31–40 of 79 posts
I saw a another post just like this on Quora. I wonder if its part of a larger trend?
I am considering the jump as well (from i-banking), and have been putting in a considerable amount of work, but part of me is worried the growth we have seen will come crashing down soon and opportunities will disappear. It is hard to give up a nice salary and job security, especially when a similar position is very difficult to return to if things don't work.
I started learning how to code at 27 and am 29 now, still going strong. Frankly I wanted to do a web-startup, but realized that unless you can code, you're nerfed. Learning how to code completely free's you from being permanently stuck in "idea mode". The exception to that is if you have a lot of cash, and are willing to hire someone to build something for you. That's very expensive of course, since you're competing…
Even if you are hiring a programmer, it's still helpful to know how to code. You will be able explain your ideas and discuss the project intelligently.
I have huge respect for your drive and ambition, but there's something I just don't get (and it applies to many aspiring hackers/entrepreneurs, not just you). Why do you need a mentor? Why "cold emailing startups"? Why do you need somebody to "take you in"? Why not just hit the books and start hacking away? This isn't meant to be a personal attack on you by any means. I've noticed a huge movement toward "mentorship"…
I'm taking a wild guess here, but I suspect there are many people who need that entry level/internship opportunity to cement some concepts while working on a team. The problem is, like the rest of America, junior positions seem to have vanished. At least on job boards and hiring pages. Can anyone point us to a good resource to find junior positions or even internships in front-end coding or UX design? I'm not asking…
I have huge respect for your drive and ambition, but there's something I just don't get (and it applies to many aspiring hackers/entrepreneurs, not just you). Why do you need a mentor? Why "cold emailing startups"? Why do you need somebody to "take you in"? Why not just hit the books and start hacking away? This isn't meant to be a personal attack on you by any means. I've noticed a huge movement toward "mentorship"…
Now we're seeing more HR/management training people teaching that mentoring and coaching new hires (esp. those just out of school) is a better way to go. It gets them up and running faster and you can brainwash^H^H^H^H I mean teach them they way you want them to do things.
Personally, I think it's a good thing.
I'm taking a wild guess here, but I suspect there are many people who need that entry level/internship opportunity to cement some concepts while working on a team. The problem is, like the rest of America, junior positions seem to have vanished. At least on job boards and hiring pages. Can anyone point us to a good resource to find junior positions or even internships in front-end coding or UX design? I'm not asking…
You have a very good point. I've never realized it before, but now that I think about it, this is something that I see all the time - a complete and utter lack of entry level positions on job boards and hiring pages across the web. I wonder if there's an opportunity to be had here? There must certainly be a thriving untapped market of entry-level programmers who may be willing to take a pay cut to hone their skills f…
I'm 23 and I never got any compsci/programming training in college. I'm now working part-time and learning programming (Java, .NET, SQL, web scripting) full-time.
Why? 3 reasons.
1) I am sick and tired of not knowing how to create solutions that add real, measurable value to almost any human task imaginable. In 2 years, I'll be able to do so much more than I ever imagined in any office setting.
2) Good programmers have the job I dream of: being able to use their minds all day to create cool stuff that other people depend on. Top talent gets paid pretty well.
3) The big secret that no one tells you in college is that if you want any decent office job in which you'll be using your mind instead of bullshit "management" or "leadership" (i.e. wielding social prowess to get what you want) skills, you're going to be programming. Want to make a spreadsheet? Guess what, John Walkenbach, the maker of the Excel Bible, says that even if you're just making a basic spreadsheet, it helps to think about it as object-oriented programming. And he's right. Especially if you're a power user of Excel, Excel == Programming. Period. Same with just about any other MS Office program.
The bottom line is that if you use a computer at work, like it or not, your freaking livelihood hinges on your ability to create and manage software and/or hardware. You might as well know what the hell you're doing.
I have huge respect for your drive and ambition, but there's something I just don't get (and it applies to many aspiring hackers/entrepreneurs, not just you). Why do you need a mentor? Why "cold emailing startups"? Why do you need somebody to "take you in"? Why not just hit the books and start hacking away? This isn't meant to be a personal attack on you by any means. I've noticed a huge movement toward "mentorship"…
Thanks for this comment. I started coding about 8 months ago and am enjoying it thoroughly (I just turned 30 and have a background in business). I was actually thinking about doing the same thing this guy's done - get a developer intern position somewhere since reading this post earlier this morning. I'm sure I would learn tons that I wouldn't otherwise learn (I'm thinking specifically architectural and security type stuff, among other stuff) but am also learning tons on my own.
Just last night I was talking with a good friend that has been coding for 15 years and he suggested something kind of similar: fix the bugs and maintain some code that a more experienced developer can check - run errands so to speak. That way I'm not breaking something or pushing insecure, buggy code into production. I think a combination of the two would be optimal.
Any advice for a 24yr old trying to work in high performance computing? Decided about a year ago to switch careers, and I've been getting familiar w/ a few low level languages (C, C++, Java), and working my way through a few books like SICP, Cormen's and Skiena's algorithms books, Code Complete, etc. The OP seems to have landed an internship already, whereas I have been failing miserably at this. I've been cold email…
If you have an undergrad degree (of any type) already, you could look around for a MS program with an advisor who is doing HPC research. You have a shot at getting into a program which will probably require you to take or place out of undergrad coursework (SICP and CLR are probably going to make that workout just fine for you).
If you want to go all self-schooled, maybe you could pick up one of the new CUDA books and do some decent re-implementations of hard HPC stuff for that environment. Side projects like that would make me look at a resume twice if I had a need for a HPC hacker . . .