geebee

22 ms·

151.
by geebee 6y ago
It's easier to say in retrospect. If an exit is financially successful, then: You're a founder if you got rich . You're a late employee if you got paid . You're an early employee if you got screwed .
152.
by geebee 6y ago
Thanks for writing and posting this article. Technical interviews are one of the more essential topics in our field right now, and I do think 1) they're badly handled, and 2) difficult to get right. A couple of thoughts on two points r
153.
by geebee 6y ago
Ah. Fair enough, yes, I agree. That statement goes a little too far, and is a bit at odds with the otherwise overall light tone of the article and the YMMV-ish disclaimer at the end.
154.
by geebee 6y ago
Nice link. Nothing controversial, but sometimes simplicity is controversial in our field. I've slowly come around to seeing proper database design as the most essential foundation of an IT system. I remember reading "your data wil
155.
by geebee 6y ago
I will engage with your claim that coding tests aren't making it hard to find developers. I think it is a more important factor than you do. On a personal level, coding tests are a deterrent for me in applying for new jobs. I have my o
156.
by geebee 6y ago
I disagree with this, somewhat. Adam Smith, in Wealth of Nations, reminds us that there are a lot of factors that go into determining the desirability of a certain job, and that wages reflect this. The butcher earns more than the baker, Smi
157.
by geebee 6y ago
You just said that there's lots of valuable work that could be done, but your example of work that could be done is work isn't valuable enough to do unless software engineers get paid (in the SF Bay Area) notably less than a denta
158.
by geebee 6y ago
I've heard a variant of this repeatedly. A company justifies technical exam style interviews on the grounds that many people who look good on paper "can't code". Meaning, can't program fizz buzz. Can't write a
159.
by geebee 6y ago
In San Francisco, there's plenty of tech talent available at 500k a year. There's remarkably little available at minimum wage, though. Complaining to congress that there is a shortage of IT talent is so common in American politics
160.
by geebee 6y ago
That's why people do it, no doubt. Keep in mind, a lot of these questions are asked by vastly less desirable companies that ape the hiring practices of FAANG, even though they pay much less. And these companies complain bitterly about
161.
by geebee 6y ago
"But that doesn't mean they need to come first." Curious - did you hold this opinion around 5-10 years ago, and did you voice it to any TDD advocates at the time? My experience was that a statement like this (which I consider
162.
by geebee 6y ago
Perhaps as a reminder of the fundamentalism and bullying that can happen in our field. Some methodologies almost seem to take on the quality of a moral panic. It's fascinating to me to see how they are eventually punctured and deflated
163.
by geebee 6y ago
Interesting. You're defending and advocating for TDD, and you use it 85% of the time. I've used TDD as well, and I notice it tends to work very well for certain types of workflows. Otherwise, I write a little code, test a little c
164.
by geebee 6y ago
I think I won an argument with an interviewer, but I lost any chance at the job ;)
165.
by geebee 6y ago
People will agree, in theory. But here's what happens. The data science team will grill the generalist about finding a steepest descent vector and how logistic regression works, and conclude that the candidate just isn't going to
166.
by geebee 6y ago
It is a great combo, but you need to have a lot of personal initiative to make it work. Here's the thing - the typical software engineer interview doesn't assess writing(or many other valuable traits that can become unusually valu
167.
by geebee 6y ago
Thank you for the link to the Princeton group. That is encouraging. Aside from that, I share your lack of optimism about the prospects for this niche. Most research programmers, in my experience, work in a lab for a PI. Over time, these pro
168.
by geebee 6y ago
I suspect part of the problem (for surfing) is the absence of a clear line-up. It's not the wait that bugs me, it's the constant maneuvering (and physical dangers of collisions in the water with boards). If I could join a clear de
169.
by geebee 6y ago
3) A friend who is moving to Santa Cruz just to be closer to surf while we are remote Yeah? I've lived in SF and Santa Cruz. The quality of surf in Santa Cruz is vastly better, but the crowds are intense and at times pretty angry. I fo
170.
by geebee 6y ago
There's almost no problem so severe that it is immune to hyperbole. I'm always in such a strange place responding to comments like this, because I generally agree. San Francisco govt is very restrictive toward business - it bans p
171.
by geebee 6y ago
The last line here: "like any solution, SQL is facing increasing inadequacy in the support of the new requirements, modes of use and user productivity. It is time we do something about it." I agree, but I'm not sure the solut
172.
by geebee 6y ago
Very cool. I like the SQL questions. I have a question I'm going to throw out there for HN. How many of you bounce back and forth between SQL and Python, even though you could stick within SQL alone? For example, one question (Airbnb)
173.
by geebee 6y ago
I personally like OKRs, as I find them a valuable counterbalance to 1) daily standup, which can promote short term thinking, and 2) yearly "goals" in performance reviews, which, when evaluated in a binary way as completed/not
174.
by geebee 6y ago
Then why is congress discussing “stapling a green card” to PhD degrees recipients a way we wouldn’t for other immigrants? I’m not saying we should shut these People out, I’m asking why we force them to get these degrees as a condition of li
175.
by geebee 6y ago
Sure, but does it make sense to speak of a “shortage” of Ph.d holders when shorter degrees with vastly lower attrition rates pay much more? The Rand institute, a historically very pro-immigration organization, published a paper concluding t
176.
by geebee 6y ago
As someone who makes the "raise wages" argument here on HN pretty often, I'm going to go ahead and partially agree with you. "Raise wages" shouldn't be a conversation ender. But I do think "raise wages&quo
177.
by geebee 6y ago
That is an interesting question. I'm not the OP, I'll think about it. Do you have any criteria?
178.
by geebee 6y ago
Yes, good point. I would support a more local regulation on much of this (same for Airbnb, I see no reason why people in the sunset should determine whether people in bernal can short term rent their properties). Personally, I don't th
179.
by geebee 6y ago
My answer? No. I'd support ending these subsidies. There are a lot of factors here - property taxes are also sky high for new buyers, so it's a little difficult to consider this one question purely in isolation.
180.
by geebee 6y ago
Should you be able to trade your right to construct whatever you want in exchange for a legally enforced expectation that your neighbors will be similarly restricted in what they can build? Plenty of people would like to voluntarily enter t

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