

Ask HN: Help. What is good work and how do you make yourself qualified for it? - ritchiea

I recently took a new job and I think I made a huge mistake. Previously I was working at a startup that tanked so I had to make a move but I really don't like the work at the new shop. The problem is this company is not really a web product or a tech company, more of a brick &#38; mortar business that needs a strong web app to operate. I decided to work here because it's a good culture fit but I find I already miss working somewhere that thinks of itself as a tech company.<p>So I ask, early in your career how do you find meaningful work? And how do you make sure you are prepared to get those job offers? Recently I interviewed for a position that seemed awesome at a YC startup and didn't get the job because I stumbled over an algorithms problem so sometimes I question my technical qualifications. I have a liberal arts degree and was mostly a hobbyist programmer prior to 2 years ago. That said, I've never struggled to ship working code. I also code in my spare time and read a lot of technical books and articles in effort to catch up to the fact that I don't have a formal background in CS. I feel like my soft skills are great, I'm friendly, I'm a good communicator, I'm motivated to learn, I listen to my co-workers. I'm just not super experienced/an ace 10x engineer (though once again I do ship production code, strive to make it readable, write tests, learn about new technologies, go to meetups, and push myself to be a better developer at every opportunity!).<p>What are good things to look for in a workplace? Not physical traits like quiet space and the dev environment you need but what kind of work have you found that is a good day-to-day and gives you a chance to learn new things? Have you ever gotten over not having a strong technical background?<p>And am I being reasonable? Do I expect too much from work?<p>How have you found your best work experiences? Especially if you're someone without a CS degree.<p>FYI last couple things I'll say - I'm in NYC if that helps and one last thing about myself is that I have stubbornly walked the line between development and having an impact on UI/UX. Might that be a problem? I've really tried to strive to be someone who has a holistic impact as a developer in addition to being an effective programmer.
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jyu
Early in your career, there is a lot to learn. Being naturally curious and
autodidactic seems like a necessary requirement, but having a good mentor can
really supercharge how quickly you progress. A good mentor is someone very
knowledgeable, hopefully 10x better than you at the things you want to learn,
and also has a knack for teaching.

I am pretty early in my development career too, but I'd say that the most
important thing is making sure you surround yourself with the smartest people
that give you the best chance to get to your end goal. If you're interested in
learning about TDD, go to a place that does TDD, and connect with people that
do TDD. If you're interested in ember, hang out in the ember irc's, ping ember
people, and try to build some small ember things out to the point where people
can help you.

You need to decide your end game first, and then work backwards. As you
interview and talk to people, you'll develop a set of deal breakers that
conflict with your end game. Interviews are a two way street; you're filtering
and interviewing them as much as they are you. If you want to see how current
an employer's tech stack is, ask them what they're currently on, and the last
things they've upgraded, how painful it was to upgrade. If you think you know
more than their lead developer, then it's probably not a good place. Ask them
about how their decisions get made, how projects get prioritized. Ask them
questions to see how developer happiness plays into their priorities (e.g. I'd
like to do some things in X which you guys don't use right now. How could we
go about using X in a new project?).

There are a few beliefs you have that might be problematic. Programming and
tech are tools at the end of the day, and are only one ingredient of many that
end up creating a successful company. If you are looking for a tech focused
company, look at the headcount breakdown (e.g. 10 people, 1 developer and 9
sales people vs 9 developers and 1 sales person). Even more troubling, you
seem to think your liberal arts degree is a disadvantage, and that a bad
interview means you might not have the chops to make it. First and foremost,
interviewing is most definitely a skill that improves over time, and bad
interviewers ask a lot of things unrelated to the job. Even really bright
technical people botch interviews all the time. ([http://steve-
yegge.blogspot.com/2008/03/get-that-job-at-goog...](http://steve-
yegge.blogspot.com/2008/03/get-that-job-at-google.html)). Secondly, life is
long, and you are hardly defined by some subject you chose to study for 4
years. You live in a time where top notch classes and books and online
learning material are readily accessible and cheap or free.

From what you've written, sounds like you're looking for a full stack
developer position. Apply to a bunch of places, and try to interview at places
you don't care about first. Reach out to companies and people that may or may
not be hiring to chat with you. Work through CLRS, work through a CS
curriculum, pair with people, and put all your assignments up publicly. Then
when people question you about your liberal arts degree, you can show them
evidence that you have covered a lot of CS topics and have a lot of CS
knowledge.

~~~
ritchiea
Hey thanks a lot. That's really helpful.

It's not so much that I think my liberal arts degree is a disadvantage. I
think it was a very valuable educational experience, and I studied research
psychology which a lot of UX literature cites, so I think in some ways it is a
great degree for the industry. But sometimes people question whether it's a
good background for a developer.

