10 ms·

Ask HN: Help a Hacker Out

263 points by lesterfremn 15y ago

As the result of a series of unfortunate misfires and suboptimal decisions I've found myself in the unenviable position of being unemployed and living back home with my mom in Des Moines, Iowa. While it may sound like a setup for a romantic comedy, the fact that a plucky and attractive female has yet to make an apparence has made it painfully clear that it's not going to be that kind of a movie. So, before the cement dries on what was intended to be a very short-term situation and I find myself greeting shoppers at Walmart, I've decided to buy a one-way ticket to SF where there seems to be plenty of opportunity for the likes of me. The only problem is that I don't have a job, an interview, or even any connections I can leverage. But if you need help solving hard problems, I'm your guy. I have an undergraduate degree in Mathematics from the University of Chicago and a masters in Mathematics from Iowa State. I know C++ and Python ok and I've worked as a derivatives quant, a high-frequency trader and even tried my hand at poker for a while. I'm open to short or long-term consulting projects as well as full-time employment. I'm particularly interested in working on challenging problems dealing with algorithms and big data, but I'm up for jumping back into HFT if there's a decent opportunity. Hell, I'll even tutor linear algebra or basket weaving if that's where this adventure needs to begin. In short, I'm a smart guy coming to SF and I need an opportunity. Please help a hacker out.

haasted 15y ago
Good luck! I hope you'll make a follow-up post to tell us how it all went at some later point.
- lesterfremn 15y ago
  That's a great point, I'll do that.
leeskye 15y ago
My team is looking for mathematicians to help solve huge problems in the world of YouTube/online video. I just sent you a message.
- iamgilesbowkett 15y ago
  what are you working on? I'm not looking for work, just have a fascination with the space. are you guys stealth mode?
  - leeskye 15y ago
    I love seeing interest in our space. The audience on YouTube is massive. The current mode of measuring this audience is just the tip of the iceberg. We believe there is much to be learned in dissecting this audience and how they connect with online video.
lesterfremn 15y ago
I forgot my email address (I'm the OP) kozjob at yahoo.com
- nicksergeant 15y ago
  You should throw it in your profile. Most people will look there first (rather than through the comment thread).
  - lesterfremn 15y ago
    Ok. I updated it.
    - joshuacc 15y ago
      You'll actually need to put it in the "about" field, since the email field isn't public.
      - lesterfremn 15y ago
        Got it, thanks.
iopuy 15y ago
I'm in SF, I own a company that writes scripts to moderate internet access at mobile RV parks. We use some Python and sharepoint. I think you would be a great match to work well in the office with my other 2 guys. Keep an eye out for an email.
- deedubaya 15y ago
  Python + Sharepoint to moderate internet access? Wow....why?
  - pavel_lishin 15y ago
    I'm actually super curious. It seems like an incredibly odd stack for an incredibly odd application.
  - Kaizyn 15y ago
    Python probably does the moderation. Sharepoint is for dead simple communication of info to the user community.
AHorihuela 15y ago
UChicago math undergrad? I have complete confidence you won’t be acting this role for long... You should reach out to people from your class (and years around it) that ended up in SF. Check out RethinkDB for example - part of their team is UChicago. Lollihop is another one.
bkruse 15y ago
I own a company that currently indexes/sorts/sells different algo-based trending information to hedge funds. We also do big-data management for a few of them as well (think processing/storing 4 million messages/second). I'd be interested in some consulting and possibly a full-time position. We have excellent programmers/mathematicians now, but always like to bring on someone with some experience/new things to bring to the table. If you actually worked as a trader, we could get you on our prop floor with some stability track record. Respond here to gauge your interest, and I'll shoot you an email. Thanks!
- lesterfremn 15y ago
  Please. kozjob (at) Yahoo (dot) com.
  - bkruse 15y ago
    Will do - thank you.
- yoblin 15y ago
  Current (and past) experience in this field, if you're looking for someone to do some contracting I'd be interested in hearing more about what you guys do. I'm local. yoblin -at- gmail dot com
  - bkruse 15y ago
    Great - will do.
- scorpion032 15y ago
  With current experience building trading applications and coming to SF in a week, I'd be interested to talk to you.
gcv 15y ago
I'm curious about your experience in the HFT field. Have you ever considered starting your own trading shop? If this isn't something you feel comfortable discussing in public, feel free to email me — address in my profile. I don't have a job to offer you right now, but would like to talk. When you get to SF, lunch or beer on me.
- bkruse 15y ago
  Hey gcv, What do you mean, exactly, by starting a trading shop? If you mean becoming a broker dealer, that will require certificates and capital - and lots of it! :P
  - gcv 15y ago
    I was thinking more along the lines of proprietary trading. There is no regulatory oversight for risking your own money, and the amounts required to get started are reasonably modest. See, e.g., http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/9s9d7/iama_100_automated_independent_retail_trader_i/ http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/9s9d7/iama_100_automat...
    - bkruse 15y ago
      Ahh - agreed. Getting around PDT for $2,500 and having incredibly cheap leverage makes for an interesting market (though one bad trade and your done - you have to put it all on the line with such a small account)! Though if you do not have that much capital, jumping into futures/options trading against the best in the world - you will get your head chopped off. The far shot of a reality such as the one on reddit is not a good one to try to reproduce. I definitely recommend he read "Fooled by Randomness" by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. While it's obviously a biased book (even just taking into account the title) - it does shed some light on the subject.
      - Arelius 15y ago
        Regarding "Fooled by Randomness". I haven't read the book, but assume it's brought up in the inherent randomness of the markets, and people's ability to try to rationalize said randomness. Trying to understand the market is surely a shortcut to crazy town, and certainly trying to rationalize it is a poor mechanism to profit. But it's clearly evident that the market isn't uniformly random, and that there exists exploitable patterns in the market that are reliably (to a degree) profitable over certain time periods. I think the thesis of "Fooled by Randomness" is best taken advantage of by understanding that you need to recognize the pattern, and exploit it directly, rather than trying to extrapolate meaning and use that directly. The market is clearly a truly chaotic system, but you just need to take advantage of patterns that are statistically relevant and profitable. Edit: After additional contemplation, I'm not sure I actually agree with what I just said.
angersock 15y ago
Come to Texas. We have cheap cost of living and baller-as-hell problems to work on, whether you want games or graphics or oil & gas.
- lesterfremn 15y ago
  Yeah, I'm thinking about that. I really like the idea of going to Austin but the reason I'm thinking of SF is because the software / data scene there is off the charts. A friend of mine told me yesterday it's like what Paris 1910 was for painters.
  - angersock 15y ago
    So, looking over at Houston there are all kinds of crazy datasets for both energy exploitation and energy trading. There's a thriving if quiet startup community, and a local private university of some note in applied math (Rice). It's pretty unpretentious, but that's the city--we are all about the bidness. Besides, it's a chance to crunch numbers for something other than selling ads and cat pictures. :)
    - saryant 15y ago
      Would you happen to know how to find these companies? I know of a few (FlightAware, for instance) but figuring out who's doing what in Houston isn't as easy as the Bay Area. I've been trying to get in touch with some companies in Houston (I graduate in May) and I'd much appreciate it if you could point me in the right direction!
  - ismarc 15y ago
    If you decide on Austin, lemme know. I know some folks at a privately owned high frequency trading firm that I believe are hiring, or numerous startups in the area depending on what exactly you're looking for.
    - lesterfremn 15y ago
      Is this RGM? I've had some contact with them already but I don't know of any other HFT in Austin. I'd be interested to know of others.
gcampbell 15y ago
I just shot you an email, but this seems like a reasonable place to note that my employer (Twitter) is hiring like mad, and we definitely have some big data to work with: https://twitter.com/jobs/home https://twitter.com/jobs/home
- barce 15y ago
  Hmmm... I applied at Twitter and got the coding problem done right. I also contributed to one of Twitter's open source projects, "Snowflake." Either you got to have a great story like this Iowa guy, or hiring at Twitter is broken. :-( This might be my next HN post: "How I Interviewed Great at Twitter but a bad coder got my job."
  - nkohari 15y ago
    Maybe the fact that you didn't get hired has something to do with you coming off as a total asshole. What exactly makes you think the OP is a "bad coder"? Maybe you should write a post titled, "How Twitter Failed to Fulfill My Sense of Entitlement".
  - dhbanes 15y ago
    Was a grammar test involved, perhaps?
  - fairramone 15y ago
    There is likely a minimum technical bar. Meeting it doesn't make you a sure hire.
fawce 15y ago
Your quant skills (and humor) sound like a great match for http://quantopian.com http://quantopian.com. If you signup for the alpha using the kozjob email you shared below, and we'll let you through. If you like what you see, drop us a line, maybe there's more we can do together.
reinhardt 15y ago
I hate to be "that guy" but how on earth with such experience and credentials you resort to HN to find a job? Does not compute.
- kschua 15y ago
  Better here where like-minded folks hang out (at least, they will have HN News in common), than some random recruiter who have no inkling what either party is looking for
  - reinhardt 15y ago
    Perhaps I'm reading it too literally but it seems more like a desperate appeal than a first choice. Apologies if it's a humor detection bug.
    - HeyLaughingBoy 15y ago
      Doesn't seem desperate at all. He's doing the Willie Sutton thing: go to where the jobs are!
  - Killswitch 15y ago
    Especially in Iowa... Not that many tech places hiring. Luckily the best place that I know of is Des Moines, where the OP is at.
- jimbokun 15y ago
  What's a better place to look for a job than Hacker News?
- saryant 15y ago
  As someone else who's looking at SV from the outside and in a somewhat-similar situation, I can tell you that the temptation to turn to HN is strong. I've asked for (and received!) advice here in the past and I'm very grateful for it. I don't have the OP's history, my own isn't nearly as impressive, but I can certainly relate. I'm sure he could find a job in Iowa, just as I've had no trouble finding jobs in my current location, but the draw of Silicon Valley is high though from the outside can appear more difficult to enter than perhaps is the case.
Killswitch 15y ago
Good luck man, fellow Iowan myself.
andrewcamel 15y ago
Make sure you check out Addepar - they're developing a wealth management platform that seems like a good thing for you to work on given your experience. Only negative is that you'd have to learn Java, but it's a small price to pay to get involved with an up-and-comer.
gtani 15y ago
Put your github, stackoverflow, blog, research papers, web apps etc in your profile, and possibly work the confidence index up, and let folks know your'e avail for remote work now I know C++ and Python ok (never took math classes at U of C, but spent lots of time in Eckhart library)
- nodemaker 15y ago
  The more you know the more you understand how less you know :)
  - gtani 15y ago
    unknown unknowns – things we do not know we don't know Yup Rumsfeld knew blind spots
beaumartinez 15y ago
Wow, you sound really optimistic (and who shouldn't be? You'll slay SF!) Good luck man :-)
evanmoran 15y ago
I hope you get the girl.
campnic 15y ago
I saw a presentation by the Founder of Dwolla which suggested they were working on some interesting monetary software. Located right in Des Moines : http://blog.dwolla.com/another-ramp-looking-for-more-team-members/ http://blog.dwolla.com/another-ramp-looking-for-more-team-me...
yitchelle 15y ago
Post a link to this story on G+ to give you more exposure. Plenty of folks from the valley hang out there as well. Good luck!
- lesterfremn 15y ago
  Thanks, I appreciate it.
dabent 15y ago
Contact me, email is in profile.
- lesterfremn 15y ago
  Email on the way.
nodemaker 15y ago
Good luck dude!.Being a fellow job seeker myself I can understand how hard it is to find any decent job without connections or an ivy league degree even when you have decent skills. Also I see you have some writing skills too.You can be a great asset for companies who are trying to get some good content on their blogs and gain traction.
zackattack 15y ago
Hit me up when you're in SF; we can reminisce about Eckhart Hall.
- lesterfremn 15y ago
  Crusty old building. Smart people.
  - lesterfremn 15y ago
    Ok, there's really only a couple of stories I know of Eckhart hall but I should mention them before this gets too stale. Most or every weekday, the faculty and other interested parties meet for tea at about 4PM in the tea room across from the library. I was taking abstract algebra at the time and the professor was a fairly recent Phd. And, most or all UC undergraduates learn some familiarity with the categorical imperatives of Immanuel Kant. Somehow, the subject came up whether or not the idea of category theory (or at least the name) is in some way derivative of the categorical imperative. The inventor of category theory was Saunders Mac Lane who was on the faculty. At tea one day our teacher asked Mr Mac Lane if there was any relationship between category theory and the categorical imperative. Oddly enough the answer was yes, in an oblique way. This story would be quite a bit better if I remembered some idea of what the relationship was but unfortunately I don't. In any case it seemed pretty cool at the time.
  - lesterfremn 15y ago
    There was this intense Indian professor who had this air about him that was sort of condescending but more just dismissive. Ie, there was some pretty intense sttt he would routinely characterize as trivial or obvious. The thing was, you were never sure whether he was trolling you or not. At a party or some event, supposedly somebody asked him what his research interest was. They were probably expecting to hear something like knot theory or PDE or whatever, but his research interest was "Mathematics", which I guess makes sense because that's what he worked on. He liked teaching undergraduates but the department only let him do it once every four years or so, as the memories faded from the last time he did it. The year he taught the honors analysis class, it started in the fall with something like 32 students (and all of them by invitation at that) and ended with 6. And so the six survivors printed up T-shirts for having completed the course and wore them to the spring semester final. He's handing out the final and sees the shirts and says something like, "Don't be too confident about that."
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
losethos 15y ago
GoC:\LoseThos\www.losethos.com\text\HAMLET.TXT frock or livery That aptly is put on. Refrain to-night; And that shall lend a kind of easiness To the next abstinence: the next more easy; For use almost can change the stamp of nature, And either curb the devil, or throw him out With wondrous potency. Once more, good-night: And when you are desirous to be bles'd, I'll blessing beg of you.--For this same lord [Pointing to Polonius.] I do repent; but heaven hath pleas'd it so, To punish me with this, and this with me, That I must be their scourd says...
thebigredjay 15y ago
I love the positive response this is getting! Sometimes I fall back into thinking HN is just another list of news, but a real sense of community pops up at a moment like this. Good luck finding work lesterfremn!
- lesterfremn 15y ago
  Yeah, suprised me quite a bit really. Thanks.
AdamTReineke 15y ago
I'm a student at Iowa State and know of plenty of opportunities in the Des Moines area. Have you looked around Des Moines? Seems like the insurance companies (or maybe even a big startup like Dwolla) would have a use for someone with a Math masters.
- wildtype 15y ago
  I agree with this. I think you can get a job in insurance companies on your hometown. Good luck!
calbear81 15y ago
Let me start by saying welcome to San Francisco! We've got lots of opportunities for smart guys like you and we love C++ here at Room77. We may not have the "big data" opportunities like Twitter has but we have a big dream, to build the best hotel shopping site in the world and we've got amazing VCs and people backing us and we have a lot of interesting problems to solve. Your quant and derivatives background is especially interesting since we have a new project that's basically custom made for someone who wants to build a highly algo-driven engine. Send me an email roger[at]room77.com if you're interested in finding out more or just shoot us your resume here and complete a few of our problems https://www.room77.com/jobs/se_resume_form.html?p=SWE&s=web https://www.room77.com/jobs/se_resume_form.html?p=SWE&s=...
- joshu 15y ago
  Hello from the fourth floor! Actually I am in Long Beach now but usually I am upstairs.
- lesterfremn 15y ago
  Email sent, thanks.
jrockway 15y ago
How about Google? Happy to start the process for you if you send me an email (my-hn-username AT google.com).
- lesterfremn 15y ago
  Great, email your way.
devs1010 15y ago
I don't have close to what you have as a background but I've been able to get interest in my resume and just landed a position in sf, I havev the fortune of having family out there so maybe that helped, but you should be able to get a lot of interest I would think... Have you been applying like crazy and networking on linkedin, etc, posting resumes? Id be happy to help in any way I can, my email is rick_developer at gmx dot com
MIT_Hacker 15y ago
Why not take the Steve Jobs route and walk into a company's office and refuse to leave until they offer you a job. Square is in downtown San Fran.
ektimo 15y ago
We're seeking a smart guy/Python/big data engineer. Please send your resume (or other evidence of ability) to jobs(at)proximiant(dot)com. Proximiant is developing a touch-and-go digital receipt service.
rtrocc 15y ago
Hope this goes through for you, goodluck!
dmor 15y ago
Dwolla!
HistoryInAction 15y ago
Come to Startup Weekend Des Moines before you go! This weekend, March 2-4: http://dsm.startupweekend.org/ http://dsm.startupweekend.org/ Also, you should try Dwolla, who are awesome, committed to building the Des Moines hacker ecosystem. EDIT: Emailed to offer help.
benhamner 15y ago
"I'm particularly interested in working on challenging problems dealing with algorithms and big data" Give one of our competitions a shot - http://kaggle.com/ http://kaggle.com/. They're a good way to experiment with algorithms and machine learning on well-defined problems, and collaborate with people who have similar interests. Also, we love hiring people who win competitions.

263 points by lesterfremn 15y ago

haasted 15y ago

Good luck! I hope you'll make a follow-up post to tell us how it all went at some later point.

lesterfremn 15y ago
That's a great point, I'll do that.

leeskye 15y ago

My team is looking for mathematicians to help solve huge problems in the world of YouTube/online video. I just sent you a message.

iamgilesbowkett 15y ago
what are you working on? I'm not looking for work, just have a fascination with the space. are you guys stealth mode?
- leeskye 15y ago
  I love seeing interest in our space. The audience on YouTube is massive. The current mode of measuring this audience is just the tip of the iceberg. We believe there is much to be learned in dissecting this audience and how they connect with online video.

lesterfremn 15y ago

I forgot my email address (I'm the OP) kozjob at yahoo.com

nicksergeant 15y ago
You should throw it in your profile. Most people will look there first (rather than through the comment thread).
- lesterfremn 15y ago
  Ok. I updated it.
  - joshuacc 15y ago
    You'll actually need to put it in the "about" field, since the email field isn't public.
    - lesterfremn 15y ago
      Got it, thanks.

iopuy 15y ago

I'm in SF, I own a company that writes scripts to moderate internet access at mobile RV parks. We use some Python and sharepoint. I think you would be a great match to work well in the office with my other 2 guys. Keep an eye out for an email.

deedubaya 15y ago
Python + Sharepoint to moderate internet access? Wow....why?
- pavel_lishin 15y ago
  I'm actually super curious. It seems like an incredibly odd stack for an incredibly odd application.
- Kaizyn 15y ago
  Python probably does the moderation. Sharepoint is for dead simple communication of info to the user community.

AHorihuela 15y ago

UChicago math undergrad? I have complete confidence you won’t be acting this role for long... You should reach out to people from your class (and years around it) that ended up in SF. Check out RethinkDB for example - part of their team is UChicago. Lollihop is another one.

bkruse 15y ago

I own a company that currently indexes/sorts/sells different algo-based trending information to hedge funds. We also do big-data management for a few of them as well (think processing/storing 4 million messages/second). I'd be interested in some consulting and possibly a full-time position. We have excellent programmers/mathematicians now, but always like to bring on someone with some experience/new things to bring to the table. If you actually worked as a trader, we could get you on our prop floor with some stability track record. Respond here to gauge your interest, and I'll shoot you an email. Thanks!

lesterfremn 15y ago
Please. kozjob (at) Yahoo (dot) com.
- bkruse 15y ago
  Will do - thank you.
yoblin 15y ago
Current (and past) experience in this field, if you're looking for someone to do some contracting I'd be interested in hearing more about what you guys do. I'm local. yoblin -at- gmail dot com
- bkruse 15y ago
  Great - will do.
scorpion032 15y ago
With current experience building trading applications and coming to SF in a week, I'd be interested to talk to you.

gcv 15y ago

I'm curious about your experience in the HFT field. Have you ever considered starting your own trading shop? If this isn't something you feel comfortable discussing in public, feel free to email me — address in my profile. I don't have a job to offer you right now, but would like to talk. When you get to SF, lunch or beer on me.

bkruse 15y ago
Hey gcv, What do you mean, exactly, by starting a trading shop? If you mean becoming a broker dealer, that will require certificates and capital - and lots of it! :P
- gcv 15y ago
  I was thinking more along the lines of proprietary trading. There is no regulatory oversight for risking your own money, and the amounts required to get started are reasonably modest. See, e.g., http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/9s9d7/iama_100_automated_independent_retail_trader_i/ http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/9s9d7/iama_100_automat...
  - bkruse 15y ago
    Ahh - agreed. Getting around PDT for $2,500 and having incredibly cheap leverage makes for an interesting market (though one bad trade and your done - you have to put it all on the line with such a small account)! Though if you do not have that much capital, jumping into futures/options trading against the best in the world - you will get your head chopped off. The far shot of a reality such as the one on reddit is not a good one to try to reproduce. I definitely recommend he read "Fooled by Randomness" by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. While it's obviously a biased book (even just taking into account the title) - it does shed some light on the subject.
    - Arelius 15y ago
      Regarding "Fooled by Randomness". I haven't read the book, but assume it's brought up in the inherent randomness of the markets, and people's ability to try to rationalize said randomness. Trying to understand the market is surely a shortcut to crazy town, and certainly trying to rationalize it is a poor mechanism to profit. But it's clearly evident that the market isn't uniformly random, and that there exists exploitable patterns in the market that are reliably (to a degree) profitable over certain time periods. I think the thesis of "Fooled by Randomness" is best taken advantage of by understanding that you need to recognize the pattern, and exploit it directly, rather than trying to extrapolate meaning and use that directly. The market is clearly a truly chaotic system, but you just need to take advantage of patterns that are statistically relevant and profitable. Edit: After additional contemplation, I'm not sure I actually agree with what I just said.

angersock 15y ago

Come to Texas. We have cheap cost of living and baller-as-hell problems to work on, whether you want games or graphics or oil & gas.

lesterfremn 15y ago
Yeah, I'm thinking about that. I really like the idea of going to Austin but the reason I'm thinking of SF is because the software / data scene there is off the charts. A friend of mine told me yesterday it's like what Paris 1910 was for painters.
- angersock 15y ago
  So, looking over at Houston there are all kinds of crazy datasets for both energy exploitation and energy trading. There's a thriving if quiet startup community, and a local private university of some note in applied math (Rice). It's pretty unpretentious, but that's the city--we are all about the bidness. Besides, it's a chance to crunch numbers for something other than selling ads and cat pictures. :)
  - saryant 15y ago
    Would you happen to know how to find these companies? I know of a few (FlightAware, for instance) but figuring out who's doing what in Houston isn't as easy as the Bay Area. I've been trying to get in touch with some companies in Houston (I graduate in May) and I'd much appreciate it if you could point me in the right direction!
- ismarc 15y ago
  If you decide on Austin, lemme know. I know some folks at a privately owned high frequency trading firm that I believe are hiring, or numerous startups in the area depending on what exactly you're looking for.
  - lesterfremn 15y ago
    Is this RGM? I've had some contact with them already but I don't know of any other HFT in Austin. I'd be interested to know of others.

gcampbell 15y ago

I just shot you an email, but this seems like a reasonable place to note that my employer (Twitter) is hiring like mad, and we definitely have some big data to work with: https://twitter.com/jobs/home https://twitter.com/jobs/home

barce 15y ago
Hmmm... I applied at Twitter and got the coding problem done right. I also contributed to one of Twitter's open source projects, "Snowflake." Either you got to have a great story like this Iowa guy, or hiring at Twitter is broken. :-( This might be my next HN post: "How I Interviewed Great at Twitter but a bad coder got my job."
- nkohari 15y ago
  Maybe the fact that you didn't get hired has something to do with you coming off as a total asshole. What exactly makes you think the OP is a "bad coder"? Maybe you should write a post titled, "How Twitter Failed to Fulfill My Sense of Entitlement".
- dhbanes 15y ago
  Was a grammar test involved, perhaps?
- fairramone 15y ago
  There is likely a minimum technical bar. Meeting it doesn't make you a sure hire.

fawce 15y ago

Your quant skills (and humor) sound like a great match for http://quantopian.com http://quantopian.com. If you signup for the alpha using the kozjob email you shared below, and we'll let you through. If you like what you see, drop us a line, maybe there's more we can do together.

reinhardt 15y ago

I hate to be "that guy" but how on earth with such experience and credentials you resort to HN to find a job? Does not compute.

kschua 15y ago
Better here where like-minded folks hang out (at least, they will have HN News in common), than some random recruiter who have no inkling what either party is looking for
- reinhardt 15y ago
  Perhaps I'm reading it too literally but it seems more like a desperate appeal than a first choice. Apologies if it's a humor detection bug.
  - HeyLaughingBoy 15y ago
    Doesn't seem desperate at all. He's doing the Willie Sutton thing: go to where the jobs are!
- Killswitch 15y ago
  Especially in Iowa... Not that many tech places hiring. Luckily the best place that I know of is Des Moines, where the OP is at.
jimbokun 15y ago
What's a better place to look for a job than Hacker News?
saryant 15y ago
As someone else who's looking at SV from the outside and in a somewhat-similar situation, I can tell you that the temptation to turn to HN is strong. I've asked for (and received!) advice here in the past and I'm very grateful for it. I don't have the OP's history, my own isn't nearly as impressive, but I can certainly relate. I'm sure he could find a job in Iowa, just as I've had no trouble finding jobs in my current location, but the draw of Silicon Valley is high though from the outside can appear more difficult to enter than perhaps is the case.

Killswitch 15y ago

Good luck man, fellow Iowan myself.

andrewcamel 15y ago

Make sure you check out Addepar - they're developing a wealth management platform that seems like a good thing for you to work on given your experience. Only negative is that you'd have to learn Java, but it's a small price to pay to get involved with an up-and-comer.

gtani 15y ago

Put your github, stackoverflow, blog, research papers, web apps etc in your profile, and possibly work the confidence index up, and let folks know your'e avail for remote work now I know C++ and Python ok (never took math classes at U of C, but spent lots of time in Eckhart library)

nodemaker 15y ago
The more you know the more you understand how less you know :)
- gtani 15y ago
  unknown unknowns – things we do not know we don't know Yup Rumsfeld knew blind spots

beaumartinez 15y ago

Wow, you sound really optimistic (and who shouldn't be? You'll slay SF!) Good luck man :-)

evanmoran 15y ago

I hope you get the girl.

campnic 15y ago

I saw a presentation by the Founder of Dwolla which suggested they were working on some interesting monetary software. Located right in Des Moines : http://blog.dwolla.com/another-ramp-looking-for-more-team-members/ http://blog.dwolla.com/another-ramp-looking-for-more-team-me...

yitchelle 15y ago

Post a link to this story on G+ to give you more exposure. Plenty of folks from the valley hang out there as well. Good luck!

lesterfremn 15y ago
Thanks, I appreciate it.

dabent 15y ago

Contact me, email is in profile.

lesterfremn 15y ago
Email on the way.

nodemaker 15y ago

Good luck dude!.Being a fellow job seeker myself I can understand how hard it is to find any decent job without connections or an ivy league degree even when you have decent skills. Also I see you have some writing skills too.You can be a great asset for companies who are trying to get some good content on their blogs and gain traction.

zackattack 15y ago

Hit me up when you're in SF; we can reminisce about Eckhart Hall.

lesterfremn 15y ago
Crusty old building. Smart people.
- lesterfremn 15y ago
  Ok, there's really only a couple of stories I know of Eckhart hall but I should mention them before this gets too stale. Most or every weekday, the faculty and other interested parties meet for tea at about 4PM in the tea room across from the library. I was taking abstract algebra at the time and the professor was a fairly recent Phd. And, most or all UC undergraduates learn some familiarity with the categorical imperatives of Immanuel Kant. Somehow, the subject came up whether or not the idea of category theory (or at least the name) is in some way derivative of the categorical imperative. The inventor of category theory was Saunders Mac Lane who was on the faculty. At tea one day our teacher asked Mr Mac Lane if there was any relationship between category theory and the categorical imperative. Oddly enough the answer was yes, in an oblique way. This story would be quite a bit better if I remembered some idea of what the relationship was but unfortunately I don't. In any case it seemed pretty cool at the time.
- lesterfremn 15y ago
  There was this intense Indian professor who had this air about him that was sort of condescending but more just dismissive. Ie, there was some pretty intense sttt he would routinely characterize as trivial or obvious. The thing was, you were never sure whether he was trolling you or not. At a party or some event, supposedly somebody asked him what his research interest was. They were probably expecting to hear something like knot theory or PDE or whatever, but his research interest was "Mathematics", which I guess makes sense because that's what he worked on. He liked teaching undergraduates but the department only let him do it once every four years or so, as the memories faded from the last time he did it. The year he taught the honors analysis class, it started in the fall with something like 32 students (and all of them by invitation at that) and ended with 6. And so the six survivors printed up T-shirts for having completed the course and wore them to the spring semester final. He's handing out the final and sees the shirts and says something like, "Don't be too confident about that."

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losethos 15y ago

GoC:\LoseThos\www.losethos.com\text\HAMLET.TXT frock or livery That aptly is put on. Refrain to-night; And that shall lend a kind of easiness To the next abstinence: the next more easy; For use almost can change the stamp of nature, And either curb the devil, or throw him out With wondrous potency. Once more, good-night: And when you are desirous to be bles'd, I'll blessing beg of you.--For this same lord [Pointing to Polonius.] I do repent; but heaven hath pleas'd it so, To punish me with this, and this with me, That I must be their scourd says...

thebigredjay 15y ago

I love the positive response this is getting! Sometimes I fall back into thinking HN is just another list of news, but a real sense of community pops up at a moment like this. Good luck finding work lesterfremn!

lesterfremn 15y ago
Yeah, suprised me quite a bit really. Thanks.

AdamTReineke 15y ago

I'm a student at Iowa State and know of plenty of opportunities in the Des Moines area. Have you looked around Des Moines? Seems like the insurance companies (or maybe even a big startup like Dwolla) would have a use for someone with a Math masters.

wildtype 15y ago
I agree with this. I think you can get a job in insurance companies on your hometown. Good luck!

calbear81 15y ago

Let me start by saying welcome to San Francisco! We've got lots of opportunities for smart guys like you and we love C++ here at Room77. We may not have the "big data" opportunities like Twitter has but we have a big dream, to build the best hotel shopping site in the world and we've got amazing VCs and people backing us and we have a lot of interesting problems to solve. Your quant and derivatives background is especially interesting since we have a new project that's basically custom made for someone who wants to build a highly algo-driven engine. Send me an email roger[at]room77.com if you're interested in finding out more or just shoot us your resume here and complete a few of our problems https://www.room77.com/jobs/se_resume_form.html?p=SWE&s=web https://www.room77.com/jobs/se_resume_form.html?p=SWE&s=...

joshu 15y ago
Hello from the fourth floor! Actually I am in Long Beach now but usually I am upstairs.
lesterfremn 15y ago
Email sent, thanks.

jrockway 15y ago

How about Google? Happy to start the process for you if you send me an email (my-hn-username AT google.com).

lesterfremn 15y ago
Great, email your way.

devs1010 15y ago

I don't have close to what you have as a background but I've been able to get interest in my resume and just landed a position in sf, I havev the fortune of having family out there so maybe that helped, but you should be able to get a lot of interest I would think... Have you been applying like crazy and networking on linkedin, etc, posting resumes? Id be happy to help in any way I can, my email is rick_developer at gmx dot com

MIT_Hacker 15y ago

Why not take the Steve Jobs route and walk into a company's office and refuse to leave until they offer you a job. Square is in downtown San Fran.

ektimo 15y ago

We're seeking a smart guy/Python/big data engineer. Please send your resume (or other evidence of ability) to jobs(at)proximiant(dot)com. Proximiant is developing a touch-and-go digital receipt service.

rtrocc 15y ago

Hope this goes through for you, goodluck!

dmor 15y ago

Dwolla!

HistoryInAction 15y ago

Come to Startup Weekend Des Moines before you go! This weekend, March 2-4: http://dsm.startupweekend.org/ http://dsm.startupweekend.org/ Also, you should try Dwolla, who are awesome, committed to building the Des Moines hacker ecosystem. EDIT: Emailed to offer help.

benhamner 15y ago

"I'm particularly interested in working on challenging problems dealing with algorithms and big data" Give one of our competitions a shot - http://kaggle.com/ http://kaggle.com/. They're a good way to experiment with algorithms and machine learning on well-defined problems, and collaborate with people who have similar interests. Also, we love hiring people who win competitions.