My opinion and please don't add negative karma for saying this, but if you don't have any source of income to replace what you have lost , you should immediately get a job even if it is contract based. It is better to show something in your resume. You can work on your side projects all the time until they run on their own.
Ask HN: I got let go this morning. What should I do next?
111–120 of 207 posts
Re: Ask HN: I got let go this morning. What should I do next?
#112So my guess is this is the first time you've been let go, or this is the first time as an adult (post-college) during your profession that you've been let go. Relax, it happens. This doesn't mean you aren't a terrific developer and person to work with. Take a little time to think about what you've worked on, what you've accomplished in the past 6-12 months I think you'll see what a great position you really are in. A…
What's the benefit of a startup? Seems like more hours for less pay while always needing to get things done. I fail to see the appeal. They just have lunches and dinners which appeal to people.
"Startups" is a very broad brush. But I'd say that creating your own startup is almost always a valuable experience, wheras working for one is often a waste of potential earnings and time.
Re: Ask HN: I got let go this morning. What should I do next?
#113Earlier quoted context omitted.
Being internet famous is overrated. Anyway, if you're going to start off from the premise that the OP is fibbing about their capabilities then you're starting off your relationship based on distrust. I'd rather give them the benefit of the doubt, give them a real test of their capabilities than to start off with something that has value when you're evaluating 100's of applicants for a specific job position so you can…
What do you think of Regan's "trust by verify"? How do you define "a real test of their capabilities"? While we start the hour long skills test off with some fizzbuzz weeders, we quickly move into harder questions pulled out of issues we've resolved in the real world that are likely to be of the same shape of future work. If people are offended by fizzbuzz, they don't express it often during interviews/employment/exi…
> Lastly, we're out of Houston, TX. I'm guessing the culture is very different in CA and perhaps that's the mismatch.
For what it's worth, I'm a native Texan out of Dallas and wouldn't dream of giving someone with demonstrated development ability, like OP has, a fizzbuzz "test" as part of hiring. I'm guessing the culture is very different in Houston and perhaps that's the mismatch.
Re: Ask HN: I got let go this morning. What should I do next?
#114Earlier quoted context omitted.
a couple hundred thousand is not enough to retire at 30 though ....
He is 25, and he plans to retire at 30, in 5 years he may save another couple thousands more. Let's put on the lower part of the "couple" spectrum and say he have 200.000, in 5 years he will have 400.000 USD. This money is enough to retire early with the 4% rule http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/05/29/how-much-do-i-need... Maybe you are assuming that he want to live in the states, with the interest of this money he…
When someone says "a couple thousand" you think of 200k as a lower bound?
Re: Ask HN: I got let go this morning. What should I do next?
#115Earlier quoted context omitted.
Startups are great experience. If you are lucky enough to be a technical co-founder then you get to pick the platform, design the system and generally call all the shots on the tech side. That alone can be quite rewarding. I'd say that was the most compelling reason for me personally. There are a whole litany of standard answers to that question such as greater risk = great reward potential, the ability to choose and…
I've never worked for a start-up in a development role before, but I think I would like it. I am 28, fresh out of grad school and working for a bank currently. I like my coworkers and the work but when I walk by management and I overhear "We're not a development shop," I get disheartened because banks are becoming data centers and have to be in the software game. Take a look at... Dwolla: they are out to destroy the…
Is your background more tech or more finance?
Re: Ask HN: I got let go this morning. What should I do next?
#116> I am self taught my CS skills are not as solid as other developers
There are a lot of, like, regular companies in a lot of regular, not silicon valley cities, that hire regular developers working on boring software products for a very good salary. You'll very likely get a raise out of this. Don't freak out, work on your open source thing for a couple weeks while you set up five interviews. Once you have an offer you can step back and relax, and decide what you want to do.
Re: Ask HN: I got let go this morning. What should I do next?
#117Sorry to here about what happened, but when one door closes another will open!
We're hiring senior/mid JS developers (Angular specifically) out in sunny San Francisco. If you want to relocate please send an email to Zak.Brown [at] target.com
Don't worry, the position is for a tech company recently bought by Target and not actually Target itself.
If relocating isn't your thing, I would always recommend freelancing, as JS is in demand. Be your own boss, you owe it to yourself to at least try it.
Re: Ask HN: I got let go this morning. What should I do next?
#118Earlier quoted context omitted.
What's the benefit of a startup? Seems like more hours for less pay while always needing to get things done. I fail to see the appeal. They just have lunches and dinners which appeal to people.
Never getting a raise because that's not built into their budget and there's not a system around it. Having to beg for vacation time and getting maybe a week a year. And after a few years or a few ventures, your friends at big corps are already starting to talk about retirement and pensions, and you realize that's an extra million you gave up. But hey, you can wear shorts!
I work for fortune 300 non tech company (despite their NASDAQ listing). Our pension program has been frozen - no new employees can join and years of service no longer accrue additional benefit. There has not been a 401k match in four years, the continuing education program ended with the merger 10 years ago. And the healthcare is marginally better than Obamacare. And raises. Last year they were 0.75%.
A startup looks better and better.
Re: Ask HN: I got let go this morning. What should I do next?
#119Earlier quoted context omitted.
a couple hundred thousand is not enough to retire at 30 though ....
He is 25, and he plans to retire at 30, in 5 years he may save another couple thousands more. Let's put on the lower part of the "couple" spectrum and say he have 200.000, in 5 years he will have 400.000 USD. This money is enough to retire early with the 4% rule http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/05/29/how-much-do-i-need... Maybe you are assuming that he want to live in the states, with the interest of this money he…
The English colloquialisms "a couple" or "a few" are generally accepted to mean 1 < x < 5.
Re: Ask HN: I got let go this morning. What should I do next?
#120Just a vote of confidence and a thumbs up from another self-taught programmer. Don't forget that we are very desirable in our industry, having demonstrated a fantastic ability to assimilate core skills as self-starters (instead of needing these skills spoon-fed). Good luck!