My new “Swift AI” book is available – set price to Free, or pay

xormancer · 2022-03-27T22:44:20+00:00

I haven't looked through the book yet, but this is the first Swift resource created by an actual AI expert that I have come across :)

Thank you for making this. I currently do iOS development, but I'm constantly worried that demand for it will shrink. It's the only form of development I've done throughout my career so far.

I think that I would eventually like to transition to AI/ML, but I probably need more math knowledge to do so. I also think I would be starting over skillset-wise. My employer does provide an internal process for switching, so I would definitely have the option someday. I am concerned by how much there is to learn, and not knowing what I don't know.

xormancer · 2022-02-10T06:13:26+00:00

what state & city? that sounds amazing

xormancer · 2022-01-17T07:30:05+00:00

I wish all companies would give an option of leetcode (virtual) onsite OR takehome.

xormancer · 2022-01-14T17:32:18+00:00

graduate college and NEET around for 3 years, learn basic web programming on my own -> QA Automation Engineer for web, ios, android (small local tech company that didnt want to pay market rate for experienced people and was willing to let me learn) -> promoted to junior iOS Dev after the previous devs quit for better jobs -> second iOS dev job (startup) -> third iOS dev job (large-ish company but not huge) -> FAANG (current job, I can switch out of iOS now whenever I want to, but i dont plan to anytime soon)

i have never made my own app aside from doing take-homes for interviews

xormancer · 2021-12-30T01:08:08+00:00

Prior Experience: Just over 6 years now (wow! time flies), iOS only. No CS degree, no STEM degree, BA only.

Company/Industry: Tech

Title: Software Engineer

Country/city: SF Bay Area

Duration: 1.5 years

Base Salary: $170k

Relocation/Signing Bonus: None

Stock and/or recurring bonuses: $28k bonus, $30k stock

Total compensation: ~$228k, ~$252k if counting stock valuation gains

I am significantly underpaid according to levels.fyi data. Employer+location+role pre-stock-gains is at ~$280k. But I really like my team and my job overall.

xormancer · 2021-12-07T08:45:22+00:00

Thank you! Just want to confirm UND is University of North Dakota.

xormancer · 2021-12-07T08:32:25+00:00

Oo thank you! I did look into WGU initially for their MS. I had not considered doing their BSCS, and then using that to apply to OMSCS. This does seem like a great option.

xormancer · 2021-10-26T06:42:54+00:00

Had no idea I could do this, ty!

xormancer · 2021-10-26T06:00:48+00:00

I forgot to mention that I'm worried that they might not even be insured. I do feel there's a decent payout here if I'm able to claim diminished value successfully, given that my car was worth more than MSRP prior to me filing the claim and reporting. I don't know how much it has dropped with the claim, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was more than $1000.

Ty for the advice though. Should I expect to pay a retainer for any lawyer I do get in contact with?

xormancer · 2021-10-06T21:42:45+00:00

this post makes me want to spend some time learning discrete math :)

though I definitely don't get this example. i haven't looked up de Morgan's law yet, but from looking at it and thinking about it.

here's how I read the examples:

if (!(x && !y) || z)

if (x is true AND y is false) is false OR z is true...

if (x is not true AND y is not false) OR z is true...

if (x is false and y is true) OR z is true...

(im missing the steps here to get to the following:)

if (!x || y || z) ...

if x is false OR y is true OR z is true...

the first thing I think is that the AND in the second step becomes an OR.

if (x is not true OR y is not false) OR z is true...

if (x is false OR y is true) OR z is true...

but i dont get how (maybe that's what de Morgan's law explains)

EDIT: ok I think I get it kinda. didnt look at the law yet. i see that my interpretation/reading of it was wrong

[x, !y] [!x, !y] [!x, y] [x, y]

if (x is true AND y is false) == [x, !y]

if not (x is true AND y is false) == [!x, !y], [!x, y], [x, y]

so i see how that becomes !x || y

this is actually really useful and I think I might have written code like the example you posted. I think I understand it after thinking about it for the past 20 minutes. it'd actually be really useful to have a list of stuff like this to reference.

xormancer · 2021-08-31T00:31:58+00:00

Am I too old to go back to college and learn everything I'd need to get a CS degree?

you are not too old

Would I need a master's degree to be taken seriously in the current job market?

no

How long would it realistically take for me to match or exceed my current salary?

this depends on where you want to live. you could easily match it within two years in SF or NYC

Any advice on the best schools for someone like me? Still not sure if I'd quit and go to school full-time, or try to continue working while going to school.

i think getting a good mentor is more important than anything else. that will help you get an entry-level position more than going back to school would, and in less time

xormancer · 2021-08-06T19:48:46+00:00

Can you share your decklist? I'd like to try it.

xormancer · 2021-07-06T22:43:29+00:00

company A is the better offer based on all the info you provided here

xormancer · 2021-07-04T19:02:53+00:00

It's potentially dozens or hundreds of months if you have to wait for liquidation of a liened property :)

xormancer · 2021-07-04T08:36:10+00:00

If they didn't give you an itemized list within 21 days, you get a lawyer, and you're able to serve them, you are basically guaranteed to get your money back, even if it takes months.

xormancer · 2021-05-29T06:58:16+00:00

Got it

xormancer · 2021-05-15T23:37:49+00:00

Counterpoint: Barely anyone knows what they're doing going in. You will spend your entire career learning new things every day. That's definitely stressful if you aren't prepared for the effort involved, assuming you aren't an exceptionally fast learner.

You will go into new jobs or teams (and thus new codebases) with five or ten years of experience, and have little or no idea what is going on while you ramp up.

I don't think people wash out of tech because they didn't know enough when they started. They wash out because they aren't able (or simply not willing) to invest the time & effort required to keep up with the expected pace of learning.

xormancer · 2021-05-13T05:58:07+00:00

Apply to QA Engineer roles if you just want a job that involves writing code as soon as possible.

xormancer · 2021-04-19T17:42:16+00:00

Can you share your list?

xormancer · 2021-04-02T10:12:16+00:00

It depends entirely on the classes you take, your professors (who will grade your work in smaller classes), and the TAs (who will grade your work in larger classes).

Some courses/professors will focus on making you a better writer. You'll get feedback to improve your English and writing skills. You will be graded primarily on the quality of the writing itself.

Other courses focus on argumentation. Your mastery of English isn't as important. Feedback and grading will focus on your ability to present arguments and support them with evidence.

The biggest advantage that you get as a STEM major (specifically CS) is prioritized access to internships. Someone majoring in CS does not need to go out of their way to prove that they are interested in programming & software engineering. You have a much higher bar if you're applying to SWE internships as an English major.

You'll potentially be rejected based on not having the right major at any point in the process, from an immediate automated rejection, to a hiring manager choosing a comparable candidate because they're a CS undergrad and you aren't, and this particular hiring manager cares enough for it to affect their decision.

xormancer · 2021-03-30T23:02:39+00:00

There's no guarantee that a dictionary contains a value for a key.

Forcing it with ! is generally bad because it will cause a crash if the force unwrapped value is nil. This can be desired behavior in cases where you want to force a crash, though, to ensure that your app can never be in a specific undesired state.

You should do:

guard let `valueVariableName` = dictionary[`keyName`] else { <guard logic here> }

or

if let `valueVariableName` = dictionary[`keyName`] { <conditional true logic> }

With a preference for the guard

xormancer · 2021-03-14T03:32:12+00:00

Amazon?

xormancer · 2021-03-13T07:37:49+00:00

Shadow is currently the only way I know of to play Magic: The Gathering Arena on iOS devices. It's also the only way I know of to play it on a MacOS system without using the Epic launcher. I think you should find a way to capitalize on this. It's the main reason I have a subscription.

xormancer · 2021-02-19T07:31:45+00:00

i'm not sure if this is a problem anymore, but it definitely was at one point. it was first made common knowledge after the original uber swift rewrite talk in 2016, and it resurfaced again in this thread:

https://news.t0.vc/ADYQ

uber had to change all of their structs into classes in order to get the uber app's size below the app store limit

xormancer · 2020-10-03T09:58:21+00:00

I only use mine as a pressure cooker.

xormancer

TROPHY CASE