> I was seriously considering starting a compilers YouTube channel even though I’m awkward in front of the camera.
Doesn’t need to be a YT channel, a blog where you talk about this very complex and niche stuff would be awesome for many.
Becoming a compiler engineer
31–40 of 160 posts
Re: Becoming a compiler engineer
#32[flagged]
> You do not need to be 'goes to MIT' level of smart, but you do have to understand the basic concepts, which I think is an absolutely manageable amount - about a scope of a couple hundred page paperback or a single challenging CS course worth of info to get started.
You certainly don't need to be from 'top 3 college in US' at all. Neither did the creators of Zig (Andrew Kelly) and LLVM, Swift and Mojo (Chris Lattner) ever did.
All you need is genuine interest in compilers, the basic CS fundamentals including data structures and algorithms. Start by building a toy compiler and then study the existing open-source ones and make some contributions to understand how it all works.
Re: Becoming a compiler engineer
#33[flagged]
Puff piece? Attack vector? It’s just a personal story.
Re: Becoming a compiler engineer
#34[flagged]
IMHO the best tutorial is Crenshaw's "Let's Build a Compiler" series.
Re: Becoming a compiler engineer
#35[flagged]
So few people trained or specialized in language implementation and compiler writing actually get the chance to write compilers. Those jobs are just so rare that many people in that area re-specialize into something else (like AI these days).
Re: Becoming a compiler engineer
#36If folks are interested in compilers and looking for where to get started, we're always looking for new contributors:
Building the Linux kernel with LLVM: https://github.com/ClangBuiltLinux/linux/issues
LLVM itself: https://github.com/llvm/llvm-project/issues?q=is%3Aissue%20s...
Re: Becoming a compiler engineer
#37[flagged]
> You do not need to be 'goes to MIT' level of smart, but you do have to understand the basic concepts, which I think is an absolutely manageable amount - about a scope of a couple hundred page paperback or a single challenging CS course worth of info to get started. You certainly don't need to be from 'top 3 college in US' at all. Neither did the creators of Zig (Andrew Kelly) and LLVM, Swift and Mojo (Chris Lattner…
I don’t know about Kelly but Lattner certainly did. UIUC is pretty top for CS. That’s where NCSA is, as in NCSA Mosaic and many others.
Re: Becoming a compiler engineer
#38I'm almost more interested in how a 20-something with no apparent prior pedigree lands a Simon and Schuster debut novel contract!
She lost that contract after being found guilty of plagiarism. That’s why she avoids mentioning her considerable writing career at all
Re: Becoming a compiler engineer
#39Very interesting and informative! I'm a bit shocked that it would take significant effort/creativity for an MIT grad with relevant course/project work to get a job in the niche I would have thought the recruiting pipeline is kinda smooth Although maybe it's a smaller niche than I think -- I imagine compiler engineers skew more senior. Maybe it's not a common first or second job I graduated at the bottom of bear marke…
I’d expect it to be a pretty small niche. How many companies need compiler engineers? Some big tech companies have compiler groups, but they’re a small part of the business. Most software companies are consumers of compilers, not producers.
Re: Becoming a compiler engineer
#40[flagged]
> Her accomplishments are impressive and well deserved
what exactly are those even? that she went to MIT? from her linkedin she's at some blockchain startup (for only 4 months) doing "compiler work" - i put it in quotes because these jobs actually happen to be a dime-a-dozen and the only thing you have to do to get them is pass standard filters (LC, pedigree, etc.).