I’m randomly checking in today, too. Last time I was here people complained about too many bots

@localpost Wow. Case in point, if I've ever seen one. Ugh.

@We3D That's what I was afraid of.

...What IS happening? I only pop in here every few months.

@sweetWetBurger oh certainly. If even the offer is insulting, you're likely to encounter a whole company culture of similar disappointments.

Do you know why the team lead was leaving?

Yes. While in talks with my current employer, I was offered a position at a large corporation for substantially more money (to go along with their resume-building name). Turning it down felt crazy. But it reunited me with former colleagues and gave me the freedom to work from home. I have never regretted it.

And to top it off, < 1.5 yrs later, I'm making a comparable salary.

So, yes, go with your gut feel -- both about the company as a whole, and the team you met during the interview process.

A few other notes:
- Small teams are good. And they're a great place to foster career-long relationships.
- Don't expect your first full time position to have a focused workload. Superfluous responsibilities are character building.
- Don't expect your first full time position to have a good salary. At all.

All that said -- good luck with the interview and consulting!

@gosubinit Oh I hated VB. And have never returned. But the .NET variation was miles ahead of the legacy VB6 parts it was replacing. That code HURT.

@Jonnyforgotten I realize that came out wrong. I agree... I mean, I have family too, and make a conscious effort to put them above all else. And honestly, I have put very little effort into coding in the "off hours" lately.

Anyways, the point was to seek self-motivated candidates. And ones who could adequately convey their knowledge. I'm not saying I knew what I was doing, but it worked out ok.

Sorry, I think I just ranted on your rant...

I get the intent, but I hate this kind of interview. You're intentionally created the worst imaginable coding experience. For what?

When I was interviewing people, I'd ask them to walk me through any "free time" project they had lying around. Preferably in a similar tech stack, by that was only half the point: having them explain problems they had ALREADY SOLVED was 10x more insightful than any battery of contrived questions I could cook up. And yes, you can still surely tell when someone's BS'ing it.

- Don't have a "free time" project lying around? Wrong candidate.
- Can't even explain the basic architecture? Wrong candidate.
- [Dig into a function or two] Can't convey the intent of your code in plain English? Wrong candidate.
- Can't admit mistakes? Uninterested in ideas for improvements? Wrong candidate.
- Don't have a "next release" wishlist? Wrong candidate.

Yeah, it was time consuming, but also a lot more human. And I, the interviewer, learned something new -- every time.

@AleCx04 I know what you mean about not liking to raise your voice. I'm a pretty quiet guy by nature, but good on you for sticking up for yourself. Having good coworkers makes a huge difference. I've been lucky, in this respect. Hopefully your latest job treats you much better. (Just focus on whatever positive things you can -- coworkers, tech stack, learning opportunities, etc)

Since you ask, I primarily do front-end web dev these days. Lots of Angular and React. It's a small company, so it's pretty much just me doing front-end work. It's good though: it affords me a good mix of UI / UX, appealing to both analytical and creative parts of my brain.

Good read (both parts), thanks for taking the time to post it. Sorry to hear about your bad coworker experiences (I loved the quip about using your "military voice" though)

Anyway, don't get too discouraged, as it definitely takes time to find your niche. I've been doing this professionally for about 10 years, having to use a wide variety of platforms and technologies (some of them pretty crappy ones) before settling into my current skill set.

Back in the early days, it was +1 and -1. Then someone suggested ++ / -- and they implemented it 🎉

My thoughts on unit testing.

I've said this before, but I wouldn't be surprised if -- in our lifetimes -- software development becomes a type of "licensed practice." (Like medicine, law, etc).

The only things that come close (that I know of) are:
a) govt security clearances
b) BS presentations and multi-choice tests just so HR can file away a list of names somewhere (CYA for FDA audit, in my experience)

Anyway, to me, the VW scandal highlights that the ethics of software dev really isn't taken seriously by the masses yet.

That sucks, and I agree with @RubyTuesday -- but gotta put on my old man hat and say, "Welcome to life." Other people's poor decisions effect you, sometimes quite personally. 10 years from now, this "extracurricular lesson" might be the only thing you remember from the class.

Congratulations! Kids are a blessing

And it too is likely full of proprietary tech that'll enrage technicians for years to come...

Hmm, kinda like when my kid is crying because she's crying...

I have no interest in unionizing. But I'd support meaningful, revokable certification(s). The ethics of software dev ought to get more press than it does. (e.g. VW "diesel gate")

Regardless of genre, I'm often most productive when I put on old music that I know very, very well. (Even WITH all the air drum solos)

Ah, brings me back to the bad old days... I'm so thankful for my job now, where there's very little of this friction. It's such a relief.

I don't usually upvote this kind of thing but... this one makes me smile 🙂

@mtcool112 "is C++ nice?"

C++ is kinda like my first car. A bit ugly, a bit past its prime, and something will likely go horrible wrong. Soon.

And yet, it holds a special place in my heart. 😊

Looks like a
...
...
...
Zipcar

Not sure what it is, but I know undefined is not a function.

Born and raised in the US. Nowadays, I use YYYY-MM-DD at least half of the time -- even in official paperwork -- because it's unambiguous.

And, ya know, it follows the rule of most-to-least significant digits.

Merry Christmas!

Thus, my only expertise is :-/

Been there! The next 11,010 miles are a lot of fun. 😊