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Ask HN: Desperate Python Hacker Seeking Help and Suggestions

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Re: Ask HN: Desperate Python Hacker Seeking Help and Suggestions

#71
post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you considered a drastic move to SF, NYC, Boston, or another startup hotspot? Ah yes, it's so easy to move when you can't even afford $100 to start a company. Great advice. Finding a job as a developer is actually not that hard, in this economy. Looks like you're wrong, in this instance at least.

I find it interesting that your hostility came through so easily and without consideration for how your words could effect someone seeking to employ you. (which is the actual reason I had read this post) You seem to focus all of your attention on what "skills" you have without regard for the personality traits that make a desirable team member. I can guarantee you that you will meet many developers with greater skill…

mtogo is a random commenter, not the same person who is looking for help in Michigan. I'd love to know what company you work for, though, so I can stay far away.

Re: Ask HN: Desperate Python Hacker Seeking Help and Suggestions

#72
Is there anything (other than money) stopping you from moving to San Francisco (well, Mountain View) next week?

It would be pretty easy to find a tech company willing to do phone/internet screen for a day or two remotely, and then fly you out for interview. If it goes well, you'd probably be pressured to just stay and work and then have someone else pack up/ship your stuff :)

You should have done this instead of wasting your time trying to find jobs locally, really.

Re: Ask HN: Desperate Python Hacker Seeking Help and Suggestions

#74
post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Ah yes, it's so easy to move when you can't afford $100 to start a company. Great advice. My biggest pet peeve about HN? The automatic assumption that if you're not looking to start your own company, you're a worthless idiot. As bretthoerner pointed out, many companies will pay for you to move. And even if they don't, putting $5k on a credit card to move to someplace where you would actually be employed is still a…

My biggest pet peeve about HN? The automatic assumption that if you're not looking to start your own company, you're a worthless idiot. Woah, didn't mean to imply that at all. I just used the "to start a company" bit because he had said that in his post. I notice that attitude around HN and i hate it too. As bretthoerner pointed out, many companies will pay for you to move. And even if they don't, putting $5k on a cr…

Even if a company doesn't have a formal relocation program (it's unlikely a startup would), the founder/hiring manager saying "here's my personal credit card; put all the charges related to your move on it, and I'll expense it for you" relocation plan is probably quite common at a startup; the only provision would be that you have to repay it in a timely fashion if you switch to another job within a year or so. (IMO, if someone gets fired or just doesn't work out, it's pretty pointless to try to collect relocation/education expenses, since he's possibly broke; the case to worry about is relo for job A and then switch to job B at a competitor once you're already here).

Re: Ask HN: Desperate Python Hacker Seeking Help and Suggestions

#75
Your description really isn't enough to give you advice. You should post your resume online somewhere and link to it.

But, based on what you said, I can tell you:

Using Python in school and at a job doesn't make you a Python Hacker. From your description of yourself it sounds like you mostly play with programming. It may just be the way you worded it, but what was the last 'major' software project you have worked on, either for work or open source? Have you been a developer professionally, or have you skirted on the edges of the industry? I interview candidates and review resumes all the time, and nothing sets off my spidey senses more than someone who overestimates their skills. If you don't know a topic well and know you don't, that is totally fine, but when a candidate says they are an '8/10' in a language, but I gauge them to be a near beginner, it tells me they are blissfully unaware how much they don't know. That means that they probably have never learned any language or topic with a high degree of mastery, and that they aren't aware of how much more is out there in the language in question. That means they aren't very curious, and they aren't passionate (or worse, they aren't smart).

It also sounds like you have a graduate degree in some non-technical field. Did you graduate recently? The courses you list are not very advanced, and coursework doesn't really matter for employment anyway.

We are hiring aggressively (like most big tech companies in the valley) have an engineering challenge up at: http://codeeval.com/public_sc/48/ . If you do it competently we will call you back. We pay well, have great benefits, offer relocation, etc. However, it is fairly challenging and the majority of people who attempt it are not able to complete it.

Honestly, FizzBuzz is meant as a test of basic programming competency. It's disqualifying when an engineer can't do it, but it's not anything to brag about. A competent engineer should be able to implement FizzBuzz in any computer language in a few minutes, even if they've never seen the language before, so long as they can get documentation.

No matter what happens, you aren't going to find work in Michigan. You aren't connected and from the sound of it your resume is very light, and you don't have a network, so contracting and freelancing just isn't realistic for you. Based on your description of yourself, you would be a fairly junior level engineer wherever you go. You have to start somewhere, though. Good luck!

Re: Ask HN: Desperate Python Hacker Seeking Help and Suggestions

#76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't bother, I submitted a resume months ago that would be a perfect fit for one of the positions and I haven't even heard back for a rejection.

I don't understand in what kind of world you live in, where it's better not to try because you might be disappointed.

What? I said don't bother because they aren't replying to submissions at all.

Re: Ask HN: Desperate Python Hacker Seeking Help and Suggestions

#77
First off you need to consider scraping together enough money to get out of where you are. Move to a place that has jobs. You say "family"... do you have children? This is an important consideration in terms of where you can go... I think there are basically two types of cities with solid startup/software job markets: There's the NYC/SFs of the world, incredibly lucrative, incredibly expensive. Then there are the Austin/Boulders of the world, financially reasonable, but not the "big time". From the sound of your situation, the latter is just fine.

Also if you are that desperate, you should consider moving to one of these places and leaving your family behind until you've made enough money to bring them to you. That may sound horrible, but it's the way people have pulled themselves up and made a better life for their family for centuries.

Re: Ask HN: Desperate Python Hacker Seeking Help and Suggestions

#78
post #40

As someone born and raised in Michigan and whose partner was also born and raised in Michigan, my advice is that other than visiting grandparents and hiking and touring breweries, you will find your opportunities tremendously expanded by as quickly as possible getting the fuck out of Michigan.

Another Michigan ex-pat here to completely agree. Grew up in mid-Michigan, went to a big university there for CS, and I wasn't interested in writing .NET or Java for an insurance company. That led to moving to SF to hack on Python and JavaScript with other hipster hackers.

The only thing I really miss is Michigan's summer heat (it's mid 60's and windy here - in July).

Re: Ask HN: Desperate Python Hacker Seeking Help and Suggestions

#80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand in what kind of world you live in, where it's better not to try because you might be disappointed.

What? I said don't bother because they aren't replying to submissions at all.

... based on a sample of one, though.
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