

Ask HN: I actually need a job now - berrypicker

I&#x27;ve been working in startups for the last few years, using a lot of the latest tech that startups often use (Rails, Node, Mongo, Angular etc.).<p>Now I&#x27;m back in my home town (failed and can&#x27;t afford to be out in London doing this any more), and seeking any job for a developer. But all I see is PHP, .NET, VB, Java and everything that HN seems to hate.<p>I actually haven&#x27;t touched this stuff since school, and everything I&#x27;ve learned and used over these last few years seems to be useless in the corporate world here.<p>I&#x27;m renting alone and therefore need a job quickly. My options are finding a quick job (e.g. waiter, shop assistant) while brushing up on PHP (or maybe something else has better career opportunities?) in the evenings, or just doing something completely different.<p>Truth is I want a stable career now and care little about whether we&#x27;re coding in Erlang or Java.
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swalkergibson
Who cares about what languages HN likes or doesn't like? If you have bills to
pay, get a job and let go of the need to "please" some random people on the
Internet, whatever that means. Imperative, object-oriented languages are all
very similar, so just go get a job doing that. All you have to do is make
clear to the interviewer that you may not have the precise pedigree in
$FOO_LANGUAGE, but are willing to learn.

~~~
wpietri
I think "what HN likes" here is throwing you off. I don't think this is about
fashion.

Good programmers care a lot about good tools. Different tools also have
different communities, which means different views, different standards,
different approaches.

I've done projects with great tools and projects with shitty tools. For me, it
makes a giant difference. I can spend my energy on solving real user problems,
or I can spend it on beating back the idiocy of bad tools. I can spend it on
learning from a community that is serious about pushing the field forward, or
I can spend it trying to motivate a bunch of no-hopers who picked programming
over dentistry because the Computer Information Systems degree was shorter.

I think it's totally reasonable that this person wants to avoid the mire of
clock-punchers and half-assed enterprise tech imposed for "business reasons".
They're trying for a tactical retreat, not abject surrender. That's the spirit
I think HN should support.

~~~
dpritchett
Bravo. As a longtime enterprise reporting guy turned Rails dev, this resonates
deeply with me.

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JonFish85
Question, and I realize that you said you want a "job for a developer"... Have
you considered interviewing for a job a level above that? I imagine with a few
years' of experience at startups, you've learned a lot at a "design" level
rather than simply an implementation level (not that there's anything wrong
with that).

Consider interviewing for a developer management position. Instead of focusing
on specific languages & technologies, maybe take a step back and figure out
how to apply other things you've learned: how to direct a project, how to take
higher-level ideas and turn them into realities. Those types of jobs tend to
be more marketable than "I use X, Y, Z technologies".

If not management, I'd still say try to get a little more "meta" than just "I
know Rails, Node..." Market yourself at a business-level, if that makes sense.
In my opinion, the tools you use to solve a problem aren't as interesting as
how you approach a problem and solve it.

Just some thoughts, good luck!

~~~
owenmarshall
> If not management, I'd still say try to get a little more "meta" than just
> "I know Rails, Node..." Market yourself at a business-level, if that makes
> sense. In my opinion, the tools you use to solve a problem aren't as
> interesting as how you approach a problem and solve it.

This is fantastic advice for _every_ programmer, and once I actually started
believing it was when I started getting interesting jobs that pay well.

Stop thinking in terms of the technology you use. Don't focus on it in
interviews. What you should stress is the problems you've solved & how that
delivered value to the company (revenue, efficiency, etc.)

Being a Ruby master means nothing. Being able to deliver a tool that lets the
company fulfill their million-dollar contract is what makes you a rock star.

~~~
tyi4
I can't help but visualise an empty suit when people start talking about
"delivering value" in the abstract, with a smug sense of superiority. People
like you are mostly just lip service.

[http://www.yosefk.com/blog/do-call-yourself-a-programmer-
and...](http://www.yosefk.com/blog/do-call-yourself-a-programmer-and-other-
career-advice.html)

~~~
SkyMarshal
There's a happy middle ground here, no need to split hairs or be black and
white. One formula that works is, _be_ a legit programmer/developer/hacker,
but be able to communicate with business people on the business level about
business problems. Preferably using your own original language, rather than
pre-packaged MBA-speak (though sometimes even that stuff is useful if a
particular client needs to hear it).

~~~
owenmarshall
>One formula that works is, be a legit programmer/developer/hacker, but be
able to communicate with business people on the business level about business
problems.

That's what I'm really getting at.

At the end of the day the person who decides to give you money in exchange for
your code is a business person who wants to pay you to solve their business
problems. Showing them that you understand and have experience solving those
problems is as important as proving your mettle to other programmers.

And personally I've always had a much harder time with the business people
interviews than the technical interviews. It's something that I have had to
_really work at_ , but it's helped me much more than I could've imagined.

~~~
SkyMarshal
Yup. I'd say if you're capable of doing both, do both. But if not, focus on
being the best programmer you can be. It's the foundation for everything else.

------
IanOzsvald
HackerNewsLondon will occur _tonight_ (in about an hour)
[http://www.meetup.com/HNLondon/](http://www.meetup.com/HNLondon/) and if you
turn up and blag your way in (you're meant to buy a ticket in advance, offer
cash on the door to pay for your pizza!) you'll see companies talking and
often talking about jobs. Just network like crazy, most people there will know
people hiring. Everyone is friendly, the organisers try to help startups. Go
speak to co-organiser Steve (he's an ex recruiter), he'll know who is looking.

[http://www.techcityjobs.co.uk/](http://www.techcityjobs.co.uk/) has a lot of
London-focused tech jobs, lots of Ruby etc. Ruby is definitely in demand in
London. Avoid being a waiter if you can, your skills will rust.

[http://siliconmilkroundabout.com/](http://siliconmilkroundabout.com/)
occurred last weekend, over 100 startups were there pitching for jobs, go
through the list of companies and cherrypick, then drop them a line? The CTOs
I spoke with noted the lack of Rails folk. Most of the companies had 2-8 job
openings each.

Bon chance, i.

~~~
mbesto
Also, [http://hackerjobs.co.uk/](http://hackerjobs.co.uk/) run by Peroni (aka
Steve Buckley).

[http://www.jobserve.com/](http://www.jobserve.com/) is also decent...

------
segmondy
You can brush up PHP in a week or less. Don't go the waiter/shop assistant
route. Just start interviewing for every and any position you see until you
get one. Unless you are absolutely broke with zero money. Then take the first
job you can, but make sure you take something that allows you time to be able
to go for interviews.

~~~
DrJokepu
This is very good advice. Except that I would brush up on .NET (in a week or
less) instead. He would make more money.

~~~
modulus0
Good point. You can't learn Java that fast (at least not well enough to make
money at it... that's why they're the highest paid developers... people pay
lots for souls.)

------
eranation
My company was looking for a Scala dev in the UK desperately. Yes, perhaps
there are not too many Scala jobs out there as there are Java, .NET and PHP,
but good Scala developers are not easy to find either. So adding a bit to your
list of which language to add to your resume, I would go and spend more time
on Scala than on PHP personally.

Why Scala? well, if you came from Ruby, I bet 9/10 you'll like it more than
Java, and I bet 10/10 you'll like it more than PHP.

More and more enterprise software companies adopt it (citation needed, but I
know my company does). at least it has more chance in being adopted in the
enterprise than Ruby

Also it is not completely uncool for startups, you can find your handful of
Scala based startups, and I think there is a trend of more and more using it
(as it's not as bad as Java in terms of fun, and much better than Ruby /
Python in terms of performance)

Sorry I can't offer you a job at the moment, but as a middle ground between
cool startup technologies and boring corporate Java EE / Spring etc... I think
Scala might be a niche that will get you that job you want (perhaps not the
one you need to get immediately)

~~~
engineerDave
That might be the best pro Scala (your "Why Scala?" blurb) statement I've
heard yet. :)

------
27182818284
You can probably handle .NET, and if you want a stable, enterprise-fueled job,
then an enterprise language like .NET is great.

I don't think HN hates .NET or Java, they just don't make the frontpage as
much. .NET (with C#) was quite a pleasure for me to work with and sometimes I
miss it while hacking on Python+Django for my daily work.

Also, don't sell yourself short. Let the interviewers decide you're not
worthy. Put your best foot forward and hit up some of those shops. If they
like you, they'll have you come in and train you. They'll probably have their
own deploy strategies and such already setup, so you'll have time to learn the
language. Remember these are established places, not move-fast-break-things
startups, so it isn't necessarily like you'll be writing production c# or Java
the first morning. (If you do that's awesome, but I find that to be unlikely)

~~~
untog
Seconding that .NET/C# can be a pleasure to work with. Stuff like LINQ is
awesome, Visual Studio is a great IDE. I've often thought that if I wanted to
just rake in some easy cash I'd go work for BigCorp doing .NET and save up my
cash for my next adventure.

~~~
SheepSlapper
EntityFramework + LINQ is an amazing combo for getting things done quickly.
And Visual Studio provides the best debugging experience I've ever had. Couple
it with ReSharper[1] and you're in code heaven. At least until you run into
one of the INT_MAX subtle quirks of C#/.NET, at which point you feel like
throwing your dev machine off the roof.

[1] [http://www.jetbrains.com/resharper/](http://www.jetbrains.com/resharper/)

------
kennethtilton
As a hirer I can tell you, if you can code in any language just create a cover
letter and resume that proves you can code. Do not be intimidated by laundry
list of acronyms you find in job listings, but acknowledge them and talk about
your confidence in your ability to get up to speed. hth.

~~~
aidos
I would second this. Obviously it depends on the position but I'd take someone
inexperienced (in a particular technology) who looks like a good learner over
someone experienced in just a single technology.

Often you're hiring someone because of the potential they demonstrate.

------
__xtrimsky
HN does not hate PHP, .NET, VB, Java. Its just older languages and HN is about
discovering new things, and working on cool new languages.

Even if PHP or Java aren't "cool", they are really nice to program with when
you master them.

And its good to learn to quickly learn other languages. In 20 years Rails,
Node or Mongo might not be there anymore, its good to not get "habits" in IT.

PS: Java has one advantage, you can create web/software and android apps with
it. Mobile is pretty trendy right now. But it will take you a lot more time to
learn then PHP.

------
mathattack
My 2 cents, having gone through a few job searches in off markets...

1 - You may need to go lateral or a half step back from what you want, but
don't take 3 steps back. There's no reason to be a waiter or a shop assistant
unless you want to do that for the next 20 years, or want to automate those
industries.

2 - Find your way into the industry or company that you ultimately want to
work for. Even if the job isn't perfect. If you want to learn PHP or .Net, get
a job doing QA at a shop that uses them.

3 - Small companies are much more likely to respond to resumes tossed over the
transom than big ones. This is only based on anecdotal evidence.

4 - Searching for a job needs to be your full time job until you get one. If
you're not doing it 8+ hours a day, you're not trying hard enough.

5 - It's best to do both high contact (meeting people you know for coffee, and
asking them to introduce you to their friends) and low contact (sending 100s,
yes 100s of resumes every week) searching.

Good luck! If you have technical skills, it will all be good in a couple
months.

------
ThayerPrime
Hi - if I can help I'd be happy to. I build teams for companies such as
Stripe, Twilio, New Bamboo and others - you can contact me on thayer@team-
prime.com and check my creds on
[http://www.linkedin.com/in/thayerprime](http://www.linkedin.com/in/thayerprime)

Cheers, and good luck with your hunt.

------
fuj
HN hates a lot of stuff. Most of the people here are out of touch with
reality. I see a lot of "entrepreneurs" whose startups didn't go so well, or
people working in a super cool stack for peanuts, but hey! they get to work on
all those cool languages.

Don't mean to sound harsh but... Suck it up. I work with C# ASP.NET. Do I like
it? No. Do I hate it? No Does it get the job done (performance wise)? Sure
does. Would I prefer to work on another language? Yup. Does it pay well? Yup.

If you are a good programmer it does not matter the language you work on. I
know a lot of sucky RoR, python, [insert cool language here] developers and I
also know a lot of great PHP, ASP.NET, [insert HN hated kanguage here]
programmers. As long as you are a good logic thinker, work on whatever puts
the food in the table and hopefully enjoy it.

------
SkyMarshal
PHP is easy to pick up from JS/Rails/Python [1] (or any other more
sophisticated language). The latest version 5.5 is actually a real OO
programming language with first class functions and the like [2], and you can
get good performance with Apache 2.4's Event MPM + php-fpm [3] and/or the in-
memory Phalcon web framework [4]. I've recently been helping a friend with his
side business based on PHP and had to pickit up again after not looking at it
since 2003, and it's not bad. They're doing good things with it.

Also check out the remote development work jobsites [5] [6] for stuff you
know.

[1]: [http://www.sitepoint.com/becoming-php-professional-
missing-l...](http://www.sitepoint.com/becoming-php-professional-missing-
link/)

[2]:
[http://www.php.net/manual/en/langref.php](http://www.php.net/manual/en/langref.php)

[3]: [https://wiki.apache.org/httpd/PHP-
FPM](https://wiki.apache.org/httpd/PHP-FPM)

[4]: [http://phalconphp.com/](http://phalconphp.com/)

[5]: [http://weworkremotely.com/](http://weworkremotely.com/)

[6]: [http://jobmote.com/](http://jobmote.com/)

------
zekenie
Have you checked out
[https://weworkremotely.com/](https://weworkremotely.com/) ? Might find it
helpful. Also, there's always things like elance. I know you won't make much
$, but it might help in the short term. There are occasionally node projects
there.

~~~
SeanKilleen
Was going to suggest this as well. It seems like the right combination of
remote work and newer technologies. Could be very useful.

------
KiwiCoder
Keep in mind that most of the jobs you will see on job boards are posted by
recruiting agents on behalf of typical large companies, hence Java and .NET.

If you don't want to join a MegaCorp then you need to look elsewhere - the
'who's hiring' thread for Nov is here:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6653437](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6653437)

You could apply speculatively to companies close to you (where are you based?)
but this is a hard road to travel alone.

I'm kind of in the recruitment business so hit me up if you want a second
opinion at any point. My contact details are in my profile.

------
paolomaffei
If you are half-decent at JS (specially if you actually can use Angular) I can
get you a job in London (or even near Basingstoke if you now happen to live
there) no problem, I'm literally swamped with work requests and got so many
colleagues looking to hire decent frontend developers (probably Rails too but
I don't do that so don't know that well)

IMHO if you are in UK there's no financial sense in staying outside London as
jobs (and their compensation) are much better here

(contact: paolo-at-paolomaffei-dot-it)

~~~
s0l1dsnak3123
Totally disagree with staying outside of London. I'm in Glasgow, and there is
an emerging growth of trendy Scottish startups (I'd like to think my company
fits within that bracket too, haha) who are using some great technology.

If you're interested in some android or rails development work hit me up at
hello@farmer.io

------
nobodysfool
I'd say you are in a good position. People hiring for 'PHP' or '.NET' or
'JAVA' are all most likely also looking for someone who knows javascript. Even
if you only know the basics of those languages, the fact that you know
javascript and angular are good. Many companies here in my local area are all
advertising for .NET but when you get to the specifics they are making web
apps... and javascript is what they should hire, but they don't...

------
workaholic
Would that I could offer you a job, but I'm curious, how did you "fail?" Did
you just have trouble finding another job in London to keep you afloat?

~~~
berrypicker
Well the startups weren't doing too well (two failed) and I was getting paid a
relatively low salary... I could probably have found another job but I didn't
wanna burn up the little money I had saved up just being 'between jobs' in a
really expensive city.

~~~
hellosmithy
My experience as a developer in London right now is that there is a huge
shortage of talented developers, compared to demand. You shouldn't have had
trouble finding a well-paid job, especially if you have experience with a
front-end framework like Angular.

------
berrypicker
Thanks to everyone for the advice, I feel a lot more confident now and will
try to write a CV in a way to display my general skills as opposed to specific
experience. I initially thought my application would get binned because I
lacked their requirements. Also I guess a lot of coding experience is
transferable I just really panicked at first...

I'll be in touch with those of you looking for a developer. Thanks again.

------
PaulRobinson
As a CTO mad keen for senior Ruby types in London I'm amazed you can't make it
work. I'm in a company that has been trading for 4 years, has decent revenues,
is just in the middle of a pivot with a decent round of funding...

... and we're small. There are a lot of firms like us and bigger than us with
seven figure investments. What the hell have you been doing?

~~~
memracom
He has been looking for a job in his hometown after returning from London.
Firms like yours should be more open to remote workers, particularly in a
small country like England where most everybody can take the train to London
for a half day meeting on a regular basis. Heck, I knew people who commuted
from Leeds every day, but not everyone can handle that lifestyle. The best
part of it is that the British train system makes it easy to be productive
while travelling. Leave home 15 minutes before departure time, step on the
train just in time, sit and relax and code for the hours that it takes to get
into the city.

------
normloman
Lie on your resume. Then grab a copy of "PHP For Dummies."

Development is development, no matter the language.

------
jsun
Bunch of YC companies in the U.K. maybe reach out to one of them. I know
GoCardless from S11 is there. I think there was one more from my batch at a
minimum.

How good are you? We might be open to doing the paperwork for you if you want
to move to Chicago:)

------
BuddhaSource
We could put some use to your tech experience, if you are okay to relocate to
India & completely open to fresh new start. if so send me a mail at
sid@justunfollow.com [http://justunfollow.com](http://justunfollow.com)

------
rashthedude
As a coder, refreshing other languages is a breeze. Do not despair and stick
to coding.

------
modulus0
Keep coding. Don't stop. If you have to take other jobs to support your habit,
oh well. Find out what the local scene wants and start doing that for free on
the side. Eventually someone will hire you.

------
silexresources
I have a lead on a contract role for a Ruby dev in Central London. Ping a CV
to info@silexresources.co.uk and I'll be in touch.

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BitMastro
Have a look here as well
[http://workinstartups.com/](http://workinstartups.com/)

------
rosspanda
In Bath/Bristol (UK), we can't get rails guys, they are as rare as hens teeth.
Where are you based?

------
jiggy2011
Look at mature PHP frameworks like symfony2 , if you know rails you should be
fairly at home.

------
man_bear_pig
Hey give me a shout and maybe we can work something out. reechaurd@gmail dot
com.

