My company was looking for a Scala dev in the UK desperately. Yes, perhaps there are not too many Scala jobs out there as there are Java, .NET and PHP, but good Scala developers are not easy to find either. So adding a bit to your list of which language to add to your resume, I would go and spend more time on Scala than on PHP personally. Why Scala? well, if you came from Ruby, I bet 9/10 you'll like it more than Jav…
That might be the best pro Scala (your "Why Scala?" blurb) statement I've heard yet. :)
There's a happy middle ground here, no need to split hairs or be black and white. One formula that works is, be a legit programmer/developer/hacker, but be able to communicate with business people on the business level about business problems. Preferably using your own original language, rather than pre-packaged MBA-speak (though sometimes even that stuff is useful if a particular client needs to hear it).
>One formula that works is, be a legit programmer/developer/hacker, but be able to communicate with business people on the business level about business problems. That's what I'm really getting at. At the end of the day the person who decides to give you money in exchange for your code is a business person who wants to pay you to solve their business problems. Showing them that you understand and have experience solv…
Yup. I'd say if you're capable of doing both, do both. But if not, focus on being the best programmer you can be. It's the foundation for everything else.
Who cares about what languages HN likes or doesn't like? If you have bills to pay, get a job and let go of the need to "please" some random people on the Internet, whatever that means. Imperative, object-oriented languages are all very similar, so just go get a job doing that. All you have to do is make clear to the interviewer that you may not have the precise pedigree in $FOO_LANGUAGE, but are willing to learn.
I think "what HN likes" here is throwing you off. I don't think this is about fashion. Good programmers care a lot about good tools. Different tools also have different communities, which means different views, different standards, different approaches. I've done projects with great tools and projects with shitty tools. For me, it makes a giant difference. I can spend my energy on solving real user problems, or I can…
Bravo. As a longtime enterprise reporting guy turned Rails dev, this resonates deeply with me.
Since you seem to be based in England, I can recommend Red Gate, a small-ish (200+ people) software shop based in Cambridge. I interned with them this summer and they're simply an amazing place to work for. http://www.red-gate.com/
they're a windows-only shop, bear in mind - or at least they were when I last checked. not necessarily a problem, but may be an issue for some.
You can brush up PHP in a week or less. Don't go the waiter/shop assistant route. Just start interviewing for every and any position you see until you get one. Unless you are absolutely broke with zero money. Then take the first job you can, but make sure you take something that allows you time to be able to go for interviews.
This is very good advice. Except that I would brush up on .NET (in a week or less) instead. He would make more money.
Good point. You can't learn Java that fast (at least not well enough to make money at it... that's why they're the highest paid developers... people pay lots for souls.)
Keep coding. Don't stop. If you have to take other jobs to support your habit, oh well. Find out what the local scene wants and start doing that for free on the side. Eventually someone will hire you.
Since you seem to be based in England, I can recommend Red Gate, a small-ish (200+ people) software shop based in Cambridge. I interned with them this summer and they're simply an amazing place to work for. http://www.red-gate.com/
they're a windows-only shop, bear in mind - or at least they were when I last checked. not necessarily a problem, but may be an issue for some.
actually, these days, we're getting into all sorts of things, including a lot of big data and node.js. (I work in the Red Gate Ventures division)
As a CTO mad keen for senior Ruby types in London I'm amazed you can't make it work. I'm in a company that has been trading for 4 years, has decent revenues, is just in the middle of a pivot with a decent round of funding...
... and we're small. There are a lot of firms like us and bigger than us with seven figure investments. What the hell have you been doing?
As a CTO mad keen for senior Ruby types in London I'm amazed you can't make it work. I'm in a company that has been trading for 4 years, has decent revenues, is just in the middle of a pivot with a decent round of funding... ... and we're small. There are a lot of firms like us and bigger than us with seven figure investments. What the hell have you been doing?
He has been looking for a job in his hometown after returning from London. Firms like yours should be more open to remote workers, particularly in a small country like England where most everybody can take the train to London for a half day meeting on a regular basis. Heck, I knew people who commuted from Leeds every day, but not everyone can handle that lifestyle. The best part of it is that the British train system makes it easy to be productive while travelling. Leave home 15 minutes before departure time, step on the train just in time, sit and relax and code for the hours that it takes to get into the city.