CAT | Developers
How many articles have you read lately about the upcoming tech bubble? Three? Ten? Fifty?
Depending on who you talk to, the bubble is either already here, or it’s not coming at all.
I’ve been doing a considerable amount of candidate interviewing lately and after some serious impedance mismatch on what we got over what was advertised, I decided to browse the general software developer job listings to see if there was a better way to ask for resumes.
Read more on Translation Guide for Software Job Listings…
HR is evil · job description · software developer job description
Happy New Year to everyone, first of all. And second, I hope you managed to get your hands on an iPad in the past 6 months because if you haven’t, you’re going to want one.
Have you ever tried going through a recruiter to get hired? Or even worse, have you had to use one to hire other people? If you did, you’ve been subject to what I call the Lack-Of-Value Middleman*.
Try this little exercise sometime. In Google, enter your favorite language, followed by the word “sucks”. And then do the same with a language that you just despise. If you can stomach the results for the first page in both cases, you’ll notice:
An experiment, posted on LessWrong.com that led to a further diatribe on rationality and rational thinking traps got me thinking too. Here’s the problem:
Once upon a time, there was an instructor who taught physics students. One day she called them into her class, and showed them a wide, square plate of metal, next to a hot radiator. The students each put their hand on the plate, and found the side next to the radiator cool, and the distant side warm. And the instructor said, Why do you think this happens? Some students guessed convection of air currents, and others guessed strange metals in the plate. They devised many creative explanations, none stooping so low as to say “I don’t know” or “This seems impossible.“
Recently, I was the happy recipient of some very condescending “advice” from the architecture group of a client. The tone, quality and delivery of the information completely overwhelmed the actual message (some of which was actually relevant, and some was off in left field). This pleasant experience reminding me why the term “software architect” has come to be synonymous in some circles with “arrogant jerk who forgot what it’s like to code on a real project”.
Quick! Answer the following question without thinking about it:
How would you rate your programming skills? (Below Average, Average, or Above Average)
Based on psychological studies across many different groups, about 90% of all programmers will answer “Above Average”.
Read more on The Problem With ‘Above Average Programmers’…
beginners mind · expert programmers · expert trap · illusory superiority
So, think you’ve got what it takes to be a consultant? Feeling the itch because your current job isn’t motivating you like it used to?
The independence, prospect of better money and the potential for starting your own business make this idea very seductive. A million others have tread this path before you so you’d think it would be easy, right?
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Top Three Motivators For Developers (Hint: not money!)
29 Comments · Posted by Dave in Developers
Software has long since lost its glory-days status. We’re not the go-to field anymore. Geeks are no longer revered as gods amongst humanity for our ability to manipulate computers. We get crappy jobs just like everyone else.
Read more on Top Three Motivators For Developers (Hint: not money!)…
autonomy · Developers · master · motivation · purpose · TED
