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Comb Your Beard posted:Got fired Monday April 10, just got my first offer on Friday. Contract to hire at a large financial firm at $75 an hour. Basically lateral money-wise. I need to take what I can get, it's a tough market. If something better comes along during the 2 week in-between time I should take it instead, right?
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May 2, 2023 01:01
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Destroyenator posted:As other said, you could probably swing line manager for devs/sres if that’s what you wanted but if you’re hired into somewhere with that role it would be less hands on keyboard work (which it seems like you’re used to). Your other option would be as an IC like you described, maybe in an SRE/k8s role. Well, it's been gradual but for the last ~2 years I've done relatively little "hands on keyboard" work. Probably in my description I've overemphasized the IC aspects of my role, whether because I'd like to move more in that direction (I'm torn, but probably yes), or out of impostor syndrome. Anyways, thanks for the more detailed thoughts. Your two paths are just manager vs. IC, right? The way you laid it out, definitely IC is more appealing, if I had to decide now. What I would really love is a kind of "internal founder" role where I could be a sole IC in platform engineering / SRE then eventually get to build a team out of it as the company grows. Although I've never had a team lead or engineering manager over me, only external advisors/mentors, and part of me feels I need that experience and it would be a mistake to jump into another role with no real technical oversight. And of course this is all just daydreaming as who knows if I'll be in such a position to be able to take every factor into account. I guess one thing I wonder is with respect to placement, sure maybe a CTO at a company like mine can get up to Staff level, but if I'm doing somewhat of a career transition and moving to SRE for example, which yes is one of my responsibilities but I realistically probably devote 5-10% of my time to that and I'm entirely self-taught, never having hired someone in that role or even worked with an SRE in any capacity. Or maybe keeping our services up and running is track record enough  I could certainly talk for hours about the challenges there, tradeoffs made, strategic considerations, etc.A completely different topic, but the more I think about it the more I dread combing back to the US, but more for quality-of-life than career reasons. 
SurgicalOntologist fucked around with this message at 10:37 on May 2, 2023 |
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May 2, 2023 08:49
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SurgicalOntologist posted:Anyways, thanks for the more detailed thoughts. Your two paths are just manager vs. IC, right? The way you laid it out, definitely IC is more appealing. What I would really love is a kind of "internal founder" role where I could be a sole IC in platform engineering / SRE then eventually get to build a team out of it as the company grows. Although I've never had a team lead or engineering manager over me, only external advisors/mentors, and part of me feels I need that experience and it would be a mistake to jump into another role with no real technical oversight. And of course this is all just daydreaming as who knows if I'll be in such a position to be able to take every factor into account. Pretty much, yeah. I think the struggle you may have with the internal founder role is that a company of 30-50 people hiring their first ops/sre person probably already have some level technical leadership but would be looking for an technical expert with lots of experience to put them on the right track on the ops side. You sound like you wouldn’t be as confident in that area, and you’re up against senior sres that have decided they don’t care for management. Where your team lead / management / stakeholder experience makes you stand out is when they grow to 3-4 ops/sre types and need structure, leadership and more stakeholder management. Having technical experience and enjoying understanding what’s going on puts you ahead of plain manager types there. Or you go into a 100-10,000 size company as the second, third or fiftieth SRE but lean on your management experience in the interviews to be earmarked as “growing into team lead / manager” when they take you on. Potentially you could find a smaller start up that could use that internal founder role? I’ve not been involved in companies that size.
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May 2, 2023 09:44
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Destroyenator posted:Pretty much, yeah. I think the struggle you may have with the internal founder role is that a company of 30-50 people hiring their first ops/sre person probably already have some level technical leadership but would be looking for an technical expert with lots of experience to put them on the right track on the ops side. You sound like you wouldn’t be as confident in that area, and you’re up against senior sres that have decided they don’t care for management. Makes sense, and kind of what I anticipated with what I added in edit. Appreciate your thoughts, gives me an idea of what I could encounter.
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May 2, 2023 10:39
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Thought I'd pop in here. I've been working as a developer for 4.5 years now, primarily in COBOL (which involves huge administrative systems), some Java (for internal web frontends and APIs), and a little C#. However, I want to move towards embedded systems (which seems really fun) or more modern back-ends. I dropped out of a half-finished engineering degree to take my first developer job, so I suffer from imposter syndrome and feel out of the loop when it comes to interviewing and proving my worth to potential employers. For COBOL jobs (I'm on my third project with my second employer), this hasn't been an issue since the barrier to entry is so low, with huge organizations and old teams. I've received encouraging words from devs closer to my age (early thirties) who say I'm at least as competent as they are and should move around to improve my pay, but I don't have provable experience in other languages (maybe some Python). Not sure if I still make sense, but I thought maybe someone would have advice on what would be nice for a future employer to see and what I should be focusing on.
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May 2, 2023 15:51
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Comb Your Beard posted:Got fired Monday April 10, just got my first offer on Friday. Contract to hire at a large financial firm at $75 an hour. Basically lateral money-wise. I need to take what I can get, it's a tough market. If something better comes along during the 2 week in-between time I should take it instead, right? I once turned around and declined an offer with Drizly that I had already accepted, because the other opportunity held more promise and was more stable. I felt awful at the time, but it turned out to be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
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May 2, 2023 16:18
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your resume sounds fine, brush up on algo/data structure stuff for interviews if you're worried about it. as a bonus, once you know that stuff the not-having-a-bscs imposter syndrome just fades away as far as actually switching to embedded from what you're doing now goes, idk there. a few years ago general wisdom was "do some embedded stuff on github and it'll be fine" but the market's harder now so it might be more difficult to change tracks while keeping title/comp commensurate with your experience. but your java webdev, experience, at least is more or less universally applicable. between cobol giving you the "i can do massive complex apps" bullet point and java doing the "i can do modern webdev" thing i doubt you'll have TOO much trouble. that is, no more trouble than any other dev. but i cant say how much trouble _that_ is.
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May 2, 2023 16:18
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Astroid posted:I've received encouraging words from devs closer to my age (early thirties) who say I'm at least as competent as they are and should move around to improve my pay, but I don't have provable experience in other languages (maybe some Python). i've seen people include new frameworks/technologies in projects at work just to obtain provable experience with the new stuff. since you're doing web dev anyway, you can either decide to do a new project using node/react/etc (or maybe even a small portion of a new project, like a page.) if you need to upskill why not get paid for it?
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May 2, 2023 16:25
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Bruegels Fuckbooks posted:i've seen people include new frameworks/technologies in projects at work just to obtain provable experience with the new stuff. since you're doing web dev anyway, you can either decide to do a new project using node/react/etc (or maybe even a small portion of a new project, like a page.) if you need to upskill why not get paid for it? This sounds like a good way to gently caress over a project. Does anybody not hate this move when they get to maintain it?
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May 2, 2023 16:56
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pokeyman posted:This sounds like a good way to gently caress over a project. Does anybody not hate this move when they get to maintain it? its absolutely a gently caress you got mine move. but they do have theirs afterwards there is a needed level of assholeness to actually enact change, or otherwise you get orgs still on cobol lol
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May 2, 2023 16:59
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Astroid posted:Thought I'd pop in here. I've been working as a developer for 4.5 years now, primarily in COBOL (which involves huge administrative systems), some Java (for internal web frontends and APIs), and a little C#. However, I want to move towards embedded systems (which seems really fun) or more modern back-ends. you should more closely define to yourself what you mean by "embedded". you can draw a lot of distinctions here, but to me the important thing is microcontroller baremetal/rtos; linux (mostly arm, but i guess also intel or nvidia lol) SOC systems; or linux SOC applications. if you mean microcontrollers, you should learn and be prepared to demonstrate some understanding of digital logic and electrical engineering fundamentals - not enough to design a circuit or a board, but you'll want to know about voltage and current, and maybe some basics of the logic of filters and signal processing; you'll also want an understanding of SOC peripheral functionality like ADCs, DACs, common digital busses like I2C or SPI, how GPIOs work and what the different options mean, timers, DMA. C experience probably necessary, C++ experience maybe necessary. Fundamentals of rtos operation probably. You can show these via github projects, but for coming in at a non-basic level companies (or, well, me when I'm hiring for these roles) want to see shipped commercial projects since that also shows you can interact with manufacturing. if you mean linux SOC systems, you'll want to show knowledge of linux system programming and setup; in some ways, this role is pretty similar to old-school sysadmins plus system definitions: understanding a linux boot process with bootloaders, broad strokes of how the kernel works, maybe kernel drivers. system definition software like buildroot or openembedded. understanding of cross-compiling setups and problems since all those plangs have to get their interpreters and dependencies on there somehow. broad understanding of systemd. Thoughts About Build Systems and secrets management. if you mean embedded linux applications things get a little easier, because the whole point there is that you can write reasonably normal application software, and the sky is more your limit: people run java or python or javascript on these, people run c or c++ stuff on these, and so on. these jobs can be a little more rarely advertised since the hook with these systems is that normal programming, and they won't be advertised or sometimes seen as embedded development.
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May 2, 2023 17:23
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pokeyman posted:This sounds like a good way to gently caress over a project. Does anybody not hate this move when they get to maintain it? Everyone hates inheriting a resume-driven development project where the tech turned out to be a bad fit, but it's just a thing you deal with.
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May 2, 2023 17:33
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pokeyman posted:This sounds like a good way to gently caress over a project. Does anybody not hate this move when they get to maintain it? devs did it to a project i inherited and i cursed them to high heavens at the time (like, why does the same project need react on one page and angular on the other?) but i have to confess it made my resume look a lot better and i could tell a bunch of war stories with different frameworks easily enough. it definitely isn't good for the project but is good for your career as an IC, and you'll often catch contractors etc. trying to do this if you're in a tech leadership role. as a dev manager / architect you need to watch out for people doing this.
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May 2, 2023 18:06
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FYI Big PP just open sourced its big internal key-value store DB: https://github.com/paypal/junodb
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May 2, 2023 18:13
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Astroid posted:Thought I'd pop in here. I've been working as a developer for 4.5 years now, primarily in COBOL (which involves huge administrative systems), some Java (for internal web frontends and APIs), and a little C#. However, I want to move towards embedded systems (which seems really fun) or more modern back-ends. bad c# (old, busted) or new c# (new, hot, good, makes your smile whiter and your breath fresher)? modern .net is real good for backends
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May 3, 2023 10:07
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redleader posted:modern .net is real good for backends to poop on
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May 3, 2023 15:55
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I liked C# a lot, but I think I actually like Kotlin better now. Both fine languages in the hands of decent devs.
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May 3, 2023 23:56
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luchadornado posted:decent devs. who code on frictionless planes right?
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May 4, 2023 00:41
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kotlin is fine but the lambda syntax is stupid and compile times kinda suck.
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May 4, 2023 06:13
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Question for the FAANG peeps - how is the work/life balance in general? My wife and I sometimes talk about moving back to the US to be close to family again but they all live in the expensive parts of California, so the only way it makes sense is if I’m pulling in like 200k+. She’s concerned that if I’m getting paid that much then they’re basically going to own me - crunch, overtime, etc. Any anecdotes to confirm / deny this?
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May 4, 2023 15:13
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I'm not in FAANG, but it's a large public company with SF headquarters and I make 200k+. If anything, it's more laid back than a lot of smaller places. It always depends on your team/manager, but from my experience getting paid more usually means your time is more respected. Also note that I'm making 200k+ working remotely from an area with a much lower cost of living, so you don't have to live in the Bay Area. But I know that's not as easy to land since the market downturn.
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May 4, 2023 15:45
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Artemis J Brassnuts posted:Question for the FAANG peeps - how is the work/life balance in general? My wife and I sometimes talk about moving back to the US to be close to family again but they all live in the expensive parts of California, so the only way it makes sense is if I’m pulling in like 200k+. She’s concerned that if I’m getting paid that much then they’re basically going to own me - crunch, overtime, etc. Any anecdotes to confirm / deny this? FAANG isn't the only thing what will give you 200k+ in the bay. You have enough options that they don't own you. Even in games crunch is more often social factors than mandatory these days, without serious repercussions for just working normal hours (lots of orgs it isn't even strongly tied to promotions; though a lot of lower level staff have the wrong idea about that [and frequently management doesn't go out of their way to correct that understanding])
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May 4, 2023 16:16
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How important are portfolio sites on an application? All of my experience is in back-end development so I'm trying to decide if it's worth my time to whip up a demo site to show off functional yet boring stuff like invoicing and time-sheet systems. Or would that time be better spent just applying to more places? All of my previous work was for propriety inter-company stuff so I don't currently have anything to show off on github, for example.
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May 4, 2023 16:26
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McCracAttack posted:How important are portfolio sites on an application? All of my experience is in back-end development so I'm trying to decide if it's worth my time to whip up a demo site to show off functional yet boring stuff like invoicing and time-sheet systems. Or would that time be better spent just applying to more places? All of my previous work was for propriety inter-company stuff so I don't currently have anything to show off on github, for example. After the first job or two, no one asks. I don't share a portfolio, and have never had issues getting interviews.
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May 4, 2023 16:45
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Not sure where to ask this, but does anyone here have experience as someone who was an engineer in the US and got hired/sponsored by a non-US company? Are there certain places where this is easier to do than others? Is it even worth considering? I ask because it's possible my wife may change her career location after she finishes her schooling and international is within her optionality.
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May 4, 2023 16:53
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"non-us" is not a coherent concept. which country? north korea? france?
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May 4, 2023 16:57
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fawning deference posted:Not sure where to ask this, but does anyone here have experience as someone who was an engineer in the US and got hired/sponsored by a non-US company? I considered going to Germany a few times. I know people who have gone to Germany, UK, Australia, Poland, Sweden, and Japan. Hardest part is proving language skills for non-english places. But you're also probably not looking at places you can't communicate. The thing that's always stopped me is the absolutely massive salary gap (even accounting healthcare and rent disparities). As a computer person you simply make significantly more money in US. If you put "my wife found a job in <COUNTRY>, so I'm trying to figure something out" or similar in a cover letter you'll probably get interviews at or above the local success rate. There are some differences in how CVs are structured by location. And you will need work authorization (you may or may not get this from your wife's work), but that's not usually difficult to work out for computer people (talk to an emigration lawyer or stop by the relevant embassy and they'll sort you on process)
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May 4, 2023 17:02
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bob dobbs is dead posted:"non-us" is not a coherent concept. which country? north korea? france? This is fair, but it could be a host of places. The UK, Canada, France, even Tokyo.
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May 4, 2023 17:10
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leper khan posted:I considered going to Germany a few times. I know people who have gone to Germany, UK, Australia, Poland, Sweden, and Japan. This is the answer I'm looking for, because even with the better cost of living in, say, Edinburgh or Montreal, the salary and benefits are nowhere near what they are in the US. She speaks adequate French and I would be willing to learn French or Japanese (I started learning a bit ago already) should it come to that, but I recognize it gets a lot harder with a language barrier. Are US engineers desirable in, say, the UK? Or do they not have a reason to go through the complications of hiring foreign when they can just hire a local citizen?
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May 4, 2023 17:12
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if you get a vote and care about pay, kill france and tokyo. the us pays the best but the anglo countries and banks-masquerading-as-nations (switzerland, singapore) pay second best even if you dont think you care about pay, this is about a 2-5x multiple difference so you may find that you care about pay
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May 4, 2023 17:12
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I am in the middle of a move to Copenhagen from the US. I started the process by simply applying to Danish tech jobs on LinkedIn and checking if they offered visa sponsorship. That narrowed things down a lot since many did not. Did the standard interview process (though theirs had fewer steps), got and signed the offer, and started apartment hunting. Overall, the process took about 5-6 mo. Note that I intentionally applied to places where English was the primary language used. I am also single, with no children or pets. That made the whole thing much easier. Overall, my compensation is much lower than what I make in the states, and my take-home is also lower after taxes/rent/expenses. Quite a lot, even. But I really have loved the time I've spent over there and I can't easily quantify the mental strain of everything that happens in the US and what it does to me on a day-to-day aspect. Also helps that I don't mind the weather.
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May 4, 2023 17:14
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And I'm curious about Montreal, since I love it there and looked into immigrating there as a musician some years ago. Is there demand there for US tech workers?
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May 4, 2023 17:15
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bob dobbs is dead posted:if you get a vote and care about pay, kill france and tokyo. the us pays the best but the anglo countries and banks-masquerading-as-nations (switzerland, singapore) pay second best I do get a vote and France and Japan pay terribly, so they would likely be out.
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May 4, 2023 17:16
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Flaming June posted:I am in the middle of a move to Copenhagen from the US. Interesting that it was so easy for you and that is encouraging. I think an English speaking country really would be the best/easiest to deal with, and I would be willing to take a bit of a pay cut as well if it meant better prospects in other areas of raising a family, mental health, etc. But a HUGE cut wouldn't be okay.
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May 4, 2023 17:18
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Thanks for the answers; that’s good to hear - working remotely in SoCal for an SF company was one of my first ideas so I’m glad it’s viable.fawning deference posted:Not sure where to ask this, but does anyone here have experience as someone who was an engineer in the US and got hired/sponsored by a non-US company? For the EU, her work visa will allow you to work as well, so if you’re already in Europe for her job then it should be pretty simple (from a bureaucratic standpoint) to get employed in the same country. //Edit to add: Swedish companies that hire internationally all have English as their official work language. UNofficially, that varies. Artemis J Brassnuts fucked around with this message at 17:41 on May 4, 2023 |
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May 4, 2023 17:20
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leper khan posted:After the first job or two, no one asks. I don't share a portfolio, and have never had issues getting interviews. Ah, good to know. In my head it made sense to say "everything I've worked on is proprietary" but lots of job application sites have a space to put in your website so that had me wondering.
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May 4, 2023 17:22
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Artemis J Brassnuts posted:
Okay this is very helpful and would make the EU a pretty easy target. I know the pay is like 60% of US pay. Cost of living is a lot lower but it would still be a big cut. This is all just precautionary in terms of "this might happen but more than likely will not." Thanks for the help all. fawning deference fucked around with this message at 17:34 on May 4, 2023 |
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May 4, 2023 17:29
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they said the eu
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May 4, 2023 17:30
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bob dobbs is dead posted:they said the eu Ack. Sorry my brain has been all over the place today. I wonder if it's the same for the UK. I'll do a little digging.
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May 4, 2023 17:33
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One option to consider is The Netherlands. I've looked into it multiple times. You can get 30% of your income tax-free. This, combined with all the other benefits paid (vacation, etc.) it was pretty easy to match my existing compensation, despite a large cut in salary.
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May 4, 2023 17:35
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