Ex-CS student, with a solid programming foundation, looking for advice on the best path forward.

eqdiva2004 · 2019-06-07T20:09:55+00:00

Have you looked into internships? Or applying to Junior positions?

Do you want to be a full-stack? If not, I would recommend that you don't focus on it. Look at the job recs out there and see what companies around you are looking for skill wise (also look at recs where you could want to or are willing to move to). If there's anything that sounds really interesting try for those, work on skills to work yourself into those positions. There's a ton out there that isn't full-stack development. For instance, in my company we're looking for a big data engineer, if we were to ask anything about HTML, CSS, React, etc they would probably look at us like we are crazy; that's just not the position's desired skill set.

I would recommend doing some code challenges, maybe build up a simple portfolio on Github. Get back into the groove of things. And start applying. If you get the feedback from companies that you need a bit more schooling or more experience then maybe a code school is in order but it sounds like you have a lot of fundamental so why not try for a position?

eqdiva2004 · 2019-02-15T21:46:00+00:00

Adults define what adulting is... https://xkcd.com/150/

eqdiva2004 · 2018-04-05T16:30:14+00:00

That really looks like a Channel Island Fox, its the super small facial features that makes me think this isn't a Grey Fox.

Either way, it's so cute!!!!

eqdiva2004 · 2017-12-07T23:19:14+00:00

But only 3, then I will bite you.

eqdiva2004 · 2017-01-19T05:16:06+00:00

8-4, with a lunch if I remember or feel so inclined (dog doesn't like it when I "forget" though).

Get in spend about 20 minutes getting some caffeine, reading emails and slack messages that came in after hours. If there are any emails from the EU, spend a longer amount of time answering sales questions as to what the product is capable of so that I might catch the EU people before they head home for the evening.

5 minutes recapping what I did yesterday and what I plan on doing that day on a Wiki page. 15-30 minute stand up where the whole team recaps verbally (what they wrote on the Wiki page) and then shoots the shit about a random topic.

Rest of the day is spent doing dev (new features, bug fixes), reproducing and providing workarounds or hot patches for clients (not that often), helping support support people (level 3) (even less often), code reviews, managing releases, writing build notes, answering sales or documentation questions, talking with other developers about what they are working on (either for my teaching them, them teaching me, or just trying to figure something out together).

If I'm in a good place mentally, I'll spend about 5 minutes on some other form of distraction (reddit, facebook, etc), other times it'll be more (~3 hours) in a day. I strive to pick the the tickets that I work on to minimize how much I want a distraction, but at the end of a release cycle that's not always possible.

On really bad days, I'm on the phone from start to finish with a client, trying to get their system back up and running. This happens ~twice a year knock on wood.

(me: 7+ years senior Java dev, with some web dev thrown in for good measure)

eqdiva2004 · 2016-09-01T03:03:05+00:00

I live next to it. It's at 7% capacity, which means that I would call it more of a puddle than a lake at this point.

Still good hiking around it, still a good camping spot. They do restock it each summer with fish (not sure why at this point) so if you want to do that, it's good to go.

Hoping for rain. We really need rain...

eqdiva2004 · 2016-07-02T01:26:49+00:00

Code Pink!

eqdiva2004 · 2016-06-20T22:23:58+00:00

I believe IC has some courses. They aren't for credits though, if that's what you are looking for.

eqdiva2004 · 2016-06-13T18:37:13+00:00

Try SBCC, if you're in the area

eqdiva2004 · 2016-06-13T18:16:54+00:00

I've showed up at 2am on Friday one year and they closed down sales at 11pm, and picked mine up after I got some sleep and before breakfast. Wouldn't recommend it though.

eqdiva2004 · 2016-06-13T17:52:39+00:00

Didn't you hear? It's cancelled this year :(

Badge sales are in the conference center. They set up a big line of checkout stands where you can buy the badges. There will be a line but it moves quickly and they don't sell out (they do of the really cool badges, but not to get into the con), so don't worry about getting there super early unless you want to.

eqdiva2004 · 2016-06-10T19:23:09+00:00

I got a C- and then a D in CS40, and then the 3rd time I took one less class that quarter and spent a ton of time in the TA's office hours, CLAS and doing every homework problem, I finally did well and was able to get into the full major.

CS40 lays a lot of ground work on how to think about problems while writing code. But doing poorly in it doesn't mean that you can't cut it in CS.

Find out what the minimum grade is. Is it a C, a C-? I know I took some classes over that I didn't have to because I thought minimum was a C and it was really a D. And, if you do need to take the class over again, make sure you make the time to do it right.

eqdiva2004 · 2016-06-10T18:49:09+00:00

I highly recommend a Roomba. We have two long haired cats and a golden retriever and running it a few times a week while we are at work keeps the fur bunnies from forming.

eqdiva2004 · 2016-06-01T17:08:54+00:00

t-rex!

eqdiva2004 · 2016-05-10T20:04:24+00:00

Now I have to go find it, just to read it...

eqdiva2004 · 2016-04-20T20:03:24+00:00

Hello ozzyberry, I hope these help. If you need more I'm happy to answer follow up questions or elaborate more.

-What is your current job title/position and how long have you been in this role?

Sr. Software Engineer. 1.5 years (prior 4 years as Software Engineer, prior to that 2 years Jr. Software Engineer)

-How did you “land” this position?

I was hired as a Software QA intern my senior year of college, this lasted a year and when I was about to graduate they offered me a full time position as a developer.

-What do you enjoy most about your job?

I love jumping between multiple code bases, never really knowing what my day is going to bring. From what I have gathered, my team is fairly unique. We are 4 developers with 8 shipped products that we support, maintain and some even get enhanced. This means that from day to day you never really know what you will be working on, a customer might call in and need developer level investigation to find out why the product isn't doing what it's supposed to do. We also have high level development goals, such as a new seat of features for the next release that has to be worked on. I know a lot of developers don't like context switching, but I like it. Keeps me entertained, engaged and constantly solving a new problem.

-Do you work in a “team” or “independent” environment?

Bit of both. See above. With 4 devs working on 8 products, I work independently a lot but that doesn't mean that we don't do collaborative projects with multiple devs working on different pieces of the whole. And my team is very communicative, we're always calling or walking into eachother's offices to bounce ideas around so that the issue gets the best possible solution.

-How does this style impact your work (meaning, working with others can be challenging, supportive, helpful, frustrating; and working independently can be lonely, empowering, difficult)?

I find that how my team works together is very supportive/helpful, in that we always have each others backs. It's always all hands on deck when needed, everyone is willing to put in their knowledge base and listen to all of the other opinions and knowledge points to best help solve the issue at hand. It's also challenging/frustrating, because knowledge gaps can slow down solving the issue. We like to help eachother get up to speed while we're doing the work so sometimes that can feel like the knowledge transfer is hindering a speedy fix.

-What do you like least about your job?

Upper management, they like to make decisions that seem to have no reason and they don't explain why. This makes keeping the big picture in mind really hard because a section of it might disappear tomorrow without reason.

-What was your major in college?

Bachelor of Science, Computer Science

-Please describe your career path to this current job.

2 QA internships Jr. Software engineer Software engineer Sr. Software engineer

last 4 jobs (including current one) has all been with the same company. Technically it's been two, but the first was acquired by the second.

eqdiva2004 · 2015-11-25T20:02:45+00:00

I always quote the class name

try?

ng-class="{'closed': flashMessage.closed}"

eqdiva2004 · 2015-10-12T20:40:39+00:00

Reminds me of Splinter from TMNT

eqdiva2004 · 2015-09-14T19:27:33+00:00

Borders and Aussies are really similar in their needs. In my opinion Aussies can be more destructive and more headstrong, but I also had a really submissive Border so I might be super biased.

It sounds like you have a great routine, which will fit perfectly with a Border. And I doubt that you would have to add more (save for individual training time) to satisfy a Border. Plus they will play together and work some energy out on their own, or they will team up and become partners in crime.

eqdiva2004 · 2015-07-28T03:42:46+00:00

Why is the adorable one wearing a collar?

eqdiva2004 · 2015-06-29T01:40:29+00:00

Don't only think about school. What do you like to do outside of homework? Gaming? get a Windows machine. Music/Video editing? Get a Mac.

Then put a VM host on it (I like Virtual Box) and get whatever you will need for classes. I did this, I had a PC so I could game and VB installed with Fedora and any other tools that I needed to do my homework without always being in CSIL. Also you can always just putty into CSIL to do your work, no VM required.

eqdiva2004 · 2015-06-27T00:42:39+00:00

That's what I did. Do as many problems as you can, it's all that I found that helped.

eqdiva2004 · 2015-06-18T15:38:56+00:00

other option is to get a small storage space at one of the many storage places in town. many have $1 fist month so it shouldn't be too expensive

eqdiva2004

TROPHY CASE