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Ask HN: How do you get past difficulty learning what's needed for a new job?

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Re: Ask HN: How do you get past difficulty learning what's needed for a new job?

#41

Post by _sdegutis »

potta_coffee wrote: post #39
_diyu wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not in a position for any of that. We're living literally week to week, and every single hour that I'm awake I need to work. Our bills are past due and we're overdrawn $50 in the bank right now. I'm making $25/hour with this one client, and it's barely enough for the life we have. I would downsize our lifestyle if I knew how but we can't even afford to move to a cheaper city. As it is right now, the only choice I…

I was in the same boat, I was floating via a single big client and the situation was no good. I don't have the health issues you have, so maybe it was easier, but I hit the job application process hard and found something. The interview process was extremely stressful and difficult and I really wanted to give up, but things turned out well in the end. It sounds like you've got skills to offer and there's allegedly a…

I went job hunting for the past 8 months and got 30 jobs and all of them rescinded their offers because my reputation is radioactive. So I would love to get a full time job. But it's not my path right now unfortunately. I would absolutely love that though.

Re: Ask HN: How do you get past difficulty learning what's needed for a new job?

#42

Post by potta_coffee »

_sdegutis wrote: post #41
potta_coffee wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was in the same boat, I was floating via a single big client and the situation was no good. I don't have the health issues you have, so maybe it was easier, but I hit the job application process hard and found something. The interview process was extremely stressful and difficult and I really wanted to give up, but things turned out well in the end. It sounds like you've got skills to offer and there's allegedly a…

I went job hunting for the past 8 months and got 30 jobs and all of them rescinded their offers because my reputation is radioactive. So I would love to get a full time job. But it's not my path right now unfortunately. I would absolutely love that though.

Ouch. Is there a way to rehab your rep?

Re: Ask HN: How do you get past difficulty learning what's needed for a new job?

#43

Post by _sdegutis »

potta_coffee wrote: post #42
_sdegutis wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I went job hunting for the past 8 months and got 30 jobs and all of them rescinded their offers because my reputation is radioactive. So I would love to get a full time job. But it's not my path right now unfortunately. I would absolutely love that though.

Ouch. Is there a way to rehab your rep?

No. Even without background checks, every employer ends up googling my name when I get hired, and rescinds the offer 100% of the time. My only hope of being a professional programmer is to do contracting with people who give second chances. I had two clients who have done that, but one cut off contact with me. So I have one client. No way to expand that.

Re: Ask HN: How do you get past difficulty learning what's needed for a new job?

#44

Post by Chyzwar »

_diyu wrote: post #3
DoreenMichele wrote: post #2

in very poor health Do some care-taking first, then try to sit down and work. Daily hot baths in the evening can help. Upping the cleanliness of your abode can help. Getting pickier about your diet with an eye towards good nutrition can help. A daily walk can help. Sometimes, coffee or another source of caffeine can help you concentrate. Bonus: If you regularly work on your health, it can get better.

I'm not in a position for any of that. We're living literally week to week, and every single hour that I'm awake I need to work. Our bills are past due and we're overdrawn $50 in the bank right now. I'm making $25/hour with this one client, and it's barely enough for the life we have. I would downsize our lifestyle if I knew how but we can't even afford to move to a cheaper city. As it is right now, the only choice I…

Sleep more, memory works better if you sleep longer. Exercise a bit and start working on your mental/physical health.

Downsize your spending, get rid of expensive mobile plans, subscriptions for stuff like Netflix. Get cheaper house/apartment, learn how to cook.

Work on your confidence. Attend local meetups and talk with people. Chill out and stop whining. There plenty of people that would swap places with you. You are a healthy white male with a family living in the US.

Re: Ask HN: How do you get past difficulty learning what's needed for a new job?

#45

Post by stunt »

kovrik wrote: post #28
jmercouris wrote: post #11

I know you, I recognize your username. You wrote the tool for OSX: phoenix, hydra, mjolinr, etc. I think you are a very talented developer. I think you'll definitely be able to get a job in Chicago easily. There is no shortage of tech jobs. If it is too much stress for you to work as a freelancer, just get a full time job. There is no shame in that!

Yep, recognized the name too! My advice would be: fake it till you make it. Relax, try to split the whole thing into small pieces, try to understand how they interact with each other, try to understand the dataflow. Also, in my experience you can never actually grok the whole system at once. It is a slow process. And what always helps me: separate things that _actually_ matter for your work and everything else (the p…

I don't like the idea of "fake it till you make it." Sorry but that is horrible. Just think a second if everybody starts doing that!

Just for a second, consider a different job, and think what will happen if everyone start doing that. If your doctor does that, a truck driver does that, if an engineer does that when building a bridge.

I'd say, you should be honest and direct. Just tell your employer/manager: I don't know that, and I need x amount of time/resource to learn it if we need.

You shouldn't fake it. They should know the real cost, the actual capacity. Either they will support you to learn it as part of your job, or they know that it works better if they think about alternative solution/design base on actual capacity/resource.

Nobody can blame you for not knowing something as long as you are willing to learn and they are willing to support you.

"fake it till you make it" also doesn't help you with your stress condition. it will make it even worst as you and your employer don't have real expectations.

Don't build that kind of culture in your job market and society.

Re: Ask HN: How do you get past difficulty learning what's needed for a new job?

#46

Post by kovrik »

stunt wrote: post #45
kovrik wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep, recognized the name too! My advice would be: fake it till you make it. Relax, try to split the whole thing into small pieces, try to understand how they interact with each other, try to understand the dataflow. Also, in my experience you can never actually grok the whole system at once. It is a slow process. And what always helps me: separate things that _actually_ matter for your work and everything else (the p…

I don't like the idea of "fake it till you make it." Sorry but that is horrible. Just think a second if everybody starts doing that! Just for a second, consider a different job, and think what will happen if everyone start doing that. If your doctor does that, a truck driver does that, if an engineer does that when building a bridge. I'd say, you should be honest and direct. Just tell your employer/manager: I don't k…

But everyone already does that. When you get a new job, you can't just merge in seamlessly like you've been working there for ages.

Of course, saying 'fake it' I don't mean 'just pretend that you know stuff, but don't actually learn and don't work hard'. You have to learn, you have to work hard to really understand the project etc.

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