
Ask HN: Does this old horse have a few years of useful work left? - andywood
So, my most recent stint at Microsoft just didn&#x27;t work out. The tech was cool, but the day-to-day workflow was tedious and torturous. I only held out for 4 months - my shortest gig ever, but it really was the most I could muster. I really wanted it to work, but ultimately couldn&#x27;t strike that bargain with myself.<p>So... now I&#x27;m back to living on couches and wondering &#x2F; researching where I might still be able to be useful and productive in the world. It&#x27;s not an easy question. There are more technology stacks than ever, and I&#x27;m suffering very severe paradox of choice. I sure miss the &quot;good old days&quot; when you just focused on writing a single app in C that ran on a well-understood machine, or even a single well-understood OS API. But those days are mostly gone. Now it&#x27;s all distributed, multi-level conglomerates of varied frameworks and languages sort-of working together. I can&#x27;t decide whether I have any interest in that. I sort of envy the people who can simply state, &quot;I am a Rails dev&quot; or similar.<p>I feel a lot of pressure to pick a niche. Something. Anything. Because living on couches gets old, fast, and even more dire financial straits await after that. So I&#x27;m being driven by the stick, and not the carrot - which is an unpleasant position.<p>I found a great game (on Steam) called TIS-100, where you progress by writing small, well-defined programs in assembly language, for a strange, highly constrained imaginary processor. It&#x27;s great for its pure distillation of machine-level programming. There was a time when people used to get payed for doing what you do in this game. In other words, I fear I&#x27;m getting old, and my career options have just begun to seem uncomfortable.
======
m0nty
49 here, I'm not enjoying working in IT nowadays, I think it got old about 5
or 6 years ago. So I quit and I'm pursuing my own projects, doing some
programming, and trying not to worry too much. I could have ground it out for
a few months more in that lucrative contract I had, but just how long can I
put up with being _that_ bored?

Personally, if I have to go back to the circus, I'll probably aim for short
contracts or part-time work. If you're looking to reskill, I see plenty of sys
admin jobs out there. Except you're supposed to call them "Dev Ops" nowadays.
Puppet, VMs, Vagrant, Ansible, cloud computing (Linode, Amazon, etc). It's a
relatively small domain which is applicable to many different areas of IT, so
you get that "good old days" thing where a little effort goes a long way.

Good luck with whatever you do. Don't let the demons of despair take you, make
a deliberate effort to be optimistic and cheerful. You're not the only old
horse out there wondering when it all became so complicated. OTOH, it's truly
an incredible time to be alive, so much stuff going on!

~~~
estefan
I don't want to be a downer, but devops is definitely NOT just a new name for
being a sysadmin. We've actively recruited for people who are not old
fashioned jump-on-a-box-and-make-hot-changes sysadmins. They need to
understand automated infrastructure and deployment through code, so it's not a
small niche to just pick up easily. If it was that easy, everyone would be
doing it and it wouldn't pay so well.

~~~
officialchicken
Sure it is. Don't the "DevOps" administer, provision, and manage your systems?
Have you ever seen a unix guru who didn't have scripts and use automated
tooling? And when a system fails (and they all fail eventually) the routine is
the same no matter what you want to call it.

~~~
brianwawok
There are two kinds of DevOps.

You have DEVops... think of a web developer who also knows linux.

Then you have devOPS... think of a sysadmin who knows bash and python.

The former is where I think the value comes.. they find ways to automate your
infrastructure and do lots of cool things. The later tend to make webs of bash
scripts that you have to delete when they quit because no one understands
them.

~~~
rejschaap
You basically just argued there is no such thing as devops, just developers
and system administrators.

~~~
reality_czech
Next thing you know, he's going to be telling you that your 360" review is
actually a yearly review, that your scrum master is actually just a team lead,
and that your gluten-free bread is actually just a rice cake with sugar. These
old-timers sure do get some funny ideas.

------
hkmurakami
Have you considered embedded software? What you describe and long for
(including all the constraints) seems to match the needs and challenges of
embedded development.

Example of places would include TI, Intel, Atmel, etc., and also hardware
makers that use their chips.

~~~
georgemcbay
This is good advice.

As a somewhat older (42) programmer whose early career was similar to what OP
is describing I've been focusing on embedded systems and most recently Android
development -- granted, Java isn't C and there are quite a few things I
dislike about the language (and moreso the AbstractFactoryOfFactoriesClass
culture it tends to have) but it is (practically speaking) MUCH closer to the
sort of desktop app development that we used to do than either of back or
front end web development (which I also don't really enjoy).

~~~
dceddia
Ahh, good old AbstractAnnotationConfigDispatcherServletInitializer.

[http://docs.spring.io/spring-framework/docs/3.2.0.BUILD-
SNAP...](http://docs.spring.io/spring-framework/docs/3.2.0.BUILD-
SNAPSHOT/api/org/springframework/web/servlet/support/AbstractAnnotationConfigDispatcherServletInitializer.html)

------
Firegarden
I am 36 and been contracting full time since I was 22. Really I was only an
employee at my first programming job. The concern that you have is of
technology stack. The concern you are alluding to is how to stay relevant when
being an older person. The first concern is easy. Stick with some
fundamentals. JavaScript for example is a perfect choice. By now we should all
know JavaScript and another example is the Dom API’s. Those are solid gold.
CSS of course and after that your good to go learn some cool framework like
ReactJS. Given that you know C then C# is likey to be your best friend. I have
stuck with .NET since its release in Feb 2002 and always have been a
productive developer. I have used every version of Visual Studio. So after
drawing a few boxes around things the world gets smaller. .NET was just ported
to linux and renamed Dot Net Core 1.0 with it’s first release expected soon.
So I would say .NET is as safe a bet as any. Of course there is the small
challenge that .NET isn’t cool in the start-up world. That is mostly due to
haters having to hate and not based on merit. So the technology choices get
easier and easier if you start to zero in. Dot Net has an MVC framework which
is at version 6 but I think maybe renamed to Core 1.0 as well. Your tech stack
isn’t a problem. Stick with those and you will find something. As for your
hourly rate I can tell you from experience the global market is making it very
competitive so suck that up. As for getting too old to program that is not
actually the question. The question to ask yourself is can you find and follow
your excitement. We are in the golden age. There are a few leading edge
sources which deal with this. I love Bashar and Abraham-Hicks. To quote Bashar
“When you understand what excitement is, you'll understand why you don't have
to look at every little detail to know what to do.

Your excitement is telling you that's the next thing you need to do. Following
your excitement is actually the shortest path to what you want. Act on your
joy to the best of your ability. If you look at all your options and realize
that taking a walk or driving your car or calling a friend is the most
exciting, then THAT is the thing to do. When you can take no more further
action on that thing, then look around for the next exciting thing you have
the greatest ability to take action on and do it.

Excitement is its own self contained kit and its own driving engine.”

~~~
learc83
>As for your hourly rate I can tell you from experience the global market is
making it very competitive so suck that up.

I haven't had much problem with this. I don't compete on price because I can't
bid lower than someone who has a cost of living 10x less than mine.

One thing I've learned is that the higher your rates go, the less the global
market matters. Few companies are willing to pay for $100+ an hour out of
country contractors.

Even if you're not charging that much, you can always find companies who are
just more comfortable with someone in country. Many companies want someone
they can reasonably fly in if the need arises, or just someone who is subject
to the same legal jurisdiction if things to completely wrong. IP theft is a
huge problem in developing countries and legal remedies are very difficult
when dealing with international disputes.

~~~
coldtea
> _I haven 't had much problem with this. I don't compete on price because I
> can't bid lower than someone who has a cost of living 10x less than mine._

The problem is that those 10x-less cost of living people can increasingly
compete on quality too.

Without some sort of protection inside their own country, it's "yay" for
businesses and "tough luck" for IT workers. The HB1 (or whatever) visa thing
is part of that.

In the end, the situation is not good for those 10x cheaper people either,
because it ensures they'll always stay 10x cheaper, as even if their country
develops more, there will always be someone underdeveloped with 10x cheaper
cost of living to bring their prices down too.

~~~
learc83
I agree that some labor protections are needed. However language barriers,
cultural differences, and time zone gaps add enough of an overhead to
communication that most companies willing to pay my rate won't hire foreign
programmers just to save a bit of cash upfront.

Then you have the legal issues I mentioned. Contractors in other countries are
for the most part outside the reach of US courts in the case of contract
disputes.

------
rhapsodic
You have one of the most marketable skills in the world (programming), you've
been at it for a good while (at least since C jobs were commonplace,
apparently) but you're sleeping on couches and only lasted 4 months at your
last job? I suspect there's a lot more to this story than you're telling here.

------
spc476
I'm 47 and am currently doing work in C, C++ (as little as possible to tell
the truth) and Lua. While I'm in a small department (3 man team excluding our
temporary manager [1]) I'm also the youngest one on the team (and even more
oddly, the one with the most seniority on the team). So I'm sure you'll be
able to find something.

[1] The department I work in is needed in our company, but it doesn't really
fit in with the rest of the company [2], so finding a manager has been ...
interesting as the only other person in the company that understands what we
do is a vice president of the company who is busy with other work.

[2] The company as a whole develops software for Android phones. My department
is there to support our software on the call processing side of things, so we
get to deal with SS7.

------
justin_vanw
You are clearly omitting the most important part of your story. Are you an
alcoholic? Bipolar? Do you suffer severe depression where you stop showing up
for work for weeks at a time? Schizophrenia?

I wish you the best, but it is silly for you to act like you 'just can't deal
with it' rather than just admitting the real issue and trying to get help.

~~~
rhapsodic
+1. I'm surprised so many people commenting think this guy needs advice about
the job market or different types of technology that might interest him. I
wish the OP luck in resolving his problems, but I doubt that they stem mainly
from his skillset or the job market.

~~~
justin_vanw
I agree, there is far more high paying work for the skills he claims to have
than there are people to do the work.

In a career that long, he has dozens and dozens of former colleagues who are
now far along in their careers and are decision makers. He should be getting
offers to do work, nonstop, on his terms. He should be able to accept or
reject work based on considerations other than 'getting money to eat', such as
whether it is interesting work, whether he enjoys interacting with the other
people on the project, whether it lets him work remotely, etc.

There is a huge hole in this story. Why don't his past colleagues want to work
with him again? What has gotten him blacklisted? The subtext here says more
than the actual story.

------
danieltillett
If you leave a job at a large company when you have no savings then nothing we
can say will make any difference. Do whatever your heart wants.

~~~
Firegarden
Dood is right you have to follow your heart or actually start by connecting
with your heart which is something I think we all could do more.

------
fighne
I'm 51yrs old, and been in the IT 'game' 33yrs.

Programming is programming, one language is not much different from the other.
There are jobs for low level coder's ( think; drivers, kernel porting, RT ).
Web has diverged 'front end' or 'back end' take your pick. Work remotely is
another option. The niche makes it easy for the employment people to pigeon
hole you. If you have that need do a couple of CV's tailored to that niche.

Don't believe the startup 'shit' that only a committed programmer can work
there and you need to give 60+ hrs a week. If you get that spiel, get up walk
out. They will use you and throw you away.

I've seen 60+ hr code, it's; crap, bug ridden, security nightmare. In the
'Agile' short term for a startup it's great for the long term...! Strange how
Facebook changed their moto about 'breaking it' didn't they when it got
serious.

I still come across young 'coders' who aren't programmers telling me that
JavaScript isn't an Object language. Strange how the function is a first class
Object!

I got asked in an interview recently if I could name a design pattern. I
responded with "ow you mean 'Gang of 4', how about observer" the reply was "
No not the old band and that's a newspaper" I laughed got up walked out. Then
sent an email to the CIO telling him the reason his IT stank was that he had
inexperienced people working for him. Strange that company no longer exists :)

Sometimes you got to 'pony up', do the 9-5 so have a nice hobby. Take the
crap, but not for too long otherwise you start believing it.

When you find the right role you'll know. They don't always pay the greatest,
the atmosphere is good, and you'll want to get up in the morning to do it.

Strike a life balance, your mind is your tool. Burn it out and abuse it then
you'll loose it.

So you'll find me, sat at a cafe or bar along the Med. My laptop isn't the
most modern (actually it's a 5yr old MacBook Air ). I'll be unpicking some
crap code, putting in comments, and applying some old proven techniques. If
you can stand the smell of Gauloise Disque Bleu, I'll buy you a beer.

------
_rpd
I'll suggest learning a real-time operating system like VxWorks, and then
writing code for embedded systems. Lots of challenge, interesting projects
(robotics, etc), often safety implications that require a mature attitude
towards quality control.

~~~
gargravarr
I'll second this. Embedded system development is highly specialised and
usually involves bare-metal coding on limited hardware - sounds like something
you'd enjoy given your background.

Modern computing has become far too generalised for the same sort of
development - without all the levels of abstraction you've encountered, it'd
be nearly impossible to develop something in a reasonable timeframe. I'm not
defending it, but I think if you tried to develop something using such
classical methods, you'd end up taking 10x as long creating the finished
product. Price of progress I'm afraid.

------
jkot
C and Assembly days are not gone. It is quite well paid and widely used
language. Perhaps just change environment?

------
fit2rule
> I sure miss the "good old days" when you just focused on writing a single
> app in C that ran on a well-understood machine, or even a single well-
> understood OS API.

No, those days are alive and well in the embedded/IoT world. I suggest you
look into doing some embedded work, if you want to return to that style of
development ..

------
typhonic
A couple of years ago, right before my 58th birthday, I saw this posted on HN.
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6640430](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6640430)
It says more than I can, but I will add one thing. At about that same time my
company hired an engineer a year older than me. He's still doing a great job.
I'm not in precisely the same business as you, but it's close enough that I
still read HN.

------
bonobo3000
It sounds like you like knowing how the whole thing works, end-to-end. At big
companies with so much pre-existing code & infra, thats not really possible.
Maybe a startup would be a better fit for you? Thats one of the things I loved
about working at a ~60 person startup, I had visibility and decision making
power over all levels of what I was doing.

Of course it depends on what your definition of end-to-end is, as the rabbit
hole can always go deeper.

------
blfr
Perheps I'm in a bubble but everything seems to be running on stock Ubuntu VMs
nowadays, occasionally disguised as Docker images. Either that, or
iOS/Android.

As for the game, our very own patio11 and tptacek have developed something a
lot like that but with the end goal of getting you a job aside from all the
fun: [http://starfighters.io/](http://starfighters.io/)

~~~
fsloth
"everything seems to be running on stock Ubuntu VMs nowadays"

Except if one is developing desktop software. Windows is pretty dominant at
desktop, especially when considering enterprise, CAD and so on.

~~~
onion2k
I have no actual evidence for this, but I think it's reasonable to believe
that within 10 years about 95% of enterprise software will run in a browser.
There'll still be niches where it isn't the case (CAD being an example) but
for everything else, it's web technologies all the way down.

~~~
bitserf
Have a look at OnShape. That future is coming faster than some people think.

~~~
fsloth
Online business models are not yet foolproof, though. As I understand it
Tinkercad basically went busted a few years ago because people did not want to
pay for an online tool and eventually Autodesk bought it. Please correct me on
the details. Also, I have no data either way to show would Tinkercad done any
better as a desktop software.

([https://www.tinkercad.com/](https://www.tinkercad.com/))

OnShape is certainly an exciting experiment. If they pull through financially
it will be pretty strong signal, IMO.

------
agentgt
Big picture... things could be far far worse for you.

Its pretty hard to give any sort of advice with such little information. I'll
just say you really can't fall in love with the technology but rather you
should love solving problems... ie be technology agnostic. There are lots of
real world problems still left to be solved.

I also have some doubts that you seriously took advantage of working at
Microsoft. I can tell you working from home with my own company you really
really miss learning from others. The idea making synergy and excitement of
being around other smart people even if its only during lunch break is a huge
highly underrated benefit long term.... and now you will be sitting on a
couch.

I honestly can't figure out if it is your goal to just program simple little
programs with assemble or C? Is that what makes you happy? Did Microsoft not
challenge you enough? Again serious lack of information.

~~~
andywood
This was my 2nd go-round at MS. I also worked there for 5 years, earlier in my
career, and had a better time. This time, I was working as a contractor, so
switching teams was not an option. And again, the day-to-day was so horrific,
that soldiering on was also not an option.

As far as my goal - that's what I'm trying to figure out. For practical
purposes, it may be mostly about avoiding webdev. However, this most recent
job was not webdev, yet it was still an absurdly convoluted architectural
hodge-podge. So, one thing I may be looking for is more homogeneity. It's not
about size or complexity, per se. I've worked on many large, complex projects
and had a good time.

What turns me off about webdev is a) new frameworks being hyped every month,
and b) the architecture of a modern web app gives me a headache. I want to
return to a time when I used to spend most of my time on data, algorithms, and
writing code, with a single API being the worst "necessary evil" in the mix.

~~~
iconjack
How can you be contacted?

------
raverbashing
You can definitely find work in Asm/C level today, at hardware manufacturers
mostly (silicon vendors usually)

Or look into today's C: Go and Rust

~~~
broodbucket
There are very, very few Rust jobs. In a few years, maybe, but I wouldn't make
a career move on it yet.

~~~
miserable1980
Given one of the OPs annoyances is the continuing churn in tech tools, please
don't waste time with Rust. The premise of the language (safety) is seductive
but it comes at the cost of complexity. I am an experienced dev that spent a
month evaluating it and then decided life was too short. Frankly, it is easier
for someone with a C background to work in C++ than it is with Rust. That's
because you can use the simple features of C++ to get going and add on
complexity as you learn more/need it. With Rust, you get thrown into the deep
end right at the start with the complex borrow/ownership system. There is no
proper book yet on Rust (some good online sources where I commend the people
on effort ... but there is no K&R).

P.S. I used Go for some projects last year and found the situation to be much
better. The Go book that's available on the website reminded me of K&R ...
readable in a weekend of two. This should be the criteria for new programming
languages IMHO.

~~~
broodbucket
As a lifelong C developer who recently had a lot of success starting a new
project in Rust, I disagree. Writing "C" in C++ until you need extra features
always turns out terribly. In Rust, you have to write code the Rust way from
day 1. It takes 20 minutes of fighting with the compiler every time I
implement a new feature in Rust, but when it compiles it does what it's
supposed to do, the code looks good and there are no memory issues.

Don't even get me started on Go. Most overhyped language ever, with some
serious issues.

------
g1n016399
How about being a compiler engineer in the UK?

[http://www.fsf.org/resources/jobs/embecosm-compiler-
engineer](http://www.fsf.org/resources/jobs/embecosm-compiler-engineer)

------
theparanoid
People still get paid for work almost exactly like the TIS-100 game. Notably
GPGPU programming. I switched from webdev to playing with h/w chips and mostly
haven't looked back.

It's more difficult work.

~~~
Joof
Orly? Cuda type stuff? You caught my interest.

------
joefarish
If you were able to get a job at Microsoft, I'd be surprised if you couldn't
get a job elsewhere. Maybe look at remote jobs and moving to a low cost of
living area if you are broke and sleeping on couches. Perhaps you might find
these links useful:

[https://remoteok.io/](https://remoteok.io/)

[https://www.producthunt.com/e/2015-trends-remote-
work](https://www.producthunt.com/e/2015-trends-remote-work)

------
FrankyHollywood
"but the day-to-day workflow was tedious and torturous". I guess what you
describe is something every oldtimer in every discipline recognizes.

How do you think a dentist feels after 30 years of 'could you open your mouth
a bit further, tnx, yeah, well let me see, sir do you floss at a daily basis?
Especially the back teeth need some more attention...'

Saying you are a 'C' guy makes no sense, sounds like you have forgotten about
all the shit you had to take care of in the old days :)

There were tens (or even hundreds?) of C variants with there own compilers,
frameworks, platforms, non-compatability, dll-hell.

I have had a great time working in a simple application management team, and a
horrible time working in a startup with advanced search technology.

My experience is nice coworkers make or break the day. A boring team is
killing, even if the project is great.

------
jqm
I live in a small town and used to work with a guy who was Microsoft Windows
phone support at one point before they transferred the role to India. He
wasn't a programmer. He wasn't an admin. He was phone help support as in "I
can't get teh google to come up when I push the power button... pleaz help!".

He has gotten the best job offers in the area including an interview for head
of IT for the entire school district. He doesn't even have a college degree.
He is good guy and I enjoyed working with him, but at the risk of sounding
dismissive I didn't observe him to be very motivated nor a top level problem
solver nor see that he possessed much high level knowledge.

Point being... with people who don't know better the word "Microsoft" on a
resume is a golden ticket and a guarantee that one is top caliber talent and
highly knowledgeable. So there is that in your favor....

------
dustingetz
Maintenance programmer at defense contractor? Most of those programs are
permanently stuck in the "good old days"

------
bane
Depending on your background, taking a gig in R&D or a rapid prototyping shop
can be very clarifying, and you get to use and bring to play lots of old
skills the young folk don't even know about.

You don't have to really worry about framework, just pick one. Or you might
end up reworking fundamental data structure code, which can be really fun for
an exercise of algorithmic design.

On the other-hand, maybe it's time to go multi-disciplinarian, take a gig
connected to, but completely outside of your comfort zone. Nothing put me into
a state of panicked "I need to learn from the firehose" mode faster than this.
I'm not even talking technical work, go be a manager, or an industry analyst,
work on soft skills or liberal arts fields. Your old skills can provide
interesting viewpoints nobody else has.

------
scrrr
Hm, I am not bored yet, but I think I might be bored in the future. So I was
wondering if I should go back to university and study something interesting,
Physics perhaps, or even pursue a new career, like becoming an airline pilot
or so..

~~~
beefsack
The best advice I've ever gotten in my professional life is "don't solve a
problem you don't have yet."

------
andrewstuart
Errr... sounds like you don't want what to do what the job has become these
days. Actually sounds like you don't even want to be working. Have you thought
about doing something else entirely, try to find something you enjoy?

~~~
monk_e_boy
Teaching or tutoring. Lots of work there and good money.

~~~
klibertp
Really? Any pointers on how to get started?

~~~
monk_e_boy
Google?

Most countries need teachers, contact that department of the government and
start from there. Get into a school, watch some lessons. Then get a teaching
qualification.

------
coldtea
>* I sure miss the "good old days" when you just focused on writing a single
app in C that ran on a well-understood machine, or even a single well-
understood OS API. But those days are mostly gone. Now it's all distributed,
multi-level conglomerates of varied frameworks and languages sort-of working
together. I can't decide whether I have any interest in that. I sort of envy
the people who can simply state, "I am a Rails dev" or similar.*

Well, there are tons of places that use C developers.

------
_pmf_
You need to look into industrial automation / measurement device
manufacturers. Custom Windows software, PC-only, well defined interfaces[0].

[0] Relatively speaking ...

------
z3t4
Look at companies that make smart devices, such as sensors.

------
nathan_f77
I don't know if this will help, but I can pick the niche for you. Here are the
languages and frameworks you should be learning today:

* JavaScript (ES6), Node.js and Express, React

You should also get a refurbished Mac Mini or Macbook, and start learning
Swift for iOS development. Put together a few simple apps. There's a lot of
jobs for iOS developers.

A lot of Rails developers seem to be moving on to Elixir and Phoenix. So I'd
keep my eye on them, too.

~~~
monk_e_boy
I meet a lot of older developers who harp on about assembly and coding
mainframes. Sure, it sounds wonderful, but they got fuck all done in a day.

You should pick JS, something server side (PHP, Ruby, Python, or Node.js) and
react.

You'll spend a lot of time configuring libraries and services (webpack or
webify) but that's just the way coding is these days. Anyone of us could code
some assembler - like OP said, it's fun and easy. We teach our 14 years olds
how to code assembler - it's that easy. You don't honestly think you can
compete with those skills? You need to learn the hard stuff.

This is what you should do:

Learn all of the above Learn PhoneGap and cordova, use React to create an app.
Pitch to companies to put an App out for their website. Use whatever server
side tech they use (e.g. 90% of companies will be using PHP) to create a
simple Web API for your app to call.

~~~
volaski
> Anyone of us could code some assembler - like OP said, it's fun and easy. We
> teach our 14 years olds how to code assembler - it's that easy. You don't
> honestly think you can compete with those skills? You need to learn the hard
> stuff.

Aside from rest of the comments, this is such a ridiculous comment that I
can't tell if it's a joke or not. Have you actually built anything meaningful
with assembly language?

~~~
drdaeman
The language isn't particularly complicated, but with the assembly it's very
easy to lose the sight of the forest for the trees.

I think that's why barely anyone uses raw assembly for any big pieces of code,
unless they either have to (severe hardware constraints, lack of any
compilers, or some specific needs) or want to challenge themselves. Higher
level languages are there for a reason :)

~~~
volaski
That doesn't make this guy's comment anything close to true. It's like saying
"Writing a piece of English literature is easy. All you need to know is
alphabets. Really that's all you need to know." It is hard to express yourself
using assembly, and like you said that's why there are higher level languages.
Of course you don't need to know what a car is made up of in order to be a
good driver, but it's idiotic to think the internal technology is simple.

~~~
drdaeman
Yes, exactly. I don't like analogies, but language and alphabet is a good one
here.

------
BinaryIdiot
Perhaps sign up and participate in the Launch Hackathon[1] at the end of the
week? Best case scenario you start your own company. Worst case scenario? You
have a fun time just sitting there crunching on a problem you're interested
in.

[1] [http://www.launchhackathon.com/](http://www.launchhackathon.com/)

~~~
miserable1980
How popular is this event? I signed up for it and was surprised by its format
(winning teams get investments). Any links to experiences from past events? We
should have a HN contingent :-p

~~~
BinaryIdiot
I've never participated in past launch festival things but it's my
understanding last year drew in about 1,000 developers for the hackathon which
distilled into teams (though not sure how many). It's certainly an interesting
event!

Also I feel like a vast majority of the people would have to be part of the HN
contingent, lol.

------
bjornlouser
> So, my most recent stint at Microsoft just didn't work out. The tech was
> cool, but the day-to-day workflow was tedious and torturous.

This sentiment will typically go unchallenged because we all know that
micromanagement is here to stay. Still, please do share the juicy bits that
led you to become dispirited.

