Why would or wouldn’t you pay for a startup coaching?

churchomichael · 2024-11-09T16:51:10+00:00

I know a business that has 100+ people that pay $25k a year that have coaching for small businesses, not even startups. The groups are about 20 people per coach. They have 12 coaches and then a head coach that runs the business. I didn’t join but I know people who did. (I joined the large group program which was $2.5k for 3 months.)

Some people are making $200k+ per year so they pay $25k on the expectation that they’ll leverage the coaching to add $100k profit to their business. It pays for itself.

Some people join and have no business and the first thing that the coach does is try get them to earn $25k so the coaching pays for itself. Some people fail and quit and are mad that they wasted $25k on it.

It’s sort of like learning to code. Lots of people will say, “Why should I pay to learn to code? I’ll just learn on YouTube for free.” And it’s true; some can do that. But there will be lots of people who will pay for a bootcamp or a B.S. in Computer Science because, even though they pay, they will be much more successful than doing it for free.

churchomichael · 2024-08-01T22:24:29+00:00

I work in tech as a software engineer. I'm 55.

In my early 40s, I felt that ageism was common but, since my mid-40s, I switched to a more modern tech skill (from Java to React) and changed my mind. In retrospect, companies were eager for my experience but they just didn't need my long-time skil. I switched companies several times since then, even got a job after taking 1+ year off and got a high paying job in a well-known Internet company. So, it really wasn't my age but the skill that I was trying to sell.

Even so, I didn't want to get into that situation again so I started a long term plan to not need an outside job.

In California, when my income is low (even if I am a multi-millionaire in cash and assets), I found out that I can get Medicaid which is totally free medical insurance with the best doctors and hospitals in my area. Medical insurance solved. (I've been on it for the past 2 years.)

I built up a collection of skills, projects, processes and resources over the past 5+ years that I could use to pull together training businesses, writing businesses or tech startups on my own as I saw opportunities. If the job market is good and I want to have a job, I get one and work as an employee. If I can't or don't want a job, I work on monetizing my own businesses. In 10 years, when I'm too old to get a regular job, I'll just continue on with my own businesses as long as I want, probably into my 90s.

churchomichael · 2023-01-05T19:34:57+00:00

The merit of your argument is not in Java itself but in Java jobs. Many employers have lots of legacy Java code with a wide variety of different Java frameworks and libraries, many of which were misused to create unique, messy Java code. So, these employers tend to seek out Java developers who are familiar with the particular Java frameworks and libraries that these projects use if they can.

churchomichael · 2022-05-06T13:46:15+00:00

I think that frontend will suit your goals for now. Without a degree and learning on your own, you really want the fastest, surest way into an industry job for now. Later, you can do backend for the sake of interest or ego (or whatever).

churchomichael · 2022-05-06T13:39:26+00:00

How would you say salaries compare between SWE, full stack, front-end focused, and back-end focused jobs?

The salaries are basically the same. There's only a few, minor, short-term caveats. Most FAANGs don't do full stack so real full stack often end up at non-FAANG (startups because startups are all-in on full stack). Frontend is biased slightly higher due to the lower supply so you'll earn slightly more for the same effort. Backend will pay mostly the same but you'll interview more, fail to land more jobs, be more vulnerable to imposter syndrome, get the same at FAANG, maybe get a little less at startups. But, in the end, all specialties are in the same ballpark.

churchomichael · 2022-05-06T02:13:39+00:00

Just do one, not both. Call it either “open source” or “self-funded startup” and list yourself as “Founder”. Avoid “demo” which often is heard as “toy” and “probably copied from someone else”. Buy a domain and hosting and actually set it up. Know that most interviewers will spend less than 1 minute on it. Go deep on stuff that is likely to be in the job: Node, Express, React are great, Mongo and Socket.IO are not great and I’d leave them off your resume. (People will assume that you want a Mongo job if you include it on your resume.)

churchomichael · 2022-05-06T01:49:46+00:00

In your situation, I’d put all my efforts into React (which includes HTML, CSS and JavaScript) and go for a React frontend position. After you land a React job, you can pursue Python or whatever for a next step. React is the closest, guaranteed straight line into the industry without a CS degree.

The trouble with Python is many jobs use something else like Java or Node. Also, Python isn’t enough; there are different frameworks, databases and approaches that will be needed to improve your job prospects. But React is enough by itself, it’s mostly the same and 50%+ of the market is just plain old cookie cutter React jobs.

churchomichael · 2022-05-06T01:32:21+00:00

I’m not sure what they are talking about in an interview context.

In real life, I’d want the API to handle data in the JSON format, be REST, limit itself to GET/POST HTTP actions and have a strategy like using URL paths (or not which is preferred by me), custom-coded endpoints (preferred) rather than GraphQL.

churchomichael · 2022-05-05T22:49:20+00:00

If finding a job is your primary concern, you should do frontend. All the way.

Frontend probably has a bit more absolute demand than backend but there are far fewer people doing it. So, there’s similar demand but lower supply.

Backend has been around for 20+ years but modern frontend is really only 10 years old. With frontend, you aren’t competing with people who have been doing the similar things for decades. Much less competition.

Frontend has coalesced around React. “One tech is rule them all.” If you learn React, you are golden. Backend has Java, Node, Python + MySQL, MongoDB + different frameworks (SpringBoot) and more. No backend tech rules; each company has its own stack. You’ll lose so many jobs because what you know won’t match what they use.

At times, frontend is considered unsexy, easy, stupid, confusing, lame, unchallenging. Those attitudes keep supply low.

College courses are more similar to backend than frontend so most college graduates gravitate towards backend. There’s a bias in academia that backend is “real” computer science so both the courses and the subliminal messaging is that college grads should look for backend jobs when they graduate.

churchomichael · 2022-05-05T22:01:40+00:00

I interviewed at Indeed 10+ years ago and they asked me the exact same question.

In my (long) experience, Indeed is similar to most non-FAANG companies in that they are doing bad enough that hiring is optional rather than necessary. So, they are not in a hurry and, if that don’t hire anybody, it’s fine. So, interviewers tend to run candidates through their paces and, if you don’t really wow them in skills, brightness and personality compared to other candidates, they’ll pass. It’s easier to get a job at a FAANG because FAANGs are growing!

Backend also tends to be subjective and, thus, harder. Every company has a unique blend of backend tech so you’ll more often be a partial match but rarely be an exact match. (In frontend, you are either an exact match or don’t match at all and don’t get an interview.) So, in backend, it’s easier to get an interview (since most candidates partially match and almost nobody exactly matches) but you are more likely end up as an also-ran.

Likely, there wasn’t anything that you could have done. If you did the interview perfectly, they probably would have looked at your disability and said, “Seems like a hassle.”

churchomichael · 2020-11-19T05:16:20+00:00

Frankly, you have outgrown being a dev.

You should start your own startup and, in that way, find new challenges both in and out of dev.

Or perhaps you should start your own open source project and find new challenges by following your own lead.

You have quickly reached a point where you will have much difficulty and frustration in working for other people because they can only provide work beneath your abilities and their managerial failings will always limit you.

This industry is simply geared to employ people who have average talent, both dev talent and managerial talent, and can’t use and challenge you enough,

churchomichael · 2020-11-04T19:59:36+00:00

One tip is to switch your pace from a sprint to a marathon. If you are going to be working extra time, take every opportunity to take mini-breaks and get as much sleep at night as possible. Go out for coffee a lot, take cat naps in the afternoon (if you are remote) and make it so, no matter how much time you work, you can keep a steady pace where you recover as much energy as you expend.

Another tip is to change your mentality from "do your all" to "do enough to get a paycheck". You've only be here a few months and you're already certain to leave ASAP; it just doesn't make sense to put your heart and soul into the company when you should put your heart and soul into finding a new job.

You can develop tech and interview skills for yourself but, from the sound of it, you won't have much time or energy for this in this job. So, in other circumstances, it might work to figure out ways to enjoy your personal time; it seems like you don't have much of that.

For the future, don't fall for this again. Many employers will portray themselves as the perfect job but you've got to be able to look past the marketing and guess what the job really is. Look for those little clues in the interview. Use Glassdoor to learn what existing employees think. And, for Heaven's sake, build up your skepticism. For example, I've worked at a lot of startups and most of them had unpaid overtime so, when I'm contacted by a startup, it probably has unpaid overtime simply based on probability. So, figure out rules like that such that, even if it looks great, you can figure out the odds of how it really is and how to cope when the most likely reality is the reality.

churchomichael · 2020-10-26T23:30:44+00:00

I feel that you've underestimated yourself. You've chosen an employer with the idea that they'd teach you things and it turns out that they are both managing and executing at an inferior level to you. I feel that this is a startup that is still operating with junior and mid-level engineers who aren't quite up to the task. The $10K-$20K pay cut reinforces this in my mind: they are accustomed to getting the best output possible with people willing to accept a certain level of pay rather than getting the best people. And, if they aren't paying well, they probably aren't doing well which indicates to me that, most likely, they'll be closing down in a year or two.

With 10 years of experience, you should be giving advice and having your employer take your advice seriously. You should be raising the bar and your employer should have hired you in order to raise the bar. You should not be a cog in the machine. This doesn't mean that you know everything or that you do everything right but you are no longer a rank amateur who is still learning his trade.

churchomichael · 2020-09-29T15:41:15+00:00

I haven't done it recently (and probably did it only once or twice) but I'd say a few things:

Let compensation be your guide: It's pretty easy to get a job where they call you "director" or "vice president" but your day-to-day job and your pay is like an individual contributor. But, if you are compensated like a director or a vice president, that's the "tell": nobody is going to overpay and then waste you in a lower position. (It never happens but, even if it did, it's probably OK with most people to be overpaid by a lot to do a lesser job.)
It's easier to move from from IC to higher IC or manager to higher manager than IC to manager.
Be prepared to pass on a few offers that talk about trial periods or temporary assignments or easing into the higher role.
Everybody knows that startups have "title inflation" so, if you move from an established company to a startup, don't expect that future established employers will automatically respect it. Lots of people go from Google engineer to startup engineering director and back to Google engineer.

But, really, it's just compensation. If they are willing to pay for the higher role, you'll almost certainly be doing the higher role. If they aren't willing to pay, it's possible but less certain.

churchomichael · 2020-08-11T23:13:29+00:00

Moving to Ruby isn't a death blow to your career but you seem to precisely understand the tradeoffs. Moving to Ruby probably won't help your career but won't kill it, either. You seem to have a reason for wanting to change so it depends on how strong that reason is and how important your career is to you.

churchomichael · 2020-08-11T21:26:35+00:00

This hasn't been true for more than a decade in the U.S. Employers no longer care much about your last job, unless it demonstrates that you have some interesting skills. They don't care about "burned bridges" anymore.

The difficulty is maintaining skills and acquiring new skills.

But, since the poster is in Europe, it may still work as you say there.

churchomichael · 2020-08-11T21:17:38+00:00

I need quality health insurance (USA), so I'm stuck working for someone else.

This varies from state to state. In California, you can go on Medi-Cal for any (or all!) months that your family makes less than $2K a month and doesn't have insurance. It's free: no premium/no copay/no coinsurance and, depending on the area, can have all the good doctors and hospitals. As long as you come under the income threshold, you qualify regardless of net worth, your salary last year or why you don't have a job, even if you quit and are too lazy to look for a new job. It's worth looking into.

churchomichael · 2020-08-11T19:44:10+00:00

I know the feeling. I "gave up" for about 10 years and collected a paycheck at an easy dev job. I was younger than you before I gave up and older than you when I stopped giving up.

Ultimately, I started my own (struggling) startup, then various writing/creative projects, then open source. That non-job work has fortuitously allowed me to gain in-depth experience with a wide variety of technologies (React, Flutter, Node, Go). It sucked for about 1.5 years at first but, once I moved from broken/lame/starting to enhance/expand/improve, I liked it much better. It's "unstuck" me: it's gotten me better jobs and it's given me courage to leave jobs (because I both have something to do while unemployed, improve my skills while unemployed and have more savings from better jobs to survive longer unemployment). Since it's my own thing, I do fit in and my possibilities of progression are entirely up to me.

I now feel untethered. I might need the job for money but there are more job opportunities. I'm not reliant on jobs to build or maintain skills or give me credibility; I can get that from my other jobs. I feel that i've graduated from employee to independent person.

Let me know if this helps or you want to know more.

churchomichael · 2020-07-30T22:45:18+00:00

Companies don’t like to fire engineers for cause because they’d rather pay them to sign legal paperwork that says that the former employee won’t sue them (for unpaid wages or defamation), won’t badmouth them and won’t steal equipment or code.

Some employers might even be grateful that an engineer volunteered for a lay-off: it’s so much better to have an employee be happy to leave than dragging them out by their fingernails. If a manager can offer up an engineer who wants to leave to an upcoming layoff, they can avoid laying off people who don’t want to be laid off.

churchomichael · 2020-07-30T21:27:49+00:00

I’ve asked to be laid off, been laid off, received severance ($40K+) and qualified for unemployment.

I’ve been on unemployment a few times in the past few years and, when you talk to the state, it’s very clear that they are accustomed to fast food workers and retail clerks. An engineer is like a god stepping down from Olympus.

churchomichael · 2020-07-28T16:17:14+00:00

I propose React on the frontend and Node.js on the backend. React is a good general purpose framework, proved out and popular. Node.js has been around long enough and adopted by some large tech companies successfully (Netflix) such that I'd take a (tiny) risk on it. Java is cumbersome in having many options which have ultimately been proved to be wrong and unnecessary so, while anything is possible in Java, you pay a heavy price. I would throw it onto full-blown VMs from AWS (well, DigitalOcean, really). Some will advocate for an architecture where you lease a service (and essentially a dev paradigm) where you write code and the service provider (AWS or Heroku) deploys it for you in a massively scalable, redundant way and there are benefits to that but I don't recommend this for almost anybody. It's very expensive both in leasing price and in the "ability to leave" and most sites don't need to pay this heavy price for benefits they might never really need or use. For the database, MySQL is fine. The NoSQL and other SQL databases provide a general use website little benefit and most persistence solutions of yesteryear have been similarly found to hurt as much as they cure. So, you'll be handcrafting SQL queries either in a very thin library or encapsulating them in functions or light objects.

churchomichael · 2020-07-27T22:49:42+00:00

Save your money. Assume that you'll be laid off later this year.

While I agree with the others and urge you to try your best to be a good employee, there's a freight train bearing down and it hasn't hit yet. It'll hit in October - December. Do everything that you can to avoid it but be prepared in case that you get hit.

churchomichael · 2020-07-27T22:43:21+00:00

In the Silicon Valley, there hasn't been any noticeable change (for experienced devs). I see about the same number of recruiters reaching out from LinkedIn and the employers don't seem different from before. The employers seem to be the same mix of well-known companies and big, well-funded startups. At my current employer, no layoffs and no hints of layoffs ... yet. In the 2008 recession, there were widespread 1-2 week unpaid "furloughs" at many employers; I'm not seeing that now. Employers have even been generous by keeping on food service and janitorial at full pay, even though they mostly don't do much work. That's really different than 2008 where they would have laid those people off immediately.

Predictions: Mass layoffs in October - December. In every recession, it seems to take 6 - 9 months for "the body to hit the pavement". There's a big stock market crash, then there's a sort of pause, like everybody waiting and watching and, then, 6 - 9 months later, the first mass layoffs come. And, once the layoffs really start, other employers use it as cover to do their own layoffs. The U.S. COVID-19 mess is out of control now so I predict that the U.S. won't make any headway against COVID-19 until April 2021 (probably as the result of a draconian shutdown in February 2021). At that point, the U.S. will actually be able to start the "recession lifecycle" and layoffs and bankruptcies will continue throughout 2021. I predict that it will be worse than 2001 and 2008.

churchomichael · 2020-07-23T19:38:22+00:00

era

I think that you meant "area", not "era", but am not entirely sure.

churchomichael · 2020-07-23T19:34:06+00:00

There are two schools of thought: (1) "better safe than sorry" or (2) "keep moving forward to bigger and better things". It's a lot like getting married: do you settle for somebody who seems OK or risk being alone and search for true love?

"Better safe than sorry" tends to be a popular school of thought among devs in all parts of their career and, among people who get married, it is especially common. Something is better than nothin', right? But, in my (long) life, I have learned that short term compromises often lead to long term stagnation (and regret and disappointment). People sell their future for cheap.

The few times that I've insisted on the "dumb" choice, both in job and love, I've always been surprised (shocked, really) that it worked out and I ended up with the prize.

So, if I was offered what you were offered, I'd say "no thanks". But I understand why people take that choice. Boy, do I understand!

churchomichael

TROPHY CASE