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> I'm not particularly talented Stop telling yourself that. You wouldn't be #11 out of 25,000 if you weren't talented. As long as you're open about your past

> I'm not particularly talented Stop telling yourself that. You wouldn't be #11 out of 25,000 if you weren't talented. As long as you're open about your past and convictions, and your legal standing permits employment doing the work you'd do, then there's nothing stopping you from applying. When you see a job posting then look at what the requirements are. If you fit more than half then you should apply. The things you don't know can be learned on-the-fly. You'll no doubt have interviews that try to find your strong points and weak points. You'll have failures. But that's not a problem: everyone has those. This is your market: there are tons of companies that are hiring for your skillset and you'll land a job quickly if you're good enough at the core skills that are needed... which I'm sure you are. Edit: I would also add that I'm also completely self-taught. The only computer class I've taken was typing... and I got kicked out for cheating because it was boring. I've been employed in software for over 20 years and currently make $160k salary in TX, USA building software for drones. There are a lot of people in the computer industry who are self-taught. Don't let that stop you.

DrBoring 5y ago
> Stop telling yourself that. You wouldn't be #11 out of 25,000 if you weren't talented. I like this advice. I used to think I wasn't as good a programmer than a friend of mine because he had a larger breadth of skills than myself. Then I actually saw the code he was producing professionally ... and it was crap. It was functional sure, but not maintainable at all (if the business rules changed, then rewrites were awful). Where I work now, the developer team that I joined were a bunch of amateurs pretending to write business applications. Their code (which I'm still refactoring 10 years later) is awful. I seemed like a super star to my managers because they never knew the difference from a good and bad coder. That last paragraph wasn't meant to be employment advice. My point is, you never know how good you really are until you see how bad other people are. Couple that with the general self doubt we all sometimes experience, and you end up feeling like the worst in your field. I'm self taught too. I started coding at age 7. We're the best because we love our particular skill so much that we made a fun hobby out of it. We stayed up way late into the night honing our craft. Etc, etc ... other inspiring reasons why we're awesome at what we do. Edit: > Edit: I would also add that I'm also completely self-taught. The only computer class I've taken was typing... and I got kicked out for cheating because it was boring. Ha, I wrote my comment about being self-taught before you made your edit. On the topic of cheating: In 6th grade spelling class, we had to write out our weekly spelling words 5 times each. We were allowed to handwrite, or type it out on a computer and hand in the printout. I wrote a computer program where I would input the spelling words as an array (only typing them once), and it would output a text file for me to print out and hand in.
- bradwood 5y ago
  I got punishment for messing about in class and was instructed to"write lines"... Something along the lines of "I must learn to behave in class and listen to my teacher" 100 times... I asked if I could type the lines rather than hand-write... 4 lines of BASIC later.
- vxNsr 5y ago
  > On the topic of cheating: In 6th grade spelling class, we had to write out our weekly spelling words 5 times each. We were allowed to handwrite, or type it out on a computer and hand in the printout. I wrote a computer program where I would input the spelling words as an array (only typing them once), and it would output a text file for me to print out and hand in. Wow, I wonder what the goal of that exercise was. Copy/paste has been part of windows since at least 95, no? Regardless, I’d think the main goal of forcing repetitive writing is improving handwriting and word recognition, which require a pen(cil) and not a keyboard.
  - abotsis 5y ago
    I did this in WordPerfect in dos, even though I could program in pascal. Getting a compiler on the same computer as a printer back then was the biggest chore :)
    - exikyut 5y ago
      *Imagines writing a PostScript program that interprets Pascal, so the programs can be compiled on the printer* *Runs rapidly into the distance, screaming* (Just found this thread, I know you'll probably never see this ;P)
  - DrBoring 5y ago
    :) While writing my original post, I tried to mention that copy/paste wasn't common knowledge at the time, but couldn't form a communicative sentence on the matter. I certainly didn't know how to copy/paste at the time. This was in the days of Windows 3.1, and I was programming in QuickBasic 4.5 on DOS. I think the word processor I used when typing may have been Word Perfect. > Regardless, I’d think the main goal of forcing repetitive writing is improving handwriting and word recognition, which require a pen(cil) and not a keyboard. I think the goal was for us to memorize spelling of the word. Maybe improved handwriting was a sub-goal, I don't know. By that age, I don't think teachers really focused on our penmanship. I consider word recognition to be more of a reading skill. I was a lazy student. Spelling was never a priority for me. I never did well on tests because I never studied my spelling words. I was more into math and science. My parents never hassled me about my bad spelling test grades.
Cullinet 5y ago
I wonder if the "not very talented" self depreciation might mean talent with soft / people / social skills (the depreciation does strongly point to this) and therefore suggest that getting some education and training / experience in these soft skills might be the key to finding employment. certainly there's a inevitable associated presumption that criminal behaviour is caused by poor social awareness and so addressing the general area would also indirectly attack the unfortunately undeniable connected human behavioural profile that needs to be overcome.
bladegash 5y ago
“As long as you're open about your past and convictions” 100% this. We had someone who hid that he was previously gone to prison for robbing banks. He used his dad’s SSN and slipped through the cracks. He was terminated immediately when a girl who was mad at him called our company to let us know to get back at him. You can’t know for sure if people will look past your history, but I can guarantee you don’t want to hide it and have them find out later or someone hold it over your head. The place that is meant for you will be the one where you are accepted for who you are.
- notch656a 5y ago
  Sounds like place he was at accepted him just fine until dumb bitch ratted him out for something that happened outside of work. Dude got a good run at least. Not lying about convictions sounds great from the pious ivory tower or from seasoned professionals who may have enough experience that others are able to look beyond their past. Dude already did his time, in my book the conviction doesn't exist anymore. My honest advice for ex-crims is to find small shops that don't run BG check (yes these places do exist) and never mention their crimes. After a 3-5 years in industry your past will be far enough behind you can get into most small businesses positions you are qualified for.
  - tcgv 5y ago
    I see your point, and I'm in favor of inclusion in the workplace, but it's not all black and white. Would you allow a convicted sexual offender who did his time in jail take care of your child in a day care facility to which he got employed and didn't disclose his past conviction? Things need to be put into perspective, and evaluated carefully. With that said I don't think immediate termination was the right decision to make in that situation the parent comment described. Inclusion requires consideration and empathy, the company didn't demonstrate that.
    - notch656a 5y ago
      I've not run a BG check on anyone who takes care of my kids. Sometimes we also hire babysitters to come take care of my child, I don't run BG check either. I probably wouldn't like it if I found out they raped a (actual, not like statutory w/ a lying 17 y/o with fake ID like happened to Cody Wilson) child, because I believe the appropriate solution for that is the death penalty, and thus I don't see them as having completed their sentence. But if someone is out in society, I treat them based on the way I have observed them to treat myself and others, rather than what the government says. A lot of sex offenses are total BS such as someone urinated in public (which is socially acceptable in many places of the world).
ianai 5y ago
I think they meant for the usual jobs unemployment would attempt to match with an ex-con.

DrBoring 5y ago

> Stop telling yourself that. You wouldn't be #11 out of 25,000 if you weren't talented. I like this advice. I used to think I wasn't as good a programmer than a friend of mine because he had a larger breadth of skills than myself. Then I actually saw the code he was producing professionally ... and it was crap. It was functional sure, but not maintainable at all (if the business rules changed, then rewrites were awful). Where I work now, the developer team that I joined were a bunch of amateurs pretending to write business applications. Their code (which I'm still refactoring 10 years later) is awful. I seemed like a super star to my managers because they never knew the difference from a good and bad coder. That last paragraph wasn't meant to be employment advice. My point is, you never know how good you really are until you see how bad other people are. Couple that with the general self doubt we all sometimes experience, and you end up feeling like the worst in your field. I'm self taught too. I started coding at age 7. We're the best because we love our particular skill so much that we made a fun hobby out of it. We stayed up way late into the night honing our craft. Etc, etc ... other inspiring reasons why we're awesome at what we do. Edit: > Edit: I would also add that I'm also completely self-taught. The only computer class I've taken was typing... and I got kicked out for cheating because it was boring. Ha, I wrote my comment about being self-taught before you made your edit. On the topic of cheating: In 6th grade spelling class, we had to write out our weekly spelling words 5 times each. We were allowed to handwrite, or type it out on a computer and hand in the printout. I wrote a computer program where I would input the spelling words as an array (only typing them once), and it would output a text file for me to print out and hand in.

bradwood 5y ago
I got punishment for messing about in class and was instructed to"write lines"... Something along the lines of "I must learn to behave in class and listen to my teacher" 100 times... I asked if I could type the lines rather than hand-write... 4 lines of BASIC later.
vxNsr 5y ago
> On the topic of cheating: In 6th grade spelling class, we had to write out our weekly spelling words 5 times each. We were allowed to handwrite, or type it out on a computer and hand in the printout. I wrote a computer program where I would input the spelling words as an array (only typing them once), and it would output a text file for me to print out and hand in. Wow, I wonder what the goal of that exercise was. Copy/paste has been part of windows since at least 95, no? Regardless, I’d think the main goal of forcing repetitive writing is improving handwriting and word recognition, which require a pen(cil) and not a keyboard.
- abotsis 5y ago
  I did this in WordPerfect in dos, even though I could program in pascal. Getting a compiler on the same computer as a printer back then was the biggest chore :)
  - exikyut 5y ago
    *Imagines writing a PostScript program that interprets Pascal, so the programs can be compiled on the printer* *Runs rapidly into the distance, screaming* (Just found this thread, I know you'll probably never see this ;P)
- DrBoring 5y ago
  :) While writing my original post, I tried to mention that copy/paste wasn't common knowledge at the time, but couldn't form a communicative sentence on the matter. I certainly didn't know how to copy/paste at the time. This was in the days of Windows 3.1, and I was programming in QuickBasic 4.5 on DOS. I think the word processor I used when typing may have been Word Perfect. > Regardless, I’d think the main goal of forcing repetitive writing is improving handwriting and word recognition, which require a pen(cil) and not a keyboard. I think the goal was for us to memorize spelling of the word. Maybe improved handwriting was a sub-goal, I don't know. By that age, I don't think teachers really focused on our penmanship. I consider word recognition to be more of a reading skill. I was a lazy student. Spelling was never a priority for me. I never did well on tests because I never studied my spelling words. I was more into math and science. My parents never hassled me about my bad spelling test grades.

Cullinet 5y ago

I wonder if the "not very talented" self depreciation might mean talent with soft / people / social skills (the depreciation does strongly point to this) and therefore suggest that getting some education and training / experience in these soft skills might be the key to finding employment. certainly there's a inevitable associated presumption that criminal behaviour is caused by poor social awareness and so addressing the general area would also indirectly attack the unfortunately undeniable connected human behavioural profile that needs to be overcome.

bladegash 5y ago

“As long as you're open about your past and convictions” 100% this. We had someone who hid that he was previously gone to prison for robbing banks. He used his dad’s SSN and slipped through the cracks. He was terminated immediately when a girl who was mad at him called our company to let us know to get back at him. You can’t know for sure if people will look past your history, but I can guarantee you don’t want to hide it and have them find out later or someone hold it over your head. The place that is meant for you will be the one where you are accepted for who you are.

notch656a 5y ago
Sounds like place he was at accepted him just fine until dumb bitch ratted him out for something that happened outside of work. Dude got a good run at least. Not lying about convictions sounds great from the pious ivory tower or from seasoned professionals who may have enough experience that others are able to look beyond their past. Dude already did his time, in my book the conviction doesn't exist anymore. My honest advice for ex-crims is to find small shops that don't run BG check (yes these places do exist) and never mention their crimes. After a 3-5 years in industry your past will be far enough behind you can get into most small businesses positions you are qualified for.
- tcgv 5y ago
  I see your point, and I'm in favor of inclusion in the workplace, but it's not all black and white. Would you allow a convicted sexual offender who did his time in jail take care of your child in a day care facility to which he got employed and didn't disclose his past conviction? Things need to be put into perspective, and evaluated carefully. With that said I don't think immediate termination was the right decision to make in that situation the parent comment described. Inclusion requires consideration and empathy, the company didn't demonstrate that.
  - notch656a 5y ago
    I've not run a BG check on anyone who takes care of my kids. Sometimes we also hire babysitters to come take care of my child, I don't run BG check either. I probably wouldn't like it if I found out they raped a (actual, not like statutory w/ a lying 17 y/o with fake ID like happened to Cody Wilson) child, because I believe the appropriate solution for that is the death penalty, and thus I don't see them as having completed their sentence. But if someone is out in society, I treat them based on the way I have observed them to treat myself and others, rather than what the government says. A lot of sex offenses are total BS such as someone urinated in public (which is socially acceptable in many places of the world).

ianai 5y ago

I think they meant for the usual jobs unemployment would attempt to match with an ex-con.