5 ms·

This following is meant this in sincere and non-snarky way: If the problems you are working on can actually be done/solved at a large table with lots of people

This following is meant this in sincere and non-snarky way: If the problems you are working on can actually be done/solved at a large table with lots of people around, then it probably isn't a problem that requires 10+ years of experience i.e. it probably could be done by someone younger/cheaper. [Of course, if you "hack" around this by coming in early, working from home, etc. you aren't actually "doing it at a table with lots of people around you".] I know lots of gray haired guys solving problems in the desktop and embedded space. I'm a not-a-genius developer/consultant and at 0x38 years old, I have no problem getting work.

dosy 8y ago
0x38 is cool. Never thought about doing that. Hex years. Makes everything seem younger. I'm still an 0x20-something then, not so bad! :) I thin I'd like to get into the niche / older spaces, liked embedded / desktop, but I wanted to learn a lot about web dev / cloud first, based on interest and curiosity. I programmed in C when younger, and had an embedded opportunity a couple years ago in it which I turned down, but I think I'd like to take that up now. Do you think there's more work / less applicants ( or at least a higher such ratio ), in C / embedded, etc?
- chrisbennet 8y ago
  >Do you think there's more work / less applicants ( or at least a higher such ratio ), in C / embedded, etc? I don't know but I think you are on the right track thinking in terms of ratios. If there are (only) 100 jobs for technology X and 90 people with that skill, that's a good skill to have. If there are 10000 jobs for technology Y and 11000 developers for that technology, the ratio is not as favorable. I think the Internet Of Things (IOT) might be a nice bridge from the "webby" world to the embedded one. One of my friends was doing node.js on an embedded medical device for example. (Queue "Security is the 'S' in IOT.") At the end of the day, job security is based on creating value. If you want to be remunerated well for that value, you don't want to have a lot of direct competition. I deliver solutions on the "edge" of the embedded realm sometimes - things that run on small Linux computers (Beagle Bones and Raspberry Pi). I can't speak to the demand for "real" embedded developers. By "real" I mean dealing with things like "board bring up" and FPGAs. Perhaps the graybeards I know that do that stuff are there through selection bias. As consultant, I create the software for complete products or the core technology/secret sauce for companies that don't have that skill in-house. They could hire a skilled web developer fairly easily (assuming they pay reasonably). It's a lot harder to higher a developer that can turn data packets into a radar display, make a desktop product to monitor laser plasma emissions or track a flying golf ball using computer vision (my last 3 projects). I hope that was helpful.
  - dosy 8y ago
    It was helpful, thanks. And sounds very interesting (last 3 projects). The kind of stuff I would be interested in probably, more so than web dev. Web is publishing, basically, and user interaction. Important, but it's not everything out there. Thanks a lot for response! :)
  - AnimalMuppet 8y ago
    > If there are (only) 100 jobs for technology X and 90 people with that skill, that's a good skill to have. If there are 10000 jobs for technology Y and 11000 developers for that technology, the ratio is not as favorable. I'm in embedded, and I think your numbers are about right. I'd say that embedded is only 1/10th as big as "general programming" or even web programming. This means that, if you want a new job in your town, it may take 10 times as long as if you're in web programming. But it pays better, experience is more valued, and the cultures are different. Embedded doesn't have many brogrammers - it's more a world of grown-ups.
  - alltakendamned 8y ago
    I understand from your other comments you're mostly getting work through word of mouth. That said, in your experience, what would be the channels through which the kind of projects you do are advertised? I hardly see any of those.
    - chrisbennet 8y ago
      For one of those jobs, I was approached by a head hunter. I outright tell the headhunters I know (that do contracts) to call me if they come across something “weird” but they generally can’t pay enough for it to be worth it. All the rest where word of mouth from people I know. I wish I knew of a place where these sorts of jobs were advertised.
danieltillett 8y ago
Do you put 0x38 on your CV?
- chrisbennet 8y ago
  I don't use a resume anymore but if I did, I would "sanitize" my age from it I think.
zerr 8y ago
Does your nice personal website help with getting gigs? Do you still have to make the first call?
- chrisbennet 8y ago
  I’m not sure if it helps “get” jobs but it doesn’t hurt. My current web site is 3drocketsurgery.com. The chrisbennet.com one is all stuff that I did 10 years ago or more. Neither of them are sites you would find via a web search. Not a single person has contacted me through 3drocketsurgery site’s contact form and my name isn’t on it anywhere on it (on purpose). I used to use it with my resume’ and now use it instead of one. I don’t actually call people or actively search for work. I do try to talk people out of hiring me sometimes. Reading this it makes it seem like I’ve got it all figured out but in reality, I’m just lucky and I’m expecting my luck to run out at some point. It’s kind of scary to be honest.
  - zerr 8y ago
    I was hoping investing in website might reverse the first contact vector, i.e. clients would call me first... Otherwise, so far my CV works just fine, so I guess there is no point in having a website.
    - chrisbennet 8y ago
      I don’t make “first contact” with my clients that way but I think it really helps to have an interesting portfolio that they can look at once contact is made. It slipped my mind earlier, but I did have a hiring manager from Mathematica tell me he saw something I’d done from my website once - probably got the link to my web sites from LinkedIn. He’d seen a video of a virtual oscilloscope I’d written for laser stuff. I doubt he would have called otherwise since my resume’ isn’t “out there” for everyone to see.
HocusLocus 8y ago
Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I'm 0100?

dosy 8y ago

0x38 is cool. Never thought about doing that. Hex years. Makes everything seem younger. I'm still an 0x20-something then, not so bad! :) I thin I'd like to get into the niche / older spaces, liked embedded / desktop, but I wanted to learn a lot about web dev / cloud first, based on interest and curiosity. I programmed in C when younger, and had an embedded opportunity a couple years ago in it which I turned down, but I think I'd like to take that up now. Do you think there's more work / less applicants ( or at least a higher such ratio ), in C / embedded, etc?

chrisbennet 8y ago
>Do you think there's more work / less applicants ( or at least a higher such ratio ), in C / embedded, etc? I don't know but I think you are on the right track thinking in terms of ratios. If there are (only) 100 jobs for technology X and 90 people with that skill, that's a good skill to have. If there are 10000 jobs for technology Y and 11000 developers for that technology, the ratio is not as favorable. I think the Internet Of Things (IOT) might be a nice bridge from the "webby" world to the embedded one. One of my friends was doing node.js on an embedded medical device for example. (Queue "Security is the 'S' in IOT.") At the end of the day, job security is based on creating value. If you want to be remunerated well for that value, you don't want to have a lot of direct competition. I deliver solutions on the "edge" of the embedded realm sometimes - things that run on small Linux computers (Beagle Bones and Raspberry Pi). I can't speak to the demand for "real" embedded developers. By "real" I mean dealing with things like "board bring up" and FPGAs. Perhaps the graybeards I know that do that stuff are there through selection bias. As consultant, I create the software for complete products or the core technology/secret sauce for companies that don't have that skill in-house. They could hire a skilled web developer fairly easily (assuming they pay reasonably). It's a lot harder to higher a developer that can turn data packets into a radar display, make a desktop product to monitor laser plasma emissions or track a flying golf ball using computer vision (my last 3 projects). I hope that was helpful.
- dosy 8y ago
  It was helpful, thanks. And sounds very interesting (last 3 projects). The kind of stuff I would be interested in probably, more so than web dev. Web is publishing, basically, and user interaction. Important, but it's not everything out there. Thanks a lot for response! :)
- AnimalMuppet 8y ago
  > If there are (only) 100 jobs for technology X and 90 people with that skill, that's a good skill to have. If there are 10000 jobs for technology Y and 11000 developers for that technology, the ratio is not as favorable. I'm in embedded, and I think your numbers are about right. I'd say that embedded is only 1/10th as big as "general programming" or even web programming. This means that, if you want a new job in your town, it may take 10 times as long as if you're in web programming. But it pays better, experience is more valued, and the cultures are different. Embedded doesn't have many brogrammers - it's more a world of grown-ups.
- alltakendamned 8y ago
  I understand from your other comments you're mostly getting work through word of mouth. That said, in your experience, what would be the channels through which the kind of projects you do are advertised? I hardly see any of those.
  - chrisbennet 8y ago
    For one of those jobs, I was approached by a head hunter. I outright tell the headhunters I know (that do contracts) to call me if they come across something “weird” but they generally can’t pay enough for it to be worth it. All the rest where word of mouth from people I know. I wish I knew of a place where these sorts of jobs were advertised.

danieltillett 8y ago

Do you put 0x38 on your CV?

chrisbennet 8y ago
I don't use a resume anymore but if I did, I would "sanitize" my age from it I think.

zerr 8y ago

Does your nice personal website help with getting gigs? Do you still have to make the first call?

chrisbennet 8y ago
I’m not sure if it helps “get” jobs but it doesn’t hurt. My current web site is 3drocketsurgery.com. The chrisbennet.com one is all stuff that I did 10 years ago or more. Neither of them are sites you would find via a web search. Not a single person has contacted me through 3drocketsurgery site’s contact form and my name isn’t on it anywhere on it (on purpose). I used to use it with my resume’ and now use it instead of one. I don’t actually call people or actively search for work. I do try to talk people out of hiring me sometimes. Reading this it makes it seem like I’ve got it all figured out but in reality, I’m just lucky and I’m expecting my luck to run out at some point. It’s kind of scary to be honest.
- zerr 8y ago
  I was hoping investing in website might reverse the first contact vector, i.e. clients would call me first... Otherwise, so far my CV works just fine, so I guess there is no point in having a website.
  - chrisbennet 8y ago
    I don’t make “first contact” with my clients that way but I think it really helps to have an interesting portfolio that they can look at once contact is made. It slipped my mind earlier, but I did have a hiring manager from Mathematica tell me he saw something I’d done from my website once - probably got the link to my web sites from LinkedIn. He’d seen a video of a virtual oscilloscope I’d written for laser stuff. I doubt he would have called otherwise since my resume’ isn’t “out there” for everyone to see.

HocusLocus 8y ago

Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I'm 0100?