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> Work history matters, but experience more so Good employers value knowledge and skills, not experience. Apply to well-known tech companies with lengthy inte

> Work history matters, but experience more so Good employers value knowledge and skills, not experience. Apply to well-known tech companies with lengthy interview process: they don't care much about your past.

contingencies 9y ago
This is probably true for lower tier dev roles, but senior / management roles require experience. eg. I don't care that you can roll out 100 systems rapidly in a fire and forget manner... if you've never maintained one long term I'm not entrusting you with architectural responsibilities. YMMV.
ionvortex 9y ago
True, but experience is often what helps gets you in the interview seat to begin with, and also helps with salary negotiation.
BjoernKW 9y ago
I'm not entirely sure if this generally true but if it is that doesn't sound like a particularly good approach. Experience matters. There's only so much you can learn at school. I'd prefer an engineer who has already solved real-world problems to someone who's exceptionally good at solving whiteboard puzzles anytime.
- elderK 9y ago
  Hey there Bjoern, Would it be sufficient to have solved many different types of problems encountered while working on side projects?
  - BjoernKW 9y ago
    Sure. As far as I'm concerned experience is experience no matter where that experience comes from. One thing to keep in mind though is that part and parcel of solving engineering problems at scale is working and communicating with others. If you've been working on these side projects all by yourself then that experience might not be as valuable as if you had worked on these problems in a team. This certainly is possible with side projects, too of course, like when you have an open source project with several contributors or a side project with several remote developers. It's just that the term 'side project' usually implies a one-man-band doing everything by him- or herself.

contingencies 9y ago

This is probably true for lower tier dev roles, but senior / management roles require experience. eg. I don't care that you can roll out 100 systems rapidly in a fire and forget manner... if you've never maintained one long term I'm not entrusting you with architectural responsibilities. YMMV.

ionvortex 9y ago

True, but experience is often what helps gets you in the interview seat to begin with, and also helps with salary negotiation.

BjoernKW 9y ago

I'm not entirely sure if this generally true but if it is that doesn't sound like a particularly good approach. Experience matters. There's only so much you can learn at school. I'd prefer an engineer who has already solved real-world problems to someone who's exceptionally good at solving whiteboard puzzles anytime.

elderK 9y ago
Hey there Bjoern, Would it be sufficient to have solved many different types of problems encountered while working on side projects?
- BjoernKW 9y ago
  Sure. As far as I'm concerned experience is experience no matter where that experience comes from. One thing to keep in mind though is that part and parcel of solving engineering problems at scale is working and communicating with others. If you've been working on these side projects all by yourself then that experience might not be as valuable as if you had worked on these problems in a team. This certainly is possible with side projects, too of course, like when you have an open source project with several contributors or a side project with several remote developers. It's just that the term 'side project' usually implies a one-man-band doing everything by him- or herself.