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Rules of thumb for a 1x developer

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Re: Rules of thumb for a 1x developer

#311

Post by paypalcust83 »

noad wrote: 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…

Ageism > deliverables.

Discrimination is real, and many people in the Valley pretend it doesn't exist when it conveniently benefits, or doesn't affect, them right now.

Re: Rules of thumb for a 1x developer

#312

Post by DominikD »

hoorayimhelping wrote: post #120
ScottFree wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Sounding desperate. Why is that a negative signal? The company has the opportunity to get top talent temporarily down on his/her luck for a reduced rate.

Confidence and desperation hardly ever align. Confident people who plan don't get desperate. Desperate people don't make good decisions. People who let themselves reach levels of desperation are either extremely unlucky (unlikely, but not someone you want on your team regardless) or chronically make bad decisions. At the worst, they're a person who chronically makes bad decisions and thinks they're unlucky. Standard:…

I wouldn't rely on a confidence as a stand-in for skill. Maybe it's cultural, but I don't trust people who are extremely confident during interviews. Interviews are stressful experience, people who come across as super confident[1] are suspicious.

On the other hand I'd hire a humble person based on this single trait alone and wouldn't regret most of the time. Humility is an exceptional marker for a good coworker. The best people I interviewed knew their limits and were eager to point them out.

[1] not overconfident, i.e. claiming to know more than they obviously do

Re: Rules of thumb for a 1x developer

#313

Post by dkdk8283 »

trcollinson wrote: post #260
dkdk8283 wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m over the hill, expensive, and want to spend more time with family vs work. Shouldn’t minimize the reality of getting old.

I can implement streaming architectures using the latest technologies that can handle throughputs of TB per hour. I can handle the architecture, security, infrastructure as code, and monitoring, as well as the development. I can also help with price vs feature analysis. I have demonstrable experience in doing so, with happy references. I can do it much faster and more successfully than a recent college grad. Shouldn'…

I was in agreement with you until you mentioned security. Peer review and avoiding your own bias is essential, you can’t do that alone.

Re: Rules of thumb for a 1x developer

#314

Post by grogenaut »

Osiris wrote: post #285
throwphoton wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm in my 40s in the SF Bay Area and recently landed a new software development job. The process took several months. My initial interviews were disastrous; it had been many years since my last job search and I didn't know I wasn't prepared for the "leetcode era". Drilling on "leetcode medium" problems with a time limit got me to the point where I was at least in the game that's being played nowadays. It wasn't prett…

I'm 40 and a developer for 15 years and didn't make it past Amazon's initial code assessment. One of the problems was a floodfill algorithm, which I've never used before. Couldn't quite figure it out on my own, but found the answer in Google in about 5 minutes, which is what I would do in real life faced with this problem. I don't understand the purpose of asking people to memorize a bunch of algorithms they will pro…

While I will say that flood fill is probably too hard for a screener question, I have used it multiple times at work. Sometimes incorrectly, but knowing it helped me realize it was incorrect.

It is true that I use a hard algorithm maybe 8 times a year. But I need my coworkers to be able to understand them when we do. So that's one part of it.

Another major part is having you go into detail about complexity and tradeoffs. Believe it or not most of my co-workers can derrive these things on the fly, not memorized. Others require a little think.

The third is algorithms boil down to simple interviews where only a few things can go meta wrong. There are other types of question but they have a lot more failure modes and are even harder to train people to give.

Re: Rules of thumb for a 1x developer

#315

Post by corpMaverick »

noad wrote: 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…

52 here. I haven't had any problems getting a job. I was never a RockStar, 10x, ninja or anything. Maybe top 10 % in regular companies (Not FAANG). But I tried to stay current for over 30 years. You probably need to have someone review your resume and maybe interview you to see what's going on. Good luck.

Re: Rules of thumb for a 1x developer

#316

Post by nickff »

Osiris wrote: post #285
throwphoton wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm in my 40s in the SF Bay Area and recently landed a new software development job. The process took several months. My initial interviews were disastrous; it had been many years since my last job search and I didn't know I wasn't prepared for the "leetcode era". Drilling on "leetcode medium" problems with a time limit got me to the point where I was at least in the game that's being played nowadays. It wasn't prett…

I'm 40 and a developer for 15 years and didn't make it past Amazon's initial code assessment. One of the problems was a floodfill algorithm, which I've never used before. Couldn't quite figure it out on my own, but found the answer in Google in about 5 minutes, which is what I would do in real life faced with this problem. I don't understand the purpose of asking people to memorize a bunch of algorithms they will pro…

Those tests aren't really about engineering skill. The interviewer is checking to see how much you want the position, how hard of a worker you are, and how smart you are.

If you really want the position, you will put a lot of effort into researching what the interview will entail.

If you're a hard worker, you will intensively study for the interview.

If you're smart, you'll be able to apply the material you studied to the problem, and you'll probably realize the game you're playing.

None of these things is about 'engineering skill', which is much more difficult to discover, and only really valuable if the person is a smart, hard worker, who sticks around.

*edit: I am not saying that I like this style of interview, and when I interview job candidates, I never engage in this type of 'test'

Re: Rules of thumb for a 1x developer

#317

Post by Glyptodon »

noad wrote: 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 can tell you that age will not matter all that much if you look at rather rough, atypical positions like universities, city governments, and small/medium businesses (all unfortunately mostly not hiring right now). They could care less that you're in your 40s, but they'll try to hire you like you're in a different industry and do things like validating that you can use Excel, have people who don't know the position interview you, make you retype your resume 3 times to fill out the application form, and have obnoxious policies with respect to vacation time or retirement vesting.

Yes, positions aren't competitive, etc., but they mostly get really rough applicants and are happy that anybody who knows what they're doing applies, and are probably better than no work.

Re: Rules of thumb for a 1x developer

#318

Post by joefourier »

notokay wrote: post #214
noad wrote: 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…

>Then I hit 30. That type of talk stopped That scares the hell out of me. I started working in IT at 22 and now I'm 30. I'm SRE and I think of myself as a useless lamer compared to the real 10x guys around. It gets heavier every year. I got bagdes CCNP/OSCP/RHCE/CKA/AWS DevOps Pro/etc only to confirm that I know at least something. (I don't tell anyone about them so I don't become known as a paper tiger.) On my way t…

FAANG hire college grads with barely any real-world experience, why would you be worse than them if you have been in the industry for 8 years? Further, what makes you think the work you'd be doing at those companies is more "real" than what you're doing now?

Re: Rules of thumb for a 1x developer

#319

Post by paypalcust83 »

scarface74 wrote: post #158
falcolas wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the deluge of recruiter spam on LinkedIn hasn't slowed down yet Recruiters spamming you is not a correlative metric for companies hiring you. SV is worse than other locations, but even the midwest company I work for (I'm also over 40) much prefers to hire people straight out of college. They're cheaper, willing to work longer hours, and easily molded into an image the company wants. EDIT: To provide a small anecdot…

I’m 45, and was last in the job market in 2018 and before that in 2016. I’m in Atlanta. The last two times I looked for your standard senior/lead enterprise dev roles it took less than two weeks to get an offer just by using local recruiters. Edit: There is a huge difference between random spam from recruiters who throw a big net and working with local boutique recruiters who have relationships with local firms. I ig…

42 here. Triplebyte seemed mostly alright, but I got weird vibes (deception?) when they said I "scored almost the highest ever." I bet they tell everyone that, which would come across as patronizing.

Also, I left the workforce because I don't find working for Darwinian corporations or without equity to be a valuable or fair use of my time or meritocratic compensation.

Re: Rules of thumb for a 1x developer

#320

Post by cameldrv »

noad wrote: 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…

Start a consulting company. In that context, often a few gray hairs actually go over well.
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