Ask HN: Are you working on interesting technical problems? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Are you working on interesting technical problems?

#261

Post by meestaahjoshee » Tue, Jun 05, 2018, 3:41 PM UTC

Change jobs? I was working in digital identity, working on fairly interesting things like fraud detection and federated identity. But honestly alot of it was still gluing code - various vendors to handle various parts of the processes mostly.

Now I'm at another SaaS company that builds a CRM. Definitely less interesting on a purely subject/industry level but I'm happily learning new things that are personally interesting/satisfying - finally a chance to work with React, ES6, DevOps, even ML stuff. And just started a book club as well, going over structure and interpretation of computer programs.

Plus I gave myself a 50% raise and better benefits all around at this company - win win win. Granted I was obviously underpaid at my last job.

Don't stay if you're unhappy - there are plenty of places to work at that should keep you technically interested as a software engineer these days.

Re: Ask HN: Are you working on interesting technical problems?

#262

Post by MartinCron » Tue, Jun 05, 2018, 3:42 PM UTC

phillipamann wrote: post #28

I think about this a lot. With the rise of cloud computing, I wonder if what I am doing is even programming. I even searched Stack Overflow recently to see if working on complex configurations counts as programming or not. There obviously wasn't consensus. I saved this thread to "read later" in the hope that I can identify how to get into a position where I am working on interesting problems but more or less, I imple…

Programming, testing, debugging, tuning, and yes, configuring are all parts of the umbrella that I like to call “Professional Software Development”.

All valuable skills, worth respecting and improving.

Re: Ask HN: Are you working on interesting technical problems?

#263

Post by throwawaymath » Tue, Jun 05, 2018, 3:43 PM UTC

tudelo wrote: post #244

throwawaymath wrote: post #205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All over. It's not strictly weather data, either. The majority of the data comes from programs within DSCOVR, LPDAAC, NASA, NOAA, NCDC, USGS, ARGO, CDC, CDIAC ORNL, DOE, EIA, EPA, FDA, EOSWEB, USFS, PHMSA and USDA. The snapshots I have are already around 50TB; I'm working on setting up updates at daily resolution for each of these sources, documenting it all and transforming it into something queryable.

Is there a possibility that there is just too much data for one person to handle in a meaningful way?

Of course, that may very well be a possibility. In that case I'll have to scale up the effort.

Re: Ask HN: Are you working on interesting technical problems?

#264

Post by negamax » Tue, Jun 05, 2018, 3:46 PM UTC

TeMPOraL wrote: post #228

negamax wrote: post #224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Step 1. Tell more people about this. As more people realize the sheer banality of the system, we may find better, interesting solutions Step 2. Push for creating more and more social infrastructure. So if people want to, they can choose to not be part of the box

> Step 1. Tell more people about this. As more people realize the sheer banality of the system, we may find better, interesting solutions I do that a lot on HN. I've been considering blogging on this topic, but I feel I suck at writing, and people may not want to listen to confused ramblings of a random programmer -.- > Step 2. Push for creating more and more social infrastructure. So if people want to, they can choo…

Joining NGOs in your area is a good start. Many of these folks have good intent but lacks tech know how. You be surprised, how little can make a big difference

Re: Ask HN: Are you working on interesting technical problems?

#265

Post by markhenderson » Tue, Jun 05, 2018, 3:52 PM UTC

Right now a colleague of mine are working on a project called TallyLab. It's a "data diary" based on IPFS and OrbitDB. By utilizing those technologies we hope to create a distributed, decentralized, end-to-end encrypted, peer-to-peer system that gives people full control over their data. We believe it will be the first of many "GDPR-first" or "HIPAA-first" apps.

Sign up for our beta program at https://tallylab.com :)

Re: Ask HN: Are you working on interesting technical problems?

#266

Post by jeffreyrogers » Tue, Jun 05, 2018, 3:54 PM UTC

bonyt wrote: post #159

This was one of the reasons I went to law school after getting a CS degree. I now practice law, focused on patent litigation. My experience generally has been that the work is more varied, and there is more learning as opposed to mechanically doing. Sometimes I get to deep dive into interesting technical topics. I’ve taken things apart and reverse engineered bits of software and worked with experts. Plus I am deeply…

I have been considering making a switch from software engineering to patent law. Are most patent lawyers employed by large law firms or is it common to work for yourself or in a small practice?

Re: Ask HN: Are you working on interesting technical problems?

#267

Post by generalunited » Tue, Jun 05, 2018, 3:59 PM UTC

Mechanical: how do you reciprocally sweep a plate the size of a golf cart chassis such that it moves through space up and down at at least 10 times a second?

Re: Ask HN: Are you working on interesting technical problems?

#268

Post by sAbakumoff » Tue, Jun 05, 2018, 4:03 PM UTC

betimsl wrote: post #169

sAbakumoff wrote: post #105

My suggestion : forget you CS degree, drop the idea of doing something interesting during your work hours, think about it as inevitable procedure to earn your montly salary. At 5pm run away from your office and focus on whatever you think is interesting.

Where's the social life when doing this?

C'mon we are almost at the point when there will be no social life but virtually connected individuals exchanging their personal data for likes and views.

Re: Ask HN: Are you working on interesting technical problems?

#269

Post by nojvek » Tue, Jun 05, 2018, 4:05 PM UTC

glangdale wrote: post #138

senatorobama wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ah! Inspiration. I'm a Sydney-sider and though I'm relatively satisfied in my current position, I'm having a difficult time finding the next job that could satisfy my computer engineering background. Software engineering has become a byword for web development/Java, (or selling your soul to work in HFT...) Where would you like to work next?

Sydney is a relatively bleak place for getting a good selection of tech jobs. There are the obvious BigCos, then... not much. I may have to Make My Own Fun - another startup?

You could do your own startup but it’s really hard to do it in Sydney because even though the economy is doing well you don’t get the funding. What I mean by that is just not seed but all the stages required to be a behemoth.

US has it. They live and breathe tech. 5 largest companies by market cap are all Tech. They eat other tech companies for billions of dollars. Everyone and their dog in SV has a startup on the side. There are conferences on how to invest in startups. Some people just exclusively invest in startups. It’s crazy.

Sydney also has a tech brain drain. I lived in Sydney for 10 years and most of my friends moved out here too. Just better opportunities.

Sydney is such a nice place to build a startup though. Sucks that the ecosystem isn’t there. Vancouver has a similar problem too.

Re: Ask HN: Are you working on interesting technical problems?

#270

Post by dsd » Tue, Jun 05, 2018, 4:11 PM UTC

TeMPOraL wrote: post #222

dsd wrote: post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Funny thing- I'm a bioinformatics making 70k and with a family. I'm ready to leave the space to make money. I'm at the point where I wouldn't mind something less altruistic -it's all the same uninteresting work. Crazy to read your stories of wanting to go the opposite direction.

Crazy indeed. Grass is always greener then? Your 70k in bioinformatics is something I'd drop my current job in a heartbeat for! I'm very interesting in knowing what are your motivations to switch towards "something less altruistic". Could you share some more details? Maybe it really is that no matter what you do, no matter how meaningful, it'll always become a boring chore? Maybe I didn't have an meaningful job yet,…

I think the best way to describe the issue is to consider why people claim being in healthcare is bad (try googling around for whether it's worth being a doctor because you feel called to help people). Healthcare (and biotech feeds into healthcare) is very heirarchial, so advancement gets blocked. There are better ways to find meaning than the field you work in. Like all technology jobs it's viewed as grunt work compared to MD/PI/regulation visionaries. My main motivation is cash and experience that are difficult to get in an underfunded and sinking industry; genomics is really struggling to float as science progresses to new fields not out of the ninety's. I feel like someone stuck in a third world country watching America glitter into the sunset. Sure I make very interesting products but it is boiled down into the same day to day mundane work, but for less pay. We might get a thank you letter from someone thanking us for extending their life and that is awesome for someone like me who is not their doc. But I'm like a firefighter- utterly unappreciated by everyone else no matter what interesting piece I work on. And it's hard to save much for retirement. I haven't felt the void you feel. I would rather make a less drastic but equally important impacts on people in my spare time like as a coach- think of Maslow's heirarchy of needs and how healthcare inverts parts of it.

I see in this thread lots of people who have their security level established and are now looking to fill their social level. I feel inverted on the subject and let's just say Maslow's order matters.