Please tell me not all programming jobs are like this.
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If you are a permie, that's bad... On the other hand, for a Contractor, a job like that is just Gravy - you can get paid for doing what you want, when you want to, and blame everyone else for not providing the information you need to do the job. Best of all, if it doesn't work at the end because the internal format is sufficiently arcane, you can just say "why didn't you tell me that at some point?" and start all over again...on the same pay scale... ;)
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So, I was interviewed for a job, and during the interview they didn't seem to want to say too much about what they actually did or what the job would be like. Made me suspicious, but also curious, and since I didn't really have anything better to do.. I just witnessed the most enterprisey piece of I don't even know what to call it. It's the sort of thing that requires 5 years of training just to use it, let alone modify the code. They briefly expected me to just get started on it, fortunately they quickly abandoned that plan. Instead, they want me to create something that converts some arcane XML format (CAMT053) to an undocumented XML format they use internally. Ok, sure, arcane to undocumented, perfectly doable, given enough time. But not worth doing. Frankly I'm getting ready to leave the profession entirely.
"...they want me to create something that converts some arcane XML format (CAMT053) to an undocumented XML format they use internally." XSLT: http://www.w3schools.com/xsl/[^]
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I'm out. Not out of programming, of course. Programming is fun. Out of programming professionally, which is, apparently, the most boring thing on earth. The reason I went into programming in the first place, about ten years ago, is for the interesting problems. So if all everyone's doing is converting stupid XML formats and the like, it's just not the right profession for me. I don't get how you guys can stand that crap.
"I'm out." Most programming jobs aren't like this. I speak from experience.
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Ever heard the phrase "Feet, do your duty!" ?
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"...they want me to create something that converts some arcane XML format (CAMT053) to an undocumented XML format they use internally." XSLT: http://www.w3schools.com/xsl/[^]
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So, I was interviewed for a job, and during the interview they didn't seem to want to say too much about what they actually did or what the job would be like. Made me suspicious, but also curious, and since I didn't really have anything better to do.. I just witnessed the most enterprisey piece of I don't even know what to call it. It's the sort of thing that requires 5 years of training just to use it, let alone modify the code. They briefly expected me to just get started on it, fortunately they quickly abandoned that plan. Instead, they want me to create something that converts some arcane XML format (CAMT053) to an undocumented XML format they use internally. Ok, sure, arcane to undocumented, perfectly doable, given enough time. But not worth doing. Frankly I'm getting ready to leave the profession entirely.
Document the format then create some XSLT transformations, personally, I have done something like this before and is boring as hell, but it's perfectly doable.
CEO at: - Rafaga Systems - Para Facturas - Modern Components for the moment...
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So, I was interviewed for a job, and during the interview they didn't seem to want to say too much about what they actually did or what the job would be like. Made me suspicious, but also curious, and since I didn't really have anything better to do.. I just witnessed the most enterprisey piece of I don't even know what to call it. It's the sort of thing that requires 5 years of training just to use it, let alone modify the code. They briefly expected me to just get started on it, fortunately they quickly abandoned that plan. Instead, they want me to create something that converts some arcane XML format (CAMT053) to an undocumented XML format they use internally. Ok, sure, arcane to undocumented, perfectly doable, given enough time. But not worth doing. Frankly I'm getting ready to leave the profession entirely.
--Instead, they want me to create something that converts some arcane XML format (CAMT053) to an undocumented XML format they use internally. Ok, sure, arcane to undocumented, perfectly doable, given enough time. Given enough time? It should take only minutes. What you're describing is a XSLT...a transformation from one XML format to another XML format. XSLT does precisely that. Oh...and now you can demand the internal format....if it's wrong...change the XSLT config and you're done.
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that would be quite unethical wouldn't you agree
No, I wouldn't. If you hire someone at an hourly (or daily, or weekly) rate, and give him insufficient information to produce exactly what you want, then it is your fault that what he produces is not what you wanted. The alternative is for him to sit on his hands until you do provide the information while you pay him, and that is unethical - particularly if he doesn't know the info even exists.
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"I'm out." Most programming jobs aren't like this. I speak from experience.
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Ever heard the phrase "Feet, do your duty!" ?
I always heard it as, "Feets don't fail me now!"
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IMHO you'll find more variation in programming jobs than in other professions because computers intersect just about every technology, and just about every human endeavor. I've worked on: A computer-vision system for NASA that plots a trajectory and firing to dock with a satellite based on snapshots of the satellite, a robot dog, DNA analysis to find divergence of species during evolution, using genetic algorithms to "evolve" designs for computer systems, schedules for nurses, and stock-market strategies, image processing and analysis for a variety of inspection systems, expert systems for design and for diagnosis of diseases, and data mining. And these are just some of the more interesting applications. I think a good math background will prepare you for the more-interesting software jobs.
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I always heard it as, "Feets don't fail me now!"
Robert Ludwig wrote:
I always heard it as, "Feets don't fail me now!"
Heh... either way, this is a situation that you need to run, not walk out of. No, not all programming jobs are this way but this is sure one that you don't wanna stick around for!
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IMHO you'll find more variation in programming jobs than in other professions because computers intersect just about every technology, and just about every human endeavor. I've worked on: A computer-vision system for NASA that plots a trajectory and firing to dock with a satellite based on snapshots of the satellite, a robot dog, DNA analysis to find divergence of species during evolution, using genetic algorithms to "evolve" designs for computer systems, schedules for nurses, and stock-market strategies, image processing and analysis for a variety of inspection systems, expert systems for design and for diagnosis of diseases, and data mining. And these are just some of the more interesting applications. I think a good math background will prepare you for the more-interesting software jobs.
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So, I was interviewed for a job, and during the interview they didn't seem to want to say too much about what they actually did or what the job would be like. Made me suspicious, but also curious, and since I didn't really have anything better to do.. I just witnessed the most enterprisey piece of I don't even know what to call it. It's the sort of thing that requires 5 years of training just to use it, let alone modify the code. They briefly expected me to just get started on it, fortunately they quickly abandoned that plan. Instead, they want me to create something that converts some arcane XML format (CAMT053) to an undocumented XML format they use internally. Ok, sure, arcane to undocumented, perfectly doable, given enough time. But not worth doing. Frankly I'm getting ready to leave the profession entirely.
It sounds like most of the respondees are reading into your description, that the politics and the personalities are the issue. But reading your actual description you really are just saying that the task just doesn't seem to you like it's worth doing. So you are saying that you don't see the value of converting from one XML schema to another one. On the other hand you did just start there and have little background on the importance or usefulness of it. In addition, sometimes when you start out, as an intern, guess what: you get to do the boring stuff that others don't feel like doing. If you really are thinking about quitting the profession just because you are given a task that you feel is beneath you as an intern. Then by all means do so, because it seems you picked the wrong profession (but I doubt you will find the situation is much different in other fields). On the other hand if it is, as others were reading into your comments, that the actual problem is a caustic and unworkable environment and personalities, then it might make sense to move on. Although learning how to make things work in spite of the personalities involved is still something you would have to figure out at some point.
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The ads for the interesting jobs never gave a clue how interesting they were. I got a lot of them through word of mouth; get a reputation as an excellent programmer and leads will appear. Computer Science, like Mathematics, is really many different related fields. Master the most general and powerful areas in both so that when an opportunity arises, you'll be able to come up with innovative and powerful solutions.
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So, I was interviewed for a job, and during the interview they didn't seem to want to say too much about what they actually did or what the job would be like. Made me suspicious, but also curious, and since I didn't really have anything better to do.. I just witnessed the most enterprisey piece of I don't even know what to call it. It's the sort of thing that requires 5 years of training just to use it, let alone modify the code. They briefly expected me to just get started on it, fortunately they quickly abandoned that plan. Instead, they want me to create something that converts some arcane XML format (CAMT053) to an undocumented XML format they use internally. Ok, sure, arcane to undocumented, perfectly doable, given enough time. But not worth doing. Frankly I'm getting ready to leave the profession entirely.
Sounds like a good time to practice your documentation skills. Tell them that such a project can't be started until the XML to be converted into is fully documented so the two can be mapped for the conversion, which is perfectly true. That gets you time and a paycheck to looks for something better, plus you can add that onto your resume to show you accomplished something while there. A good workplace will respect that you can do documentation. A place that doesn't is not a good place to work.
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I'm out. Not out of programming, of course. Programming is fun. Out of programming professionally, which is, apparently, the most boring thing on earth. The reason I went into programming in the first place, about ten years ago, is for the interesting problems. So if all everyone's doing is converting stupid XML formats and the like, it's just not the right profession for me. I don't get how you guys can stand that crap.
harold aptroot wrote:
Not out of programming, of course. Programming is fun. Out of programming professionally, which is, apparently, the most boring thing on earth.
If this is really how you feel and you aren't just having a bad moment, then you may be making the right decision, because you won't be successful at professional programming with that attitude. Pretty much all of us with experience have cut our teeth on uninteresting projects. You're lucky that your problem is just having a boring task to do. My first project was to automate an internal build system written by one of the other programmers, who was in hot water because he kept working on it but never finished and it kept having issues (like, taking eight hours to traverse a build tree in the most ridiculous way possible, when it should have taken five minutes). What made things interesting is that he covered his butt by telling management that he'd given me the source code, but then he refused to give me necessary assemblies that only existed on his box and weren't in source control (so no one but him could really work on it, he was pissed that management was having a new guy come in to clean up his mess). So it was an impossible situation politically, completely aside from any technical problems. I couldn't even build any changes, and he was telling management I wasn't getting anywhere because I wasn't good enough to understand his code (said code was unimpressive). I thought it was going to cost me my job, but I ended up being moved to a different department, where I was immediately assigned the task of generating complex tax forms from an undocumented database I knew nothing about. Which was great, because at least no one was standing in my way and I was able to get it done, and move on to other projects like moving large amounts of money through a rickety Rube Goldberg contraption, exciting! But when I finally left that job I had a lot of valuable, marketable experience. If you really can't handle boring projects, then you sure aren't going to like the tedious-but-terrifying projects that all programmers end up doing now and again. Even senior programmers don't get to choose to only work on projects they are interested in, I've seen some try and only succeed in hurting their reputations with management. Just keep in mind that leaving the profession is likely a permanent decision. Once you've been out a few years with no real-world experience, it's going to be hard to
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harold aptroot wrote:
Not out of programming, of course. Programming is fun. Out of programming professionally, which is, apparently, the most boring thing on earth.
If this is really how you feel and you aren't just having a bad moment, then you may be making the right decision, because you won't be successful at professional programming with that attitude. Pretty much all of us with experience have cut our teeth on uninteresting projects. You're lucky that your problem is just having a boring task to do. My first project was to automate an internal build system written by one of the other programmers, who was in hot water because he kept working on it but never finished and it kept having issues (like, taking eight hours to traverse a build tree in the most ridiculous way possible, when it should have taken five minutes). What made things interesting is that he covered his butt by telling management that he'd given me the source code, but then he refused to give me necessary assemblies that only existed on his box and weren't in source control (so no one but him could really work on it, he was pissed that management was having a new guy come in to clean up his mess). So it was an impossible situation politically, completely aside from any technical problems. I couldn't even build any changes, and he was telling management I wasn't getting anywhere because I wasn't good enough to understand his code (said code was unimpressive). I thought it was going to cost me my job, but I ended up being moved to a different department, where I was immediately assigned the task of generating complex tax forms from an undocumented database I knew nothing about. Which was great, because at least no one was standing in my way and I was able to get it done, and move on to other projects like moving large amounts of money through a rickety Rube Goldberg contraption, exciting! But when I finally left that job I had a lot of valuable, marketable experience. If you really can't handle boring projects, then you sure aren't going to like the tedious-but-terrifying projects that all programmers end up doing now and again. Even senior programmers don't get to choose to only work on projects they are interested in, I've seen some try and only succeed in hurting their reputations with management. Just keep in mind that leaving the profession is likely a permanent decision. Once you've been out a few years with no real-world experience, it's going to be hard to
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Why would I want back in anyway? I'm not sure what you guys are trying to tell me, but the message I take away from it is that programmer is a worse job than being unemployed.
Well, once you get to a certain level of experience programming pays fairly well, and it tends to be a secure job if you make yourself valuable. To me that's a hell of a lot better than being unemployed. There are no perfect jobs out there. People with dream jobs usually have connections and spent a while getting there and got lucky to boot, and it's still not perfect. Most professional jobs are like this, not just programming. That's why they have to pay us. I hate to say it, but unless there is more to this than you're saying then it really sounds like you have an unrealistic sense of entitlement. If you feel that writing an XML conversion script is beneath you as a programming intern, then you aren't likely to find a job in any field that lives up to your expectations.
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Well, once you get to a certain level of experience programming pays fairly well, and it tends to be a secure job if you make yourself valuable. To me that's a hell of a lot better than being unemployed. There are no perfect jobs out there. People with dream jobs usually have connections and spent a while getting there and got lucky to boot, and it's still not perfect. Most professional jobs are like this, not just programming. That's why they have to pay us. I hate to say it, but unless there is more to this than you're saying then it really sounds like you have an unrealistic sense of entitlement. If you feel that writing an XML conversion script is beneath you as a programming intern, then you aren't likely to find a job in any field that lives up to your expectations.
StatementTerminator wrote:
unrealistic sense of entitlement
That seems to be the general opinion. I prefer to see it as standing up for myself. Unemployed is actually a pretty decent job, by the way. It is the most secure job - you can't really lose it except on purpose. And you can make yourself infinitely more valuable than you can by creating XML converters. The pay isn't great, of course, but who cares. It really didn't have to be a dream job. It only had to be something that doesn't make me want to kill myself.
