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If I can't see your work - you're crap

codingjohnson.com

41–50 of 64 posts

Re: If I can't see your work - you're crap

#41
post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lol. wtf. Don't talk about your kitchen like that.

I live in a rented room, the kitchen is shared. The... dunno the name in english, where there is fire and you put pans over it, only one works (out of four). Also the surfaces that you have to work (ie: cut your vegetables for example) are inclined, meaning that anything round (like a sausage, or a carrot, or a egg) will roll out of it if you don't pay attention...

> The... dunno the name in english, where there is fire and you put pans over it

In my circle, generally that is referred to as the burner (or sometimes the eye).

Re: If I can't see your work - you're crap

#42
Even if the code looked crappy, I'd hire dev who shipped working code for working products that people pay for. You know that rant about the premature optimisation, right? Live example: I recently paid for small Twilio app development to a guy who does not know what code management is. But the app works.

Re: If I can't see your work - you're crap

#43
post #27

This attitude has cost me at least one job offer, but my current situation is good enough that I'm not really interested in doing publicly-visible things just so prospective employers can see it. What can I say, my code goes into private repos, sorry. You reply, I can't offer you a job if I can't see your commits, sorry. Understandable. But then the matter boils down to whether I want the job more, or you want me as…

> It's a groupthink thing that I personally try to avoid Because the Good Ol' Boy network of references and handshakes is a groupthink thing you've gamed better.

Huh, I wonder what that means.

Re: If I can't see your work - you're crap

#44
post #2

Depending on the type of work you do your code would not go on github. If you write code for drivers for IR cameras in C or fix bugs in FORTRAN you won't be putting your stuff on Github or contributing to stackoverflow. Github/stackoverflow is, in my opinion, more catered towards the mobile/web/C# community. Military, medical equipment and aerospace software developers prob don't use it either one very much.

+1 for FORTRAN. And there still is DOD market for COBOL. None of that shared.

Re: If I can't see your work - you're crap

#45
post #28

Anyone know how a developer in situation 1 can get a job? I am a game developer, and many game companies have two qualities: 1, they demand lots of time. 2, they do either very specific work related only to their game, or they do things that can be re-used, but then this mean it become very valuable internal tech and must NOT be shared with competitors. Currently my lifestyle is: wake up, drink tea, wear something, g…

...and the TFA's suggestion is you add another job to this equation, unpaid, to give the work away for free in hopes somebody might like what they see when asking for a portfolio.

Re: If I can't see your work - you're crap

#47
post #40

We might be equal in an abstract sense; but in particulars we are very different. If you are alien or opaque to me then the uncertainty about you is a risk. Risk devalues.

Flip side: giving work away free devalues. Is your work valuable enough that others will pay a tidy sum to own it outright? If your effort is not valuable enough for anyone to pay for it, is it worth paying you for?

Re: If I can't see your work - you're crap

#48
post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personally, I wouldn't hire you because you file patents.

I can't decide if I'm reading that correctly. Which do you mean: 1) I would not hire you and the reason is "because you file patents" 2) If I did hire you, the reason would not be "because you file patents"

Pretty sure it's #1, based on HN's general feelings towards software patents

Re: If I can't see your work - you're crap

#49
post #32
post #23

Developer 1 is just fine with sufficient networking/publishing. I don't have a single commit on github. But I have no problem with job offers. I suspect that's because I have author credits on a lot of refereed publications in the past few years and a bunch of recent patents, mostly single inventor. I'd say that's worth more than a bunch of code on github myself, but to each their own.

Personally, I wouldn't hire you because you file patents.

And I'm cool with that as I don't get along well with ideologues of any slant anyway. Mark me a bad cultural fit.

As for my reasons, I filed them defensively with large companies so that I wouldn't get out-patented by some Texas Troll and then face the situation of my supposed prior art versus their big money. Deal with the devil I know, but that's the suboptimal choice I made. And life is full of those.

Re: If I can't see your work - you're crap

#50
post #3

I'd hire developer 1 for sure. I've never understood the idea that someone may be worse because they are employed and all the code they write is good enough to be paid for by someone else and thus can't be posted publicly for anyone to take.

A lot of people feel that most of the better developers code in their free time as well as for work. Whether or not you accept that premise, it should at least make sense how you get from that to expecting people to have some code to show.

Premise understood. Note that it's also fair to consider the better developers code in their free time and sell it.

Fair arguments on all sides. Crux of the problem is that what we do as developers is valuable enough that others will pay good money to own it outright, leaving us with no publicly-viewable portfolio.

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