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> Also, the stigma of having a criminal record sticks to you forever. Even now, in my middle 30's, it's nearly impossible for me to get a tech job even though m
by jsmthrowaway 13y ago
> Also, the stigma of having a criminal record sticks to you forever. Even now, in my middle 30's, it's nearly impossible for me to get a tech job even though my felonious history was from when I was a teenager. You pretty much have to resign yourself to the fact that you'll work at 50% of the salary as your peers or have to make your own future by starting your own companies and projects.
You do not have to resign yourself to anything. I have built a career in the valley and I am currently far above market salary doing the work that I love at a company I love. That was after starting in this industry with no demonstrable computing experience and a felony conviction after four months pretrial detention, without so much as a college degree. I have discussed my experiences before and have found that the companies that understand and work with me, oddly, end up being the places I want to work.
A record only makes you work even harder for the success that you want. I work three times harder than most coasters around me because I know I have something to prove. Resigning yourself to the impossibility of success is letting your incarceration and the system win. Never resign yourself to anything, and above all never let the system win.
- nabnob 13y agoCould I possibly email you for advice? I have a friend in a similar situation and I'm trying to help him find a job in Seattle. Edit: My email is [my username] AT gmail.com
- jtheory 13y agoYou're replying to a throwaway account, so I doubt the poster is going to put an email address on it. Make yourself contactable instead (e.g., an email or something similar in your profile text), and cross your fingers.
- jsmthrowaway 13y agoMy email is easily found in my comment history, in an attachment. My actual username is on permavacation; I thought the field was in seconds and it's in minutes. Whoops. I prefer that my identity remain a little difficult to find because there are people on the Internet that stalk me and are regular readers here.
- im3w1l 13y agoConsider obfuscating that just a little, so that googling for for your actual username wont bring up this post.
- aaronbrethorst 13y agoI live in SEA and dated a woman for four years who was pretty intimately plugged in to a related community that could probably offer some help. I still have a number of contacts I could point your friend to. aaron@brethorsting.com
- bhaumik 13y ago>> above all never let the system win. It's awful that our justice system creates this sort of mentality
- maratd 13y ago> It's awful that our justice system creates this sort of mentality Oh, certainly, but it's not exactly the worst part about our system. I'm guessing a bit here, but I don't get the feeling the gentlemen stepping forward are of the violent variety? Why are we putting non-violent individuals in prisons? Just a thought.
- fjhqjv 13y agoWhat recourse would you have for someone repeatedly walking into your house at night to steal your stuff? That's a non-violent crime, but it's still deeply disturbing for the victim.
- bhaumik 13y agoNot to mention: forgery, counterfeiting, embezzlement, bribery, tax fraud
- maratd 13y agoThere is no need to put such people in prison. How is that productive for society? These people are clearly intelligent, so put them to work. Dock their pay until they pay off the damage they caused plus penalties to discourage future behavior. These people are all motivated financially, so hit them where it hurts, the wallet.
- rtpg 13y agowhat if they refuse to work? Do they just get to walk away? Not saying the solution is prison but a lot of people who commit things like large-scale fraud are usually psychopaths to some degree, and might also not make the most "rational" decisions. Expecting "normal" reactions to such propositions might be a bit much.