Daily Chat Thread - January 20, 2019 CS Career Questions |
- Daily Chat Thread - January 20, 2019
- Big N Discussion - January 20, 2019
- Recommended areas to specialize in if you're not so smart?
- How helpful are grad degrees in advancing ones SWE career?
- Requirements
- Should I give up on holding out for C++?
- How hard was to get your SECOND job as developer?
- Alternatives for programming
- How expected is learning/coding outside of work hours for newly graduates?
- Wanting to ask to convert a summer internship offer to a fall internship/co-op
- Mid life crisis
- How do you decide between job offers? (software engineer)
- How is it working for AT&T?
- Applied Math undergrad interested in working as an embedded software engineer
- Thinking about moving from Colorado to NYC
- Apprenticeship
- Experienced people of CSCQ: what are some of the most inaccurate/false advice or statements that you see regularly on this sub?
- Part time Software Engineer I?
- Graduating University, Moving to the States, and other life-changing experiences
- Do code challenges stop being a requirement as you progress?
- I was recently contacted for a Solutions Architect role by a recruiter that I was going to just ignore. I've been preparing to start my career as a Software Engineer. Maybe I'd be better suited for this SA role instead? Any experience or thoughts would be appreciated!
- Which job to take if considered?
- University Career Fair in 1 Week?
- Is it okay to give a recruiter a phone call for an update if they aren't responding to emails?
- How do you become an engineering manager?
- Degree in CS vs Web Development
| Daily Chat Thread - January 20, 2019 Posted: 19 Jan 2019 11:06 PM PST 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]  |
| Big N Discussion - January 20, 2019 Posted: 19 Jan 2019 11:06 PM PST Please use this thread to have discussions about the Big N and questions related to the Big N, such as which one offers the best doggy benefits, or how many companies are in the Big N really? Posts focusing solely on Big N created outside of this thread will probably be removed. There is a top-level comment for each generally recognized Big N company; please post under the appropriate one. There's also an "Other" option for flexibility's sake, if you want to discuss a company here that you feel is sufficiently Big N-like (e.g. Uber, Airbnb, Dropbox, etc.). Abide by the rules, don't be a jerk. This thread is posted each Sunday and Wednesday at midnight PST. Previous Big N Discussion threads can be found here. [link] [comments]  |
| Recommended areas to specialize in if you're not so smart? Posted: 20 Jan 2019 08:12 AM PST Hi, I've always struggled with math & logic. I finished university but the education was not very heavy on math nor logic. I always had very hard time with the subjects though when I had to deal with them. After graduating I've been working as a jack-of-all-trades developer but mainly involving Java backend for three years. When I've had to deal with things like recursions, SQL joins, statistics, currencies or timezones conversions I feel like I'm struggling more than the people around me. When applying for new jobs I struggle greatly with the logical reasoning tests, scoring below average. I read the programming reddit daily and it always reminds me that I'm not very intelligent. So I'm not smart, my intelligence is mediocre and it's not impostor syndrome but I still don't want to give up yet on a career in system development, preferably coding things. Where do I have potential to shine the most without being too limited by my intelligence? Obviously it depends what market I'm in as well, like avoiding banks or statistics perhaps, but what areas of system development require less intelligence, math & complex logic? I'm thinking that Android/App development or Front end web development might be suitable or what do you think? Any other suggestions? [link] [comments]  |
| How helpful are grad degrees in advancing ones SWE career? Posted: 20 Jan 2019 11:15 AM PST I know in tech, in this case swe, degrees hold less weight than in other professions. So I was just wondering, has getting a masters or PhD been more helpful in advancing your career as a swe? Or would you say it's generally just as easy/hard to attain higher level swe roles without a masters as it is with one. I know for the most part people with PhDs end up doing more experimental dev work and often times do need a PhD to get to where they're at. But I was also wondering if any PhD holders who work as swe (outside some lab/experimental division) would say that having a PhD has helped advance their careers as engineers in ways having only an undergrad or masters degree could not. I'm trying to figure out if it's worth it getting my masters right after undergrad or if getting a masters/PhD isn't that useful for someone who wants to be a swe. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 20 Jan 2019 07:57 PM PST If a job posting asks for a bachelors degree, would it be appropriate to apply with an associates degree along with a number of certifications? Also, how much weight does a portfolio carry during an interview? i.e. a Github page or published apps on the app store [link] [comments]  |
| Should I give up on holding out for C++? Posted: 20 Jan 2019 06:00 PM PST For some context, I'm a student who's a C++ enthusiast to an large degree - especially with more modern versions (ie 2011+), and boost libraries, but all around me I've seen everybody getting on same javascript train or hopping around with "newer" things like node and mongo. Other than C++, I've dealt with Rust, C, Java, Asm, Pascal, Python, and SQL and I have no strong opposition to those, but I just have no real interest in learning about kubernetes, or node, typescript, mono or whatever other trendy technologies there are these days, but a lot of people seem to be doing it, and a lot of job postings are there to follow. I'm not a luddite, I'm aware of the potential and innovation new technologies have, I just can't seem to find motivation or interest to work on them. On the other hand, they seem to be more and more prevalent. Is it worth trying to take the plunge and force myself to learn this tech? Should I give up? I'm not sure what to do anymore. [link] [comments]  |
| How hard was to get your SECOND job as developer? Posted: 20 Jan 2019 03:53 AM PST This is something that makes me very curious. There is a lot of posts of people getting (or having a hard time) their first job as developers. However, for those who already landed a job, and got some real-world experience in the market, how hard it was to get a second job? If possible, post the amount of time you spent in the first job before moving. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 20 Jan 2019 03:05 PM PST Hello like that title says I'm wondering what alternatives are they to programming jobs, a brief backstory; I've a year of experience in my job (first and only one) and so far i'm sure this isn't for me. I'm not the type of person that is interested in programming in their free time or start their own projects, I'm not over all this new tech that comes and goes and I am not a person that grasp things quickly. I am also aware of how mediocre my programming skills are, I don't consider myself having an 'impostor syndrome' but just me accepting that this might not be for me. In my job up until now I was doing 'okay', I was doing the bare minimum to keep me around in the company like fixing bugs, 'creating' small features and sometimes a little QA. But last month I was tasked to recreate a module that had been giving a lot of problems in the program for some time now, I got halfway until the task was taken away and giving to another senior programmer since I was being slow and it was coded badly for not having an MVC/MVVM pattern and they had to refactor a lot of code and in some occasions recreate everything that I did. Since then I've been 'out of the loop', and was given some MVVM videos and a small project to 'check if really learned' from the videos for them to grade (still waiting for them to grade it which should be soon). This past week I ended barely doing anything, just fixing small bugs and watching more 'educational videos' since I haven't been getting much work assigned lately. I'm pretty sure that this basically tarnished the small goodwill that I made and I'm only being kept around so far since the company has a have hard time getting new programmers. [link] [comments]  |
| How expected is learning/coding outside of work hours for newly graduates? Posted: 20 Jan 2019 01:50 PM PST I've worked as a developer for 4 months, my workplace doesn't have a predefined training program and I haven't received much mentoring during this period. My boss is all over the place and mostly told me loosely what to do and to learn on my own. He would then maybe check in later in the day and answer a few questions, but it was all very in the moment. We never had sessions where I would learn things, I was just sat down to work. Now I'm working on a project for a customer. I'm working in-house at the customer's location so I don't talk to my boss very often. My boss has always recommended me to work and learn in my free time, and after I've started this project he's told me several times to focus 100% on learning things regarding the project. He said to "forget everything else" and use my weekends as well. He's recommended this before, but after a while I started to take him less and less seriously because literally nobody else around me said anything similar and the other new people didn't do this. I've learned that he mostly says things on a whim and doens't follow up because he has so much stuff going on at once that he can't control everything. Now, I'm suspecting I don't actually have to work as hard as he's made me believe, but I wanted to hear your experiences. I understand I'm new, but I have things in my personal time I literally have to tend to and can't possibly do as much as he expects, and honestly I don't want to at all. I want to maintain a 9-5 day as much as possible, except of course the occasional necessary overtime. I'm working this job as a job. My passion is not programming, and I have no goals to start a huge career. I want to do my job well and earn my money, but I feel this mindset is looked down upon. [link] [comments]  |
| Wanting to ask to convert a summer internship offer to a fall internship/co-op Posted: 20 Jan 2019 04:14 PM PST Hey everyone! I just accepted an internship to one of my top companies for the summer. I have two other offers from companies that I really love as well and want to ask if it would be possible to do a co-op or internship for them during the fall semester instead of the summer. I just wanted to know what the best way to ask so that I still seem interested in working for them. Also, I've been lurking on r/cscareerquestions for a long time and I just wanna thank you guys for helping me get to where I am today. : ) [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 20 Jan 2019 04:29 AM PST I joined the Marines out of high school. Served 4 years as an infantry man with a couple pumps over seas. I didn't really gain any skill sets that would be useful in the real world other than the cliche respect, work ethic or whatever. I had a job lined up when I got out. Started as an armored guard which was a terrible job BTW. You're carrying millions and they give you a revolver with recycled rounds if that tells you anything. A month later I was interviewed by the railroad and took a job as a train operations manager. Three years after that I became a train conductor. Good benefits, amazing retirement and on average about 96k a year. But, I worked on average 60+ hours a week, a lot of long 12-15 hour days, 2 weeks vacation, 0 sick days, a handful of peers have lost limbs, or their lives, and a slew of other woe is me issues.. My wife and I had a baby a year and a half ago and that lifestyle was bringing me towards a long road of unhappiness, resentment, and regret. I want to be a good husband and fsther. The railroad makes that very difficult. So with 4 years left to use Post 911 benefits, I enrolled at my local community College and quit my job. I got health insurance through the state and a decent savings built up. I start school this coming Tuesday. I am currently enrolled to earn an associates degree in software development with a certificate in web development and web design. I originally enrolled for computer networking but after talking to some friends of friends who work in a similar field suggested I switch to software development. Since I was very young I have had a passion for computers. If I remember correctly the first online game I played was half life death match, then team fortress classic, counter strike. I'm old. I self taught myself html using notepad and a geocities website. Nothing crazy but I understood the basics of it all. I've spent a lot of time fixing people's computers, removing viruses from coworkers computers due to obsessive porn habits, replacing laptop screens, building shitty websites for businesses of friends or aqcuitances, and photoshopping dicks on people's Facebook pictures. I just love everything about computers. And everyone I know professionally and personally is always suggesting that I do something with computers. I'm a 34 year old man who plays pubg with a group of guys way too often. With all that being said I don't know anything about programming, software development, or anything like that. But it is very interesting to me. I want to succeed and have a career I am passionate about. I wonder if I am making a bad decision by doing this? But then again you can't really succeed without taking risks I guess. I am mentally ready to start college, I think. I bought a MacBook pro, installed Ubuntu on it so that I can learn those operating systems in addition to just PC. I'm slowly completing CS50 online and from what I gathered in my research, I am trying to focus on one programming language, Java, which is prevalent to the local job postings I am seeing. Versus trying to learn python, Java, C, C++ etc in one week. I'm curious to know if anyone has had some similar life experiences. Leaving their job late in life with the responsibility of having a family to pursue their dream in information technology / computer science as a full time college student. My hopeful plan is to start school Tuesday, learn as much as I can on my own time like Java for example and hopefully, through networking with people and studying hard, acquire an internship somewhere, paid or unpaid. Gain that coveted experience and start a rewarding career in software development. TLDR; 34 year old guy with zero programming knowledge or experience wants to be a 1337 programmer. [link] [comments]  |
| How do you decide between job offers? (software engineer) Posted: 20 Jan 2019 05:25 PM PST I'm fortunate to have 2 weeks of onsite interviews ahead of me. I'm compiling a list of questions to ask the companies while I'm onsite. Thinking ahead, if I am lucky enough to get multiple offers, how do I decide between them? In other words, how do you pick a company (assuming equal salary/benefits)? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 20 Jan 2019 09:28 AM PST So I got a call the other day to be part of their TDP program. I got an offer to be a software engineer or Technical Business manager. I'm only so-so at coding and I think I have pretty good soft skills so I'm leaning towards the technical business position. Does anyone have any advice on working for AT&T, the TDP program or the job position? [link] [comments]  |
| Applied Math undergrad interested in working as an embedded software engineer Posted: 20 Jan 2019 08:24 PM PST Hi, so I have 1 year left before I graduate. I have taken programming courses in C, C++, C#, and MATLAB and I know some R from my statistics courses. In terms of experience, I've done some coding in Arduino IDE for a Solar Tracker using Arduino UNO and I've also done some MATLAB coding for a radar project (both were done at school with electrical engineering undergrad majors). Would I be able to get hired for software engineering internships (not interested in working full-time, more interested in getting experience) ? Would I need a graduate degree in CS/CE/EE eventually ? Does anyone have any tips to help aid me in transitioning into the career? [link] [comments]  |
| Thinking about moving from Colorado to NYC Posted: 20 Jan 2019 08:14 PM PST Hi everyone, Currently, I am a Full Stack Dev based in Boulder Colorado, making 105K Annual Base Salary. I have recently graduated from my Bachelors, and will be pursuing my masters in CS again with a focus on ML. I have been to NYC a couple times and I enjoy the change, coming from a low CoL area, always needing a car. I was contemplating by the time I hit my late 20's, Ideally Id like to move to NYC, hoping to do work with ML applications, or working as a senior engineer/tech lead. If I move to NYC, Id like to be in a good position financilly. My question then is has someone been in a similar position? How doable is working a senior engineer/dev or working with ML applications in NYC? Will working in ML applications hurt me in the job market? Thank you. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 20 Jan 2019 04:24 PM PST I'm looking at apprenticeships what's the minimum hours you have to do a week. Possibly 30 so 9 till half past 3 is this possible. And also are all apprenticeships 9 to 5? Thanks [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 19 Jan 2019 10:48 PM PST I ask this question because I notice that a lot of people here complain that it is full of students with zero work experience giving career advice. So I have to wonder, to those who have work experience and have at least a few years under your belt: drawing from your own experience, what are some of the most egregiously false/inaccurate advice or total bullshit that you see regularly thrown around here? [link] [comments]  |
| Part time Software Engineer I? Posted: 20 Jan 2019 07:48 PM PST Doesn't the following seem a little elaborate for "Part Time Software Engineer I"? The "part time" doesn't seem wrong, but the Software Engineer I does, because the description includes aspects of design, research (multidisciplinary, even!), and analysis (requirements and standards determination).
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| Graduating University, Moving to the States, and other life-changing experiences Posted: 20 Jan 2019 07:28 PM PST This is an article I wrote for any Canadian (and somewhat for any non-USA) grad moving to the states for work in the CS field. I hope it is useful and if you have other ideas and lessons to share the next cohort of hires, please do share them in a comment :) [link] [comments]  |
| Do code challenges stop being a requirement as you progress? Posted: 20 Jan 2019 07:28 PM PST I'm applying for jobs right now and have had to do a bunch of code challenges. I quite enjoy them tbh, they give me a deadline and defined project to work towards which is good for me and challenge me just enough to be engaging. However, they are a huge time sink, and I really don't want to have to put my life on hold every time I am searching for a new job. Do they become less common once you have some decwnt experience under your belt and a portfolio to show? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 20 Jan 2019 07:27 PM PST The position is at one of the major tech companies. I haven't applied, but the recruiter said she was the one reviewing applications and seemed to imply that I would get an interview if I did. I'm graduating in a few months. My bachelors is in Management Information Systems and Computer Science. Up until about 2 years ago, I was focusing on a career in consulting. I was okay at it, won some business case competitions and participated in a competitive joint study program at a notable business consulting firm. I even got offers at some of these firms for internships. I felt uncomfortable with it though. To me, a consultant should be a subject matter expert. I guess I just didn't like how business students and many professionals were calling themselves tech consultants when they had minimal to no formal background in tech. I felt like a phony. I was getting recruited like crazy because of my CS background, but they didn't actually care about CS, they just wanted CS students because they think we're smart and good at problem solving. I stopped focusing on consulting and pivoted to focus on a career in software engineering. I picked up a software engineering internship last summer and I've been trying to do interview prep for a shot at the bigger companies. The prep however hasn't been going great, but that's a topic for another question. I told myself I would be a software engineer for a minimum of 5 years with a focus on back end. After that, I would either continue with it or move to a management position with the relevant hands on experience I gained by working as a software engineer. That's where this position comes in. I'm not familiar with "Solutions Architect", especially for an entry level position. The position says the first 6 months would be training. Not sure what that training would consist of. I can't find any information on the position though outside the job application or people talking about it. I'm pretty sure this is a new position they created. It seems like my education background matches up well with what they're looking for, at least going off the ad. They do want programming expertise, but nothing like data structures and algorithms I see on most software engineering ads. They are also okay with other experience like system administration, tech consulting, to even help-desk QA type stuff which might be a red flag.
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| Which job to take if considered? Posted: 20 Jan 2019 07:10 PM PST Hello there, So I got offered an extension at my current internship for a year at IBM. I also applied for another internship at IBM which is the HR Business Analyst Internship which I feel is more of a correlation to my major which is Data Analytics. My dad says it is better to take my extension but the work that I am doing USED to be related to my major but not anymore. Its more of me struggling to make a chatbot and I feel more of an analyst rather than a coder. My manager said that the next few projects will consist of me doing project administration work. My dad says its better to keep my current internship but ofc he doesn't know what my current job is. Should I get the HR Business Analyst role, would that be better or would my current one be better? Any advice is highly appreciated. Oh and money is not an issue as its just an internship [link] [comments]  |
| University Career Fair in 1 Week? Posted: 20 Jan 2019 07:08 PM PST I am a sophomore at a Top 10 University. What is everything I can do to prepare for this career fair? I don't have many side projects, but I did end up with a good grade in my Data Structures class. What is the best way to allocate my time and prepare to get interviews and hopefully an internship over the summer? [link] [comments]  |
| Is it okay to give a recruiter a phone call for an update if they aren't responding to emails? Posted: 20 Jan 2019 06:26 PM PST I had a final round interview a month ago and over the past two weeks, I sent two emails asking for an update, which never got a reply. People who have interviewed later/around the same time as me have heard back already, though some have have to email them for the results. Is it okay for me to give my recruiter a phone call out of the blue to ask for a status update? [link] [comments]  |
| How do you become an engineering manager? Posted: 20 Jan 2019 06:24 PM PST I'm looking for new jobs as an SWE (individual contributor) as I only have 2.5 years of experience. I think I'd make a great manager, but i want to ensure I end up at a company where growth to management is realistic and obtainable. How can I gauge a company for this trait without sounding like I'm just looking to climb the ladder. [link] [comments]  |
| Degree in CS vs Web Development Posted: 20 Jan 2019 06:00 PM PST Hi all, I'm currently working my way through a CS degree, currently taking a Software Development course as well as a Discrete Mathematics course. I'm not having a very fun time and the coursework ahead of me doesn't really seem interesting to be honest. Last semester I took a Web Programming class and had quite a bit of fun, I really enjoyed creating websites and designing them, and discovered I have somewhat of a knack for UI/UX design, which I have great interest in. Basically I'm questioning whether I should stick in CS or move on to a program that actually interests and excites me. I'm much more visually inclined and this program would allow me to do things including Photography, Image Editing, etc. After reading previous posts from people in somewhat similar situation, it seems like the general consensus is that it would be stupid not to get a CS degree if I want a good job after college. It's just hard accepting that knowing how unhappy I am sitting here looking at an IDE and learning discrete math.. I don't know if I can do this for the next 2 years. Just looking for any advice at all, I'm not doing too well mentally so I'm kind of desperate at this point. If anyone is interested in seeing the Web Development program, here it is. Thank you. [link] [comments]  |
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