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Ask HN: Can't get hired – what's next?

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Re: Ask HN: Can't get hired – what's next?

#151

Post by rsynnott »

silvercymbals wrote: post #60
Havoc wrote: post #46

If you want to be employed in a tech space then you'll need to work on passing those tech screens. Silly as they may be employers makes the rules in interviews. Or found another company then you can make your own rules. > law school Given how rapidly the current administration is tearing up the legislative rule book and AI excelling at big chunks of it, law is not a space I'd want to be in

I can't tell if I'm just too stupid to pass them or if the market has suddenly raised the bar substantially.

I'd be willing to bet it's our good friends the magic robots. Go cold turkey on LLMs for a bit and see how you get on. Some, though not all, people seem to lose the ability to program remarkably quickly on exposure to them.

Re: Ask HN: Can't get hired – what's next?

#152

Post by red-iron-pine »

leakycap wrote: post #2

You have set a high goal of $150k salary without a clear way to achieve it, or a clear passion, if I'm reading correctly. What is your depth of knowledge in? You say software? Law would be an risk idea if you don't love it with all your heart, even people who love law hate it by the end of law school.

150 is like painfully mid-level IT in a tech hub. Like I jumped from that in the RDU area of NC to something much higher.

competitive in other parts of the US, perhaps, but for serious dyed-in-the-wool devs it's piddly

Re: Ask HN: Can't get hired – what's next?

#153

Post by red-iron-pine »

mothballed wrote: post #50
silvercymbals wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People on HN saying $150k is a "high bar" is frankly insulting. Anyone in the bay who's not a founder or working for a meaningless company easily clears $200k. I've started two companies, exited one and technically have the skills of a "senior engineer". I've managed teams of engineers and have architected remote factory production systems for one of my companies along with a dozen or so relatively complex web apps i…

I recently paid a guy about $10k to roof my house. $3500 materials, ~$6500 labor. Maybe 32 hours labor tops, it is a hella small house. Might be worth looking into. He was cheaper than pretty much anyone else.

roofing is also notoriously brutal and has non-trivial risks

Re: Ask HN: Can't get hired – what's next?

#154

Post by mothballed »

red-iron-pine wrote: post #153
mothballed wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I recently paid a guy about $10k to roof my house. $3500 materials, ~$6500 labor. Maybe 32 hours labor tops, it is a hella small house. Might be worth looking into. He was cheaper than pretty much anyone else.

roofing is also notoriously brutal and has non-trivial risks

There's very rarely any easy way available to make $150k+ a year.

Re: Ask HN: Can't get hired – what's next?

#155

Post by leakycap »

antisthenes wrote: post #129
leakycap wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When the average US salary is something like 45k, $150k is a high salary especially when you have no plan or clear path to the goal Based on your comments in this thread, I'd suggest that soft skills could use a refresher and might be the difference between getting something and getting passed over again next time - good luck, it isn't easy

To be fair to the OP, the median (so lower than average) salary for a single person with a bachelor's degree (in USA) is ~$80,000, give or take a few bucks. The average is likely higher, and then higher again for higher COL areas. So it's not unreasonable for OP to expect to start at this level, and work their way up to $150k over the next 5-7 years.

> So it's not unreasonable for OP to expect to start at this level, and work their way up to $150k over the next 5-7 years.

So you're actually saying that OP xpecting $150,000 now, given that is what they're expecting (and elsewhere they scoff at $200k), is out of touch.

But you feel compelled to say some people, with years of experience, make more? Yeah. That's sensical - but it doesn't apply now unless you think giving advice 5-7 years in advance is helpful when someone is looking for a job now.

Re: Ask HN: Can't get hired – what's next?

#156

Post by leakycap »

antisthenes wrote: post #130
platevoltage wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Man, it seems like yesterday we were telling coal miners to "learn to code". Now software devs are being told to become tradesmen.

The tradesmen in higher COL areas seem to have no problem charging dev hourly rates ($150-200/hr) and also upcharging ridiculous amounts on materials (one of them tried to charge me $75 for a $3 capacitor). Maybe there is something to that after all.

> (one of them tried to charge me $75 for a $3 capacitor)

How much do you upcharge people for your services and "products" (often virtual)? What is acceptable to you?

If you had to have a physical copy of the apps you work with, in your truck, had to buy them in advance, pay shipping, store them, then take the right copy with you to a client's house. If they paid $3 would you be OK with $30? $60? You seem incensed with $75

I used to work retail. Belkin cables were under $2 each for the store, they sold them for $39-$69 depending on what it was.

If you work in a professional role, your markup on services (almost no costs involved) and products (usually very low costs) is probably many many thousands of times more than the hardworking tradesperson you think ripped you off when they were solving an issue you needed help with and had the expertise, time, and parts to help.

Re: Ask HN: Can't get hired – what's next?

#158

Post by giardini »

silvercymbals wrote: post #12
TylerLives wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why can't other people recognize how great you are?

My resume is pretty scattered. I had good interest with a recruiter sending me FDE roles. But most large orgs look at my resume and run since I have multiple two year stints and stints starting / running my own companies. I'm also fully willing to admit that relative to "senior engineers" of today, maybe I just suck. In that case, idk how to move to what's next. I'm social, but not exactly normal. Also willing to see…

silvercymbals sez:"* I'm social, but not exactly normal. *"

It's the cymbals - lose 'em!

Re: Ask HN: Can't get hired – what's next?

#159

Post by giardini »

silvercymbals wrote: post #49
rockemsockem wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As in they didn't ask leetcode-style questions or you solved the same sort of questions no problem?

These were real-world type problems etc. Maybe I just use cursor too much and I've forgotten the short-hand they were looking for. Prior I never had to do leetcode screens for interviews because of my network - don't really regret not burning tons of hours grinding leetcode. My best guess is they thought my skills weren't advanced enough for my age or found it weird I was bald.

says "or found it weird I was bald."

You're bald! That explains everything! Why didn't you mention this earlier?

First off, shave your head. Now you're no longer bald and you're signaling that you are in control. Use your baldness to dominate instead of lurking.

Secondly, you seem to object to boomers, but boomers are the best thing that happened to you: boomer music, boomer drugs, boomer sex is the best! You know the boomer ethics so adopt them, take Boom to heart: become a boomer and use your baldness to pound it into your opponents!

"Boom, boom, boom

let's go back to my room,

So we can do it all night,

and you can make me feel alright!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXMrDu7374Y

Re: Ask HN: Can't get hired – what's next?

#160

Post by brazukadev »

leakycap wrote: post #157
brazukadev wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why bluesky, not Reddit or X?

Career advice from Reddit is funny. Career advice from X tells me way more about you than you probably meant to share. Oof.

exactly my point, why he decided to compare HN enshitification to bluesky, not to X.
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