scottc's recent activity
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Comment on Quitting my job for the way of pain in ~life
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Comment on Quitting my job for the way of pain in ~life
scottc Link ParentI can relate. I work at a great company: tech sector, good benefits, never over 40 hrs/wk, etc. But the corporate BS is really starting to wear on me. For instance, I've been here nearly 7 years,...I can relate. I work at a great company: tech sector, good benefits, never over 40 hrs/wk, etc. But the corporate BS is really starting to wear on me. For instance, I've been here nearly 7 years, working on consumer facing code, and not a single one of the projects I've worked on have been released. It will always be finished "next year."
Management doesn't know what they want, but they know what they don't want. We have no guidance on what to implement, but management reviews always end in giant reworks. There is a lot of reverting to a prior rework, just to be re-reverted in a month. There have also been giant pivots where projects are effectively thrown away and started over. I've been through two of these, where 10 and 50 of person years have been thrown away (just on my team). I often feel like I've wasted years of my life working on meaningless things.
The kicker is that it's a very stable and profitable company. The graybeards tell me this is how it's always been. It's absurd that this seems to be the norm.
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Comment on Folks in those $100k+ jobs, corporate types, office workers... What would you say you actually do? in ~life
scottc LinkI'm a software engineer (aka software developer). I'm in a low cost of living area, so I'm not making crazy California levels of pay, but I'm making a lot for where I am (well over 100k USD plus...I'm a software engineer (aka software developer). I'm in a low cost of living area, so I'm not making crazy California levels of pay, but I'm making a lot for where I am (well over 100k USD plus stock grants). I spend most of my time writing code. I work on massive embedded projects, so everything moves at a snails pace. Deadlines are measured in years, so it's a very chill environment.
There's no way I'm working 4x as hard as a teacher. I'd say my work is more 1/4 as difficult as a teacher... or pretty much any service job. My wife used to work in education, and she'd bust her ass for less than half as what I earned as an intern.
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Comment on Waymo can now charge for robotaxi rides in LA and on San Francisco freeways in ~transport
scottc Link ParentI think they shouldn't have started in SF. I understand why: that's where a lot of bleeding edge tech companies are. However, from what I understand, the bay area has reasonable public...I think they shouldn't have started in SF. I understand why: that's where a lot of bleeding edge tech companies are. However, from what I understand, the bay area has reasonable public transportation and walkable areas, and it's dense and congested.
You know where none of that exists? The hellish car-centric landscape of Midwest suburbs. I live in the densest metro area in my state, and there is basically no practical public transportation (only buses, which take hours to go anywhere). There are few pedestrians because the area is not walkable (downright scary at times, many people no longer yield to pedestrians at crossing). Evil Knievel would not dare to ride a bicycle on the main streets here.
Unless we raze the suburbs and force millions to move into scarce and unaffordable city housing, we will need cars for the foreseeable future out here. This car free city thing just won't work in the Midwest suburb. SF might not want AVs, but we need something out here. Uber was a game changer for the suburbs. AVs could be a realistic alternative to car ownership in this car nightmare.
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Comment on Inside the strange, secretive rise of the 'overemployed' in ~life
scottc Link ParentI'll admit this situation isn't what the article is describing, but my company will terminate people for doing "similar" gig work (if they find out). So, if you are a software dev and do paid...I'll admit this situation isn't what the article is describing, but my company will terminate people for doing "similar" gig work (if they find out). So, if you are a software dev and do paid programming on the weekend, not even during business hours, you can get fired. I think that's super unfair, hence my bitterness with "at will" employment.
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Comment on Inside the strange, secretive rise of the 'overemployed' in ~life
scottc Link ParentUnfortunately, "at will" states will 100% terminate without a second thought.Unfortunately, "at will" states will 100% terminate without a second thought.
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Comment on Will US companies hire fewer engineers due to Section 174? in ~finance
scottc LinkI'm interested to know how other R&D positions are accounted for, and if this amortization is specifically for software development. For instance, would a mechanical engineer designing a car have...I'm interested to know how other R&D positions are accounted for, and if this amortization is specifically for software development. For instance, would a mechanical engineer designing a car have their labor costs amortized?
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Comment on Are credit card points ever worthwhile? in ~finance
scottc Link ParentI don't churn to this degree, but I will take advantage of introductory 1-year 0% APY offers and use it as a free loan on big and planned purchases. I'll treat it just like a loan and pay it off a...I don't churn to this degree, but I will take advantage of introductory 1-year 0% APY offers and use it as a free loan on big and planned purchases. I'll treat it just like a loan and pay it off a little each month.
Most cards that do this also offer a couple hundred dollars if you spend some amount in the first month. So, I'm getting paid to get a free loan. That's one heck of a deal. Try going to a bank and asking to get paid $200 for an unsecured loan!
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Comment on Any advice on handling being an engineer at a shrinking team? in ~life
scottc LinkHeads up that it's a terrible job market for software engineers now (Winter 2023). I attempted a job switch and found that companies are only looking for senior level unicorns. It was basically a...Heads up that it's a terrible job market for software engineers now (Winter 2023). I attempted a job switch and found that companies are only looking for senior level unicorns. It was basically a giant waste of my time and PTO.
It seems like in the 6 years since I last changed jobs, everyone lost their mind and started doing Google/Amazon style interviews. I was being given "big web" system design interviews for non-web positions. A C++ not web product company had me "code architect" a REST API in c++... like, for real?
What really got me was the complete lack of respect for my time. If you know you're only going to hire a silicon valley unicorn, don't drag everyone else through 5 hours of interviews. This is opposed to 6 years ago when I submitted 2 applications for jr positions at my top picks, got 2 interviews, and the interviews lasted 1 hour. I got 2 offers.
With this said, as long as you're getting paid, you may want to stick it out until the market changes. You may have better luck than me with your experience at a series A and if you are located in a better area (ie, California). The economy looks to be turning around, so maybe things will get better if a recession is really avoided.
I wouldn't worry about resume building too much because resumes don't get looked at by humans anymore. You pretty much have to game the resume system by putting the right keywords to get past the robot screeners. And by the time you get to interviews, they don't really care about your past projects unless they 100% align with their current stack.
Hopefully the software world will regain some sanity soon. Sorry if this turned into a big rant. Just know what you may be potentially getting into. It's rough on the mental health being rejected so much.
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Comment on In general, which laptop maker (OEM) provides the best compatibility for Linux desktops in terms of driver support and things like wifi, bluetooth, power efficiency, etc? in ~tech
scottc LinkI recently got a Framework 13 (Intel 13 gen), and Linux support is great. They have official support for a few distros. I use Ubuntu, and the only incompatibility issue I've run into is the screen...I recently got a Framework 13 (Intel 13 gen), and Linux support is great. They have official support for a few distros. I use Ubuntu, and the only incompatibility issue I've run into is the screen brightness function keys (strangely, the audio and other function keys work fine). Everything works fine with minimal tweaking (they have an easy-to-follow setup guide), and I've had amazing battery life without needing to follow their battery optimization guide.
I also loved their "bring your own" options because you can get SSDs and RAM significantly cheaper than what Framework sell them for. It really is super easy to work on these laptops.
The only downside is the wonky screen resolution. Things are too small at 100% scale, way too large at 200% scale, and Ubuntu doesn't really do fractional scaling well. My solution was to do 100% scale with "big font" accessibility.
I would recommend. It ended up being cheaper than System76 laptops with the "bring your own" options.
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Comment on What are you looking forward to right now? in ~talk
scottc Link ParentMy unsolicited advice: take those hills slow. Slower than you think. There's no shame if you need to walk up a hill. When I'm doing long runs during half marathon training (10 miles), I take hills...My unsolicited advice: take those hills slow. Slower than you think. There's no shame if you need to walk up a hill.
When I'm doing long runs during half marathon training (10 miles), I take hills at 13 or 14 minute/mile pace. It's not far off from speed walking, but I don't want to push into the red heart rate zone on a long run. Once you hit the red zone, it's very difficult to come back down.
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Comment on Fortnightly Programming Q&A Thread in ~comp
scottc Link ParentWhat you have is what most of our Python programs look like at my job. We use Python to process large sets of data, and we typically split functions into data access, engine, and controllers....What you have is what most of our Python programs look like at my job. We use Python to process large sets of data, and we typically split functions into data access, engine, and controllers. There's no reason to get bogged down in object oriented design in Python, which can be hard to get used to if you started in the OO world.
I would be happy with your design if I saw it in a review. The most important thing for maintainable code is separation of concerns and encapsulation, which it looks like you have.
The other side of my job is embedded C, so we think very procedurally, which influences our Python.
I suppose I stay motivated because I'm being paid above the threshold that would actually make me quit. I've worked a few other places (non tech corporate) and know how bad it can get. I also see the crap jobs and pay friends and family have. I recognize that I have a very good thing going on, regardless of corporate BS.
If the job market was better, I'd be gone. My threshold for BS interviews and grinding leet code is 0... So I keep coasting. I'm definitely often having existential crisis, and I talk about finding a new job every week (my wife can back me up on this).
Imo, a great way to see how good we have it in software and IT is to watch "How it's Made". Working manufacturing looks horrible... At least I'm not placing widgets in a tray for 8 hours a day.