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No, I've bult dozens of projects by myself. Remember the Hacker News Karma Tracker that was made the front page a few weeks back? That was me. I wrote that in 2

No, I've bult dozens of projects by myself. Remember the Hacker News Karma Tracker that was made the front page a few weeks back? That was me. I wrote that in 2 weeks. I've also built a web framework, and a dozen python libraries. Trust me what I say that the majority of companies out there don't give a shit about programmer competency. They'd, on average, rather hire a clueless "cool bro" over someone like myself who knows how to get stuff done and has a track record of getting things done.

encoderer 14y ago
Knowing that you're not just out of school, your earlier comment makes me want to ask "what's wrong then?" I have about a dozen years experience as a "professional" software engineer. My experience, on both sides of the table, is that good engineering talent really is hard to find, and that those who posses it don't usually have trouble finding a job. Here in the bay area that's been especially true: I've never had just one job offer at a time. I've been "looking" here twice in the last 5 years and both times I had a dozen recruiters calling me, a half dozen phone screens, a handful of interviews and at least 2 offers. And along the way as much of the culling was done by me as it was by the prospective companies. Look, I know I'm just talking in anecdotes. And I'm parsing a lot because I don't want to offend you. But if you have "dozens" or even just a lot of people telling you they can't hire you because you're not a good fit, that should be a red flag to you. Sure, some of the problem is probably some of the companies. But you could probably see results by taking ownership of part of the problem for yourself. What I mean is, it's easy for an engineer to just try to wash his hands of things like "networking" and "cultural fits" but a better way is to just treat it like any other engineering problem and optimize for it.
- freework 14y ago
  You don't have to worry about offending me. I'm the biggest asshole the universe has ever seen. I assure you that I can take more than what I regularly dish out. My problems are two fold. First, I'm located in Ohio. If I were in NYC or San Francisco, it would be a different story. Secondly, I am very confident in my abilities, and I have a lot of integrity. "B player boses" are scared of people like me. My biggest problem is that I'm not really capable of working at a company as an employee. I need to be either a CTO level person, or as part of a team where there is no "boss". A lot of companies claim that they are a true "collaborative environment", but rarely do companies ever actually operate this way. My first engineering job was on a team where there was no boss. Everyone was equal in terms of influence over the direction of the technology. I was a perfect fit there. I contributed more than anyone else at that job. I think it boils down to the face that I care more about software than I do about the company. I care more about the quality of the software than I do about my boss's feelings. I care more about the software than I do about my own well being. I guess I could start caring less. I could just spend all day small talking with co-workers and generally not giving a shit like everyone else...
  - encoderer 14y ago
    I'm from Ohio, too. And I started my career there. And as you know, it's not easy. I hope you're in Columbus or Cincinnati. I grew up in Toledo: Not exactly a tech hub :) You should relocate. I can tell you this without a shred of reservation. I first went to a payment processing startup in Boca. Lots of money in South Florida, wonderful weather, quite a few more startups than you'd guess. Then to the bay area for a wider range of work. If you're good, you will get flown out for interviews and given an offer with relocation. You should seriously consider this. As for your other concerns, when I was younger, I was less of a collaborator and more of a "screw this, i'll do it myself, you'll see, it'll be great." And I'm talented, and often it was great, so i got by. But I eventually realized that for me, being more humble, reaching out more, it just makes life easier. And if you want to be humbled, go to where the best and brightest in your industry are.
  - pseut 14y ago
    > You don't have to worry about offending me. I'm the biggest asshole the universe has ever seen. I assure you that I can take more than what I regularly dish out. On the off chance you don't realize it, this probably affects your employability more than the rest of the factors you mentioned.
- slurgfest 14y ago
  If someone is competent and underrated, it seems particularly heuristic to conclude that something must be wrong with them. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy. Someone who can't get hired can't get hired because they weren't hired by others before.

encoderer 14y ago

Knowing that you're not just out of school, your earlier comment makes me want to ask "what's wrong then?" I have about a dozen years experience as a "professional" software engineer. My experience, on both sides of the table, is that good engineering talent really is hard to find, and that those who posses it don't usually have trouble finding a job. Here in the bay area that's been especially true: I've never had just one job offer at a time. I've been "looking" here twice in the last 5 years and both times I had a dozen recruiters calling me, a half dozen phone screens, a handful of interviews and at least 2 offers. And along the way as much of the culling was done by me as it was by the prospective companies. Look, I know I'm just talking in anecdotes. And I'm parsing a lot because I don't want to offend you. But if you have "dozens" or even just a lot of people telling you they can't hire you because you're not a good fit, that should be a red flag to you. Sure, some of the problem is probably some of the companies. But you could probably see results by taking ownership of part of the problem for yourself. What I mean is, it's easy for an engineer to just try to wash his hands of things like "networking" and "cultural fits" but a better way is to just treat it like any other engineering problem and optimize for it.

freework 14y ago
You don't have to worry about offending me. I'm the biggest asshole the universe has ever seen. I assure you that I can take more than what I regularly dish out. My problems are two fold. First, I'm located in Ohio. If I were in NYC or San Francisco, it would be a different story. Secondly, I am very confident in my abilities, and I have a lot of integrity. "B player boses" are scared of people like me. My biggest problem is that I'm not really capable of working at a company as an employee. I need to be either a CTO level person, or as part of a team where there is no "boss". A lot of companies claim that they are a true "collaborative environment", but rarely do companies ever actually operate this way. My first engineering job was on a team where there was no boss. Everyone was equal in terms of influence over the direction of the technology. I was a perfect fit there. I contributed more than anyone else at that job. I think it boils down to the face that I care more about software than I do about the company. I care more about the quality of the software than I do about my boss's feelings. I care more about the software than I do about my own well being. I guess I could start caring less. I could just spend all day small talking with co-workers and generally not giving a shit like everyone else...
- encoderer 14y ago
  I'm from Ohio, too. And I started my career there. And as you know, it's not easy. I hope you're in Columbus or Cincinnati. I grew up in Toledo: Not exactly a tech hub :) You should relocate. I can tell you this without a shred of reservation. I first went to a payment processing startup in Boca. Lots of money in South Florida, wonderful weather, quite a few more startups than you'd guess. Then to the bay area for a wider range of work. If you're good, you will get flown out for interviews and given an offer with relocation. You should seriously consider this. As for your other concerns, when I was younger, I was less of a collaborator and more of a "screw this, i'll do it myself, you'll see, it'll be great." And I'm talented, and often it was great, so i got by. But I eventually realized that for me, being more humble, reaching out more, it just makes life easier. And if you want to be humbled, go to where the best and brightest in your industry are.
- pseut 14y ago
  > You don't have to worry about offending me. I'm the biggest asshole the universe has ever seen. I assure you that I can take more than what I regularly dish out. On the off chance you don't realize it, this probably affects your employability more than the rest of the factors you mentioned.
slurgfest 14y ago
If someone is competent and underrated, it seems particularly heuristic to conclude that something must be wrong with them. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy. Someone who can't get hired can't get hired because they weren't hired by others before.