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My dad's resume and skills from 1980

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Re: My dad's resume and skills from 1980

#271

Post by todd8 »

nsxwolf wrote: post #30

It is so simple. There's no "Experienced software architect with a proven track record of delivering high quality and performant blah blah blah" shit. What were the interviews like back then?

The interview that resulted in my first real job as a programmer was in 1976. In that interview I was asked quite detailed questions about writing an interrupt handler and the rest of a device driver. Despite having a new MS in Computer Science, it was a stressful interview. However, I did get hired and actually did do a project that involved writing the drivers for a new piece of hardware.

Re: My dad's resume and skills from 1980

#273

Post by cowanon22dhhf »

lambdasquirrel wrote: post #253
nervousvarun wrote: post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We probably are close to the same age. My dad was an engineer who also learned to program FORTRAN in the 70's. When I asked him a similar question his reply was (quotes are paraphrased): "It was way too tedious to do. You'd spend hours getting the cards just right. We used to put them in a shoebox and mark them with a pen in case we dropped them on the way to the lab. Then you'd wait until the next day to get your re…

> "I didn't thought this thing about computers would go too far." I almost didn't major in Computer Science because in the late 90s, there were so many negative articles in the New York Times, vis-a-vis software. People don't remember it now, but the media and the culture were utterly hostile towards us, and loved to say our jobs were going to India, that everything there was to know about Computer Science could be s…

> I almost didn't major in Computer Science because in the late 90s, there were so many negative articles in the New York Times, vis-a-vis software. People don't remember it now, but the media and the culture were utterly hostile towards us, and loved to say our jobs were going to India, that everything there was to know about Computer Science could be studied in railyard switching, in existing abstract math textbooks, etc

I'm glad I'm not the only one who remembers this - whenever I try to explain it to someone they look at me like I'm crazy. In the late 90s and even early 2000s the common wisdom with guidance counselors and even local recruiters was that programming and software design were dead end in the U.S. I remember one article literally said "the bud is off the blossom". I wound up majoring in electrical engineering instead of computer science as a result.

It all worked out in the end, but not following my instincts at the time is one of my few regrets.

Re: My dad's resume and skills from 1980

#275

Post by inanutshellus »

spywaregorilla wrote: post #71
inanutshellus wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Friend worked for the military overseas. Locals would send in resumes and include details such as their social caste and were horrified (or delighted, depending) when that information was redacted before being sent to hiring folk. On the upside, it apparently became an upward mobility avenue for "low caste" folk who would otherwise not be considered for valuable positions.

> On the upside, it apparently became an upward mobility avenue for "low caste" folk who would otherwise not be considered for valuable positions. I mean... yeah. Absolutely. That is a huge obvious upside, and as far as I can tell, there are no downsides to this at all.

The downside is clear if you're upper-caste, but my point was to reinforce the (challenged) statement that over-sharing in other cultures is both commonplace and intentional.

Re: My dad's resume and skills from 1980

#276

Post by scruple »

nsxwolf wrote: post #268
scruple wrote: post #236

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I see things like that on a resume I instinctively smell bullshit. Right or wrong, that's my reaction. "Proven?" Show me the proof. "High-quality and performant?" I better not be able to quickly and easily find end users complaining about your companies software.

There's so much suspicion in this industry. Is it so in other industries? We see a 20 year work history, and we assume you must be lying so we LeetCode you in front of a couple recent college grads. And now we're going to go after end user complaints as well? I guess its good I work on the back end, I can always blame poor user experience on the front end and "UX" people.

I'm suspicious of people that need to dress up their 20 years of experience with business speak, yes. It is the business speak specifically that makes me suspicious.

Re: My dad's resume and skills from 1980

#278

Post by ingenieros »

dottedmag wrote: post #262
ingenieros wrote: post #207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps not in the U.S due to labor laws and the EEOC, but in some countries you must also attach a head shot. Not only that, but HR can casually drop by your house unannounced to inspect your living conditions and make a note of anything "unusual". I know it sounds straight out of Severance, but that's how things would be stateside if unions and others hadn't drawn the line somewhere.

What are the countries where this is practiced?

All throughout LATAM, look up "visita domiciliaria" in Colombia.

Re: My dad's resume and skills from 1980

#279

Post by post-it »

mikestew wrote: post #68
deeblering4 wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Up until the mid-late 2000s tech interviews consisted of a few conversations, followed by checking references. CS trivia interviews were largely introduced by Google, with other companies cargo culting that into their interview practices.

Microsoft was known for “why are manhole covers round” and CS trivia before Google was even a company.

That reminded me to reread "If Richard Feynman applied for a job at Microsoft"

https://sellsbrothers.com/12395

Re: My dad's resume and skills from 1980

#280

Post by hnlmorg »

lambdasquirrel wrote: post #253
nervousvarun wrote: post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We probably are close to the same age. My dad was an engineer who also learned to program FORTRAN in the 70's. When I asked him a similar question his reply was (quotes are paraphrased): "It was way too tedious to do. You'd spend hours getting the cards just right. We used to put them in a shoebox and mark them with a pen in case we dropped them on the way to the lab. Then you'd wait until the next day to get your re…

> "I didn't thought this thing about computers would go too far." I almost didn't major in Computer Science because in the late 90s, there were so many negative articles in the New York Times, vis-a-vis software. People don't remember it now, but the media and the culture were utterly hostile towards us, and loved to say our jobs were going to India, that everything there was to know about Computer Science could be s…

Universities are always several years behind the curve. At college in the 90s they were still teaching token ring networking despite Ethernet already being common place. The same college told me that programmers didn’t design any of the code they write; they only transcribe code from flow charts.

Just yesterday I was talking to a grad about DevOps. He said the field sounded boring from what he was taught at uni. Then when we discussed it more it turned out his “DevOps” course was actually just teaching them how to be a scrum master and didn’t include a single thing about automation, infrastructure as code, etc.

I also remember just how garbage general publications were with regards to IT. And to be fair they still are now. But there was always a wealth of better information in specialist publications as well as online (particularly by the late 90s).

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