|
Does CompE vs CS matter much as far as initial job prospects and advancement? I realize computer engineers get to have the big fancy "ABET accredited" thing on their diploma and can take an FE or PE exam, but does it matter much? If not, would getting an EE Minor be worthwhile if one studied CS, or should you just stick to code and math? I'm probably meta-gaming this all too much, but I want to do as much as I possibly can to help my future job prospects, given the way things are and will be for some time.
|
#
¿
Apr 7, 2011 18:14
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 3, 2024 13:43 |
|
|
Otto Skorzeny posted:What sort of programming do you want to do? Having the deeper understanding of the hardware that a CE degree implies will be useful if you're doing something close to the metal, less so if you're writing webapps in a scripting language or accounting software in some enterprisey garbage collected language or whatever. From where I stand now, the thought of lower level things is more appealing - drivers are mysterious black boxes to me that somehow sit between a program and any number possible pieces of hardware, making sure everything works - but I have no idea what it's like and how it would compare to higher level programming in terms of my ability or how fun it is for me to do. I also doubt it would be a good idea for me to start making drivers now or anytime soon. More than anything I want to make sure I can sell myself to some H.R. guy who knows nothing about what I'll be doing, while at the same time convincing people who actually do know about what I'll be doing that I'm good. Basically, I'm bet-hedging, for lack of a better way to put it. I also just haven't had much experience with programming yet anyway. If I come out well rounded, that would mean that even if I can't do true Computer Engineering, I can still get my foot in the door and build experience and not have any resume gaps. I'm far more worried about that than anything else right now.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 7, 2011 19:23
|
|
|
rjmccall posted:Computer Engineering is a very broad field; it is easily possible for two graduates with C.E. degrees from the same school to have almost completely non-intersecting sets of skills. Some schools track C.E. more in one direction than in others. Well, the big appeal to CE over CS is that one lets me take a snazzy physics test called the FE, the other doesn't. Does that really matter, though?
|
|
#
¿
Apr 7, 2011 22:12
|
|
|
windwaker posted:At least where I go, if you go the CE route and focus on software, it really is pretty much the same thing as CS. It's all about how you market yourself to future employers, anyway. The more I think about it the more I want to do drivers or the low level stuff. Just appeals to me. Always has, even if it was in more of an appreciation - I never thought about trying it until now. Would taking the FE exam as a CompE be worth it to an employer, anyway? If not I could just go CS with an EE minor.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 8, 2011 01:43
|
|
|
Posted at the request of the OP:twobanks in a PM posted:After actually helping someone program something, and getting a mindset for what it really is and the conceptual problem solving involved, I just changed majors from Engineering. That and some research on job prospects - particularly right now, projections be damned - put the fear of poverty into me pretty good.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 8, 2011 03:28
|
|
|
tef posted:fwiw i'd seriously consider hiring someone who has got to programming late in life, it normally means you have to do less unlearning when you hire them Really the only thing I'm worried about is that my outlook is wholly different from someone who went from HS/prep school to College and thinks the hardest thing in life is studying and showing up to class regularly and getting over test anxiety. To say I fell through the cracks is an understatement. I've been piss poor my entire adult life; I'm going to chase stability and benefits much more than risk or advancement. I'm not some heart-on-my-sleeve, dread locked rebel without a clue, don't get me wrong; simple conversations about what I want from a career and my outlook on issues can't help but make my past stick out like a sore thumb. I shave my head, anyway! OTOH I'm nothing like the super goony/nerdy/spergy sorts. I hear a big thing now is if people can speak and communicate well with everyone else in this day and age. Is this still true? I've got no problem schmoozing with the business sorts at all. It's fun tutoring them, anyway.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 10, 2011 00:13
|
|
|
Well well, talk about motivation! I would also add computer science is more ethical and tends to have you staying at home more than hitting the moonscapes of north Canada. The project Euler thread gave me some warm fuzzies. Guess I'll fit in after all.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 13, 2011 01:59
|
|
|
Cicero posted:Along the same lines, today while I was busily playing Starcraft 2, got an email from a guy at Intel telling me that they'd seen my resume and that they'd like to interview me for a position. I think I might have sent Intel my resume, like, several months ago, but didn't really think much of it. This isn't the first time a company has contacted me out of the blue to invite me to either interview or apply for a position, either, and I'm not even one of those super-genius CS super-stars that was writing self-balancing BSTs in middle school. To be brutally honest the stability and vibrancy of the job market is the biggest motivator ever. It's not that I wouldn't enjoy it, but the fact that I know I could get paid well enough to retire young, have hobbies before I retire, and a good life as opposed to instability and being stressed is very, very positive. Though now I wonder if I should bother learning too much right now on the side. Would I pick up bad habits like some say?
|
|
#
¿
Apr 16, 2011 01:31
|
|
|
Cicero posted:As long as you're not the type to get horribly stuck in your ways, I'd say learning more now's benefits vastly outweigh the negatives. Keep in mind that while a CS program will teach you the basic of programming, there's a lot more to software development than just the basics, and CS is (usually) geared more toward theory than practical application. Learning things beyond the basics would be very useful, especially if you do it in such a way that you have an end product of some sort that you can point to as evidence. Good fodder for interviews. So who should I start helping out or nerd pow-wowing with, then? What should I look for? Whatever I want to do later, or anything in particular? What I want to do is make drivers - or hardware, heh - but I doubt I can start playing with that unless I can program assembly on a VM or something, and that doesn't strike me as a very good starting idea. Meh. Since I'm posting, I might as well ask how someone would get into actual, nitty gritty security in the field. Is that more in the IT realm? Is that something you need a 4.0 GPA or connections to get into, or is it more meritocratic? I would have a blast with that.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 16, 2011 02:35
|
|
|
Melted_Igloo posted:Average starting salary is an incredibly bad measure, careerwise I thought it was average offers. Your starting wage determines your lifetime wage, for better or worse, in a big way. Lifetime earnings of people who entered the workforce in a recession is much lower than people who started in boom times. This is why I'm kind of glad I'm still in school. Nevertheless, I'd rather throw my chips in with high growth and high offers.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 26, 2011 19:12
|
|
|
baquerd posted:This is only true statistically, because If I'm extremely savvy and lucky then yes I won't fit in with the rest of the sample group because I'd by definition not be in the sample group because of my savvy making me an outlier. Luck can't be accounted for anyway. The problem is that everyone is trying to move on to some degree, though there's most likely a distribution of riskiness on the part of the workers. Nevertheless, statistics don't stop working just because I feel like drinking the coolaid and dive into it thinking the rules don't apply to me. It just irks me a great deal. There is no such thing as "only statistically true." That means it IS true. If you're giving me a pep talk you might as well say "well I sure hope you're super talented because that means as a super-talented person you'll do better!"
|
|
#
¿
Apr 26, 2011 19:49
|
|
|
Cicero posted:
I think he means the laborer's demand for a wage as opposed to demand for a given worker's skillset. Pop-econ 
|
|
#
¿
Apr 26, 2011 19:52
|
|
What? This makes no sense. Why would you want a job in a field with low demand, and more importantly, why would low demand increase your odds of getting a job? Are you seriously suggesting that if nobody cares about your skill set, that makes you LESS likely to be unemployed?
|
Melted_Igloo posted:More demand for a specific type of skill (say COBOL), does not equate to more jobs It often means they'll pay more for people who need it, depending on how keen the workers are on demanding wages and benefits for having that. But yes, you're right. Supply curves aren't always sloped positively or demand negatively, and the elasticity of both is not what many people think they are. But no, chasing lower wages doesn't mean you'll have more job openings 
|
|
#
¿
Apr 26, 2011 20:58
|
|
|
baquerd posted:1. "Lifetime salaries are on average lower for people who start work in a recession." It's not deterministically set in stone, no. My CHANCES are changed as far as what an actuary would have to say about me, though, and that's factual. While I can do this or that to sway it, I'm still going to have to face reality! An INDIVIDUAL can try to make it better for himself or herself, but the fact remains that among the entire group, they will average out making less money than a group which started out in better times! Then again I'm just now finishing up my first sophomore semester, so with any luck I'll start in a better job market myself.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 26, 2011 22:05
|
|
|
shrike82 posted:Dude, you've been posting across multiple forums and threads here obsessing about salaries and your earnings potential. Whatever tactical decisions you make about engineering vs. CS or when you leave school or taking the highest paying job are going to be outweighed by the fact that right now you are an older student with a mediocre GPA ~2.0 at a CC and as far as I can tell no relevant work experience. If you've been reading my post history, how do you think I have a 2.0? I started with a 12 credit hour 2.0 and it's now a 2.78. I have over a 3.0 at the new school I'm in! If you'e going to play that card, do more than skim, please! The argument over people who doesn't understand statistics is because "Yeah well it's statistically true but that doesn't apply to me or individuals" irritates the ever loving piss out of me. Yes it does. You're not special, neither are they. Nevertheless, even if I did have a literally lovely GPA, pursuing the highest growth is in my best interest, which was my point. People saying that it doesn't matter should probably consider retaking statistics at some point if they haven't taken it yet. Reality applies to everyone, even college kids and white collar professionals. Anyway, what the hell is FOSS? I'm seeking internships but I can't get any through my Community College, which is why I'm trying to finish my AA and get to a University ASAP.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 27, 2011 13:24
|
|
|
baquerd posted:Real life tends to segregate into special and non-special rather abruptly, but special people do exist. In fact we could even loosely define them as the top 10% or so of productive workers who tend to skew the salaries when they're compensated fairly. Right. In any field you'll have exceptional people. Being exceptional helps you in any field. You're still going to have more leverage as a worker in a field where there's more demand for your work! baquerd posted:Your point is invalid because the problem space grossly dwarfs your vector space so far. Again, seizing individual opportunities will determine your growth so much more than any general market movements that to try to plan around the movements becomes pointless. Forest for the tress. So, you mean to say that the growth rate of a sector, and thus the rate at which new jobs are demanded, doesn't affect my individual opportunities, even though it affects the number of opportunities I'll have given a skill set which determines which sector I can even get a job in? You'e basically going "If you're hot poo poo you'll get a job." Wonderful. How many other people are hot poo poo? Most people reading this post are not hot poo poo. Mos workers and most people are not hot poo poo. Even if you are, you still have better job prospects in a growing field than in one that is growing slower or not at all! I don't understand why you feel that doesn't matter. Then again, I don't think I'm hot poo poo.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 27, 2011 21:16
|
|
|
Dren posted:You have utterly missed my point, and I wonder why it's so hard to make it. I'll try again. I want STABILITY. STABILITY has many factors in it. Some of these include keeping your job because you're needed, being given benefits because you're needed, being paid well because you're needed, and having money to handle your personal problems and not jeopardize your job. A good indicator of how much a business will need you is how much they're willing to pay people, how fast the relevant sector is growing, and what the trends, if any are known, are. I'm not chasing money for the sake of wanting to make tons and tons of it. It's necessary for stability, which I am pursuing, so I'm obligated to seek it in my quest for stability. Obviously if you're going to graduate with a poo poo GPA or you interview badly you won't be able to negotiate for 60K right out of college. However, if enough people are negotiating that much money, it means my chances - regardless of how good I am or am not - are improved as a result. If you're hot poo poo in a field where the average is 45K, you might get 47-50. If you're hot poo poo in a field where the average is 65K, you might get 68-72! Why do people here really think that they're not affected by what happens to the wider world around them. Do you really think you can literally make your own destiny, period, and nothing matters? Why not go be a hot poo poo super-awesome burger flipper? There's a reason you're going into a good sector and not a bad one.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 27, 2011 21:27
|
|
|
Paolomania posted:2b1s I have a feeling that you will happiest as a "Business Analyst" at some insurance company. What exactly does that mean? Working hard or hardly working?
|
|
#
¿
Apr 27, 2011 22:37
|
|
|
baquerd posted:So you going to fix up that recession or just stand around worrying about it affecting your earnings all day? I worried, then I did my homework, now I've hedged my bets. I can't do anything about my situation now except continue to apply myself in school. There really isn't much of a recession for grads in this field, anyway! If you think it's foolish to care, though, I wonder where you get your confidence from.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 27, 2011 22:57
|
|
|
baquerd posted:Let's do a real world example. "Average" software engineer salary in one location is $70k a year, you'll see a lot of postings of 50-60k entry level crap. "Hot poo poo" starts at $100k a year out of college if they can negotiate well and have some exemplar background work ("hot poo poo" inevitably will). You REALLY hate it when someone suggests that poo poo happens outside of your personal control, huh? Massive locus of control disagreement going on here. At least now I know to not suggest such things when networking in the future. For what it's worth, I realize what you're saying. That doesn't change whether or not you'd be better off being hot poo poo in Computer Science vs hot poo poo in most other things, though.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 27, 2011 23:05
|
|
|
baquerd posted:That the recession was out of your control was the point I was making - not to worry about it and take control of what you can. That was entirely my point. Working hard where it will give you more than working hard would get you less is kind of an obvious thing to do. Simple optimization. I know people with 4.0s and internships who can't get civil engineering jobs.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 27, 2011 23:17
|
|
|
The Reaganomicon posted:Connections determine where you get a job. The job you get there determines the amount of cashmoney you will acquire. Unless you're an autistic shutin or a poor that went to a degree mill, your connections will matter more than your Hot poo poo Quotient. I was assuming it was so blatantly, boot-on-your-neck obvious it didn't warrant being spoken other than saying "Network" and "OH GOD INTERNSHIPS" and "first job RELAY matters". Once you get that first experience you're able to go by actual qualifications, but I do agree that your first actual chance comes down to how much elbow rubbing and palm greasing you do. I hate this to no end. I also can't do much for it except as a goon (LOL) until I get to a University and start meeting professors. Community College doesn't exactly offer poo poo for what I'm doing, they've said my transfer University will handle it, and that's about a year out given the pile of prerequisites - the rest of calculus, physics, etc. Obviously if I was going to start a nepotism goonproject I'd make an avatar of every shining corporate stereotype one could, so you won't see "twobanks" go get a job given I actually speak my mind on this name. But yes, to everyone who lives out the buzzwords: NEPOTISM OR YOU'RE SCREWED. On that note, make a fake facebook with no info at all, just a pic of you looking normal and doing normal things, that is searchable, while making your own facebook NOT searchable and NOT having a picture of yourself or anything identifiable on it. That way if you have a slip of opinion and speak your mind, you don't get blacklisted or fired for it! I've already started honing my "Hide your actual feelings and go along with the group" skills by palling around with the conserva-crew engineering student group at my school and networking with the local university's engineering department staff. DO THESE THINGS! Talk to advisers, tutors, professors, and be someone who stands out. If you're at a CC it's probably a lot easier to be remembered instead of a name on a list; if you're at a University I guess that just means try harder or nag your adviser daily. At any rate, do extra curriculars, join student groups, do a drat internship if you get one, and don't lease or buy or finance any expensive junk until long after you can actually afford it.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 29, 2011 03:03
|
|
|
Cicero posted:Except that it doesn't. Starting salary isn't everything, but it's one indicator of healthy job prospects. I realize it's a hard thing to grapple with, but literally every good job I've ever had in my brief life was a result of nepotism, be it strictly defined, or the more weak version of the word where it's an issue if "who you know" even if I wasn't literally related to them. I'm very glad that something I've held interest in for a long time happens to offer me the stability and security I need. I just can't realize why so many people are so full of themselves they don't realize that many things completely out of their control could take it all away. If you're on the internet, you have to have been exposed to the statistics. I guess they don't comprehend them as it pertains to their working lives. Don't even get me started on how many HR departments filter out people with 6 months or more of unemployment, calling them "unemployable" and leaving them to their fate.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 29, 2011 03:20
|
|
|
Okay, enough derail. Sorry Cicero. Pathos > logos and all. For FLOSS, what would be good projects to jump into? Starting one or contributing to one that you find interesting? Any and all advice or experiences here would be helpful. For networking, besides joining student groups, palling around with professors, and being a lab-rat, what else works? For those of us who are coming from a Community College to a University, and do not have family who can help us network in this field, what's a good starting point? For what it's worth, I do this ANYWAY, because I frankly love the subject and stumbling into people with a common interest is a godsend if you life in an area which cares only about things I couldn't care less about. All but the most boring or anti social people would be doing these things, I think, anyway, but I've heard Universities are much more impersonal than CC's on account of the class sizes being so big. Maybe it changes at the upper level? I don't know. I have about a year of prerqs left before I transfer anyway. Nothing is imminent but I don't want to go "WHOOPS!" and pay for it down the line. The reason I'm so gung ho about this now is I already got sold on how guaranteed my future would be with a given job skill which ended up being a titanic waste of time and money, and I'm not about to do that again this late in my twenties.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 29, 2011 17:27
|
|
|
umbrage posted::some really awesome stuff + specific interests: My interests:
They're probably way too spread around, so I'll have to figure out something to specialize in. Still, anything you could share would be wonderful. Thanks for putting up with us neophytes, btw.
|
|
#
¿
May 3, 2011 22:50
|
|
|
What are the high-growth job markets anyway? My gut would be The typical west-coast cities, RTP in NC, and maybe the north east.
|
|
#
¿
May 8, 2011 22:44
|
|
|
It's embarrassing when a lot of kids think they're invincible in general.
|
|
#
¿
May 9, 2011 12:54
|
|
|
subx posted:So the only places that need developers are IT firms now? There's tons of jobs everywhere. Not sure its as easy as shrike82 makes it out to be, but getting a decent job shouldn't be a problem. Working for the health care industry - what do they look for, database skills?
|
|
#
¿
May 9, 2011 19:21
|
|
|
Please tell me those guys at least have advancement within their employer and pay raises to match inflation and experience. I now know what to stay the hell away from, thanks.
|
|
#
¿
May 9, 2011 22:11
|
|
|
Paolomania posted:2b1s, from your posting pattern here and elsewhere I think your enthusiasm for finance and interest in a computing career for its financial rewards I really think you should be looking to be in some kind of quantitative analysis (or software support thereof) role. These opportunities are out there - I recently learned of such an opening doing software engineering and analysis for an Ivy endowment. Sweet gig with huge bonuses, but way above your experience level. If you want these types of roles you will need, in addition to engineering skills, a solid background in finance, statistical analysis, and rapid application development. Seeing as I just started Physics w/ calc I today, that's far off. My passion would be making hardware, or making the layer that lets high level poo poo work with hardware, such as drivers or microcode. Chugging along with high level things would not be a bad fate at all, and one I'm prepared to accept - but it's not my dream of dreams. I'm also not doing computer engineering for the money. I'm doing it because I want to make real things or research making them better, be it bridges or bridge-chips. Stability is a co-requisite; staring at lines of codes, or a wire frame to do physics, is really quite similar. Every field needs good computation and modeling anyway, so why not go help everyone? I'll heed your advice, but right now I'm far more interested in making analysis go better for anyone, or anyone using a given method, than making a program to do that analysis, if that makes any sense. Hell, right now I'm thinking about how to parallelize it, though how to do it efficiently is way over my head.
|
|
#
¿
May 10, 2011 04:30
|
|
|
shrike82 posted:I think 2b1s should work on his interpersonal skills before worrying about his career. Just judging by his posts here, I'd guess he'd have a hard time making through a personality interview let alone a technical one. Do you really think that how I talk to goons with a horrible case of "I AM INVINCIBLE" that I'll never meet is the same as how I act with interviewing managers? Arguing with people over if reality applies to them, on the internet, is not the same as picking my battles (by not having them in the first place) where I work or with friends. Why would I even talk about unemployment or job security anyway? If everyone who is even remotely competent is so surely employed if not overpaid why would the topic arise? Just because I don't share your world view or belief in the locus of control being completely internal doesn't mean I'm a jackass who goes trying to prosthelytize the workplace. You disagree with me. We get it. You think everyone who is unemployed is personally responsible and anyone competent has a job and everyone is personally responsible for their fortune. I don't. Why did you bring this back up again?
|
|
#
¿
May 10, 2011 04:42
|
|
|
"Courses" in "schools" have a "sequence" of "prerequisites" that I have to take before I get to the material which makes me as hard as you, or for that matter your skull. I'm kind of astonished you've neglected to remember this fact.
|
|
#
¿
May 10, 2011 16:50
|
|
|
Thel posted:
How does the interviewee drop that they're more of the wharf-dwelling sort without scaring off groups who want more clean-cut personalities, without blowing their chances at getting valuable experience for a few years in a place which would much prefer the quiet sort? I've worked in places ranging from shipyards to libraries, so neither would be out of place for me. In all honesty, when interviewing I tend to read them and put on the "interview hat", making sure I touch all the buzzwords that show I either bothered to check up on the lingo, or actually buy into it. While I'm asking - do you care either way if the guy really buys it, or just plays along with it, but is still capable either way, if you could tell or he later admits it? As grating as saying words you never use otherwise may seem, it seems to have evolved into a litmus test to weed out people who can't or don't want to fit in and play the business game. Personally, I've never not done well in an interview, but it really feels like an act. I'm wondering if when you move up to technical work, the charade goes away, or just changes to more of a mutual kabuki play.
|
|
#
¿
May 12, 2011 15:49
|
|
|
So the internship went over the 10 weeks since they liked me and I was productive (GOOD!) but is now on hold until summer (blah). I've got enough money to coast until then, but I'd much rather be coding at work than just at school, since I feel that I learn a great deal more in the work place, I get paid to do it there, and it's considerably more fun than "poop out Java project in single file so professor can compile easier and have him give you A." Since I have work experience I can point at, very positive feedback from the lead dev and my boss, and two completed projects I can reference, I think this puts me in a good position for a CS student, be they a Junior or a recent grad. I'd obviously like to complete my degree, but at this point I'd rather get on my feet and independent, on my own, and preferably in an area I actually want to be in, finishing later or with night classes, than remain a broke twit. Basically, what I want to know is how useful it would be to try to go out and get a full time job right now - and if that's a bad idea or just difficult to accomplish, how to go about getting a good, long term part time job. The place I interned at would happily do contract work with me, so even if I went across the country I wouldn't be cutting ties or burning any bridges. I also have the fact that I could just sit on my rear end, crank out my stupid school projects, work on my own stuff - or just be a scummy college student - and fall right into this in the summer, though that is more of a consolation to me than something I'd choose. What would be a good strategy for me to take at this point? I REALLY want to get out on my own. I really like learning new things. I really like programming - should I put the degree on hold, or be careful to insist that I finish it? FWIW, I've got this posted in the jobs thread, if anyone would be so kind as to critique it. I'll have my updated resume available to post soon - my school has a lovely person who helps us polish our resumes, which got me my first internship with zero experience in the first place. I'm thinking with her help I might have an easy time of it, but I still would appreciate input from people in the field. Another thing I'm considering is if I should stick to doing more CRUD work, or move to doing web. The only web experience I have is teaching myself asp.net and making a pretty basic reservation page for clients to use with their own websites, but I liked it, and I know there's a big market for it, and it's not the worst career choice one could make. Would trying to get an entry level position doing that be worth it now, or should I wait until after I do some web project on my own? I've been meaning to do "my name dot com" (or something similar) for some time, and I now have the time to do so. I apologize for the big pile of questions; I just don't know what to do with myself right now.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 6, 2013 19:16
|
|
|
baquerd posted:Web is 99% CRUD unless you're talking front end javascript manipulation, web design (as opposed to programming), or games. Honestly, anything. As far as a I know ASP.net isn't used a lot, so I'm thinking I should expand into something else. If I was to do one on my own, I'd look up what's the most used and just make something personal with some "look at me!" pages and a list of my school projects so employers can tell that I've actually made something while in school. I really just need to learn right now, and build good habits. If you meant working with someone else, anything that I could learn from and earn a modest living from would be good. Would you happen to know anyone needing some help with web stuff? I've got no problems with CRUD at all - glamorous or not, making poo poo work, knowing I made it work, and fixing it if need be is something I get a lot of satisfaction out of. lmao zebong posted:I would highly recommend that if you can afford it sticking it out and earning your CS degree is well worth it. You're not wrong in that you learn the intricacies of programming and software development doing actual programming work, but getting a degree is more than learning CS concepts in a dry environment. Getting your degree shows to future employers that you can finish things you started. It shows that you can complete things that may be hard or slightly boring, and that you don't give up when you start to lose interest. With your experience outside of school and a degree, you will be in a prime position once you finally graduate, and I'll bet you'll be happy with the decision. You're right - I just don't want to live at home anymore. I'm too far from school, the jobs I'd find, and the places I go hang out, and living in the black hole of a long commute and an area that sucks if I don't drive forever to leave it could easily make me get lazy and complacent as hell. I reallllly want to keep busy and get in a better place now, not in 18 months.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 6, 2013 20:22
|
|
|
No Safe Word posted:It's used plenty, just not in sexy popular projects or a lot of open source stuff. More enterprisey stuff. Oh. Funny how what I did was enterprisey. But if I were to, say, do some personal "LOOK AT ME I HAVE A PULSE!" web project, what would be better way to go? Throw dart at a board, or something different in a big way to round me off? EDIT: So I just looked online at available positions and wouldn't you know it, a staffing company is literally on the first floor of the building I'm at now. Just made friends with the guy who hires software types who happens to be all about databases - and one of my projects was basically a little DB maintenance utility. Holy crap I love this type of work. Fuck them fucked around with this message at 21:12 on Feb 6, 2013 |
|
#
¿
Feb 6, 2013 20:41
|
|
|
I'm in a potentially extremely fortunate, lucrative position where I could grow as a programmer (or a shrewd negotiator!) with what I know. Without divulging too much about what's going on or where I'm doing it, both devs are not exactly here anymore, I am (until 5pm EST) the only guy they know who knows C# and anything about their product at all, and the only reason I'm going to be cut loose until summer is that they need to on board a new senior developer, who needs time to start learning the code base before they could support me. Apparently my employer feels I'm too green (and this is probably true, this IS my first job developing, ever) to start digging into the code base myself, and want to have time for someone with the experience and the glandular fortitude to dig into this, so that this summer I can be supported by that senior dev. So, even if I literally just played videogames and grunted out my school projects for the next few months, I'll have full time work this summer, and part time as I finish school. Good!!! My first comment with regards to taking a 4 month break was "The only way for me to really get into this is to spend time doing it, and now is probably as good as later." My boss agreed, but he's going to be flying around the world selling our stuff and others will be out doing the trade-show-thing. While he knows SQL and PHP, he doesn't know C#, and apparently can't spend the time to get up to speed on the language or the code base. He agreed, but a lot of it isn't up to him - I'm guess the owners (who do not know software at all or business as much as they think...) had something to do with this. This is all well and good. What I want to know is how I should negotiate this summer. Both the senior dev before he left and my boss were both impressed with how fast I learned what I did and then how quickly I finished my projects upon learning what I did, and my boss didn't really seem to want me not to be around. I'm clearly held in some positive regard as a developer and liked personally, so I'll have some leverage to get a decent salary out of this - and benefits. But, since I am still in school, even if this is my junior year (senior next year, woo!) I don't know just what I should expect. On the other hand, they're down to (right now) ME as the only person who knows poo poo about their software's source, and are in the process of getting someone with the experience and willingness to start learning it so that they can get to work on it and get me up to speed. It seems my options are the lazy way out and fall into it, be shrewd and get the most I can, and to run like hell since there seems to be a non zero chance this could blow up if it isn't handled very carefully by my boss, since they have nobody developing anything at all as of 5PM today, unless they give me contract work over the rest of the winter and spring, until they get a new guy. So, I'm juggling "they're in a weak position," "I could be in a very good one," and "this could all go very pear shaped very easily." What's the good thing, the shrewd thing, and the right thing to do here? I don't know if I should feel lucky or apprehensive right now.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 8, 2013 20:24
|
|
|
Cicero posted:The shrewd thing is to have other internship offers lined up that can give you massive leverage. How many do you have right now? How many are you currently pursuing? Another company in the same building, and a staffing company in the same building (I meet people easily at lunch here; I've even made friends with the guy running the restaurant downstairs and talked to his sister about a place she's opening up in the hipster part of town somehow or another) and a company that remembered me acing a programming test despite not having enough experience for them to hire at the time at my school's job fair in the fall last semester. I think I'm in a pretty good place to get money worth my time. I've never had it this good in my life. poo poo, I'm by myself in the office with the lights off staring at traffic as I polish up some debugging and documentation staring out the window at people driving like idiots trying to merge onto the highway in a peaceful nerd-vana, posting on something awful about how to make more money. It almost seems superfluous to bother with school at this point, except for that fact that I have free resume critiquing and networking baked into going to school, easy projects to keep me busy and get me that degree, and an on-campus bar with local beer for that matter. This really is the best I've ever had it and I'm really glad I've gotten here.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 8, 2013 21:52
|
|
|
Cicero posted:Are these companies you have open offers from or ones you're pursuing offers from? Pursuing. As soon as I get time this weekend I'll have my resume re-critiqued to reflect my new experience, skills (and confidence) and go from there. I'm on good terms with everyone I've spoken to so far, but no, they're not "hatched" yet so to speak. Also, yes. Yes it is nice here.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 8, 2013 22:36
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 3, 2024 13:43 |
|
|
Honestly, yes; I get along well with everyone, it's a small business so my work directly impacts their bottom line, they can't really do anything wrong except start being and continue being very retarded to screw up what they have, and have trimmed their fat for some time. On top of it all, I'm their invested intern, and was a lot more of a catch than they were anticipating (according to them) so I have a comfortable place to grow. That said, making them work for it and prove they meant what they said would be better for me in the long run than skating by the next few months. I want to work there, but not at my own expense.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 12, 2013 01:12
|
|