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Ask HN: Desperate Python Hacker Seeking Help and Suggestions

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Re: Ask HN: Desperate Python Hacker Seeking Help and Suggestions

#161

Post by erikb »

The thing about programming is, to be good you need to do it. You wrote a lot of things like "I can do this, I can do that." But I guess a lot better to find a job would be "I've done that". Hell, even if you write a Snake or Tetris clone for the iPhone/Android Market, or write small patches for documentation errors for opensource stuff you use. Even projects where you just helped a friend to finish his master thesis would be better then nothing.

And if you are out of money stop looking in one direction. Open up in many ways. And if you fry burgers at McDonnals, who cares. Pay your bills and in your free time get going with doing anything programming related.

My point is: I think the US is the most developed IT market these days. People who actually do things should always be able to get a job. If you didn't get a job until now, it is probably because you didn't really look for it, or you still don't have "what it takes".

Also I think through doing things you automatically learn to know like minded people and thus find entrance into companies.

Re: Ask HN: Desperate Python Hacker Seeking Help and Suggestions

#162

Post by wcarss »

Natsu wrote: post #157
codeslush wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I, too, looked at the challenge and originally had the same thought. However, upon a second reading, it seems that there is a lot of room to misunderstand the requirement, which is almost certainly where the difficulty appears. For example: 1. "Your task..." is not directly correlated to the outputs requested. 2. Item 3 in the SS ranking isn't clear. Specifically, "besides 1" could mean "besides 1" literally, or "bes…

Any ambiguity in item 3 is not a problem, because no matter how you parse it, the number of letters will always be a positive integer.

This is to both you and your parent reply -- have I completely misread statement 3?

'3. If the number of letters in the product's name shares any common factors (besides 1) with the number of letters in the customer's name then the SS is multiplied by 1.5.'

To me, this says that if len(pname) is split into prime factors, and at least one of those is found in the list of prime factors for len(cname), then you multiply your SS by 1.5. The "besides 1" remark is obvious, because 1 is technically a factor for every number. I'm not quite sure how the math pedants come down on that, but this is just common sense.

Negative or positive shouldn't really affect this (I guess it could be construed as "-1" instead of "1" in the factor list, but.. you've really got to bend over backward to make that into a problem), and it's completely not ambiguous. The "besides 1" could not reasonably be taken to mean "besides the first statement", as the two statements deal with very different subject matter.

Am I crazy here? Did I miss something?

Re: Ask HN: Desperate Python Hacker Seeking Help and Suggestions

#163

Post by Estragon »

Natsu wrote: post #159
Estragon wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

...am I falling victim to the effect where everything I know how to do looks easy? You could try it and find out. :-) I ended up using a third-party library which implements an algorithm I hadn't heard of before. (My response to the challenge is below, with the useful hints X'd out.) Hi, guys. This is not a gungho-serious job application, though I have been sniffing around machine learning/coding jobs for a long time…

An external library? Some sort of linear algebra, I assume? I believe that a very simple algorithm that solves problems like this was featured on HN something like a week ago. I hope that's not too much of a hint, but anyone who can figure it out from that was probably a good candidate, anyhow. I should also mention that I did code a solution in Perl, or at least most of one, though I did not submit it. I have a gran…

Not linear algebra, although the optimization problem can be expressed in terms of linear programming, I think.

I wish you well in caring for your grandmother. That stuff is way more important than programming techniques.

Re: Ask HN: Desperate Python Hacker Seeking Help and Suggestions

#165

Post by razzmataz »

bfe wrote: post #40

As someone born and raised in Michigan and whose partner was also born and raised in Michigan, my advice is that other than visiting grandparents and hiking and touring breweries, you will find your opportunities tremendously expanded by as quickly as possible getting the fuck out of Michigan.

Former michigander here, seconding all the advice. There are more jobs in Missouri than in Michigan.

Re: Ask HN: Desperate Python Hacker Seeking Help and Suggestions

#166

Post by stretchwithme »

A few ideas.

Practice your skills (google "code retreat"). If code flows from your fingertips during interviews, you'll get the offers.

Move to where your skills are in high demand.

Try contracting. Get to know people in your area that do the work you want. Ask them how they landed their jobs.

Re: Ask HN: Desperate Python Hacker Seeking Help and Suggestions

#167

Post by gbog »

bfe wrote: post #40

As someone born and raised in Michigan and whose partner was also born and raised in Michigan, my advice is that other than visiting grandparents and hiking and touring breweries, you will find your opportunities tremendously expanded by as quickly as possible getting the fuck out of Michigan.

And if you are really bold, just get the f out of US! You'll learn many things about life, human beings, etc.

My own experience: got out of France, to China, found easily jobs, now work in one of the big Chinese SNSes (written in python, by the way).

Re: Ask HN: Desperate Python Hacker Seeking Help and Suggestions

#168

Post by ikarous »

Natsu wrote: post #125
justin_vanw wrote: post #75

Your description really isn't enough to give you advice. You should post your resume online somewhere and link to it. But, based on what you said, I can tell you: Using Python in school and at a job doesn't make you a Python Hacker. From your description of yourself it sounds like you mostly play with programming. It may just be the way you worded it, but what was the last 'major' software project you have worked on,…

I looked at that challenge. Is it really that much harder than FizzBuzz? Seems like it requires more string manipulation and about the same level of mathematics as FizzBuzz. Or am I falling victim to the effect where everything I know how to do looks easy?

The problem's description is deceptively simple. It poses at the end a combinatorics problem that is non-trivial. I submitted a correct solution after a bit of research; my first approach was the naive solution.

Re: Ask HN: Desperate Python Hacker Seeking Help and Suggestions

#169

Post by helpmehn »

ikarous wrote: post #168
Natsu wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I looked at that challenge. Is it really that much harder than FizzBuzz? Seems like it requires more string manipulation and about the same level of mathematics as FizzBuzz. Or am I falling victim to the effect where everything I know how to do looks easy?

The problem's description is deceptively simple. It poses at the end a combinatorics problem that is non-trivial. I submitted a correct solution after a bit of research; my first approach was the naive solution.

If, by "non-trivial," you mean NP-hard, I agree. :-)

Re: Ask HN: Desperate Python Hacker Seeking Help and Suggestions

#170

Post by ikarous »

helpmehn wrote: post #169
ikarous wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem's description is deceptively simple. It poses at the end a combinatorics problem that is non-trivial. I submitted a correct solution after a bit of research; my first approach was the naive solution.

If, by "non-trivial," you mean NP-hard, I agree. :-)

I was trying to be vague so as not to give hints to those interested in trying the challenge. Evidently, I am utterly guileless.
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