I went through majority of the comments here and it seems to me that for many programmers, their life revolves around side projects and they consider that other programmers should also do the same. There is more to life than just programming. It was not even a job until 100 years ago. Richard Feynman did not only do physics all his life. He learned how to paint, how to play music etc. Why restrict yourself to the programming bubble? The OP seems to me a sane person in this world of overworked zombies with fat bellies who call themselves passionate programmers.
I have no side code projects to show you
431–440 of 545 posts
Re: I have no side code projects to show you
#432Earlier quoted context omitted.
They're pretty rampant in Canada. You usually get one of these types: - Long home coding challenge (for no pay of course) - Hours of whiteboard coding talk. If you're lucky it relates to the job at hand, most of the time it doesn't - Doing coding tests online, either through their propitiatory app or through sites like HackerRank. - A conversation type interview, where you talk about the job (have only had this one i…
>>Long home coding challenge (for no pay of course) There is a way to do this. But some people go a little too far. Last years one start up asked me to write an entire backend application for them for free.
Just write one that will explode in their face within two or three weeks, and remove that time bomb when they hire you. :)
Re: I have no side code projects to show you
#433I’m not mad at you, but as the dude on the other side of the desk, I have to decide whether you can cut it and I’m fine saying no. I could make you do some whiteboard problems, but I think whiteboard problems are pretty far removed from your day to day development and I am uncomfortable relying on them as a proxy for your ability to ship code. I don’t really disagree with your philosophy of working while you’re worki…
> I’m not mad at you, but as the dude on the other side of the desk, I have to decide whether you can cut it and I’m fine saying no. I could make you do some whiteboard problems, but I think whiteboard problems are pretty far removed from your day to day development and I am uncomfortable relying on them as a proxy for your ability to ship code. So, are architects and engineers expected to have built side-houses, and…
Architects and engineers can usually show you what they've done in the past. Software developers can't if they don't have side projects.
Artists have portfolios. Why shouldn't software engineers?
Re: I have no side code projects to show you
#434I have this cooking website I started some time ago (http://cookarr.com), and apart from that I have some smaller projects, but I also say "No, I don't have side projects except of these, I don't have to do open source, I just... don't". It never did sabotage my interview though, because I am a specific kind of full-stack developer (good at prototyping and whipping up complete "MVP production apps" in a short time), and it's somehow valuable to many startups.
Re: I have no side code projects to show you
#435I’m not mad at you, but as the dude on the other side of the desk, I have to decide whether you can cut it and I’m fine saying no. I could make you do some whiteboard problems, but I think whiteboard problems are pretty far removed from your day to day development and I am uncomfortable relying on them as a proxy for your ability to ship code. I don’t really disagree with your philosophy of working while you’re worki…
On the flip side? As somebody who has plenty of open source projects--the set of employers who actually looks at them is within epsilon of zero. I have not once, not once gotten a meaningful question from anything I have posted on Github in any interview or client meeting even after suggesting up-front that it's worth taking a look. And I used to interview on a monthly basis just to keep in practice! No--instead you…
There was one, (literally: ONE) time I check out somebody's GitHub profile when making a hiring decision. It was a clusterfuck of forks, and source repos were a total mess, no documentation, nothing. In such case I would rather NOT see a GitHub link like that, really. He didn't get a job.
Re: I have no side code projects to show you
#436I went through majority of the comments here and it seems to me that for many programmers, their life revolves around side projects and they consider that other programmers should also do the same. There is more to life than just programming. It was not even a job until 100 years ago. Richard Feynman did not only do physics all his life. He learned how to paint, how to play music etc. Why restrict yourself to the pro…
I think you missed a lot of the comments saying, you don't have to live, eat, and breath code in order to have some code you've written up on GitHub. You don't have to spend every waking breath coding in order to write a script that will order you a pizza or something. You're life doesn't have to revolve around programming to find one weekend out of the year to write a program or spend 1 hour per week working on something.
I am a developer and I like to do plenty of things outside of programming. I ride motorcycles, read books (and writing a book!), play guitar/violin/piano, learn Russian, digital paint, make 3d art models, play video games, go out to eat, karaoke, go to meetups, blog, etc, etc. Most developers I know have plenty of hobbies outside of programming, but still manage to squeeze in some time for side projects. It does not have to consume your life...
Re: I have no side code projects to show you
#437Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't expect my surgeon to do surgery in his spare time. Nor my plumber, dentist, gardener, or any other professional. I look at their past work history and reviews from customers and/or coworkers. I will never understand the belief that side projects are in any way necessary. I'd much rather have a well rounded individual who isn't moonlighting on other things but rather can bring his clear focused mind to the off…
> I don't expect my surgeon to do surgery in his spare time. I really like it when my specialist has a prominent public profile. A recent case: tenure at a major university, had written or was quoted in many good journals and papers, and had a number of impressive accreditations (for example he was also head of his specialty's medical association for the country). This showed dedication and interest as well as some m…
While these points may well be examples of this person's ability, certain credentials don't have to mean as much. As an example, the head of an association is not necessarily chosen for their merit.
Re: I have no side code projects to show you
#438I’m not mad at you, but as the dude on the other side of the desk, I have to decide whether you can cut it and I’m fine saying no. I could make you do some whiteboard problems, but I think whiteboard problems are pretty far removed from your day to day development and I am uncomfortable relying on them as a proxy for your ability to ship code. I don’t really disagree with your philosophy of working while you’re worki…
On the flip side? As somebody who has plenty of open source projects--the set of employers who actually looks at them is within epsilon of zero. I have not once, not once gotten a meaningful question from anything I have posted on Github in any interview or client meeting even after suggesting up-front that it's worth taking a look. And I used to interview on a monthly basis just to keep in practice! No--instead you…
same here, have github full of projects. Nobody ever mentions them.
Re: I have no side code projects to show you
#439Earlier quoted context omitted.
On the flip side? As somebody who has plenty of open source projects--the set of employers who actually looks at them is within epsilon of zero. I have not once, not once gotten a meaningful question from anything I have posted on Github in any interview or client meeting even after suggesting up-front that it's worth taking a look. And I used to interview on a monthly basis just to keep in practice! No--instead you…
> Employers don't care. The wrong empoyers don't care. The right ones do. My github portfolio is a means for me to determine if a potential employer is suitable for me, not the other way around. It's not a test for me to pass, it's a test for a potential employer to pass. If a recruiter brings up things listed on my LinkedIn page, I know they're not suitable for me. If they bring up things on my github, I'm reasonabl…
> My github portfolio is a means for me to determine if a potential employer is suitable for me, not the other way around. It's not a test for me to pass, it's a test for a potential employer to pass.
Nice! Agree with that.
Re: I have no side code projects to show you
#440Earlier quoted context omitted.
Hiring manager here who reads Github profiles -- it just occurred to me that I've almost never actually mentioned it to the interviewee. It's flavoured the conversation for sure (except for the bootcamp grads who all have identical Githubs) but I tend to talk more about your process than the actual code.
> except for the bootcamp grads who all have identical Githubs Out of curiosity, what do you mean by this? What sorts of things do they all have in common?
From my experience (of talking to bootcamp applicants), bootcamps are not so much about learning how to code, but rather how to get an entry-level job. At first glance of somebody's Github, it will look like they have lots of open-source projects and collaborate with other people. But this is just part of the bootcamp "script".