time, I am told to "leave it be" and "stop being a trouble maker". These accounts belong to government employees which access very sensitive information. I am guessing that many of the users recycle their passwords across various sites. I feel like what is happening here is gross negligence, against an oath I swore, and maybe illegal. I do not want to be held accountable for someone else's mistakes, but I feel like now that I've seen the problem, I am an accomplice. [link] [comments]  |
| What's a job that will appear respectable to future employers while I am segueing into a CS career? Posted: 24 Apr 2018 06:29 PM PDT Hello there. some backstory first. The actual question is bolded below I'm currently waiting tables. I have a BS in mechanical engineering and 9 months experience as a Systems Engineer. I was trying to make it at least a year as a Systems Engineer, but the position was kind of terrible. It was a really nooby company that didn't have clear direction or purpose, while severely lacking senior-level expertise, with all things made worse by the fact that the position was basically IT work (setting up laptops and fixing peoples' issues with their computers). I didn't even stay long enough to do any real systems work. I just installed a few microsoft services on virtual machines in a test environment in preparation for development implementation. I obviously should have tried to stay and make the best of the position but I just couldn't take it and quit without any next job or course of action lined up. I just got a food service job to pay the rent and now I'm refreshing on my coding abilities. I've had amateur programming ability for a few years now from courses I took in my ME undergrad and a CS certification program I took while in school. Soo, here's my actual question now: Something that will make future hiring managers think "huh, well that isn't completely unrelated I guess". Is it Systems or IT work? If so I guess I could return to that knowing it would only be temporary, and perhaps if I worked for a better company than my previous employer, but I'd prefer not to return to that line of work.... Are there any other recommendations? Thanks in advance! [link] [comments]  |
| What are some good resources for (truly) Entry-Level positions? Posted: 24 Apr 2018 07:29 AM PDT Hey everyone, I'm looking for some help/advice on finding good entry-level software engineering positions. Bit of backstory, I graduated from a pretty highly regarded university last May, but unfortunately due to a few personal reasons and never really getting the right guidance, I don't have any internship experience and have only been spending the time since graduating learning some new frameworks/technologies. I have a few small projects on my resume, as well a somewhat related position as a T.A. for an upper level CS elective that taught web development, but I still feel like my lack of experience makes it hard for me to get my foot in the door. Currently I am working on building up some more things for resume, practicing algorithm questions, all that jazz. I'm definitely confident in my coding ability (mostly web dev in JS/Node, some React/Redux, and some basics like Java) but I feel like my limited experience can be a bit of a turn off. Does anyone have any good advice or resources for finding positions for someone like myself? Ideally, I want a full-time position where I'll be part of a supportive environment that can help me get up to speed quickly, but also feel like I'm contributing. Here's an anonymized version of my resume if anyone has any helpful feedback Thanks in advance to all of y'all - you guys keep me hopeful [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 24 Apr 2018 08:56 AM PDT I'm one of the many "entry-level" devs trying to break into the industry. While I understand that I'm in a flooded entry-level market and I have a difficult road ahead of me, I really wish I knew what exactly employers think I should know already. For my situation, I've been on 2 interviews now where everything seemed to be going fine until I mentioned that I'm self-taught and, if I received a job offer, it would be my first dev job. Despite having my own personal projects/apps, an active GitHub, etc it seems like once they become aware of my lack of experience, they start probing how well I work on a team. I have prior retail experience where I worked in a department on a team. It's the only thing from my work experience I can mention to get past their behavioral questions, but it doesn't seem to matter. I still haven't receive a job offer. The only thing I can think of holding me back is the lack of my experience. Admittedly, I feel like every interview I've gotten was because I have a decent resume but I'm up front about my experience and show how eager I am to learn and work on a team. I'm a regular lurker on this board and decided to make this post to get some advice and opinions. From what I gathered, nobody wants to hire an entry-level dev because they don't want to train them. What don't they want to train them in? Even while working retail, there's still a learning and orientation process. If they want someone that has worked on a team, well, how could you judge how someone can work on one without giving them a chance? If they want someone that knows X/Y/Z technology, why can't this be learned on the job by the candidate? I really don't know what senior developers, hiring managers, or who ever does the hiring wants from a candidate. It's really getting frustrating to get to the on-sites only to be rejected without getting any feedback at all. I'm considering moving onto something else at this point. I hope someone can offer some advice on what I should be working on to get ahead. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 24 Apr 2018 05:44 PM PDT I currently have two offers:
For the pay:
Overall, I'm more inclined to GSOC because it's more exciting, but I'm wondering if it's the right decision to do in terms of my career. Any ideas? [link] [comments]  |
| Advice from technical founders about how engineers can stand out from the applicant pool Posted: 24 Apr 2018 12:04 PM PDT "What have you done in the past, or seen other engineers do, to stand out from the applicant pool?" I asked six technical founders this same question and thought I'd share their responses. Would love to hear other answers to this question, so feel free to comment with yours. 🙌 [link] [comments]  |
| I am lost and hope you guys can help me find my path Posted: 24 Apr 2018 04:27 AM PDT So for the last three years I have worked as a security consultant. My work mainly consists of pen testing networks and web applications. It has been three fun years, but now I want to do something else. I am burned out, I don't have the drive to improve my pen testing skills anymore. I still read news to stay current, but I am sick and tired of finding vulnerabilities in a clients application and they haven't even considered fixing it. I know our clients have to weigh a potential loss if the vulnerability is exploited versus the cost of fixing it, but some of these vulnerabilities are major risks. I would prefer to have a job where I feel I could make a lasting impact. It doesn't have to be security, but that's where the majority of my experience are. So what do I actually like? I like to tend my home network/lab. I like to make sure that everything runs as smooth as possible. I like to tinker with Docker, networking and graphing stats to make sure everything runs as expected and troubleshoot problems. Recently I started to sketch some floor plans, so I can find the most optimal place for my AP's at home. Sadly there is no job called "Computer octopus" otherwise I think that could be a good fit. So yeah, I am looking for potential career paths for me. If you got any ideas, I would sure love to hear them. [link] [comments]  |
| Article echoing state of current job market for experienced engineers Posted: 24 Apr 2018 10:13 AM PDT Things that stood out are the:
[link] [comments]  |
| As a freshmen going into second year, what should I do during the summer? Posted: 24 Apr 2018 01:01 PM PDT My goal is to get an internship next summer. I already the fundamentals of java and am taking an Udacity course on android development. What else can I do or learn to get an internship? Im planning on making a couple of programs as well. [link] [comments]  |
| Maybe I'm going through this wrong? Posted: 24 Apr 2018 07:29 PM PDT Hello, I graduated in Dec 2017 and have yet to find a job. I'm pretty frustrated since my friends are all getting jobs left and right, even the ones that I tutored and guided through their college career. I am happy for them, but I can't help but feel inadequate. I'm applying to about 10-15 companies a day as well as practicing leetcode problems and working on my own projects. I don't think I'm bad at programming, but obviously, I'm missing something that other people have. I know I lack internships, but I'm sure there's something I can do to make up for it. What other aspects do you guys suggest that I work on in order to get noticed by recruiters and companies? Thanks! [link] [comments]  |
| Recent bootcamp grads I have some questions Posted: 24 Apr 2018 02:41 PM PDT I wanna get a general feel of how bootcamp grads do these days since I'm interested in one. Question for those recent bootcamp grads, 1) How was/is the job search? 2) What was your resume like when you were applying? 3) What project/s did you have? 4) What technologies were you comfortable with after graduation? 5) What was it about the bootcamp that helped your job search and what did bootcamp not prepare you for? 6) What other skills did you have to develop after bootcamp to be job ready? [link] [comments]  |
| How long can I stay at a company learning what I don't want before it becomes too late? Posted: 24 Apr 2018 07:59 AM PDT Basically, I LOVE my current company. My boss is amazing, my work life balance is amazing, my work is eh okay. I am learning kind of slowly, it's not the best learning environment as I have no one really senior to me to teach me stuff so I'm learning everything on my own. But what I want to know is I don't really like Java/Swing and I like .NET or similar positions a lot more. I am getting exposure to a lot of stuff but I'm trying to figure out how long I can stay before my slow pace of learning is going to catch up to me and make me stuck. Basically how long can I stay here before it's really hard to switch to another stack or I'm expected to know more than I've learned and it looks weird if I'm applying to junior positions. I've been here almost a year btw. [link] [comments]  |
| Where to find entry level contract work? Posted: 24 Apr 2018 01:47 PM PDT I've been contacted twice about entry level contract work. One I did the interview and didn't get it, the other I'm still waiting to hear any info on it. Is there a site where I can find contract jobs for entry level swe? The two I was contacted about didn't appear on indeed or the companies website so I'm not sure how to find them. I'm just looking for any opportunity to get my foot in the door with a shitty gpa and no internships. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 24 Apr 2018 05:26 PM PDT Hi I am a pure math phd in a big state U graduating in 2019. I am a foreigner without green card. So a lot of government options are not available. A few years ago after my MS in informatics(no in US), I decided to work math but it looks like it didn't worked for me. I mean doing a phd is find but doing 2~3 postdoc before landing any tenured position looks awful for me. So I decided to leave academia and to find a job in cs. I am trying to find a summer intern and it looks like the job market is really full loaded with entry-level programmers and the competition is heavy. I have been searching for summer intern from the end of February but the market is harsh. I have a few options on mind as said in the title and also a few issues needed addressed. My MS taught the basics of Algo &DS, DB, System and OS. But it has been years ago and my knowledge is really rusty. I did not done any project because my thesis is in CS theory. My biggest weakness is I don't have any intern or real project done yet. I chose to do all the theory stuff. But it looks published papers not matters to the recruiters. I received a few rejections and I am kind lost in browsing LinkedIn and Glassdoor. I find that most summer intern either required you know something like Node.js or Json which is not taught in school, most of them looks front-end or some famous companys asking for 3 year experience in Java or C++ . One issue is that while I am find with learning or relearning these things, I don't know where to find a place to do some side project to stuff my resume. This really bothers me a lot. There are three options I am think about to explore more, but I need somebody more experience to advise me on the pros and cons and which should I go further. It is obvious that I cannot study for all these three kinds. 1 Software Engineering 2 Data Science/ Machine learning. 3 Quant. Here are some my own pros and cons. 1 Software Engineering . pros:
Cons
2 DS/ML pros
cons
3 Quant. Pros
Cons
So any option or advice is welcomed. I am eager to hear what you guys in think about. [link] [comments]  |
| Is it feasible for someone to work full time (40 hours/week) and enroll part/full time in college Posted: 24 Apr 2018 07:42 AM PDT One thing that has been bothering me quite a bit is the fact that there are those who are less fortunate that do not have the same opportunities that I have. For fields like the Humanities and Arts, I can see it being possible, albeit difficult to obtain their degrees, although their curriculum is much less rigorous than STEM. It seems the average hours per week for liberal arts is ~10 hours per week. For STEM fields it can easily be ~20 hours per week, perhaps more depending on the major and the ability of the student. Someone who is a genius/highly intelligent or at least had some intuitive grasp on the concepts could possibly get by on less than half of that. However, it shouldn't go unsaid that some CS homework assignments are extremely lengthy, and so you can easily take more time from writing and debugging code (especially from the latter). Lets estimate the number of hours per week as [10..20], if you attend every single class and you have [8..15] credits, that's [18..35] hours on, meaning the range of hours per week spent on education and a job (+40) is [58..75] per week. Not to mention if you are aiming for a 4.0 or some high GPA, you definitely will take more time than [58..75] hours. Now for most majors, the only kind of experience you are expected to gain are internships over the summer, but that also poses a problem in and of itself. If you work [58..75] hours per week, when do you have time to perform any networking? Even if you do secure yourself an internship, what about your job? If you do not get an internship, you do not have experience, and without experience it will be extremely difficult to transition into a job within your own field. The only type of internship I can think of with such versatile hours to allow you to keep your own job is either freelance work or perhaps something like Google Summer of Code (although good luck finding a project if you have a 40+ hour commitment, plus most projects require some experience in the technology you will be contributing to). Note as well that the [58..75] hours does not include time for commutes, sleep, recreational time, breakfast, working out, etc. The final nail in the coffin is that, unique to Computer Science, you're expected to have some side projects. When would you ever have the time to also work on side projects, your GitHub portfolio, etc., when you barely have the time to satisfy your basic needs. Even if you do manage everything, you could end up without a job, as you lack the necessary experience. As you lacked the time to network within your field you will have a harder time even getting an opportunity to interview and getting through HR. I'm not trying to discourage anyone, but from what I have seen, my fellow students that I have graduated with that struggled to find experience, had to work jobs over the summer, and one who even had to work part time concurrently with school, most of them are having trouble finding jobs or working in non-CS related industries. I just want to know any opinions, stories or anecdotal evidence that others have that help establish feasibility in someone less fortunate going into CS. (Note I am not talking about self-teaching, I mean a full on CS curriculum at an accredited institution). [link] [comments]  |
| Take "stipend" job as a freshman? Posted: 24 Apr 2018 04:48 PM PDT Freshman at top 5 CS uni. Internship is offering ~$1000 stipend to work for 10 weeks... Their past interns have gone on to big 4 companies. Either this, or I can take a cs class at uni over summer. I'm inclined not to do the internship as it's basically unpaid. What should I do? [link] [comments]  |
| How often do you find yourself with nothing to do? Posted: 24 Apr 2018 08:47 AM PDT I'm sitting at work today with nothing to do because the projects I work on are roadblocked until they make some business decisions about them before I can work on any actual code. This is happening more and more frequently for me; how often do you find yourself with nothing to do at work? [link] [comments]  |
| College decision for CS: is out of state worth it? Posted: 24 Apr 2018 07:53 PM PDT Hello everyone, I'm a high school senior with a little less than a week to make a college decision. I'm looking for a bit of advice on more of the quantitative aspects of choosing a college and seeking a career in software engineering. University of Kentucky (in state w/ honors program): ~$22k - $11k scholarship = ~$11k / year Georgia Tech: ~ $48k - $13k financial aid = ~$35k UC Berkeley: $64k - $16k financial aid = ~$49k I self-taught myself programming in the 8th grade and I've been doing projects and internships all throughout high school. I would love to intern at one of the "Big 4" or something similar throughout college and have the resources and opportunity for entrepreneurialism. Would I have those opportunities staying in-state or is out of state absolutely worth it? If so which (generally) would be the better choice? Thanks! [link] [comments]  |
| How do I publicly showcase my side projects if they can be used illicitly? Posted: 24 Apr 2018 04:02 PM PDT BACKGROUND I'm a sophomore at a local community college, about to graduate with an A.S., and transferring to a four-year. I've done a few side projects, small stuff when there were gaps between assignments/exams, and I'd like to make these projects part of a public portfolio, but I have some concerns. I could just be overthinking it, but I'd rather get some input before making any decisions. SIDE PROJECTS IN QUESTION Password Cracker: Facilitates dictionary attacks on hashed passwords. Denial-of-Service Client: Needs no explanation. If I were listing these publicly, I'd change the names to something more amiable like "Password Recovery Tool" and "Network Stress Tester", but that doesn't change the source code. My main concern is this: if someone uses the code I've written for some illicit purpose, I may be held liable. I'm going to be drowning in student debt soon enough, I'd rather not be drowning in legal fees, too. So how do I showcase this stuff without risking legal liability, if there is any to begin with? ANOTHER QUESTION Might as well ask: How are projects like these viewed by employers? I understand there's no one answer to this, so I'll take anything from general consensus to individual takes. Thanks in advance. [link] [comments]  |
| What was your job hunting experience like in the Midwest/South and what do you do now? Posted: 24 Apr 2018 07:25 PM PDT I'm back in school to finish my degree after 8 years. I've been fortunate to have great jobs, despite no degree (in the nonprofit world) and currently have an ops role leading a team at a promising startup. I struggled whether going back to school was worth it (initially pursuing business admin) but then discovered a passion to pursue CS through learning SQL at work in my spare time. It seems there is lots of talk regarding big companies that hire engineers in key metros in the states with large tech industries. I'm curious what job prospects are like in slower, less tech focused states, especially in the south.
— Live in Oklahoma [link] [comments]  |
| Looking for some advice on career next steps Posted: 24 Apr 2018 07:21 PM PDT So I've been working for about 4 years in a Workforce Development department of a university as both a .NET Full Stack Developer and a SQL Server Data Engineer. After my 4 year anniversary, it hit me that I may have reached a ceiling in my career growth in my current role and that I should make some kind of career move before I become pigeonholed. After doing some research, I'm looking to move more towards the direction of Data Science/Machine Learning/AI. I know the three fields are broad and overlap just so much, but I'd like to find some way to move in this general direction. I've been reading textbooks, diving into Python and taking some MOOC's on Coursera but that's about it. I'm looking to make an actual move, but am reluctant on doing so since I don't know the best move to make. My first thought is to pursue a Data Science Immersive like that of General Assembly. It costs a bit and involves me not being able to work, but they provide career guidance and coaching. Another option I'm considering is a grad program or phd program, which provides deeper knowledge than an immersive but will take years to complete. Then there's changing jobs and hoping they will give me an opportunity to get my hands dirty in something other than .NET development or Data Engineering. Finally, there's self teaching which may not be best for me since I'm not quite disciplined. As you can see, I lack direction, as well as focus. Any advice on the best next steps I should take would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! [link] [comments]  |
| Summer internship, should I choose CV or a job I like? Posted: 24 Apr 2018 10:09 AM PDT Hello everyone, [link] [comments]  |
| Considering going to the Bloc.io bootcamp... concerned about job prospects in smaller city. Posted: 24 Apr 2018 11:21 AM PDT Hey guys, I have a BS in Sociology and I'm looking to make a career change. I live in Oklahoma City and cannot find any local software developer bootcamps. I did find one online that looks promising (Bloc.io). Their program can be completed in 4 months. They also offer money back guarantee that you'll get a job in the field... IF you live in one of the 22 largest metro areas (and I do not). So here's my concern and what I'd like some direction on. A quick search of Indeed shows 6 junior developer jobs in the OKC area and 212 in the Denver area (just to use as an example). We are rooted in OKC and I need to get a job here. Am I missing something or does it seem like a fools bet to do this? What are your thoughts on my job prospects upon graduating from the bootcamp? To lay some foundation, I'm 35 and have good work history, just not in software development. Thanks! Jim [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 24 Apr 2018 12:45 PM PDT Just curious. I feel like mine does pretty much nothing (as far as I can tell) related to the project I work on. Never attends scrums. She also refused to meet with me the first month I joined. [link] [comments]  |
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