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Ask HN: Confused software developer

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Re: Ask HN: Confused software developer

#21

Post by dvanduzer »

eps wrote: post #10
peterhi wrote: post #4

Not wanting to be brutal but if you have 2 years experience of anything then you are no longer a junior. Maybe not actually a senior but certainly not a junior. Junior is like saying trainee. Stop thinking that you are junior. You seem to play down your accomplishments "Just converted some existing HTML(static) sites to dynamic(developed a simple & crude cms like interface to edit the content on the website). I also…

This bullshit spin won't withstand even the most basic technical interview. It will also ensure that he'd come across as a pompous noob who's out of touch with reality. I've been programming for money close to 25 years and I can assure you that the "junior" period covers at least 5 years. Yes, 3 years in you would think that you know a lot, have a boatload of experience and just a wee bit under "senior", but then at…

It isn't bullshit for a mid level generalist to remove the "junior" just because the web frameworks play musical chairs every few years.

Titles are stupid. If I were feeling more cynical, I'd argue that the problem is the Windows programming ecosystem doesn't have much of a middle.

Re: Ask HN: Confused software developer

#22

Post by gfmyork »

I know people get fed up of C#/.NET because it feels so separated from what's going on in the rest of the development world and because the (relative) lack of open source community makes it seem quite dull. But it's a great language and a decent framework and with Microsoft open-sourcing so much of it a few weeks ago it could be on the verge of becoming more exciting.

If I were you I'd consider trying to get involved (or at least following developments) in the official .NET on Linux projects. That way you don't have to learn a new language but you can move away from Windows and Visual Studio. And try to get some practice deploying Linux .NET applications in Docker - I'd guess that experience will be in high demand in the near future.

Re: Ask HN: Confused software developer

#23

Post by smtddr »

eps wrote: post #10
peterhi wrote: post #4

Not wanting to be brutal but if you have 2 years experience of anything then you are no longer a junior. Maybe not actually a senior but certainly not a junior. Junior is like saying trainee. Stop thinking that you are junior. You seem to play down your accomplishments "Just converted some existing HTML(static) sites to dynamic(developed a simple & crude cms like interface to edit the content on the website). I also…

This bullshit spin won't withstand even the most basic technical interview. It will also ensure that he'd come across as a pompous noob who's out of touch with reality. I've been programming for money close to 25 years and I can assure you that the "junior" period covers at least 5 years. Yes, 3 years in you would think that you know a lot, have a boatload of experience and just a wee bit under "senior", but then at…

>> I can assure you that the "junior" period covers at least 5 years.

You can't assure that. There are super sharp people out there with less than 3 years of experience that know a whole lot and there are devs with 10+ years experience who can't determine when a for-loop should be used.

The problem is that term 'programmer' means very different things depending on the industry and company you're in.

Re: Ask HN: Confused software developer

#26

Post by eldelshell »

IDK anything about the job market in the UAE but I have an acquaintance in a position very similar to yours (self-taught .Net webdev with some years of experience) and my advice was to go into mobile development. You say you're doing some Android development. Stick with that and apply for those positions. If you publish something in the Play store, much better since you'll have something to show.

Use your knowledge (as limited as it might be) on web services as a leverage (all mobile apps use some sort of web service) and exploit it.

Also, try to apply to positions in consulting firms, since those usually grab the cheapest option and allows you to gain some real world experience.

Re: Ask HN: Confused software developer

#27

Post by zeeshanm »

I pretty much agree with what everyone has said. But I'll just emphasize that you should believe in yourself and just try to fake until you can believe in yourself. Like they say "fake it till you make it."

And the only way to make it is to keep going and don't give up. Believing in yourself will help with not giving up. You'll be surprised how much you'd be able to learn by just not giving up. For example, I know this one developer who used to ask these ridiculously stupid questions on stackoverflow. I mean things like you can learn simply by reading the docs. But I've always known him having thick skin and just getting stuff done. Your aptitude can only help you to a certain extent but it is your attitude that can help you achieve great heights. Have a growth mindset and don't worry about not learning fast or what others have done.

Re: Ask HN: Confused software developer

#29

Post by canterburry »

First off, read this: http://blog.freecodecamp.com/2014/11/a-cautionary-tale-of-le...

Then, read this ranking of the most popular languages: http://www.tiobe.com/index.php/content/paperinfo/tpci/index....

Figure out what type of development you enjoy. Do you enjoy the backend, the frontend mobile etc. Different languages are good for different things.

If you like APIs and backend development learn java/scala or C#. Python is a really good all around programming language but you'll need JavaScript, CSS to do frontend web development. If you enjoy mobile, then java or Objective-C/Swift is pretty much a must.

Next, what kind of job do you want? If you want an enterprise job then java or C# is what you want. If you want to work for a small company, then many languages will do but Python is again a good bet.

If you want to be a freelancer, then probably you should pick a skillset to get really good at, whatever you happen to like, and stick to it. That's how you'll stand out against others and be seen as an expert.

I personally don't believe in knowing 5+ programming languages and claiming to be great at all of them. Pick 1 or 2 as your core, and then dabble in others. Your core languages you should be able to do in your sleep and be good enough to ace any interview.

Re: Ask HN: Confused software developer

#30

Post by geocar »

smtddr wrote: post #23
eps wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This bullshit spin won't withstand even the most basic technical interview. It will also ensure that he'd come across as a pompous noob who's out of touch with reality. I've been programming for money close to 25 years and I can assure you that the "junior" period covers at least 5 years. Yes, 3 years in you would think that you know a lot, have a boatload of experience and just a wee bit under "senior", but then at…

>> I can assure you that the "junior" period covers at least 5 years. You can't assure that. There are super sharp people out there with less than 3 years of experience that know a whole lot and there are devs with 10+ years experience who can't determine when a for-loop should be used. The problem is that term 'programmer' means very different things depending on the industry and company you're in.

> The problem is that term 'programmer' means very different things depending on the industry and company you're in.

That's because 'programmer' as a word is a lot like 'painter', which means "applies pigment to surface" and does not differentiate between "painter of portraits" and "painter of my kitchen".

Programming is a literate and verbal exercise: We should have better words for this.

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