Advice on Hiring a Good Coder.
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Good afternoon, I need some advice. I have a growing company. I have been writing code for everything, and need to focus more on growing and manageing our business. So I need to hire someone who can manage all our IT stuff. But after a couple of interviews I think my expectations are too high. Is it simply that hard to get a VC++, MFC, Sql Server, Asp person? I have been told to go to colleges, job sites... offer lots of money, offer small amounts to start, then give bonuses. Any experienced advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! Scott! Put the big rocks in the glass jar first!
I think you are looking for the wrong skills. It sounds like you're looking for someone to replace you, thus you are looking for a clone of yourself. That may not be realistic, and more importantly, it may not be what your company needs. What you should be looking for is people that have proven track records with verifiable references. People will BS their ways into jobs, and then struggle for ages until it becomes obvious they can't handle it. You also need to look for someone that will fit into your company. Hiring someone with all the right qualifications, but with a different attitude can lead to just as many problems and/or conflits in which things just don't get done. When you say "manage all our IT stuff", do you mean as the only programmer in the company, or in someone that manages other programmers and programs themselves?
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Good afternoon, I need some advice. I have a growing company. I have been writing code for everything, and need to focus more on growing and manageing our business. So I need to hire someone who can manage all our IT stuff. But after a couple of interviews I think my expectations are too high. Is it simply that hard to get a VC++, MFC, Sql Server, Asp person? I have been told to go to colleges, job sites... offer lots of money, offer small amounts to start, then give bonuses. Any experienced advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! Scott! Put the big rocks in the glass jar first!
Hello, the codegurus around the world.;) I'm wondering that you are the person familiar with MFC, SQL Server and ASP at the same level? I think that basically, the high skill of VC++ doesn't need to learn SQL Server and ASP since these don't have the same concept of VC++, and he or she will get much money by VC++. (This person isn't me.) For example, if someone has the strong skill of both VC++ and SQL Server, is it really? I mean, in case of me, I focus heavily on improving my VC++ skill.:rolleyes: I don't waste my time to manage SQL Server and ASP if I know SQL Server and ASP. If someone has the strong skill of both SQL Server and ASP, I think that he or she has a skill of SQL Server or ASP, not both. But, Chris - the web master of Codeproject may have the same level of these three. :cool: Humm, actually, this may not be good opinion. :confused: Maybe, the person with the strong VC++ is better since he or she can learn SQL Server and ASP. (There is no gurantee that SQL Server Admin and ASP programmer write the VC++ code?) But, if the company wants to maintain SQL Server like the complicated database structure, SQL statement and so on, it needs the strong SQL Server Admin. Last, is anyone here familiar with VC++, SQL Server and ASP at the same level except Chris and Scott? :confused: Have a nice day! -Masaaki Onishi-
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Good afternoon, I need some advice. I have a growing company. I have been writing code for everything, and need to focus more on growing and manageing our business. So I need to hire someone who can manage all our IT stuff. But after a couple of interviews I think my expectations are too high. Is it simply that hard to get a VC++, MFC, Sql Server, Asp person? I have been told to go to colleges, job sites... offer lots of money, offer small amounts to start, then give bonuses. Any experienced advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! Scott! Put the big rocks in the glass jar first!
Where are you and how much are you paying ( and how hard can it be to learn ASP ) ? :) :) :) :) Christian The content of this post is not necessarily the opinion of my yadda yadda yadda. To understand recursion, we must first understand recursion.
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Hello, the codegurus around the world.;) I'm wondering that you are the person familiar with MFC, SQL Server and ASP at the same level? I think that basically, the high skill of VC++ doesn't need to learn SQL Server and ASP since these don't have the same concept of VC++, and he or she will get much money by VC++. (This person isn't me.) For example, if someone has the strong skill of both VC++ and SQL Server, is it really? I mean, in case of me, I focus heavily on improving my VC++ skill.:rolleyes: I don't waste my time to manage SQL Server and ASP if I know SQL Server and ASP. If someone has the strong skill of both SQL Server and ASP, I think that he or she has a skill of SQL Server or ASP, not both. But, Chris - the web master of Codeproject may have the same level of these three. :cool: Humm, actually, this may not be good opinion. :confused: Maybe, the person with the strong VC++ is better since he or she can learn SQL Server and ASP. (There is no gurantee that SQL Server Admin and ASP programmer write the VC++ code?) But, if the company wants to maintain SQL Server like the complicated database structure, SQL statement and so on, it needs the strong SQL Server Admin. Last, is anyone here familiar with VC++, SQL Server and ASP at the same level except Chris and Scott? :confused: Have a nice day! -Masaaki Onishi-
Thanks for the compliment Masaaki. I'm just bumbling along like everyone else ;). Check out the Poll results from a couple of weeks ago. The topic was 'Are programmers who know more than one language better developers than those who focus on only one?'. cheers, Chris Maunder
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Where are you and how much are you paying ( and how hard can it be to learn ASP ) ? :) :) :) :) Christian The content of this post is not necessarily the opinion of my yadda yadda yadda. To understand recursion, we must first understand recursion.
hahahaha :) --- "every year we invent better idiot proof systems and every year they invent better idiots"
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Good afternoon, I need some advice. I have a growing company. I have been writing code for everything, and need to focus more on growing and manageing our business. So I need to hire someone who can manage all our IT stuff. But after a couple of interviews I think my expectations are too high. Is it simply that hard to get a VC++, MFC, Sql Server, Asp person? I have been told to go to colleges, job sites... offer lots of money, offer small amounts to start, then give bonuses. Any experienced advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! Scott! Put the big rocks in the glass jar first!
1. What does your company do? 2. What are your IT needs? 3. What percentage (roughly speaking) of the system has already been done: (a) In code? (b) In your mind? 4. Would you have a problem for substantial rewrites? How much needs to be redesigned? Take a deep breath, release it slowly, and write down the percentage estimate that needs to be rewritten. Then multiply it by any prime number greater than ten to get your final answer :) 5. Are you sure you need just a coder? Is it going to be just bug-fixing? Or will it actually require some original problem-solving or new design work under the disguise of bug-fixing? 6. What is the quantum of work in mythical man-months (i.e. if you were to do it all by yourself). How much extra time are you willing to add to that, due to conversational (aka "communication" or "interface") costs? 7. What is your budget in dollar terms? When do you want it completed? How much time can you spare during initial ramp-up and later on? 8. Who would do QA? To what depth and extent? 9. Where are you located? What kind of talent is available locally? Etc.
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Where are you and how much are you paying ( and how hard can it be to learn ASP ) ? :) :) :) :) Christian The content of this post is not necessarily the opinion of my yadda yadda yadda. To understand recursion, we must first understand recursion.
and how hard can it be to learn ASP? It's not that hard, but it's hard to learn SQL-Server. At least if you want some decent performance, and scalability. It's also hard to learn databases. I mean, we can all make a database, but when they get really big and complicated it's not that easy (if you want performance :-)) - Anders
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Good afternoon, I need some advice. I have a growing company. I have been writing code for everything, and need to focus more on growing and manageing our business. So I need to hire someone who can manage all our IT stuff. But after a couple of interviews I think my expectations are too high. Is it simply that hard to get a VC++, MFC, Sql Server, Asp person? I have been told to go to colleges, job sites... offer lots of money, offer small amounts to start, then give bonuses. Any experienced advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! Scott! Put the big rocks in the glass jar first!
Face it, any one who is an expert in all three of those areas is already working. Your going to have to (GASP!) train someone. 1) Figure out which of the three skill sets is most important. 2) Find someone who seems to have had some success in that area. 3) Pay them twice what they are currently making, allow them to work at home if they like. 4) train them in the other areas. Simple. I would do it, but you would have to let me telecommute from Indiana :) Stan Shannon
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I have just the opposite problem. I have been a windows programmer for 12 years. I've been doing MFC/VC++ since it first came out. I have any number of successful, stable Windows applications to my credit. I have never worked for an unsuccessful company. Yet nearly two thirds of the companies I interview with dismiss me as a "weak" programmer. I don't have a clue what they are basing that on. Admittedly, I have not had the opportunity to do a lot of COM/ATL/JAVA etc and stumble over questions specific to those areas, but, geez, I think my track record should buy me more than it does. Although I am gainfully employed I would like to be a little more mobile professionally but find moving upward and onward more difficult than it should be. My advice to you is to not disqualify someone simply because they do not have EXACTLY the skill set you are looking for. If they have been successful at one area of programming, they will probably be successful at another. I mean, how long do you think it would take for someone who is an expert in VC++/MFC to learn ASP?
While readint his, I was beginning to think that some nefarious black-ops government agency had cloned me. Iget the same treatment. I'vee been programming for almost 20 years (some mainframe stuff (RPG, Cobol, and PL/1), self-taught in pascal, self-taught in C/C++/MFC, and have been doing C++/MFC for 9 years. I have very definite ideas about what the internet should/should not be used for, I know COM, but just enough to get by(and think it's an over-used technology), haven't been exposed to Java (because none of the work I have done has required it), and wonder what the big deal is about SOAP/XML/ASP. I've got some exposure to Windows sockets and SQL/databases, but really nothing more than learning what I need to do complete a given task. I can learn anything required, but nobody wants to go with that concept. It's getting tougher and tougher to appear knowledgeable, and all the companies are looking for the quick buck without any concern for employees (or future employees). I refuse to lie about my abilities to a perspective employer. A friend of mine has no problem with that tack though, and swears I should say "yes" whenever someone asks me if I know how to write in a language I haven't got a clue about. I reminded him of the people he hired that did that very thing, and reminded him of how long they lasted here. Believe it or not, I can't find a job here in San Antonio, and I've been looking since *November*. I can learn what I don't know, but I won't say I know it if I don't.
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Hello, the codegurus around the world.;) I'm wondering that you are the person familiar with MFC, SQL Server and ASP at the same level? I think that basically, the high skill of VC++ doesn't need to learn SQL Server and ASP since these don't have the same concept of VC++, and he or she will get much money by VC++. (This person isn't me.) For example, if someone has the strong skill of both VC++ and SQL Server, is it really? I mean, in case of me, I focus heavily on improving my VC++ skill.:rolleyes: I don't waste my time to manage SQL Server and ASP if I know SQL Server and ASP. If someone has the strong skill of both SQL Server and ASP, I think that he or she has a skill of SQL Server or ASP, not both. But, Chris - the web master of Codeproject may have the same level of these three. :cool: Humm, actually, this may not be good opinion. :confused: Maybe, the person with the strong VC++ is better since he or she can learn SQL Server and ASP. (There is no gurantee that SQL Server Admin and ASP programmer write the VC++ code?) But, if the company wants to maintain SQL Server like the complicated database structure, SQL statement and so on, it needs the strong SQL Server Admin. Last, is anyone here familiar with VC++, SQL Server and ASP at the same level except Chris and Scott? :confused: Have a nice day! -Masaaki Onishi-
Hi Masaaki. All three of the technologies that you mentioned above (VC++, SQL Server, and ASP), I have tought myself, and do consider my self pretty knowledgeable in them. The company that I work for is a financial firm in Portland, OR, USA, so my work consists of writing applications for internal use (data conversion, DB management, etc.). I use Visual Basic for any Windows applications that I write, but also use SQL Server and ASP for our Web Pages. While I don't use VC++ at work, I do use it on my personal projects (I like C++ for the same reason that I prefer a 5-speed to an automatic - CONTROL;) ). Anyway, have a great day, y'all. Jamie Nordmeyer Portland, Oregon, USA
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Good afternoon, I need some advice. I have a growing company. I have been writing code for everything, and need to focus more on growing and manageing our business. So I need to hire someone who can manage all our IT stuff. But after a couple of interviews I think my expectations are too high. Is it simply that hard to get a VC++, MFC, Sql Server, Asp person? I have been told to go to colleges, job sites... offer lots of money, offer small amounts to start, then give bonuses. Any experienced advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! Scott! Put the big rocks in the glass jar first!
VC++/MFC is by far the longest pole in your tent. It takes at least a year to really come up to speed on how to write good MFC apps, more to be really good at it. What I'd suggest is look for VC programmers. I can't imagine any good VC guy/gal would have trouble picking up ASP in short order. ASP you can learn from a book in no time. As far as "sql server", what do you mean by that? Do you want a database architech, a guy who can write MFC apps that connect and using a SQL server database, or a guy to administer the server? There are plenty of programmers who can both write MFC/COM/C++ apps and architech and implement databases. They all make top dollar and they are all happy where they are. If you can find and afford one, go for it. Much more common (and cheaper) are VC/MFC programmers who are familar with the basic principles of databases and know how to access a database from an Windows application. They not be qualified to setup and adminster a SQL server database. But none would have any trouble learning that vocational skill in short order. It would cost you around $10K to send a programmer to school for a couple of weeks to take the Microsoft SQL server courses. This is far less than what it will cost you to hire an employee who is experinced in both systems. This is what you should do. Heck, a lot of folks would jump at the chance to expand their skill set, and would take less initial pay. Thats my 2 cents. Jim
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While readint his, I was beginning to think that some nefarious black-ops government agency had cloned me. Iget the same treatment. I'vee been programming for almost 20 years (some mainframe stuff (RPG, Cobol, and PL/1), self-taught in pascal, self-taught in C/C++/MFC, and have been doing C++/MFC for 9 years. I have very definite ideas about what the internet should/should not be used for, I know COM, but just enough to get by(and think it's an over-used technology), haven't been exposed to Java (because none of the work I have done has required it), and wonder what the big deal is about SOAP/XML/ASP. I've got some exposure to Windows sockets and SQL/databases, but really nothing more than learning what I need to do complete a given task. I can learn anything required, but nobody wants to go with that concept. It's getting tougher and tougher to appear knowledgeable, and all the companies are looking for the quick buck without any concern for employees (or future employees). I refuse to lie about my abilities to a perspective employer. A friend of mine has no problem with that tack though, and swears I should say "yes" whenever someone asks me if I know how to write in a language I haven't got a clue about. I reminded him of the people he hired that did that very thing, and reminded him of how long they lasted here. Believe it or not, I can't find a job here in San Antonio, and I've been looking since *November*. I can learn what I don't know, but I won't say I know it if I don't.
Yeah, I think we have a lot in common. Actually, I'm thinking about putting every last penny into trying to start my own business. Win, lose or draw, its got to be better than spending the rest of my mortal existence taking crap off of the yahoos that control this industry.
