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Rules of thumb for a 1x developer

muldoon.cloud

21–30 of 505 posts

Re: Rules of thumb for a 1x developer

#21
I used to get called a 10x developer, I was also called a rockstar and a ninja and a 100x dev and every other compliment that was hip.

Then I hit 30. That type of talk stopped.

Then I hit 40. Now I will not be considered for any entry level, mid level, or senior level software dev job anywhere in the United States, despite being very desperate and willing to relocate for anything. Doesn't matter. Too old. I'm supposed to be doing something else by now.

Make a backup plan now.

Re: Rules of thumb for a 1x developer

#22
post #16
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I personally find dynamic languages far more legible Maybe you're a 2xer though.

"Everyone knows that debugging is twice as hard as writing a program in the first place. So if you're as clever as you can be when you write it, how will you ever debug it?" -Brian Kernighan Over time I've come to appreciate this sentiment. Banging out clever code super fast isn't that important... Spending some time up front thinking about types and architecture pays off in the long run. Especially for server side c…

So every dynamic code is a "super fast" banged out clever code, and every static code is a well thought out architectural masterpiece right? Could you be more biased?

Re: Rules of thumb for a 1x developer

#23
"To replace out MediaWiki with a Java-based alternative (XWiki) ended up taking a total fo 24 dev-years over 4+ calendar years for the team, not counting the interruptions to pretty much every other team at Amazon as their pages were getting constantly migrated and un-migrated"

I would love to hear more about this. I'm guessing that's a cost of at least $4M? How was this approved? How did they allow it to continue for four years?

Re: Rules of thumb for a 1x developer

#24
> That’s all that Agile means to me.

This is the most concise, honest summary of "agile" I've ever come across. Well put.

The amount of person-hours spent bikeshedding about various sundry "agile" procedural details is absolutely breathtaking. A perpetual, real-life Dilbert punchline taken seriously by armies of *Managers.

Re: Rules of thumb for a 1x developer

#25
post #13

I hate the notion of "10x developer". It focuses on hiring the best person, rather than firing individuals who undermine the team. The reality is, there are some 1x developers, and some .5x developers. Even worse though are the -1x developers. So many times I see a corporate culture of firing = bad, so lets just try to find someone who is a "10x", when really all you need is to remove the people who cause more work f…

I knew two 10x developers at my previous job. One of them was humble and a great mentor and elevated everyone around him. One was a grump who made everyone around him feel stupid. Imo toxicity is independent from productivity.

We need to look at the role more broadly, being a developer isn't just churning out code. A lot of young talented guys just follow their passion and hack away abstraction after abstraction instead of trying to see what the product really needs. So you could say they're amazingly productive, or you could say they actually provided very little value. And a toxic wreck can't be productive by definition; if you demoralise everyone around you reduce productivity! The fact some people can get away with is a bug in hiring.

Re: Rules of thumb for a 1x developer

#27
post #21

I used to get called a 10x developer, I was also called a rockstar and a ninja and a 100x dev and every other compliment that was hip. Then I hit 30. That type of talk stopped. Then I hit 40. Now I will not be considered for any entry level, mid level, or senior level software dev job anywhere in the United States, despite being very desperate and willing to relocate for anything. Doesn't matter. Too old. I'm suppose…

> despite being very desperate

Could this be why? Desperation has a way of putting people off?

Re: Rules of thumb for a 1x developer

#28
post #21

I used to get called a 10x developer, I was also called a rockstar and a ninja and a 100x dev and every other compliment that was hip. Then I hit 30. That type of talk stopped. Then I hit 40. Now I will not be considered for any entry level, mid level, or senior level software dev job anywhere in the United States, despite being very desperate and willing to relocate for anything. Doesn't matter. Too old. I'm suppose…

Why all the downvotes? Is HN only for the cool kids?

Re: Rules of thumb for a 1x developer

#29
post #21

I used to get called a 10x developer, I was also called a rockstar and a ninja and a 100x dev and every other compliment that was hip. Then I hit 30. That type of talk stopped. Then I hit 40. Now I will not be considered for any entry level, mid level, or senior level software dev job anywhere in the United States, despite being very desperate and willing to relocate for anything. Doesn't matter. Too old. I'm suppose…

I know plenty of devs who are 40+ and still writing code and getting paid well to do it. In fact I worked with a consultant who was over 60 not too long ago.

I am almost certain there is something else going on here other than your age. In fact, I've never once been asked my age in an interview, and I'm a couple of years into my second career doing this after I retired from my first.

Re: Rules of thumb for a 1x developer

#30
post #21

I used to get called a 10x developer, I was also called a rockstar and a ninja and a 100x dev and every other compliment that was hip. Then I hit 30. That type of talk stopped. Then I hit 40. Now I will not be considered for any entry level, mid level, or senior level software dev job anywhere in the United States, despite being very desperate and willing to relocate for anything. Doesn't matter. Too old. I'm suppose…

A startup CTO role might work for you if you can build the product grounds all alone (frontend, backend, DevOps).
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