291–300 of 324 posts
As someone who has never (and likely will never) pass these kinds of tests, am I in a minority in thinking maybe they're a good way of filtering the non-geniuses? I.e. Maybe the reason I can't pass these tests is I really am not sufficiently skilled/talented to work at Google? At some point, I think we need to accept that sometimes other people are not the problem.
When you say > I put all my eggs in the “being a programmer” basket and it’s clearly not for me. are you judging based on your performance on these coding tests or on your enjoyment of the work of programming. If you genuinely enjoy coding/are interested by it then maybe it is for you.
>I experience PTSD like symptoms from the constant barrage of negative thoughts the difficulty and stress of doing these problems are causing me. I am not sure if we have had similar thoughts and feelings. The idea that I am simply not good enough to be a programmer, after trying so hard. And I cant solve these problem quickly enough to be a programmer. I can definitely program, given enough amount of time, but being…
> I experience PTSD like symptoms from the constant barrage of negative thoughts the difficulty and stress of doing these problems are causing me. A lot of the other posters have given some great advice from a technical perspective. I'd suggest taking some time to evaluate and improve your mental health as well. If you're putting yourself under so much pressure, that pressure alone will hold you back to a great exten…
Maybe asking HN people isn't the best way to decide. Please also consider talking to a career counselor (or similar) or reading a book based on evidence.
Let me show you my process, we have some similarities which may be useful to you. I hope it helps. I also recently graduated (master CS). But I am having strong second guesses whether CS is the right career for me. The only reason it would be the right career for me is because I love thinking in steps, which is what programming really is (procedural programming anyway). I also love debuggers (more steps!) and am full…
I am continually surprised by HN and its reluctance to call out mental health issues. It is not normal to feel like your world is ending when you're under pressure. Forget the rest of this stuff. You don't need more tests. Talk to a councillor with the aim they can fix or refer you onto CBT, or a psychiatrist to mediate. There is no shame in this. Not dealing with it is only going to cause unnecessary suffering. Addr…
You're not wrong that there's a mental health issue at hand. There's also a lot riding on my ability to do these leetcode questions. I've been talking to councilors for the past decade, but I'm at a point where I need to be financially independent. I wrote more about it in this comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17594084
I know there's a lot of pressure here to work a 80h week but you can be financially independent without pressure. Just pick your battle.
You've got a skill. Believe it or not, programmers are needed all around the world. The pay is dramatically variable but so are living costs. Move. Find a nice town with a small software company that's hiring and start a life. Get your head straight. Read. Get a hobby. It's all much easier when you're not blowing $3k/month on a 1 bed studio.
You can also work shunt jobs directly for companies. Build websites, build apps. Lots of project management and quoting for things that never come to fruition but it's a job and very little overhead.
I'm not trying to put you down. I'm sure you can jump start you happiness the way you're desperately trying to... But stepping into a low pressure job somewhere where it's dirt cheap to live is a much healthier approach to the problem you have.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
How does one train to be a Product Manager?
I recommend materials or coursework by Pragmatic Marketing ( https://www.pragmaticmarketing.com/ ), if you can take their class. It was kind of accepted as one of the standard training courses for this role in industry at several companies I either worked for or interviewed with. This particular PDF [1] really helped me understand the roles better. I also read the book "The Product Manager's Survival Guide" (ISBN-10:…
You shouldn't feel bad or try to apologize or try to "make it work" - those are all wastes of time. Get on with life, and find something you have the opportunity to excel at! Being stuck behind a glowing screen 8+ hours a day isn't ultimately rewarding or really sustainable - so find a way to make software-fiddling work for you, or get out now!