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Please Do Not Be a One Trick Pony

jacquesmattheij.com

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Re: Please Do Not Be a One Trick Pony

#91

Post by speeder »

Kurtz79 wrote: post #74
speeder wrote: post #66

I have to disagree. As a unemployed person, that see lots of job openings for one trick ponies, I wish I was a one trick pony, I am not, and I am already without my lunch (in the literal sense, I've been eating mostly potatoes for the last weeks, my parents don't have money to buy even chicken daily). I am mainly a Lua, C and C++ coder. Most job openings I see are for Java EE specialists, or people that know the enti…

Seriously are there no job openings for C/C++ programmers ? Things like games(or game engines), trading, embedded systems, operating systems should still be running mostly on that...

I make games personally, but I am in Brazil, the jobs available for C and C++ programmers are all NOT on Brazil, and those that I am actually experienced in (games) rarely get relocation help, I DO apply to those jobs, but I always get reply that it is for people that live already near them.

As for trading, there are few brazillian traders, and I don't found a opening in them yet, there are lots of traders in US, but I have zero experience, they won't pay relocation.

The same is also true for operating systems, embedded, etc...

Everyone likes C and C++ coders, but only when those are secondary skills (ie: I see lots of openings where Java + Oracle are mandatory skills, and C++ is a "plus", I apply to those anyway, but never got an interview)

Re: Please Do Not Be a One Trick Pony

#92

Post by gaius »

Mvandenbergh wrote: post #33

The way to prevent your skills from becoming obsolete is to learn related skills rather than very different ones. The people making money writing pure html in the early 90's who are still employed mostly didn't move on to writing systems code in C or business logic in Java, they learned css, javascript, and/or Flash and kept making web sites for clients. The ones who managed to keep charging high rates did that by al…

Indeed. Taking a language- rather than a domain-centric view is a hallmark of inexperience.

Re: Please Do Not Be a One Trick Pony

#93

Post by gaius »

blt wrote: post #89
Aardwolf wrote: post #35

I don't think C++ would become obsolete any time soon, right?

Good C and C++ programmers understand how computers work. We will always need programmers who understand how computers work. I believe a cleaner language will replace C and C++ for new projects some day, but it will still present the same fundamental environment to the programmer: manual memory management, raw OS threading, ability to bit bash and do unsafe stuff if you need to. This language will not radically chang…

I believe a cleaner language will replace C and C++ for new projects some day

That language is C++14.

Re: Please Do Not Be a One Trick Pony

#94

Post by merrua »

blt wrote: post #89
Aardwolf wrote: post #35

I don't think C++ would become obsolete any time soon, right?

Good C and C++ programmers understand how computers work. We will always need programmers who understand how computers work. I believe a cleaner language will replace C and C++ for new projects some day, but it will still present the same fundamental environment to the programmer: manual memory management, raw OS threading, ability to bit bash and do unsafe stuff if you need to. This language will not radically chang…

People always say C will replace C

Re: Please Do Not Be a One Trick Pony

#95

Post by swalsh »

mbesto wrote: post #75

> In the world of programming being a one-trick-pony is not an option > Lifetime careers no longer exist. I knew a bunch of people that were charging $200 per hour to do HTML in the early 90’s. Frontpage ate their lunch. Ha! I know plenty of SAP people who are making $200+/hr because they are one-trick ponies. So the real question is - who's anecdote is stronger, mine or jacques's?

I had the opportunity to take a field trip to a water treatment plant that was just outside my town. I think I was in 6th grade. While there, we saw these giant tanks, inside them was this disgusting water filled with literal shit, and on occasion, condoms. The problem with the condoms was that the system they used to filter the water wasn't capable of dealing with them. So they had a guy setup, in a small fishing boat, and a net. His job was to float around fishing them out. For this he was paid $100/hr (according to the guide I believe). It wasn't a particularly difficult job. But it was literally a shit job.

In the world of business, SAP consultants are the equivalent.

Re: Please Do Not Be a One Trick Pony

#96

Post by dpritchett »

Bahamut wrote: post #88
psykotic wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you are as valuable to your employer as you seem to imply, it should be easy to negotiate this with a simple "I'm burnt out doing X. Unless you let me start doing Y, I will have to join another company to fulfill my goals." Unless you work for people who consider their employees short-term expendable resources, this should be a no-brainer for them.

That has been the only way I have been able to get other experience in my full-time jobs. I am unhappy that it has been the only way I have been able to get the employer to actually move to allow me to work in other domains.

Subtlety will only get you so far in negotiations, especially when you're already a 'captive' employee.

Re: Please Do Not Be a One Trick Pony

#97

Post by Pyret »

Watch - in a near future there'll pop up an article explaining how you can't afford to study a little of this and a little of that. It will tell you need to focus on one thing only to be real good at it so that you can sell that one skill.

Re: Please Do Not Be a One Trick Pony

#98

Post by Retra »

codingdave wrote: post #61
raverbashing wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It might pay the bills, but you'll work on exactly ZERO new developments. You won't be able to work with Web/Embedded/Mobile. Your developments will probably be "new report at bank" or "fixing new bugs" So, unless you learn other stuff, it might get you the money but it's probably something veery boring (even more boring than your corporate CRUD app)

What is so bad about boring? Boring means low stress, and easy work. As long as your life outside of work is fulfilling, there is nothing wrong with doing a boring job for good money.

Boredom is a major cause of stress. Maybe this discussion would go somewhere if the terms were actually defined?

Re: Please Do Not Be a One Trick Pony

#99

Post by UNIXgod »

inDigiNeous wrote: post #85
UNIXgod wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

s/marketing plan/engineer/g Always be yourself. Unless you can be a unicorn. Then always be a unicorn.

So hard to code with 4 hooves and one corn. Been there, done that. Mexico, never again.

Charlie? Charlie Root? Charlie??!?!... is that you?

Re: Please Do Not Be a One Trick Pony

#100

Post by raverbashing »

kyllo wrote: post #83
Xylakant wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd pick fairly boring work with a nice team over interesting work with assholes every single time. Some people also prefer boring as in "uneventful" since they have kids, family, other obligations and value having a 9-5 job over interesting. There's a lot of reasons to pick boring. I can have exciting hobbies after work.

Agreed. I think we tend to underestimate how highly people value interesting work. If you want to do work that most people would rate as interesting, you're going to pay a very high "passion tax" for the privilege. People will put up with more competition for fewer openings, drastically lower salaries, longer hours, worse work environments, and meaner coworkers, in order to do work they feel "passionate" about. I hav…

> If you want to do work that most people would rate as interesting, you're going to pay a very high "passion tax" for the privilege.

True. See game companies

Of course there's a whole spectrum between "boring" and "cool", and even games have some very boring parts

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