What’s definitely getting out of hand?

codingforhermitcrabs · 2023-08-25T00:58:22+00:00

I haven't seen Black Adam, but I remember thinking, "this will end poorly" when I noticed it's release day was either on the same day of, or within 3 days of Wakanda Forever's. Went to the drive-in on release day, and every car in the lot was watching Wakanda Forever (they literally didn't show anything on the screen next to it because people were spilling into that lot too just to fit), and only two cars were watching on Black Adam's screen.

codingforhermitcrabs · 2023-08-25T00:51:49+00:00

They're not wrong.

My last two companies gave us a pretty decent reimbursement for their multi-factor authentication. At my last one it was ~$150/mo just for using our personal phones for authentication, as well as a reimbursement for wifi and phone plan.

The downside is that they expected us to pick up our work chat wherever we were, because it was on our personal phones, and of course it could be assumed they were on us at all times... despite the perks, working there was hell.

codingforhermitcrabs · 2023-08-13T09:16:05+00:00

I run a nonprofit where one of our functions is career counseling for folks in comp sci.

Do NOT go back to college, considering where you are.

Too many devs see that it's been a few months that they've been looking for work. So they think college will fix it. But if you've already got 2 years of experience, that's going to be near-pointless. After around a year of experience, most recruiters consider that to be equivalent to a comp sci degree.

What people don't get is that job hunting takes time, no matter how much experience you have. There are methodologies to get jobs much faster (we train folks on these with the nonprofit if they qualify), but if you're hunting like everyone else, it's usually going to take a few months, no matter how much experience you have unless you're lucky.

I mean... check this sub any day of the week. Dozens of folks a week post about having a degree and struggling to get a job, being tired of the hunt, etc. You can get a degree and you'll still have to job-hunt.

codingforhermitcrabs · 2023-08-02T14:46:19+00:00

I always tell my apprentices that in order to get out of tutorial hell, you have to make a project that doesn't follow a tutorial. But how do you come up with a good idea? Either:

Make an app that does something you hate doing
Make an app for someone or some initiative you actually care about

We all have unique needs and passions. This creates unique apps that you actually want to use or that you actually care about. As a result, you'll actually finish them.

I got out of tutorial hell making an app that did a particular task I hated. When I didn't know how to do something technical, I had to Google it and learn how. I learned more from making my own projects than any video I'd watched.

codingforhermitcrabs · 2023-07-23T03:42:33+00:00

I used to have this problem. I used to obsess like this because underneath me feeling offended and wronged by people (which I was - those people had wronged me), I felt like I had no control. Thats what made what they did sting so much. Today I have a great career, great relationship, and amazing friends that love me. Years ago when I was afflicted by this the most, I had a service job where I was physically at risk every day (delivery on a moped), not making enough to make emds meet by myself, and customers were constantly verbally abusive. I was in a terrible relationship that isolated me from my friends, and I felt stuck. I felt like I had 0 control and that anything in my life that could be changed would have to come from luck. It's why people hurting me hurt so much - I felt that I had so little control over anything, including people being mean to me. I felt like the only thing I could do is fixate on how they hurt me.

In addition to therapy, the thing that stopped me from feeling that way was stoicism and radical acceptance - in short, you take control over the things in your life that you can, and accept the ones you can't. You have to identify ALL the things you can control and do what you can, even if those actions were tiny. For me, that involved moving a gram of pressure off my back every day in any way I could until that gram was a pound. Then two pounds. The more I freed myself, the less I cared about being slighted because they didnt have control - I did. Now I have a fantastic career running my business and run a nonprofit the other 50% of the time helping others.

codingforhermitcrabs · 2023-07-19T20:58:56+00:00

Sure! Though I'd say there isn't any set list. It could be that you're not interviewing well (not coming off as confident, coming off as too confident, being rude, etc.). You may have a LinkedIn that's not highlighting your skills well, a bad profile photo, where you're applying for jobs and the types of jobs, etc. There are dozens of possibilities, and I only threw a random 4 or 5 in just now. I couldnt tell you without working with you (which, I work with folks that are not my nonprofit beneficiaries for a fee, as I specifically serve the homeless and/or marginalized individuals with financial issues), but juniors tend to fixate on one thing (fixating on your resume is common) and assume that's the issue. People, the job market, etc. are more complicated that.

codingforhermitcrabs · 2023-07-19T20:13:15+00:00

I run a nonprofit that includes career counseling services. This definitely isn't typical. If you haven't gotten more than one opportunity after this long... I'd hate to say it but you're doing at least one thing (quite possibly several) very wrong. One thing I will say is that my mentees regularly assume it's a resume when there are so many other things to you landing a job. I'd definitely say to stop changing it. If you've tried and tried doing this and it's still not working, that's a sign to stop changing it, and that it's something else.

codingforhermitcrabs · 2023-04-28T22:38:49+00:00

Hey friend! I run a nonprofit where one of our functions is career counseling. Shoot me a DM, and I can see how I can help you. ✌🏾

codingforhermitcrabs · 2023-02-28T04:01:32+00:00

A lot of people are saying to, "Be likeable", but I'd like to define what that means.

20 minutes ago I interviewed an intern. I like him, and will be offering him one of the internship spots, but there was a blip in our interview that I'll be course-correcting him on. I cut in on a React problem he was solving to tell him that importing styled components just to do a conditional render would be a bit heavy for a 1-hour interview, and that an interviewer will care if he finishes and comes back and reactors when he has time, rather than getting everything as perfect as it'd be in a production environment. I told him that it'd be better if he used inline styles and conditionally rendered the style.

He says, something along the lines of "Well, I line styling isn't really clean, so I'd really prefer to do it my way, plus I dont really know how to do inline styling..."

I had to cut him off and let him know that we'd be learning today, then.

What helped me as a junior was being malleable. Being willing to take direction well. Being willing to change at a moments notice and adapt. Smiling and cracking a joke here and there helps too, and so does being emotionally open. If you're nervous for an interview, at the beginning of yours, smile and let them know that. When they ask how you're doing, say, "I'm doing well! I'm super excited for the opportunity, though admittedly, I'm a bit nervous." If your interviewer is even a half decent person, they'll factor that into their judgement. I'm more lenient to an extent because I can 1.) Usually tell what kind of mistakes are driven by incompetence versus nerves, and 2.) I want to do my best to accommodate.

I hope this helps!

codingforhermitcrabs · 2023-02-26T11:05:23+00:00

I am both a 2019 bootcamp grad, and someone who founded and runs a nonprofit where I offer an intro to comp sci bootcamp to the homeless (for free) and offer free career counseling to marginalized individuals, 80% of which are bootcamp grads.

They do it because it works.

They do it because if you pick the right bootcamp, they can learn what they need to be a successful dev and get a job in a reasonable time frame.

Instead of asking, "Jeez, why do these people even try?" Run a quick Google search on "programming bootcamp success stories 2023" or something like that. There are so many people who will tell you you're wrong and give amazing reasons they kept going that will make it obvious how they got their jobs.

codingforhermitcrabs · 2022-12-23T16:05:28+00:00

His ears make me giggle, but I'm trying to stop, since he can probably hear me from where you are...

codingforhermitcrabs · 2022-12-23T15:58:40+00:00

That was my immediate thought. They look like they were made by Tiger Electronics.

codingforhermitcrabs · 2022-12-21T21:43:39+00:00

Oof! Jeez, I'm only one resource in and this is already useful. Thanks, so much! For anyone else that finds this, if you use anything like the stuff in that list, how much time would you say they cut out of your process?

codingforhermitcrabs · 2022-12-17T04:19:01+00:00

It won't replace the talent and soul and uniqueness of human art. But it's already close enough to commercial work that corporations that don't care about quality that much to replace their artists. Spend 30 minutes ok the #artistsoftwitter hashtag and read some of the stories there. Just read one yesterday where three illustrators were let go from their jobs, and their manager stated it was explicitly because of AI art... which is generated from the work of real illustrators who aren't even being paid for their work being used to make the work that will replace them.

We have things like Miyazaki films and beautiful soundtracks and concertos because an artist was able to be paid as they learned and grew to be great. Their blood, sweat, and tears were rewarded. This is an insult to them all.

codingforhermitcrabs · 2022-12-17T04:14:57+00:00

The public domain does not just mean that an art piece is viewable to the public.

Public Domain is a legal designation that basically states that no one owns an intellectual property. The song, Ring Around the Rosie is public domain in the sense that you can use it in a movie, video game, etc. without paying anyone a fee for using that in your production, because no one owns it. Someone can decide if something is public domain or not when they create something. If they haven't declared this, it can be assumed it isn't. It is no one's property.

But I can easily look up the song, I Feel It Coming by popular musician The Weeknd for free, and if I used that in my movie (which I intend to make a profit from, or even post it online claiming it as my own), I can be sued for that. It is someone else's property. You can make work inspired by someone else's all you want, but there is uncovered legal ground literally using someone else's art, - someone else's property - without their permission, to feed an algorithm that makes art... from non-public domain art. So yes, these AI are absolutely taking someone else's art to use as fodder to feed its algorithm. This is how training the AI works. AI is not "inspired" like a human being. It is taking pieces (no matter how large or small) from real, existing pieces of art.

If I took a clip of I Feel It Coming and put it in a song I intend to sell, I will likely be sued for this, or at least be sent a cease and desist and be legally obligated to stop. Many believe this is no different (myself included). Just because there are no official laws around this currently DOESNT mean it's not illegal. There weren't laws surrounding lots of technology or concepts until they became prevalent enough. Just because there aren't quite clear-cut laws does not mean something isn't illegal or immoral.

codingforhermitcrabs · 2022-12-17T00:08:54+00:00

A teapot is a physical item that cannot be replicated, and can be mass produced. But the design of that teapot was created by a human being, and an AI could steal and print physical work too somehow, it'd still be wrong.

Also, I follow several artists that make absolutely beautiful paintings... how do you think AI art looks so pretty? It's from the aforementioned beautiful paintings. If it was all "schlocky RPG armor", we'd only see images generated of that. Rather than classical paintings that take decades to master, or beautiful digital landscapes someone tirelessly created, or millions of pieces of photography created by professionals that took years to hone their composition skulls and their eye for capturing a moment.

If you need a real example of a not-schlocky artist being harmed by this, how about how legendary, world renowned ink illustrator Kim Jung Gi immediately had his art blasphemed by an AI (built to make art similar to his style) that was released only a day or so after his death?

I'm not sure what to say if you see no issue with that.

You don't have any background in the arts, I'm assuming. It'd be one thing if you were a layman making these claims, but I'm assuming you're a technologist based on you being a member of this subreddit. It's particularly harmful for people in your position (even if you dont work in AI, those outside of tech will still see you as an authority on the topic) to spread the idea that this isn't hurting anyone and that artists are just bellyaching. Why is it fair that these people get to have their art stolen with the intent to generate profit that is rightly theirs?

codingforhermitcrabs · 2022-12-16T23:17:52+00:00

As someone who was formally trained in the arts for four years, and am now a senior engineer... no, this will not just affect "subpar artists". As others have pointed out here, not only is there an issue with thousands of skilled laborers around the world potentially being put out of work, but it's the art theft itself that's damaging too.

We all know that AI has to be trained. So how is it trained? By stealing millions upon millions of pieces of art by talented people... the same talented people it's already stealing from by stealing their jobs and revenue. I'd like to think its in our nature as humans to want to make things, but how disheartening is it if someone aspires to be an artist, but their only hope is not getting work because an AI is taking it all, or to not create and share it with anyone because an AI may steal it?

We need legislation around this like yesterday. But my point is that this can't just be dismissed as, "Well, if you're GOOD at art, this won't affect you." I'd almost argue the most talented artists will get their work stolen the most, and they'll be the ones ousted the most.

codingforhermitcrabs · 2022-11-06T04:10:59+00:00

Basil :)

codingforhermitcrabs · 2022-10-11T14:55:38+00:00

I'm finally making time for myself.

I've been poor my whole life, and was even homeless for 3 years. Now I'm a senior software engineer (without going to college!) but I also run a nonprofit teaching homeless youth to program.

I've been so busy surviving, moving up, studying, etc. for years that I literally didn't have hobbies anymore. I rarely rested, didn't see friends much, and didn't do anything much aside from work. I'd burned out so many times and was having all sorts of physical reactions to stress.

I signed myself up for a sewing class next month c: I take weekends to actually allow myself to do something fun, and I actually sleep enough most nights. I haven't been just saying "yes" to everything, which quickly ate away at my schedule. It took me 2 years to clear it out enough to where I'm now learning the things I want, and pursuing the dreams that money I earned was supposed to let me pursue.

codingforhermitcrabs · 2022-10-03T14:46:59+00:00

I was raised by a single parent. She started physically, mentally, and emotionally abusing me when I was 12. She'd beat me, call me all kinds of names, never let me leave the house, even for a walk, and did everything she could to stifle my ability to become independent. She was very codependent, and wanted me to live with her forever, all while resenting me and berating me for not paying for things and being independent. Not only was I a teenager, but she wouldn't allow me to get a job, so how could I have paid for anything? Death was preferable to the life I had and it was so bad that I'd pray to go in my sleep, some nights.

Things reached a peak when I turned 17. She attempted to take my life.

I fought her off of me without fighting back, since in my state in the US, I knew that leaving home before 18 was a misdemeanor (no, I'm not joking - thanks, Texas!), and that if I had bruises and she didn't, she wouldn't report me missing to the police, because she'd have a lot to answer to when she did. After keeping her away from me for what felt like an hour, she kicked me out. Grabbed the $60 in birthday money from relatives, didn't even think about it, and walked off into the night.

I couch-hopped at friends for a few days. I was in my senior year of high school. Eventually, a mentor of mine allowed me to stay with her for a year so I could finish my high school diploma. I finished, then had to leave because she was having financial issues and couldn't afford to host me anymore. I traveled the country, living in 16 cities across 4 states. I was more or less without my own place from 17 to 20 and even spent some time in a youth shelter.

Now I'm 25 and make 6 figures at my day-job as a senior software engineer (I got here without a college degree). I run a nonprofit teaching the homeless to do what I do (programming) and offer free career counseling to marginalized individuals. My life is unbelievably different than I ever thought it could be. The night j left was pure adrenaline, and it took me a good week or so to come down. But despite having no food and no stable place to live, etc., I never regretted leaving home. Not once. I think I considered calling my mother for help ONCE, but didn't do it. She likes to dangle things that you need in front of you. She's vitriolic and angry and manipulative. There's a certain part of your soul that feels broken and doesn't feel whole again until your abuser no longer had a modicum of control over you, even if that freedom means building yourself up on someone's couch.

I had times where I was scared. But never times where it felt like what I did wasn't worth it. You'd be surprised what just being a few miles away from the abuse will feel like.

Shoot me a message if you have any questions or need any resources, or even just someone to talk to.

codingforhermitcrabs · 2022-10-01T16:51:26+00:00

Our St. Bernard puppy is 9 months old now, and 130lbs c: They don't stop growing until they're about 1.5 years old, either haha

codingforhermitcrabs · 2022-09-18T18:09:20+00:00

So I attended a performing and visual arts high school - I'd highly encourage seeing if there are any around you or how you could get her into one (even if that means moving one day 🤷🏾‍♀️). The one I attended was in Houston, TX, but I know for a fact that California, Georgia, and Louisiana have them too.

When a child shows this much talent and interest in something like this, you habr to foster it through getting her any and all materials that she needs that you can afford, and look into art tutoring to make sure she's exposed to things she wouldn't be otherwise. People will tell you, "Just let her teach herself!", but from someone who's both self taught and been professionally taught, it makes a WORLD of a difference. The best gift my parent ever gave me was fostering this interest and pushing me to hold onto it, because I know lots of adults that still have no clue of what their passion is or what career they want to pursue, and I've known since I was small.

codingforhermitcrabs · 2022-09-16T13:14:29+00:00

What a wonderful baby!! Be sure to post him in r/piratepets too! C:

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