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Tell HN: I just wanted to say: thank you, Hacker News

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Re: Tell HN: I just wanted to say: thank you, Hacker News

#121

Post by heedlessly2 »

50something wrote: post #32
wikibob wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’d love to hear more about this. You feel it was worth the cost? Did you do all classes online or did you go in person for some / all? Did you work in technology previously?

>You feel it was worth the cost? Harvard Extension is a bargain compared to most colleges. $1500-$2500 for most 4 credit classes. Don't tell those smart college students that you are getting the same class for less than half the price. I tried the online thing (Coursera, edX, Udemy, etc.) but was never as motivated as competing against real students in a real class with deadlines that have consequences. Fear of failu…

The Harvard extension says their online bachelor's degree costs about $50k total, so it's not like you're saving that much money.

https://www.extension.harvard.edu/academics/undergraduate-de...

You'd save more money doing community college for 1-2 years, then transferring to your flagship state university.

Plus Harvard Extension no longer available to those under 21 years old unless for special circumstances such as disability. Many people finish a traditional bachelor's at age 21.

Re: Tell HN: I just wanted to say: thank you, Hacker News

#122

Post by eganist »

uh_what wrote: post #114
fancyfacebook wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah one anecdote, ageism must be solved! Good job Google, we did it! You see why people criticize the orange site for worshiping corporate a bit too much?

>> As impressive as your achievement is, I'm equally impressed that Google finally started addressing their perceived ageism problem . >>> Yeah one anecdote, ageism must be solved! Good job Google, we did it! It's posters like you that turn people off HN.

Counterargument: the commenter was buried into oblivion, which I suspect might turn a few people onto HN :D

Re: Tell HN: I just wanted to say: thank you, Hacker News

#123

Post by 50something »

johnx123-up wrote: post #120
50something wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google must be doing something right in their candidate triage algorithms. I applied for one job and they suggested another that was a better fit, which I hadn't even considered. I applied to a bunch of places and only Google seemed to perceive the whole package instead of myopically focusing on my recent education or last job. The whole process was much smarter than any other company in the interview cycle.

Could you please share more about your application process? I applied for couple of jobs and in their career portal... never received even an acknowledgement.

There was Data Analytics Career Fair at Harvard, which is another advantage of being a student here. You get invited to the career fairs.

Re: Tell HN: I just wanted to say: thank you, Hacker News

#124

Post by ccajas »

saganus wrote: post #115
ccajas wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How did you deal with the financial issues about returning to college? Non-STEM graduate here, looking to work in places that have more deeply engineering related backgrounds. I'd prefer getting a CS or ECE degree. My situation is especially complicated. I have been unemployed (save a few short freelance gigs) since early 2015. I cannot interview effectively anymore. This, I think, is my biggest problem I live with m…

Not long ago I was "self-employed" (just work, no money), and had to go back to interviewing for a job after I ran out of money. My biggest issue was gathering as much will as I could to start doing it. After the first 2 or 3 interviews, which were utterly terrible, I realized that the hardest thing was bearing those first rejections and shameful (to me) interviews. After that things got a bit easier each time until…

I get interview rejections left and right (usually in the phone interview round), and since I have been in the same period of unemployment since 2015 I feel like I haven't really learned much or improved much with interviewing.

It's pretty terrible to get little feedback but expect to introspect for fix it (My introspection itself needs work- I don't know what I don't know).

Re: Tell HN: I just wanted to say: thank you, Hacker News

#125

Post by ccajas »

rhizome wrote: post #105
ccajas wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How did you deal with the financial issues about returning to college? Non-STEM graduate here, looking to work in places that have more deeply engineering related backgrounds. I'd prefer getting a CS or ECE degree. My situation is especially complicated. I have been unemployed (save a few short freelance gigs) since early 2015. I cannot interview effectively anymore. This, I think, is my biggest problem I live with m…

At the very least, I would call the local community college and talk to a counselor. You could get a two-year CS degree that will give you the important concepts and plenty of programming exposure for not a lot of money. If you really want to transfer for a full bachelor's, the community college can still give you cheap units for everything you need up until you switch schools, and it may just be that your previous d…

I can think of a few local community colleges I can go to for starting. And then ask about housing options, or perhaps get into a campus job. If the campus job can waive most of your tuition, do you think just having that would suffice?

Also, do you recommend more on transferring out of the CC later to go to a very reputable CS university (UC Berkeley for example)? I'd like to be one of those people who can land an internship at Jet Propulsion Labs (I'd like to combine my interests in computing and space exploration).

Like the OP said in his old topic, I have a passion for coding (check my username for Github), but I can't interview worth a damn anymore. So I don't know if it's delusional to think that a CS degree (and the education that comes with it) will automatically open up many doors for me.

I wish I can maximize my utility for a business or an org even if I can't pass most interviews, because failing interviews is just making my skills go to waste.

A local job recruiter (a specialized one, not from a big agency) once told me to seek companies that offer SWE apprenticeships as a refresher. But those sorts of companies are hard to come by here.

Re: Tell HN: I just wanted to say: thank you, Hacker News

#126

Post by pure_ambition »

50something wrote: post #69
pure_ambition wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Awesome! I’m considering doing the same - Harvard Extension. Is there a reason you chose to do the bachelors program over the masters?

I didn't have any prior degree so I couldn't go straight to masters. Not even any transfer credits. But I was able to test out (via CLEP) for the equivalent of 4 classes including the language requirement, which saved me a semester.

Awesome! I'm still unsure as to whether I'll pursue the program, or whether I'd aim for the Master's of the Bachelor's level. I definitely want a strong grounding in the basics before pursuing more advanced studies though.

Thank you for your time!

Re: Tell HN: I just wanted to say: thank you, Hacker News

#127

Post by rhizome »

ccajas wrote: post #124
saganus wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not long ago I was "self-employed" (just work, no money), and had to go back to interviewing for a job after I ran out of money. My biggest issue was gathering as much will as I could to start doing it. After the first 2 or 3 interviews, which were utterly terrible, I realized that the hardest thing was bearing those first rejections and shameful (to me) interviews. After that things got a bit easier each time until…

I get interview rejections left and right (usually in the phone interview round), and since I have been in the same period of unemployment since 2015 I feel like I haven't really learned much or improved much with interviewing. It's pretty terrible to get little feedback but expect to introspect for fix it (My introspection itself needs work- I don't know what I don't know).

I highly recommend taking a look at and following https://www.reddit.com/r/cscareerquestions/ ...they're very supportive and there's such a range of experiences along yours (and mine), and you'll no doubt get some good pointers. Today is "Interview Questions" day, so you can post your interview experiences in that thread and often someone will respond with some tips and/or pointers.

Re: Tell HN: I just wanted to say: thank you, Hacker News

#128

Post by rhizome »

ccajas wrote: post #125
rhizome wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At the very least, I would call the local community college and talk to a counselor. You could get a two-year CS degree that will give you the important concepts and plenty of programming exposure for not a lot of money. If you really want to transfer for a full bachelor's, the community college can still give you cheap units for everything you need up until you switch schools, and it may just be that your previous d…

I can think of a few local community colleges I can go to for starting. And then ask about housing options, or perhaps get into a campus job. If the campus job can waive most of your tuition, do you think just having that would suffice? Also, do you recommend more on transferring out of the CC later to go to a very reputable CS university (UC Berkeley for example)? I'd like to be one of those people who can land an i…

All I can say is to keep interviewing and reflecting on your experiences (take notes!), which will tune you in to the kinds of preparation you have to do in order to pass through the process successfully. You can do it!

Re: Tell HN: I just wanted to say: thank you, Hacker News

#129

Post by AIX2ESXI »

ccajas wrote: post #73
50something wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A lot of it was stuff that is basic to someone with years of work experience: * Start assignments as soon as they are given out. Stupid, right? * Don't be shy about asking lots of questions. Don't be egotistical or afraid about asking for clarification. * Build personal relationships with the professors and TAs. They are there to help. This is not an adversarial relationship. Show genuine passion for the material. *…

How did you deal with the financial issues about returning to college? Non-STEM graduate here, looking to work in places that have more deeply engineering related backgrounds. I'd prefer getting a CS or ECE degree. My situation is especially complicated. I have been unemployed (save a few short freelance gigs) since early 2015. I cannot interview effectively anymore. This, I think, is my biggest problem I live with m…

Might I suggest getting an clerical or administrative job at local State or Private University? Most benefit packages provide tuition assistance to their staff. That is what I did, though it was a bitch trying to get a sysadmin position at my desired schools.

Re: Tell HN: I just wanted to say: thank you, Hacker News

#130

Post by ccajas »

rhizome wrote: post #127
ccajas wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I get interview rejections left and right (usually in the phone interview round), and since I have been in the same period of unemployment since 2015 I feel like I haven't really learned much or improved much with interviewing. It's pretty terrible to get little feedback but expect to introspect for fix it (My introspection itself needs work- I don't know what I don't know).

I highly recommend taking a look at and following https://www.reddit.com/r/cscareerquestions/ ...they're very supportive and there's such a range of experiences along yours (and mine), and you'll no doubt get some good pointers. Today is "Interview Questions" day, so you can post your interview experiences in that thread and often someone will respond with some tips and/or pointers.

I already go to that sub regularly, and a lot of the time, interview advice that I read or get is very company specific, or not applied in a very active, personalized way. For something involving soft skills like interviewing, I learn better by watching, or someone taking an active role in correcting my mistakes. A lot of interviewing advice is situation specific. It needs to be more personalized, more "you-specific".
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