Still there. Contributing to OSS (golang) + studying theory I missed because I didn't do compsci at uni. Once I hit the 40/50 patch count and have good algo/os

Still there. Contributing to OSS (golang) + studying theory I missed because I didn't do compsci at uni. Once I hit the 40/50 patch count and have good algo/os knowledge I reckon I should be better placed to be attractive job-wise. Several failed 'views have seriously hit my confidence, but I am working on fixing obvious areas of deficiency. A lot of the problem is that the stuff you build can't necessarily happen at the place you're at - if all your place do is db frontends and your coworkers produce endless spaghetti, anything you produce is going to be subsumed by that. Another issue which is rarely spoken about is the atmosphere of the development environment - if people are on edge/insecure/[deadsea-ers][1] things can get nasty quick, and there is nothing better at pulling down your confidence. I have come to the conclusion that you have to build your own positive output because you love it, and let the career-enhancing aspects act as a side-effect. I adore this stuff, that's why I'm doing it. It is often frustrating though - I am 29, 30 in September and it is difficult not to feel trapped. The negative aspects of the job make it harder to do the positive stuff necessary to get out - got to work hard to keep your head above the water. [1]:http://brucefwebster.com/2008/04/11/the-wetware-crisis-the-dead-sea-effect/ http://brucefwebster.com/2008/04/11/the-wetware-crisis-the-d...