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Ask HN: How can felons find programming jobs?

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Re: Ask HN: How can felons find programming jobs?

#71

Post by sexoffender »

nickthemagicman wrote: post #69
varcharlie wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

TBH I was able to find your name and portfolio website with just the information you provided and a couple google searches. I won't post it here, but you do have a good amount of experience and quite a few repos in your github. (I am from the Chicago area as well). Judging from the articles about you, I definitely understand why it's been hard for you to find a job.

Yeah I found him too. SD. His portfolio actually looks really good. Like seriously intermediate to senior level. I think if he kept applying someone would consider him at a discount thinking they were getting good deal for the money.

I've been applying since November and I've run out of money and time, April is the last month we can afford, and interview processes can last weeks. There's like a 5% chance I'll get a job during this time which is why I came here for help. I did get several good pointers from people and am going to follow them. But my programming knowledge is between junior and intermediate despite my experience, since somehow I end up always getting hired by companies that want to do things the weird way instead of the normal way, so I barely have any experience doing any programming the "normal" way. You know, I've always said I want to quit the programming field and just work in a factory, maybe this is my chance.

Re: Ask HN: How can felons find programming jobs?

#72

Post by sexoffender »

mynameishere wrote: post #32

Even without the record I would expect you to have a hard time. I'm surprised you're getting offers. Try to keep in mind that there are people who 1) Have 3+ years experience, 2) Have portfolios, 3) Have references, 4) Have clean records, and 5) Still can't find work. Yes, it happens, believe me. So, you're going to have to get way, way, way back in line behind those people. And that's fair. In the meantime, just get…

I have several years of experience but it's all niche or outdated tech, hard to find jobs in it even without the felony.

Re: Ask HN: How can felons find programming jobs?

#73

Post by sexoffender »

ggg9990 wrote: post #18

You’re definitely targeting the wrong companies if you are applying to Goldman Sachs. Apply to work remotely for a Bay Area startup like a YC company. They don’t run background checks as frequently or as well and they often don’t care about whether their remote employees are felons (while they might care about on-site employees).

Since November I have applied at every type of job: silicon valley start-ups with just a few people, software consulting firms with a dozen or two dozen consultants, and large corporations like GS. Initially GS told me the felony wouldn't be an issue, made me an offer, and dragged me along for about 4 weeks after that, reassuring me the job was a sure thing. Only this morning they changed their mind out of nowhere. Otherwise I wouldn't have wasted so much time with them, as I was up-front with them early on.

Re: Ask HN: How can felons find programming jobs?

#74

Post by sexoffender »

helpfulthr312 wrote: post #19

Some ideas for you, take anything you like: * Check out the porn industry. They are always pushing boundaries of what is possible with tech and felons frequently work in the industry. * Military service is a "customary shortcut to public affirmation". It may be possible to enlist in some branch somewhere and request a waiver for your felony. * Improve your portfolio. If you are a good enough developer, people will ov…

I know C#, learned it over winter break a few years ago, but have not used it for 3+ years in a professional setting. That's the issue. Even if I try to make hobby apps with it, nobody will hire me for a job using it. Unless I look for entry-level jobs, but even then a recent college grad is a better choice than me.

Re: Ask HN: How can felons find programming jobs?

#75

Post by rjkennedy98 »

leesalminen wrote: post #47
rjkennedy98 wrote: post #33

I completely understand why you can’t get a job. If I were a women I would not want to work with someone who did what you did. Even as a guy I find is pretty gross. You got caught not once but twice, who knows how many other times you did it. You also had lots of kids without the ability to take care of them. There are people I have sympathy for but you are certainly not one of them.

This was pretty uncalled for. First time I’ve ever clicked the flag button.

Why was it uncalled for? He exposed himself to underaged girls multiple times. He thinks that he deserves a high paying programming job after that. I disagree and apparently most of the employers do too.

Re: Ask HN: How can felons find programming jobs?

#76

Post by leesalminen »

rjkennedy98 wrote: post #75
leesalminen wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This was pretty uncalled for. First time I’ve ever clicked the flag button.

Why was it uncalled for? He exposed himself to underaged girls multiple times. He thinks that he deserves a high paying programming job after that. I disagree and apparently most of the employers do too.

I don’t think that those convicted of crimes should be relegated to working at gas stations for the rest of their lives.

That is punitive justice and it doesn’t work. In fact, I would posit that it increases recidivism. If criminals aren’t offered a chance at a stable life, why should they even try resolving their issues?

In this case it sounds like mental illness as opposed to hardened criminal to me.

Re: Ask HN: How can felons find programming jobs?

#77

Post by rrw023 »

garrettgrimsley wrote: post #48

Hi OP, another felon looking for a job here, I got out this January after serving 11 months. I would encourage you to apply for whatever government benefits you qualify for, if you haven't already. Just like you I've had offers rescinded after the background check. Doesn't feel great, but you have to keep at it. As someone else said: Get a job. Get any job. Right now I'm working at a commercial fish market doing manu…

I'm a federal felon myself and have found success by applying to companies based in states/cities which have "banned the box" for private employers. I'm currently working in a very respectable software engineering position, in a region which hasn't banned the box. The largest part of this companies workforce however, is based in an office located in a state which HAS banned the box for private employers. They never had a felony conviction checkbox for me to check on the job application, and they didn't bother running a background check which included the federal system. I've found that probably only around 50% of companies will include a federal background check. When it comes to background checks for housing or background checks for recruiting agencies, virtually none of them will do this.

Re: Ask HN: How can felons find programming jobs?

#78

Post by rrw023 »

sexoffender wrote: post #74
helpfulthr312 wrote: post #19

Some ideas for you, take anything you like: * Check out the porn industry. They are always pushing boundaries of what is possible with tech and felons frequently work in the industry. * Military service is a "customary shortcut to public affirmation". It may be possible to enlist in some branch somewhere and request a waiver for your felony. * Improve your portfolio. If you are a good enough developer, people will ov…

I know C#, learned it over winter break a few years ago, but have not used it for 3+ years in a professional setting. That's the issue. Even if I try to make hobby apps with it, nobody will hire me for a job using it. Unless I look for entry-level jobs, but even then a recent college grad is a better choice than me.

The C# ecosystem might be less than ideal for you to spend your time learning. Start thinking about how certain programming languages might correlate with certain types of industries. You're going to want to target companies that are less likely to bother checking in to your background, and if they do, are less likely to care. Think more along the lines of hipster startup development and less along the lines of conservative enterprise development. This might mean focusing your efforts on learning the Javascript of Python ecosystems instead.

Re: Ask HN: How can felons find programming jobs?

#79

Post by rrw023 »

sexoffender wrote: post #73
ggg9990 wrote: post #18

You’re definitely targeting the wrong companies if you are applying to Goldman Sachs. Apply to work remotely for a Bay Area startup like a YC company. They don’t run background checks as frequently or as well and they often don’t care about whether their remote employees are felons (while they might care about on-site employees).

Since November I have applied at every type of job: silicon valley start-ups with just a few people, software consulting firms with a dozen or two dozen consultants, and large corporations like GS. Initially GS told me the felony wouldn't be an issue, made me an offer, and dragged me along for about 4 weeks after that, reassuring me the job was a sure thing. Only this morning they changed their mind out of nowhere. O…

As a felon myself, I have never had anything good come out of early disclosure. I think your best bet would be to target jobs in areas that have "banned the box" for private employers (I believe Chicago is one of these cities). If you receive a conditional offer of employment, they will most likely run a background check at that point. Some lower quality background checking services can provide surprisingly incomplete results. More than likely though, it will return your conviction history. Once you get that call from the HR representative questioning the conviction, simply state that you didn't feel it was relevant to the position being applied for. Refer them to the EEOC guidelines on hiring people with felony convictions (especially the part about individualized assessments). These guidelines are merely a suggestion, but it might be enough to sway the mind of someone in the company who has that discretion.

Re: Ask HN: How can felons find programming jobs?

#80

Post by jpindar »

helpfulthr312 wrote: post #19

Some ideas for you, take anything you like: * Check out the porn industry. They are always pushing boundaries of what is possible with tech and felons frequently work in the industry. * Military service is a "customary shortcut to public affirmation". It may be possible to enlist in some branch somewhere and request a waiver for your felony. * Improve your portfolio. If you are a good enough developer, people will ov…

> Find a desperate entrepreneur who will pay you the bare minimum cash to support your family, along with some equity.

How do you do this? Isn't implying that you'll work for a low salary a big red flag?

I see here on HN that some companies won't consider older workers because of the idea that they demand a lot of money, but I have no idea how to show that I am an exception to this stereotype. I sometimes tell recruiters etc. that I'm more interested in good working conditions or a convenient location than salary, which is true, but that's as far as I dare go.

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