5 ms·

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

by 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.

by dosy 8y ago

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.