Newbie Programming Interviews/Get a Job Megathread: Fake it 'til you make it

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air-: Sep 24, 2007; Who will win the greatest battle of them all?

Wordicuffs posted:

Hey guys I have a problem and need some advice

I applied for a job a few weeks ago (for my first job out of university), and was asked to take their online coding test, so I did that and they contacted me to set up a Skype interview a few days later. I used some online tool they provided to set up the date and time for that interview, and when the time came about a week later the guy didn't contact me. I waited an hour or so and sent him an email. He replied with a generic 'Sorry' and we rescheduled for the next morning.

About a half hour before the scheduled time I find out he's in a timezone that is an hour ahead of me, so of course I missed him. I sent him another email as soon as I realized it (which was basically as soon as I accepted his friend request on Skype as it tells you the timezone), but I haven't heard back yet. That was Friday before noon.

My question is what do you guys think I should do at this point? Should I send him another email? or should I go down to the location in my city where I'd be working if I got the job and talk to someone there about the job? This is just about the best job I'd get in my city right out of school.

Next time, confirm the time zone when you set up interviews - never make assumptions. You might be SOL on this one and have to move on.

# ? Aug 19, 2013 18:34

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# ? May 22, 2024 10:46

Wordicuffs: Jun 14, 2011

air- posted:

Next time, confirm the time zone when you set up interviews - never make assumptions. You might be SOL on this one and have to move on.

Well yeah I know that now, but I'm not just gonna give up on this opportunity because of that.

# ? Aug 19, 2013 18:44

double sulk: Jul 2, 2010

Wordicuffs posted:

Well yeah I know that now, but I'm not just gonna give up on this opportunity because of that.

If you don't hear anything within a couple days, just move on. Typically you get one shot at these sorts of things, unfortunately.

# ? Aug 19, 2013 18:48

leftist heap: Feb 28, 2013; Fun Shoe

Wordicuffs posted:

Hey guys I have a problem and need some advice

I applied for a job a few weeks ago (for my first job out of university), and was asked to take their online coding test, so I did that and they contacted me to set up a Skype interview a few days later. I used some online tool they provided to set up the date and time for that interview, and when the time came about a week later the guy didn't contact me. I waited an hour or so and sent him an email. He replied with a generic 'Sorry' and we rescheduled for the next morning.

About a half hour before the scheduled time I find out he's in a timezone that is an hour ahead of me, so of course I missed him. I sent him another email as soon as I realized it (which was basically as soon as I accepted his friend request on Skype as it tells you the timezone), but I haven't heard back yet. That was Friday before noon.

My question is what do you guys think I should do at this point? Should I send him another email? or should I go down to the location in my city where I'd be working if I got the job and talk to someone there about the job? This is just about the best job I'd get in my city right out of school.

Do you have his phone number? I would just call him, maybe sometime during his afternoon just to make sure he's had time to deal with his emails. I have a certain threshold when it comes to screwing around trying to coordinate things with people over email past which I just pick up a phone. This would probably be past it for me.

# ? Aug 19, 2013 18:49

air-: Sep 24, 2007; Who will win the greatest battle of them all?

Wordicuffs posted:

Well yeah I know that now, but I'm not just gonna give up on this opportunity because of that.

Hate to say it, but from missing not one, but two chances, I wouldn't shocked if at this point they've lost interest. You can try giving them a phone call, but I wouldn't invest any more time if I were you and use your energy towards something else.

# ? Aug 19, 2013 18:49

Safe and Secure!: Jun 14, 2008; OFFICIAL SA THREAD RUINER
SPRING 2013

gucci void main posted:

Are you really that oblivious to the fact that many companies in the major tech hubs will provide relocation assistance?

Wait, I thought "relocation assistance" was basically always a reimbursement after you've already paid to move yourself, get an apartment, etc. Based on that, my intent has been to find a low-paying local job (all the local jobs are relatively low-paying) and save my money until I could afford to move to better a market, since I can't afford to do right now. Am I wasting my time because many companies will provide relocation assistance up front?

# ? Aug 19, 2013 19:28

FamDav: Mar 29, 2008

My company gave me 3k for general expenses, set me up with a "relocation assistant", scheduled & paid the movers for me, would pay off my lease break, paid for and sets up apt hunting trip and my final fly out, corporate housing if I needed it, and would set me up with corporate housing if I needed it until I find an actual apt.

I'm sure scrub tier places do some of this. The smaller place at which I worked did most of this.

x freakin d bro

FamDav fucked around with this message at 19:35 on Aug 19, 2013

# ? Aug 19, 2013 19:32

Hiowf: Jun 28, 2013; We don't do .DOC in my cave.

Wordicuffs posted:

I applied for a job a few weeks ago (for my first job out of university), and was asked to take their online coding test, so I did that and they contacted me to set up a Skype interview a few days later. ...
My question is what do you guys think I should do at this point? Should I send him another email? or should I go down to the location in my city where I'd be working if I got the job and talk to someone there about the job? This is just about the best job I'd get in my city right out of school.

Do you only have 1 contact at the company, i.e. no HR or recruitment contact? The engineer or person doing the interviews might just be very busy (also suggested by the first email). Not sure what going to the local office might accomplish if they have a set procedure for recruitment.

Timezones universally suck when setting up meetings, so I wouldn't quite give up yet. Just apologize, explain, and persist until you're told to GTFO. If you can get them on the phone, do so.

# ? Aug 19, 2013 19:35

Rello: Jan 19, 2010

UnfurledSails posted:

Right now I have a month of free time before the new quarter. I don't want to waste it, but I have no idea what to do or where to start when it comes to doing a personal project outside of class. I think I've learned enough to do something, but taking the first step into the real world is difficult. I don't really have a burning problem I want to solve right now, but I know enough that it's because I have no idea what's possible for me at the moment.

What was your first non-class programming/CS thing? How did you come up with it? Any advice on getting started? Personally I'm very interested in working with C, but C++/Java/Python is also fine.

I'm pretty much in the exact same boat. I have a month before school starts to code something but I just can't think of anything to work on.

I'm mostly looking to do something in C++. I'm trying to look for some open source projects that I could do some bug fixing for, but I can't find any projects that I could work on. Anyone got some tips?

Thanks,

# ? Aug 19, 2013 19:40

Hiowf: Jun 28, 2013; We don't do .DOC in my cave.

Isn't there any open source software that you use and feel could use some improvement/bugfixing?

If diving into large codebases is daunting, writing add-ons or plugins can be quite fun too.

# ? Aug 19, 2013 19:50

New Yorp New Yorp: Jul 18, 2003; Only in Kenya.; Pillbug

Skuto posted:

If diving into large codebases is daunting

If he has a problem with diving into large codebases, he might as well forget about getting a job as a software developer. I've never had a job where the first several weeks/months didn't involve diving into large legacy codebases and learning how it all fit together.

# ? Aug 19, 2013 19:59

tk: Dec 10, 2003; Nap Ghost

Safe and Secure! posted:

Wait, I thought "relocation assistance" was basically always a reimbursement after you've already paid to move yourself, get an apartment, etc. Based on that, my intent has been to find a low-paying local job (all the local jobs are relatively low-paying) and save my money until I could afford to move to better a market, since I can't afford to do right now. Am I wasting my time because many companies will provide relocation assistance up front?

For my relocation, my company took care of: the movers, shipping my car, flight out to new city, hotel & rental car for a few days in between the movers and the flight, rental car after getting there before my car was delivered, corporate housing while looking for a permanent place to live, an agent to help me find an apartment, reimbursement up to some amount for misc. expenses related to relocation, and breaking my existing apartment lease. Other than the misc. expenses, I didn't see a bill for anything.

There was also a "do it yourself" option that gave you some flat amount in your first paycheck to cover relocation expenses, but gently caress that.

So, I wouldn't let the amount of money currently in your bank account stop you from applying for jobs in a different market. Just make sure you're clear about your relocation situation so you don't waste your time with a place that doesn't have a package that will work for you.

# ? Aug 19, 2013 20:02

Rello: Jan 19, 2010

Ithaqua posted:

If he has a problem with diving into large codebases, he might as well forget about getting a job as a software developer. I've never had a job where the first several weeks/months didn't involve diving into large legacy codebases and learning how it all fit together.

Good thing I don't have a problem diving into large codebases

# ? Aug 19, 2013 20:06

Bognar: Aug 4, 2011; I am the queen of France; Hot Rope Guy

Just to echo the "my company moved me" responses, the last time I moved for a job, my company did the following: flew me out for the interview, put me in a hotel, and paid for all meals for the weekend, gave me $3500 for relocation expenses, paid for a moving truck to move all my stuff, hooked me up with a real estate agent to find a place, and gave me time off to finalize rental agreements.

# ? Aug 19, 2013 20:14

Cicero: Dec 17, 2003; Jumpjet, melta, jumpjet. Repeat for ten minutes or until victory is assured.

Safe and Secure! posted:

Wait, I thought "relocation assistance" was basically always a reimbursement after you've already paid to move yourself, get an apartment, etc. Based on that, my intent has been to find a low-paying local job (all the local jobs are relatively low-paying) and save my money until I could afford to move to better a market, since I can't afford to do right now. Am I wasting my time because many companies will provide relocation assistance up front?

In my case (and I think at least most large places have something similar), they paid me like a month or so before I was scheduled to start. The alternative to just getting a bunch of money was using a moving service they were contracted with that would handle everything for you. The latter is probably better for families with tons of crap, but if you have no kids and not too much stuff the former is definitely better.

# ? Aug 19, 2013 20:23

Hiowf: Jun 28, 2013; We don't do .DOC in my cave.

Ithaqua posted:

If he has a problem with diving into large codebases, he might as well forget about getting a job as a software developer. I've never had a job where the first several weeks/months didn't involve diving into large legacy codebases and learning how it all fit together.

I'm just saying that if you're trying to get something tangible finished in less than a month, you can skip that part and do something which might offer faster fulfillment and hence be more entertaining.

Nobodies doubting you'll get to revisit the part you skipped for the rest of your career.

# ? Aug 19, 2013 20:23

Wordicuffs: Jun 14, 2011

Skuto posted:

Do you only have 1 contact at the company, i.e. no HR or recruitment contact? The engineer or person doing the interviews might just be very busy (also suggested by the first email). Not sure what going to the local office might accomplish if they have a set procedure for recruitment.

Timezones universally suck when setting up meetings, so I wouldn't quite give up yet. Just apologize, explain, and persist until you're told to GTFO. If you can get them on the phone, do so.

The guy I've been in contact with is a recruiter for the company and yeah, he's the only person I've been in contact with. Unfortunately I don't have his phone number or I would have called him after he missed the first appointment.

# ? Aug 19, 2013 21:17

HondaCivet: Oct 16, 2005; And then it falls
And then I fall
And then I know

Will companies pay to relocate someone for an entry-level job though? I assumed they only do that for the tougher-to-fill senior spots.

# ? Aug 19, 2013 22:56

Janitor Prime: Jan 22, 2004; PC LOAD LETTER

What da fuck does that mean; Fun Shoe

hahaha, even entry level jobs are hard to fill for the big boys since so many of the recent grads are trash

# ? Aug 19, 2013 22:58

Bruegels Fuckbooks: Sep 14, 2004; Now, listen - I know the two of you are very different from each other in a lot of ways, but you have to understand that as far as Grandpa's concerned, you're both pieces of shit! Yeah. I can prove it mathematically.

HondaCivet posted:

Will companies pay to relocate someone for an entry-level job though? I assumed they only do that for the tougher-to-fill senior spots.

We've done it.

# ? Aug 19, 2013 23:09

Cicero: Dec 17, 2003; Jumpjet, melta, jumpjet. Repeat for ten minutes or until victory is assured.

HondaCivet posted:

Will companies pay to relocate someone for an entry-level job though? I assumed they only do that for the tougher-to-fill senior spots.

Yes. I can't put a number on how common it is, but it's at least fairly common, and ubiquitous among the large tech companies. There's probably a correlation between how much a position pays and how likely a company is to pay for relocation, and these days devs be expensive.

# ? Aug 19, 2013 23:09

tk: Dec 10, 2003; Nap Ghost

HondaCivet posted:

Will companies pay to relocate someone for an entry-level job though? I assumed they only do that for the tougher-to-fill senior spots.

Yes. They need the best employees at all level of experience, and relocation cost is fairly minimal for somebody that you think is talented.

# ? Aug 19, 2013 23:11

Plorkyeran: Mar 22, 2007; To Escape The Shackles Of The Old Forums, We Must Reject The Tribal Negativity He Endorsed

Relocation assistance is a signing bonus that's typically well under 10% of the person's salary that establishes no expectation of getting the same bonus the next year. From the hiring company's perspective it's a pretty trivial expense.

# ? Aug 19, 2013 23:18

NovemberMike: Dec 28, 2008

When a company is looking to pay you $70k+ a year, handing you a check for $5k at the start isn't that crazy.

# ? Aug 20, 2013 02:20

Cicero: Dec 17, 2003; Jumpjet, melta, jumpjet. Repeat for ten minutes or until victory is assured.

NovemberMike posted:

When a company is looking to pay you $70k+ a year, handing you a check for $5k at the start isn't that crazy.

Also keep in mind salary is only a portion of your cost. You also have payroll tax, medical/dental benefits, vacation (sort of), unemployment, and of course general employee overhead from facilities, management, and other support staff (HR, accounting, recruiting) that have to scale to the number of employees. If you're being paid 70k, your actual cost to the company is probably, like, twice that.

# ? Aug 20, 2013 02:38

Zhentar: Sep 28, 2003; Brilliant Master Genius

Looking for people to hire isn't cheap either. They're likely already paying well over $5k in up front costs to pick you out in the first place.

# ? Aug 20, 2013 03:09

CatsPajamas: Jul 4, 2013; I hated the new Stupid Newbie avatar so much that I bought a new one for this user. Congrats, Lowtax.

This thread has a lot of great content, and I haven't even read half of the 150+ pages. Thanks a lot to everyone who has contributed their experience and/or advice. You guys are awesome! It really helps to have a better understanding of the expectations in industry. Reading about people's interview experiences has been helpful as well.

It may be because there's a surprising amount of experienced and talented people on SA, but reading threads on this forum has made me feel unprepared for the job market based on my education. I'm graduating after the upcoming semester with a dual Computer Science / Mathematics degree and a 4.0 GPA, but I get the impression the Computer Science program at this institution is inadequate. Without getting into too much detail, when the term "hashmap" was mentioned on this forum I had to look it up since it has not been mentioned in any course, and generally anything I know about languages outside of Java is practically self-taught.

This is disconcerting because one of earliest points in this thread is not to oversell yourself (which I do agree with on general principle), but it seems self-defeating to take time in an interview to point out I'm not as qualified as it might look like I am.

Given comments people in this thread have made I'd like to pursue personal projects I can add to my r�sum�. Other people have asked what kind of projects would be appropriate for this and I'll echo that question. I feel like doing something too simple and presenting it as a grand accomplishment would be foolish, but when I look into aforementioned projects like ray tracing I don't even know how to begin approaching them. For people who have done personal projects they've presented professionally or have looked at others personal projects in a professional capacity, what did you do or what are you looking for respectively?

# ? Aug 20, 2013 03:17

Good Will Hrunting: Oct 8, 2012; I changed my mind.
I'm not sorry.

If you truly don't know what a hashmap is, projects should be put on hold and you should sign up for this course immediately - https://www.coursera.org/course/algs4partI

# ? Aug 20, 2013 03:22

piratepilates: Mar 28, 2004; So I will learn to live with it. Because I can live with it. I can live with it.

CatsPajamas posted:

This thread has a lot of great content, and I haven't even read half of the 150+ pages. Thanks a lot to everyone who has contributed their experience and/or advice. You guys are awesome! It really helps to have a better understanding of the expectations in industry. Reading about people's interview experiences has been helpful as well.

It may be because there's a surprising amount of experienced and talented people on SA, but reading threads on this forum has made me feel unprepared for the job market based on my education. I'm graduating after the upcoming semester with a dual Computer Science / Mathematics degree and a 4.0 GPA, but I get the impression the Computer Science program at this institution is inadequate. Without getting into too much detail, when the term "hashmap" was mentioned on this forum I had to look it up since it has not been mentioned in any course, and generally anything I know about languages outside of Java is practically self-taught.

This is disconcerting because one of earliest points in this thread is not to oversell yourself (which I do agree with on general principle), but it seems self-defeating to take time in an interview to point out I'm not as qualified as it might look like I am.

Given comments people in this thread have made I'd like to pursue personal projects I can add to my r�sum�. Other people have asked what kind of projects would be appropriate for this and I'll echo that question. I feel like doing something too simple and presenting it as a grand accomplishment would be foolish, but when I look into aforementioned projects like ray tracing I don't even know how to begin approaching that. For people who have done personal projects they've presented professionally or have looked at others personal projects in a professional capacity, what did you do or what are you looking for respectively?

How to make a raytracer:

1. Figure out a way to represent an image in whatever language you're using (mostly just finding an imaging library like CImg for C++ or the python one for python)
2. Make a function called draw which uses this loop:

code:

for (int x = 0; x< image.width; x++)
	for (int y=0; y < image.height; y++)
		Image(x,y) = traceRay(x,y)

3. Make traceRay, where you just make a ray starting from (0,0,0) pointing to (x,y,-1), trace it, shade it, and set pixel (x,y) to that colour
4. You've made a basic raytracer

That's the great thing about it -- it's a very simple structure that it follows and it's very compartmentalized. It's mostly just representing a ray, representing a shape, and writing code to test intersection between a ray and the shape.

To get the theory of it you should google lecture notes for computer graphics courses or pick up that book called Physically Based Rendering by those two smart dudes since it covers every single thing in excruciating detail.

# ? Aug 20, 2013 03:24

no_funeral: Jul 4, 2004; why

CatsPajamas posted:

Given comments people in this thread have made I'd like to pursue personal projects I can add to my r�sum�. Other people have asked what kind of projects would be appropriate for this and I'll echo that question. I feel like doing something too simple and presenting it as a grand accomplishment would be foolish, but when I look into aforementioned projects like ray tracing I don't even know how to begin approaching them. For people who have done personal projects they've presented professionally or have looked at others personal projects in a professional capacity, what did you do or what are you looking for respectively?

The kinds of things that I've found helped me really feel more confident in my programming skills are things I've posted either here, or the general questions thread. They're all intended to be completed in a couple of hours to couple of days depending on complexity, so the volume and variety contributes to the confidence building. The ones I've been working on in the past couple of weeks are:

Print all permutations of a string
Determine if two strings match, with any number of wildcards
Tic Tac Toe AI using the minimax algoritm
Grid traversal using Dijkstra's algorithm, or A* algorithm
Schedule utility to find the longest gap of free time in a set of appointments which may overlap
Determine if two rectangles overlap
Given a linked list, determine if the list loops on itself at any point

All of these except the schedule util I tried to find recursive solutions to. I used javascript for all of them, so that if it came up in an interview it would be very easy to show them off.

# ? Aug 20, 2013 03:28

shrughes: Oct 11, 2008; (call/cc call/cc)

CatsPajamas posted:

when the term "hashmap" was mentioned on this forum I had to look it up

"Hashmap" is a language-specific term that you shouldn't expect to know. It's a synonym for "hash table", right? I'm pretty sure that any time you see "hashmap" used in place of "hash table", you're just hearing the mouthnoise of an uneducated scrub. Or maybe a quite well-educated highly skilled engineer or something.

See: "hash map" redirects to "hash table": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hash_table. So "hash table" wins.

CatsPajamas posted:

I'm graduating after the upcoming semester with a dual Computer Science / Mathematics degree and a 4.0 GPA, but I get the impression the Computer Science program at this institution is inadequate

What institution? Unless you wimped out and skipped the meaty analysis classes in the math major I think you'll be fine.

# ? Aug 20, 2013 03:51

Strong Sauce: Jul 2, 2003; You know I am not really your father.

CatsPajamas posted:

This thread has a lot of great content, and I haven't even read half of the 150+ pages. Thanks a lot to everyone who has contributed their experience and/or advice. You guys are awesome! It really helps to have a better understanding of the expectations in industry. Reading about people's interview experiences has been helpful as well.

It may be because there's a surprising amount of experienced and talented people on SA, but reading threads on this forum has made me feel unprepared for the job market based on my education. I'm graduating after the upcoming semester with a dual Computer Science / Mathematics degree and a 4.0 GPA, but I get the impression the Computer Science program at this institution is inadequate. Without getting into too much detail, when the term "hashmap" was mentioned on this forum I had to look it up since it has not been mentioned in any course, and generally anything I know about languages outside of Java is practically self-taught.

This is disconcerting because one of earliest points in this thread is not to oversell yourself (which I do agree with on general principle), but it seems self-defeating to take time in an interview to point out I'm not as qualified as it might look like I am.

Given comments people in this thread have made I'd like to pursue personal projects I can add to my r�sum�. Other people have asked what kind of projects would be appropriate for this and I'll echo that question. I feel like doing something too simple and presenting it as a grand accomplishment would be foolish, but when I look into aforementioned projects like ray tracing I don't even know how to begin approaching them. For people who have done personal projects they've presented professionally or have looked at others personal projects in a professional capacity, what did you do or what are you looking for respectively?

What ranking (or range I guess) is your college? A HashMap is pretty much a hash table / associative array. If you don't know any of these three terms then yes you may have gone to a CS program that is not good. If you just mean the term, "HashMap" then I'm not sure if that is as bad.

# ? Aug 20, 2013 04:00

Zero The Hero: Jan 7, 2009

astr0man posted:

Also, this is obviously anecdotal, but the last time I was looking for a job I was living in DC. I wanted to move to Chicago. So I just applied to a poo poo ton of jobs in Chicago. I got a job that was listed as "local candidates only", and they paid my relocation expenses anyways.

edit:
Zero The Hero, I reread your post history in this thread and you've already interviewed for a job in California before, so you obviously know from that it's possible to find opportunities outside of your current state. It seems more like you just have some serious self-esteem issues. Don't automatically assume you aren't qualified for a job.

I've applied for positions before where I didn't have experience that was directly relevant to the job vacancy, but that doesn't really matter. The interviewer cares more that you have any experience in general and are capable of learning whatever specific technology they want. Obviously for senior positions where a company says we want 10 years in X technology, they are going to care if you've never actually worked with X, but for entry to mid level stuff chances are they will be a lot more flexible.

Oook. Everyone misread the other guy's post, I guess, or just didn't read it. I was specifically responding to the guy who was telling me to get out of Nashville and move to the bay area and couch-surf or live out of my car until I got a job. I'm fully aware that many companies offer relocation and I apply to jobs out of state with that in mind. I'm just saying that I can't move blindly without a job or any assistance.

# ? Aug 20, 2013 05:43

Flashing Twelve: Mar 20, 2007

Beyond the excellent general advice in the thread, is there anyone here that can give me Australia-specific advice? I'm in Perth, graduating at the end of the year with a CS degree. From watching seek, it seems like there's no jobs here outside of experienced Java developers and .NET programmers. Am I going to have to move to Sydney/Melbourne?

# ? Aug 20, 2013 06:12

unixbeard: Dec 29, 2004

Do you have any specific areas you are interested in? In general you are probably better off in Sydney but it depends on what sort of stuff you see yourself doing.

If you have the family tree for it, try get an EU passport and head to London, or try get to SF/NY.

# ? Aug 20, 2013 06:23

Strong Sauce: Jul 2, 2003; You know I am not really your father.

Zero The Hero posted:

Oook. Everyone misread the other guy's post, I guess, or just didn't read it. I was specifically responding to the guy who was telling me to get out of Nashville and move to the bay area and couch-surf or live out of my car until I got a job. I'm fully aware that many companies offer relocation and I apply to jobs out of state with that in mind. I'm just saying that I can't move blindly without a job or any assistance.

Dude are you sure you know that? Barely less than a month ago you weren't sure if moving to LA was better for your career than staying in Tennessee living on $500/month delivering pizzas.

If you are slacking at all in terms of your job search, you are failing yourself. Don't hope that it's going to just magically get easier to find a job if you aren't trying to do something about it each day.

Honestly answer to yourself these things:
How many jobs have you applied to since May when you started posting in this thread?
Since you only work part time delivering pizzas are you actually taking the other 20hrs/week working towards your goal of getting a job that is _not_ in Tennessee?
Have you cleaned up your resume or is it still exactly the same?
Have you written up some projects to show prospective employers that you are competent?

If you can't move out to a specific tech focused city, that doesn't mean you're suppose to dismiss the rest of the advice, which is that there isn't much poo poo out in Tennessee. Every single minute that you're not sleeping you should be thinking about how to find a job. If you're hanging out with friends on the weekends, you are failing at achieving your goal.

And seriously you do not want to wait until November/December/January. A lot of companies just shut down and during the holidays and you'll have to wait to get a reply back.

Look I feel you about your lack of funds, what you should be doing instead of worrying about how expensive a city is is trying to figuring out how you can make yourself more attractive to employers.

# ? Aug 20, 2013 06:23

keanu: Jul 27, 2013

Flashing Twelve posted:

Beyond the excellent general advice in the thread, is there anyone here that can give me Australia-specific advice? I'm in Perth, graduating at the end of the year with a CS degree. From watching seek, it seems like there's no jobs here outside of experienced Java developers and .NET programmers. Am I going to have to move to Sydney/Melbourne?

I can't give you any advice about Perth, but don't rely on Seek to give you an accurate picture of the job market. A lot of great companies don't post ads on there (I assume because they get flooded with terrible applications). Think about what sort of work you want to do, find companies that do that work and send in applications. I appreciate that it can be difficult to find these things, but when I went through this process I think almost all of my interviews ended up being with companies I'd found through my own research.

Since you're graduating at the end of the year, you may want to look specifically for new grad positions. Unfortunately, I think a lot of companies have already closed applications for these positions. I started applying in February for positions with 2014 start dates. One company I interviewed with closed applications for their 2014 grad program in April. If you find yourself unemployed or in an unsatisfactory position next year, keep these sort of new grad programs in mind.

# ? Aug 20, 2013 06:33

Cicero: Dec 17, 2003; Jumpjet, melta, jumpjet. Repeat for ten minutes or until victory is assured.

shrughes posted:

"Hashmap" is a language-specific term that you shouldn't expect to know. It's a synonym for "hash table", right? I'm pretty sure that any time you see "hashmap" used in place of "hash table", you're just hearing the mouthnoise of an uneducated scrub. Or maybe a quite well-educated highly skilled engineer or something.

See: "hash map" redirects to "hash table": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hash_table. So "hash table" wins.

Not knowing what a HashMap is in Java is actually kind of a problem (since he said he only knows Java), because along with ArrayList and HashSet it's one of the most commonly used data structures in the standard library.

# ? Aug 20, 2013 06:50

Steve French: Sep 8, 2003

HondaCivet posted:

Will companies pay to relocate someone for an entry-level job though? I assumed they only do that for the tougher-to-fill senior spots.

The first job I took out of school (in 2008, for a large company starting with a round letter) I was offered a relocation bonus of either $6k cash up front, or up to $10k in reimbursed expenses. I took the cash since I knew the costs of my move from Boston to SF would be less than $6k

# ? Aug 20, 2013 08:15

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# ? May 22, 2024 10:46

Flashing Twelve: Mar 20, 2007

unixbeard posted:

Do you have any specific areas you are interested in? In general you are probably better off in Sydney but it depends on what sort of stuff you see yourself doing.

If you have the family tree for it, try get an EU passport and head to London, or try get to SF/NY.

I'm not sure. Short term I'd love to work in python, because I enjoy coding in python more than any other language. Security really interests me but I've barely begun exploring it. 'Security' is a really broad classification anyway, I think I need experience before I can narrow it down. Real-world data analysis, the "big data" kind of stuff, is really interesting to me as well. The only thing I really want to avoid is getting stuck chugging out bland code for enterprise software. What I really enjoy about programming is being presented with a problem and having to figure out the most clever solution. But then again, who doesn't?

I am actually eligible for an EU passport. I was going to pick it up for eurotravel but I haven't considered permanently moving to the EU, I'll do some research on that. American visa requirements are ridiculous and I definitely don't qualify for them. I do want to leave Perth though.

keanu posted:

I can't give you any advice about Perth, but don't rely on Seek to give you an accurate picture of the job market. A lot of great companies don't post ads on there (I assume because they get flooded with terrible applications). Think about what sort of work you want to do, find companies that do that work and send in applications. I appreciate that it can be difficult to find these things, but when I went through this process I think almost all of my interviews ended up being with companies I'd found through my own research.

Since you're graduating at the end of the year, you may want to look specifically for new grad positions. Unfortunately, I think a lot of companies have already closed applications for these positions. I started applying in February for positions with 2014 start dates. One company I interviewed with closed applications for their 2014 grad program in April. If you find yourself unemployed or in an unsatisfactory position next year, keep these sort of new grad programs in mind.

There's a handful of software companies in Perth, not many. Mostly I've found it's inhouse enterprise software stuff, maintaining and updating existing systems. There's a few ios development places that work in objective c which I'm looking at as a possibility. I also found a really cool startup that's applying customer tracking concepts to physical retailers but I'm not nearly smart enough to work there.

It's kind of daunting really, it feels like everyone else is way smarter & better at programming than me.

# ? Aug 20, 2013 08:39

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