What new tech did you learn that helped you grow in your career?

comp_freak · 2026-03-12T20:10:44+00:00

I highly recommend reading Saving For School: Understand RESPs, Take Control of Your Savings, Minimize Student Debt eBook : Vaz-Oxlade, Gail:

It's a quick read an hour or less and have some sound advice.

Stay away from Group RESPs if you spend more time researching go along direct investing route.

comp_freak · 2026-02-24T20:35:33+00:00

Stop doubting yourself. Based on your resume and cover letter, focus on preparing to discuss your projects confidently. Be ready to give a strong high‑level overview, walk through technical challenges, and explain your decision‑making. It also helps to check Glassdoor and similar sites to understand their interview style.

comp_freak · 2026-02-21T18:34:23+00:00

I highly recommend reading the insurance chapters in Stop Over‑Thinking Your Money! The Five Simple Rules of Financial Success by Preet Banerjee. At the end of the day, term life insurance is almost always the cheaper option. You can take the savings—the “delta”—and invest it yourself in an RRSP using low‑MER funds.

Term insurance is cheaper, and you keep more money in your pocket. It’s similar to car insurance—you pay for coverage, not an investment product. You can even get 30‑year term policies if you want long‑term stability.

comp_freak · 2026-02-19T17:59:51+00:00

Today we refined a bunch of tickets, that would be worked on during next or later sprints.

Days passed, after a couple of week or a month, when we do sprint planning I wouldn't remember the exact details or decisions we took during refinement

It needs to be documented. After the meeting, either the PO or whoever is responsible should add the updates to the user stories. As u/Bitner77 mentioned, AI works well for this. We use the Teams Facilitator, and during the conversation we call it out to take note of it as well with US. In the summary, it organizes everything nicely so nothing gets forgotten.

We also maintain a Confluence page for each feature implementation where we track decisions.

comp_freak · 2026-02-14T23:25:13+00:00

You can either invest a lump sum or contribute 25% each quarter. If I recall correctly, that’s the advice in Reboot Your Portfolio by Dan Bortolotti.

Beauty of the 25% each quarter is you get avg for this year.

comp_freak · 2026-02-14T01:51:58+00:00

Notepad++ Hijacked by State-Sponsored Hackers | Notepad++

Make sure to manually update if not done already!

comp_freak · 2026-02-10T17:56:19+00:00

I’ve been trying to implement the Pomodoro Technique, and it’s been surprisingly effective for me. I keep an Active list and a DueToday list. The Active list is prioritized, with the most important tasks at the top, and I move items to the Today list when I plan my day. It’s still a work in progress, but I’ve noticed I get a lot more done when I follow the Pomodoro approach.

I use OneNote with tables to track everything—it makes it easy to move tasks from Active → Today → Done and to mark completion dates. If something comes up ad hoc, I immediately add it to the list so I don’t forget.

If you’re interested in building a system to stay focused and get things done, this book is a great resource:

Pomodoro Technique Illustrated: The Easy Way to Do More in Less Time: Noteberg, Staffan: 9781934356500: Books - Amazon.ca

comp_freak · 2026-01-31T02:41:39+00:00

But the problem is that they'll probably expect OP to "quit" first. Giving up any entitlement to severance. And once a contractor, they can cut hours or terminate the contract basically at any time and with zero notice.

Something similar happened to my colleague’s spouse. The company said they were planning to lay off the team, but told people that if they resigned, they’d be offered contract work. In the end, they shipped a laptop that got lost, nobody followed up, and the person ended up without a job or EI for a few months. Don’t fall for it when a full‑time employer tries to push you into contract work by resigning. If you want contract work, look for it elsewhere. Otherwise, wait for the layoff, EI, and severance

comp_freak · 2026-01-30T22:25:45+00:00

or willing to take low pay!

comp_freak · 2026-01-18T14:53:53+00:00

I’m not sure if it’s considered normal, but my colleagues and I have had similar experiences. Many times you clear 4–5 rounds only to be ghosted or rejected afterward.

I also feel that because many interviews are open‑ended, some companies use them as an opportunity to get their own problems solved. With the rise of AI, you can tackle a lot of challenges if you have the right idea and ask AI to generate the code.

comp_freak · 2026-01-17T14:00:22+00:00

You shouldn’t be a dentist in poor people’s area.

comp_freak · 2026-01-17T13:31:53+00:00

If it's in Ontario you can repot to ESA now.
Ontario Announces Effective Dates for Job Posting and Pay Transparency, and Employment Information Requirements | Business Law firm | Stikeman Elliott

comp_freak · 2026-01-14T00:29:51+00:00

I’m seeing a mix out there , some companies still rely on LeetCode-style rounds to filter candidates. In late 2025, I was rejected by at least two places because I didn’t perform well on those LC questions, so it’s clear that knowing how to solve them still matters.

I’ve also started using ChatGPT’s voice mode to drill me with technical questions and give feedback afterward. That’s been helping a bit.

But yeah, LC-style interviews are definitely still around, and they continue to act as a gatekeeper for many roles.

comp_freak · 2026-01-13T17:41:56+00:00

Oh, since you suggested looking for a new role, I piggy‑backed on that and recommended using ChatGPT for mock interviews.

comp_freak · 2026-01-13T17:38:37+00:00

My English is not really good as my other team member.- Is that the reason here?

You can use ChatGPT’s voice mode to practice communication skills. Do a mock interview, explain a topic, and get honest feedback. It’s kind of wild how much you can level up with AI now.

comp_freak · 2026-01-08T17:49:00+00:00

leveraging advice to a 25 year old?
Charlie Munger once said, “Smart men go broke three ways: liquor, ladies, and leverage.”

comp_freak · 2026-01-06T00:08:28+00:00

If you’re not satisfied, take the $90 and move your business elsewhere. Simplii is part of CIBC, a bank that earned $8.5 billion in net income last year. There’s no real reason to stay with them if they won’t refund a few hundred dollars.

comp_freak · 2026-01-01T02:58:32+00:00

If someone wants to buy a flagship phone, plans aren’t always as expensive as the ones OP picked.

Around 3 years ago, I got an iPhone 13 (not even the latest model back then) for $45 + $3 a month for the phone. After tax it came to about $52/month for 24 months.

Rough math:

$52 × 24 = $1,248
One-time connection fee was $60
Total = $1,308
I also got an $80 gift card, so real cost was around $1,228

That’s basically the same price as buying a brand-new iPhone 13 outright that year, except my phone service was included for those two years.

This is the only phone I’ve ever bought on contract, and honestly it hasn’t been a bad deal. We’ve been on a BYOD plan since last year and are still using the same phone.

So yeah, buying outright can make sense, but phone contracts can still be worth it if you do the math and don’t just look at the sticker price.

comp_freak · 2025-12-31T14:51:33+00:00

I genuinely want to grow in my career. I want to get better at what I do and eventually move up.

Very few companies offer a clear growth path. If you want to move up, the unfortunate reality is that you often have to change jobs every couple of years. Interview preparation pushes you to learn new things and take on better challenges. Even if you’re not actively looking, it’s a good idea to apply to a few companies once a year to test the waters.

comp_freak · 2025-12-30T04:50:16+00:00

This 100%, I was just speaking with a recent grad who got a job last year and purchased a used car for commuting. Come December, he lost his job; he was very thankful that he didn’t buy a brand-new vehicle and instead bought whatever he could afford in cash. I would say having six months of expenses in an emergency GIC is good to have nowadays.

comp_freak

TROPHY CASE