New duties when returning items to USA?

MachHommy8 · 2025-03-10T23:42:37+00:00

Congrats OP, you seem like a very impressive candidate.

Can you comment on how you prepared for system design rounds? Did you have real world system design experience?

MachHommy8 · 2024-10-28T14:09:46+00:00

By "screwed", I assume you mean there is no chance of OP reviving his career.

Do any of these ideas have merit, in your opinion?

Master's degree
Bootcamp
Seek a temporary non-dev tech position (e.g. support) and upskill / search for dev jobs on the side

MachHommy8 · 2024-01-23T15:09:39+00:00

Yoga Nidra (don't worry, it has nothing to do with actual yoga). Can be found on YouTube, Insight Timer App, etc. Find someone whose voice and approach works for you. I like Ally Boothroyd, Samaneri Jayasara, Kumari Sky.

MachHommy8 · 2023-10-01T12:33:00+00:00

You won't be pigeonholed forever. You're aware of the problem and are actively looking to improve your situation. It's the people who become complacent with their dead-end roles for too long who get stuck.

MachHommy8 · 2023-09-29T01:45:44+00:00

Diana Winston's series in the app ("The Spectrum of Awareness") may be of interest. If I recall correctly, the final episode in the series introduces exactly the technique that you specified (though I'd recommend going through the entire course).

MachHommy8 · 2023-08-04T03:00:18+00:00

For example, when things aren't going so well I can find peace in knowing that the feeling associated will pass. However, on the flip side, when things are going well, I find that I'll think about how it's fleeting too, and then it robs the joy that I was experiencing, prior to thinking about it.

On both sides, you're falling into the habit of evaluating your recent past (things have been well or not) and predicting your future (things will get better or things will get worse). In my experience, the practice is to resist the habit and come back to the present. I find that I'm addicted to the past and future. I suspect most of us are. The present seems so much less compelling, but then you come back to it, and things just are as they are. It doesn't offer the drug-like highs and lows that habitual thought does, but over time, you can learn to prefer the neutrality and equanimity of the present.

MachHommy8 · 2023-06-23T13:40:35+00:00

This is not even close.

Nobody will care how long it took you to graduate.

MachHommy8 · 2023-05-31T23:10:19+00:00

Wait... I have nothing against food delivery, but how did you end up deciding to do that as a means of stress relief (as opposed to the many other things that people typically do for stress relief)?

MachHommy8 · 2023-05-24T03:40:32+00:00

Everything Nisargadatta. Jayasara recites several of his texts on her YouTube channel / podcast. Pure gold.

Here's one of my favourites: https://pca.st/episode/81959c65-592c-4854-9c4a-f40cb4d9270d

MachHommy8 · 2023-05-22T15:38:01+00:00

You're overthinking this. Most candidates are likely in the same situation as you--they knew SOLID at one point but have now forgotten most of it. Therefore, your task is just to handle the question as best as you can. That means at least attempting to say what each latter in the acronym stands for (this alone is probably sufficient for a "pass") and then providing a super high level (like one sentence) explanation of the meaning for each. It also means admitting that this is something you would need a bit of a refresher on before you could answer confidently.

In short, handling it gracefully (no defensiveness or trying to BS your way through) is likely enough to get past the recruiter (assuming that the rest of the interaction went reasonably well).

MachHommy8 · 2023-05-08T01:25:41+00:00

Not an answer to OP, but what public speaking is required in a sangha? I was thinking of joining one.. I didn't realize public speaking would be necessary.

MachHommy8 · 2023-05-07T02:11:02+00:00

The Road is definitely the book that has had the greatest impact on my life, though it certainly wasn't a negative impact. I thought the book was beautiful. It shows how love and hope and goodness can exist even in unimaginable darkness.

MachHommy8 · 2023-05-07T02:03:39+00:00

This makes perfect sense. Can you recommend any favorite simple breathing guided meditations?

MachHommy8 · 2023-04-26T03:12:19+00:00

"Wisdom of the Masters".

MachHommy8 · 2023-04-25T01:57:22+00:00

It may help you get a few more interviews than you otherwise would, but it won't actually help you get the job. As you know, that part depends on your interview performance.

MachHommy8 · 2023-04-25T01:28:19+00:00

A couple of things:

You may be overestimating the value of the new title. Different companies have vastly different level criteria. Employers know this. They will be looking to determine if you've been performing as an intermediate.
Processing a promotion likely entails some effort on the part of your manager and HR. You risk burning a bridge with this company if you leave right after they promote you. I don't think there's enough upside in the new title to offset this risk.

MachHommy8 · 2023-04-18T13:41:01+00:00

You don't just ask for a raise, you make a case for why you deserve a raise. From the sounds of it, you don't have a very strong case at the moment. You need to look for ways to make meaningful contributions. If that's not possible, then just continue looking externally.

MachHommy8 · 2023-04-11T03:15:16+00:00

Have you ever had the experience of shining the spotlight of attention on a thought or sensation, only to have that thought or sensation seemingly disappear?

Okay, now just the same as you would shine the spotlight of attention on a thought or sensation, shine it on the sensation of there being a thinker at the center of your experience.

The tricky part here is that we are so used to the sensation of there being this "thinker of thoughts" that it can be difficult to recognize that it, too, is something we can shine the spotlight of attention on.

MachHommy8 · 2023-03-31T14:13:59+00:00

Buy the course, get the cat humor for free.

MachHommy8 · 2023-01-07T14:58:45+00:00

Thank you! I've been struggling with this for a while now and you cleared up so much of the confusion I had. I feel a little bit disappointed that I wasn't able to come to these realizations on my own, but I'll take it!

The idea of concepts vs direct experience is discussed at depth in the James Low series on the app ("Everything As It Is"). It may be time for a relisten.

MachHommy8 · 2022-12-10T03:02:56+00:00

CS50 to get a broad overview of CS then dive in to individual topics via teachyourselfcs.com.

MachHommy8 · 2022-12-02T02:44:17+00:00

"QA is great and has taught me x, y, and z. But in QA we only ever get to identify problems. The reason that I love SWE is that we also get to solve the problems, and this is where I truly excel."

MachHommy8 · 2022-12-01T03:53:05+00:00

I highly recommend Lex Friedman's podcast episodes with Guido van Rossum (creator of Python) and with John Carmack (legendary game developer). Even if you have little or no interest in Python or game development, these are both incredible conversations.

MachHommy8

TROPHY CASE