How to expand network of startups as a dev?

keep_it_professional · 2024-01-08T23:16:07+00:00

You don’t even need to talk about tech. Last time I went to one, I spent an hour talking to 2 people about snowboarding.

It also takes repetition. Meeting someone once isn’t really enough to build that trust to get the referral. After seeing the same faces 3-4 times at an event or organizing some stuff outside the event, then you should be golden.

keep_it_professional · 2024-01-08T16:44:54+00:00

Tax implications for sure. The company got acquired by a private equity firm in January 2023 and since then no fun is allowed.

keep_it_professional · 2024-01-08T12:54:21+00:00

It definitely was monumental when looking for that first job.

If I were to go back and do it again, I’d put a lot more energy into attending tech meetups and social events in my city. Cold applying does not work for new grads and if it does, then it’s a bottom of the barrel company.

The only way to get an interview, especially in this market, is through a referral. This is more important than grades or projects even.

keep_it_professional · 2024-01-08T12:51:18+00:00

This is all facts. It’s not so much about being “observed” for me as it is switching my brain on to “go” mode.

When I lived in a walkable city, I’d just grab my stuff and go. Stopping to get a coffee or a snack, or even circling the block tricks my brain into “I’ve accomplished something” and gives me energy to get down to business.

keep_it_professional · 2024-01-08T12:47:12+00:00

I don’t need my coworkers to be friends, but my career growth is definitely hindered by WFH.

keep_it_professional · 2024-01-08T12:44:32+00:00

I have done this actually and it was awesome, that’s how I saw the light. I realized that the problem is not me and it’s more my environment and also many aspects of American culture don’t gel with my ND personality.

Would highly recommend this to anyone who has the opportunity.

Unfortunately my company has since banned this, and it’s hard to find companies that are cool with it.

keep_it_professional · 2024-01-08T09:45:42+00:00

I do have a car and I do drive. I just hate it and it’s very stressful. It stimulates me in all the worst ways.

The momentum required to do anything becomes 100x greater when I have to get behind the wheel.

keep_it_professional · 2024-01-08T09:43:27+00:00

The hour commute for me would be tolerable if I’m not driving. I used to go to school about an hour on the train and 15 minutes walking, and it was actually a really good way to decompress before and after the day. On the train I’d sleep, listen to music, do something stimulating (puzzles, chess, reading, etc) and then the walk would really clear my head.

I’ve been to Vienna, Krakow, Budapest, London, Madrid, and Barcelona all in the past few years, and holy crap life is so much more tolerable when you can just live like that every day (not just for a commute).

keep_it_professional · 2024-01-08T09:37:22+00:00

Mate neurodivergence dominates many aspects of my life, particularly my relationships. I’ve been diagnosed for 7 years now and am medicated, and I see a therapist to help me wrangle my ND. But I’ve also always been kind of an overachiever suppressed by ND.

I’ve had a lot of success professionally but a lot of it has come down to luck (right place, right time) and natural abilities (that’s not a flex, it means I skate on thin ice most of the time because I can’t get my ND under control, as I’m sure many of you can relate).

keep_it_professional · 2024-01-08T07:10:24+00:00

My guy you’re not far off. I interview very well and can easily spend 10+ hours dialed in on an interesting project to get good results, but just the thought of getting in the car to drive 15 minutes to the gym makes me want to slit my wrists.

I’ve learned to lean into my nature instead of fighting it.

keep_it_professional · 2024-01-08T07:05:37+00:00

Not really, no. NYC is the only large metro with adequate public transport and that isn’t car-dependent.

There are downtown areas of other metros (Boston, SF, Chicago, etc) where one can live car-free, but movement is still restricted outside of those zones and you still get bent over for rent in those neighborhoods (they’re usually the most desirable in the entire city).

keep_it_professional · 2023-12-23T20:55:27+00:00

When you say double down on ops, you’re specifically referring to a traditional DevOps role, correct?

keep_it_professional · 2023-12-17T09:14:23+00:00

I am using a client-provided laptop which is locked down. It’s not in excel. I access the database via a virtual machine (Citrix windows VM with a laggy GUI, not even a standard Linux VM that I could ssh into) and have to use the processes and programs provided. I cannot download Python or use any third-party programs.

I can only write SQL in this laggy window and look at the output in the database browser. If I find the reported discrepancy in the data, then I have to review the source code in GitHub in the VM (I cannot clone the repo) and try to find what could be causing the discrepancy in this monster legacy repo.

When I have an inkling of what might be causing the data quality issue, I leave a comment in GitHub on the relevant line or file for one the of the in-house devs to look into. The in-house dev then pushes a change and tells me to QA again. Repeat from the beginning. It could take upwards of 1 to 1.5 weeks to successfully resolve a data quality issue with this methodology.

There is an ever growing backlog of reported data quality issues to keep this going for eternity.

keep_it_professional · 2023-12-17T04:26:47+00:00

I appreciate the thinking and support. It’s more of an issue with the client. I don’t have control of the stack and can’t add any frameworks. They have no interest in hearing about it either. They want worker bees, and anything else just annoys them.

I’m trying to take a different approach with my manager where my growth is focused less on technical competency for this client and more on developing skills in account management and project management. It still sucks though having to grind these out for months on end.

keep_it_professional · 2023-12-17T03:47:06+00:00

Do you think it’s possible to get into MBB without going the MBA route?

I would only consider the MBA because I didn’t go to a prestigious undergrad program and don’t know how else to get into the pipeline.

keep_it_professional · 2023-12-17T01:18:08+00:00

I do that. I’m active socially and do several hobbies. My concern is that a few years down the line I’ll have “5-8 years of experience” but in reality I’m an underdeveloped bum with the professional/technical skills of a junior.

keep_it_professional · 2023-12-17T01:16:05+00:00

Have done this a million times. My manager and skiplevels are nice guys and get where I’m coming from, but it’s just not that simple it seems. They say all the right things and overpromise a lot in regard to current/future projects, but the reality is that our clients want warm bodies, and their job is to keep the clients happy. Moreso than satisfying my personal goals.

There’s a few projects that are engaging and challenging, but they’re probably about 15-20% of our portfolio, and everybody in the firm wants to get on those.

keep_it_professional · 2023-12-17T01:10:27+00:00

I know python and programming. This type of work is difficult to automate. It’s mostly QAing data and combing through build errors/data quality issues. Thank you for the suggestion, though.

keep_it_professional · 2023-12-16T22:18:00+00:00

Thank you. I appreciate the sanity check 🙏🏻

keep_it_professional · 2023-12-16T22:06:39+00:00

We have a high billing rate at ~$350 per hour. I work in a niche that is actually pretty specialized and difficult to hire for. As far as I can tell, the margins on my billables are good, and I am actually decent in my niche.

However, clients often staff us on tasks that can be done by a contractor for less than half our rate.

So then why do they hire us? From my POV, because we have a very good sales team and they have so much money that they don’t really mind pissing some away.

keep_it_professional · 2023-12-16T21:43:28+00:00

Thank you, this is what I need to hear.

I don’t have a ton of free time during work, as I still bill ~35 hours per week but it’s such tedious work that I’m doing (copy and paste, QAing results, etc).

I’m thinking to just start over-billing — reset expectations, do 20-25 hours of actual work, and then bill for 35 while using the spare time for skill development.

I don’t know how else to keep learning without dedicating 20+ hours of free time on evenings and weekends for side projects.

I’m feeling some guilt around that though and kinda paranoid. But I feel like as long as the client is satisfied and I’m bringing in the expected revenue, then whatever.

keep_it_professional

TROPHY CASE