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Say if someone often worked 70-90 hours per week and worked on holidays and didn't take vacation for 5 years. How could somehow reflect that experience on a résumé? Would it be fair to at least claim 7 years experience for that time?
Thanks
The years of experience are actual years, no subtractions, no adding. It's just a guidance and says nothing about actual technology experience.
A person who claims to work 70-90h per week without vacation for 5 years might attract some companies. Others will say the person has no private life and might burn out soon. Those extra hours work short-term, but long-term they aren't a batch of honor.
Work isn't linear. Overwork often leads to less productive work, so working (say) 100 hour weeks for a year might be less of a learning experience than working 40 hours weeks for two years.
Part of experience is in knowing how things evolve. Best practices change. If you only have 2 years of clock time experience but claim 4 years of "real" experience due to working 80 hour weeks, then that doesn't mean you know to handle the changes from 3 years ago when Framework 2.4 became Framework 3.0.
You also don't have a baseline. A lot of people regularly overwork.
Finally, if someone asks "when did your first use Framework" and you reply 2013 but your resume says you have 4 years of experience, then you will likely be called out for the discrepancy.
Oh wait, you're serious?
No. Work isn't linear. Overwork often leads to less productive work, so working (say) 100 hour weeks for a year might be less of a learning experience than working 40 hours weeks for two years. Part of experience is in knowing how things evolve. Best practices change. If you only have 2 years of clock time experience but claim 4 years of "real" experience due to working 80 hour weeks, then that doesn't mean you know…
No. Work isn't linear. Overwork often leads to less productive work, so working (say) 100 hour weeks for a year might be less of a learning experience than working 40 hours weeks for two years. Part of experience is in knowing how things evolve. Best practices change. If you only have 2 years of clock time experience but claim 4 years of "real" experience due to working 80 hour weeks, then that doesn't mean you know…
Ok, thanks. I was thinking more from the point of view that programming is a skill and skills develop with hours of practice.
As a general aside, every time I see a resume with something along the lines of: "Java (2.5 years), C++ (5 years)", I cringe a little. Please don't do this. There is something about denoting the exact amount of time you have spent with a specific technology (which we can generally deduce from your work experience anyway) that, at least to me, broadcasts a lack of confidence in your own skills.
> would it be reasonable to claim 1.5x "years of experience" with a given technology during that period As a general aside, every time I see a resume with something along the lines of: "Java (2.5 years), C++ (5 years)", I cringe a little. Please don't do this. There is something about denoting the exact amount of time you have spent with a specific technology (which we can generally deduce from your work experience a…
I don't have it in my resume, I just spread the skills between an "Advanced" and "Proficient" subsection, but I've been asked at least once why I don't specify the number of years with each technology.