5 ms·

I'm sorry but I find it very hard to believe that someone with "11 years in industry" would have any trouble finding a job in this market unless there is someth

I'm sorry but I find it very hard to believe that someone with "11 years in industry" would have any trouble finding a job in this market unless there is something extremely wrong with that person. You don’t create a network of personal relationships with other professionals in 11 years? That’s crazy!

magic_beans 7y ago
This couldn't be more true.
foobiekr 7y ago
Try finding a gig as a top-notch embedded coder who has spent a decade or two doing C. Uncool stack with a helping of age bias on top. I’ve personally seen Windows developers assumed to be idiots in interview round tables even if they did fine.
- woah 7y ago
  I’d assume that’s pretty in demand, right? Lots of hardware startups trying to hit growth phase and need stuff to work right.
- sigstoat 7y ago
  > Try finding a gig as a top-notch embedded coder who has spent a decade or two doing C. Uncool stack with a helping of age bias on top. my previous employer literally can't hire folks like that fast enough.
  - eplanit 7y ago
    If you don't mind saying who that might be, it will be appreciated.
    - sigstoat 7y ago
      i've added a link to them in my hacker news profile. i'll remove it in a day or two, as i don't want to leave my connection to them permanently in my comment history.
      - eplanit 7y ago
        That's really nice -- thank you very much.
sigstoat 7y ago
not all roles build equally useful networks. i was in, i dunno, "research aerospace" for 10+ years, and it was basically a waste from a networking standpoint. nearly everyone i knew there is either still in the same job, or retired. the handful of others that left aren't even in the same state any more. i think the job did really profound damage to my career because of it. i think i'd encourage CS college grads to work 3-4 places before they're 30, and make sure all of them are places with at least a tiny bit of turn over. nowhere that has people trying to hit 30 years in the same chair to get a pension.
- vonmoltke 7y ago
  I had the exact same experience at Raytheon. The network I had was almost entirely confined to the defense industry, and many of them had been at their companies for 10+ years. Once I decided I needed out of that industry, it all became useless.
francisofascii 7y ago
Many developers simply don't take the time to cultivate a network or stay in touch after leaving. If you move cities or jobs, your old pals and supervisors can't offer you much help with a new potential job, other than being a good reference.

magic_beans 7y ago

This couldn't be more true.

foobiekr 7y ago

Try finding a gig as a top-notch embedded coder who has spent a decade or two doing C. Uncool stack with a helping of age bias on top. I’ve personally seen Windows developers assumed to be idiots in interview round tables even if they did fine.

woah 7y ago
I’d assume that’s pretty in demand, right? Lots of hardware startups trying to hit growth phase and need stuff to work right.
sigstoat 7y ago
> Try finding a gig as a top-notch embedded coder who has spent a decade or two doing C. Uncool stack with a helping of age bias on top. my previous employer literally can't hire folks like that fast enough.
- eplanit 7y ago
  If you don't mind saying who that might be, it will be appreciated.
  - sigstoat 7y ago
    i've added a link to them in my hacker news profile. i'll remove it in a day or two, as i don't want to leave my connection to them permanently in my comment history.
    - eplanit 7y ago
      That's really nice -- thank you very much.

sigstoat 7y ago

not all roles build equally useful networks. i was in, i dunno, "research aerospace" for 10+ years, and it was basically a waste from a networking standpoint. nearly everyone i knew there is either still in the same job, or retired. the handful of others that left aren't even in the same state any more. i think the job did really profound damage to my career because of it. i think i'd encourage CS college grads to work 3-4 places before they're 30, and make sure all of them are places with at least a tiny bit of turn over. nowhere that has people trying to hit 30 years in the same chair to get a pension.

vonmoltke 7y ago
I had the exact same experience at Raytheon. The network I had was almost entirely confined to the defense industry, and many of them had been at their companies for 10+ years. Once I decided I needed out of that industry, it all became useless.

francisofascii 7y ago

Many developers simply don't take the time to cultivate a network or stay in touch after leaving. If you move cities or jobs, your old pals and supervisors can't offer you much help with a new potential job, other than being a good reference.