Losing and regaining the passion...
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Jeremy Falcon wrote:
has anyone else found themselves jaded for a period while the industry finds itself, yet to only realize that as people we are right where we are meant to be?
Not for me. I just focus on the task in front of me and enjoy myself. :) Having been doing this stuff since slightly before personal computers existed, I gave up worrying about what the industry as a whole was doing, mainly because it's always going the wrong direction according to me, but always ends up someplace cool and interesting enough that I'm glad to be along for the ride.
I live in Oregon, and I'm an engineer.
patbob wrote:
I just focus on the task in front of me and enjoy myself.
Take it to the soapbox! ;) Marc
Latest Article - Create a Dockerized Python Fiddle Web App Learning to code with python is like learning to swim with those little arm floaties. It gives you undeserved confidence and will eventually drown you. - DangerBunny Artificial intelligence is the only remedy for natural stupidity. - CDP1802
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I still have no clue what you're talking about. Tech is running the world, so how can it be nothing but BS?
There are two kinds of people in the world: those who can extrapolate from incomplete data. There are only 10 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't.
RyanDev wrote:
Tech is running the world, so how can it be nothing but BS?
My take on that is that more often than not, tech creates a solution for a problem that didn't exist, except in the mind of some penny pincher or stock holder. Does an automated answering system where you have to go through 5 layers of options improve talking to a live person from the get go? Hell no. Does all the record keeping and analysis that goes on behind the scenes improve your auto insurance coverage? From what I've seen, no, all it does is make insurance more expensive by adding layers of services and bureaucracies that people don't know about, like your policy rates going up if you have a low credit score. Does Facebook and Twitter actually improve the quality of people's lives? Everyone credits the Arab Spring to tech like instant messaging, and look where the Arab Spring is now. Has tech actually improved the quality of care we get from doctors? Maybe, but maybe not, what with, for example, the 6 visit "results based" requirements in mental health services based on filling out computerized forms that in no way capture the real issues. Of course, for every example, there is a counter example. I know a lot more about drug side effects, astronomy, physics, etc., because I can look the things up and get informative answers. But let's not forget that all this tech we're creating is accessible to a small % of the world population that has bigger problems than checking their Facebook wall. Marc
Latest Article - Create a Dockerized Python Fiddle Web App Learning to code with python is like learning to swim with those little arm floaties. It gives you undeserved confidence and will eventually drown you. - DangerBunny Artificial intelligence is the only remedy for natural stupidity. - CDP1802
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I think it's great, while the young ones are stuck in their mobile phone world I prefer getting into the real world - there's still some beautiful sights out there that are far better in real life than on a 4" screen in your hand - and if there's no young jerks out there spoiling it all the better. Sure I still use tech for work, and it helps fill some evenings (seeing as TV has 100% gone to shit except of course when good sports are on) but any chance to leave tech behind for a while is always worth taking. Still haven't turned on my mobile data back on since coming back from a weekend away some while ago. (Coz when I'm roaming, the data isn't invited along - even if it's just across the road for a coffee.)
Sin tack the any key okay
Some of the brightest coworkers I've met have also realized this. Tech is our future, but too much of it can be destructive. We're still people and not machines. So a healthy balance must be found. Totally agree with most TV programming by the way. Maybe we're just getting old, but still I have to wonder what programming will be like a 1,000 years from now. Maybe we'll just skip the whole TV process and start giving people lethargy shots directly. So we can expedite the process of doing nothing.
Jeremy Falcon
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"You're welcome?" :^)
There are two kinds of people in the world: those who can extrapolate from incomplete data. There are only 10 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't.
:laugh:
Jeremy Falcon
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RyanDev wrote:
Tech is running the world, so how can it be nothing but BS?
My take on that is that more often than not, tech creates a solution for a problem that didn't exist, except in the mind of some penny pincher or stock holder. Does an automated answering system where you have to go through 5 layers of options improve talking to a live person from the get go? Hell no. Does all the record keeping and analysis that goes on behind the scenes improve your auto insurance coverage? From what I've seen, no, all it does is make insurance more expensive by adding layers of services and bureaucracies that people don't know about, like your policy rates going up if you have a low credit score. Does Facebook and Twitter actually improve the quality of people's lives? Everyone credits the Arab Spring to tech like instant messaging, and look where the Arab Spring is now. Has tech actually improved the quality of care we get from doctors? Maybe, but maybe not, what with, for example, the 6 visit "results based" requirements in mental health services based on filling out computerized forms that in no way capture the real issues. Of course, for every example, there is a counter example. I know a lot more about drug side effects, astronomy, physics, etc., because I can look the things up and get informative answers. But let's not forget that all this tech we're creating is accessible to a small % of the world population that has bigger problems than checking their Facebook wall. Marc
Latest Article - Create a Dockerized Python Fiddle Web App Learning to code with python is like learning to swim with those little arm floaties. It gives you undeserved confidence and will eventually drown you. - DangerBunny Artificial intelligence is the only remedy for natural stupidity. - CDP1802
This is why I like you Marc. You're smart. Just don't tell anyone. It'll be a cold day in hell before you hear that from me. :rolleyes:
Jeremy Falcon
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Which is why I put "agile" in quotes, and my parenthetic comments made this pretty clear too. Thanks for taking time to point out the obvious though :)
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I have a question for the old timers. The youngins won't understand this unless they've lived a pass life they recall. Anyway, y'all ever get jaded with the technology industry? Just sick and tired of it all? The buzz words. The fact 99% of the industry is BS. PHBs. The acronyms for that matter. The fact that we've all probably lost hair due to our work. Not so much the actual tech, but the relatively young industry that grew up around it. And yet, we do this because we're creators. Programmers are some of the few I've seen will to do whatever it takes to get the job done. Sometimes out of fear of being fired from poor management but sometimes it's out of passion and love for the work of creating. You don't really see that type of passion in most industries. It's so ingrained in tech in fact, I think the industry counts on it. The industry is spoiled by it. And despite this. There really isn't much else we'd rather do. Think about it. We're the future. Technology is taking over the world. Knowing what you're doing with your life, would any old timer rather be a lawyer that doesn't know much about tech? As a whole, we're changing the planet. When I see people like Elon Musk, well that dude is a programmer. He's changing the world. I think it's hard to imagine a life better spent than one helping humanity take the next step. Not every job gets to do that in their tiny way. So has anyone else found themselves jaded for a period while the industry finds itself, yet to only realize that as people we are right where we are meant to be?
Jeremy Falcon
Yes.
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Yes.
Well said. :laugh:
Jeremy Falcon
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Some of the brightest coworkers I've met have also realized this. Tech is our future, but too much of it can be destructive. We're still people and not machines. So a healthy balance must be found. Totally agree with most TV programming by the way. Maybe we're just getting old, but still I have to wonder what programming will be like a 1,000 years from now. Maybe we'll just skip the whole TV process and start giving people lethargy shots directly. So we can expedite the process of doing nothing.
Jeremy Falcon
Jeremy Falcon wrote:
still I have to wonder what programming will be like a 1,000 years from now
It'll all be done by AI and tech will be implanted in everyone so you can never escape. Of course the cheapskates on free microsoft implants will spend 58 minutes of every hour frozen in place while updates are installed and 'telemetry' is sucked out of them as adverts are played
Sin tack the any key okay
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"agile" as a practitioner (willing or not) is that considered an oxymoron, irony, or both? OTOH: when you work for yourself "agile," as per the proper definition, becomes a way of life (100% without meetings ....)
Sin tack the any key okay
Everything in agile is badly named. "Agile" - great, you mean we get the work done only quicker? Ok guys we're going agile! Here's the go-live date, don't write any code until it's all documented first, we don't have time to test things and we'll let technical debt build up because we will put no insentiveves in place to get things "done". Wow, I love this agile stuff...better quality faster and all we need to do is have a 5 minute meeting in the morning! "Velocity" - great, that must be an absolute metric of performance. Right, how can we increase velocity? Let's forget about quality and working software being the measure of success, I want velocity to be the measure of success because more velocity means more better, right?
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RyanDev wrote:
Tech is running the world, so how can it be nothing but BS?
My take on that is that more often than not, tech creates a solution for a problem that didn't exist, except in the mind of some penny pincher or stock holder. Does an automated answering system where you have to go through 5 layers of options improve talking to a live person from the get go? Hell no. Does all the record keeping and analysis that goes on behind the scenes improve your auto insurance coverage? From what I've seen, no, all it does is make insurance more expensive by adding layers of services and bureaucracies that people don't know about, like your policy rates going up if you have a low credit score. Does Facebook and Twitter actually improve the quality of people's lives? Everyone credits the Arab Spring to tech like instant messaging, and look where the Arab Spring is now. Has tech actually improved the quality of care we get from doctors? Maybe, but maybe not, what with, for example, the 6 visit "results based" requirements in mental health services based on filling out computerized forms that in no way capture the real issues. Of course, for every example, there is a counter example. I know a lot more about drug side effects, astronomy, physics, etc., because I can look the things up and get informative answers. But let's not forget that all this tech we're creating is accessible to a small % of the world population that has bigger problems than checking their Facebook wall. Marc
Latest Article - Create a Dockerized Python Fiddle Web App Learning to code with python is like learning to swim with those little arm floaties. It gives you undeserved confidence and will eventually drown you. - DangerBunny Artificial intelligence is the only remedy for natural stupidity. - CDP1802
Marc Clifton wrote:
Does Facebook and Twitter actually improve the quality of people's lives?
Not generally. :thumbsup:
There are two kinds of people in the world: those who can extrapolate from incomplete data. There are only 10 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't.
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Jeremy Falcon wrote:
still I have to wonder what programming will be like a 1,000 years from now
It'll all be done by AI and tech will be implanted in everyone so you can never escape. Of course the cheapskates on free microsoft implants will spend 58 minutes of every hour frozen in place while updates are installed and 'telemetry' is sucked out of them as adverts are played
Sin tack the any key okay
Oh by that I meant TV programming. I suspect it'll be something like 99% ads and 1% content.
Jeremy Falcon
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I have a question for the old timers. The youngins won't understand this unless they've lived a pass life they recall. Anyway, y'all ever get jaded with the technology industry? Just sick and tired of it all? The buzz words. The fact 99% of the industry is BS. PHBs. The acronyms for that matter. The fact that we've all probably lost hair due to our work. Not so much the actual tech, but the relatively young industry that grew up around it. And yet, we do this because we're creators. Programmers are some of the few I've seen will to do whatever it takes to get the job done. Sometimes out of fear of being fired from poor management but sometimes it's out of passion and love for the work of creating. You don't really see that type of passion in most industries. It's so ingrained in tech in fact, I think the industry counts on it. The industry is spoiled by it. And despite this. There really isn't much else we'd rather do. Think about it. We're the future. Technology is taking over the world. Knowing what you're doing with your life, would any old timer rather be a lawyer that doesn't know much about tech? As a whole, we're changing the planet. When I see people like Elon Musk, well that dude is a programmer. He's changing the world. I think it's hard to imagine a life better spent than one helping humanity take the next step. Not every job gets to do that in their tiny way. So has anyone else found themselves jaded for a period while the industry finds itself, yet to only realize that as people we are right where we are meant to be?
Jeremy Falcon
Jeremy Falcon wrote:
You don't really see that type of passion in most industries.
Actually, I do. I know doctors and nurses that are incredibly passionate about their work. I play poker with guys that run their own construction companies, write editorials for news journals, work for drug companies, etc., and they all love their work. I know a lawyer that is passionate about their work in legal representation for women. They are all involved in "creating", whether it's a deck, an informative article, better medicine, better human conditions.
Jeremy Falcon wrote:
As a whole, we're changing the planet.
With little ethics applied to those changes. ;)
Jeremy Falcon wrote:
So has anyone else found themselves jaded for a period while the industry finds itself, yet to only realize that as people we are right where we are meant to be?
Yes, but then again, the industry is always finding itself, and whatever flash in the pan it finds itself in at the moment is often not one that I'm eager to partake in. That was the case when I was in my 20's, and is so in my 50's now as well. Actually, tech has itself made the flash-in-the-pan effect worse. I don't know if I would go so far as to say we are right where we are meant to be. Literally where am I sitting right now (cubicle, insurance company) there are people around me that are doing what they are doing for the paycheck and nothing more. It's frustrating to be mostly surrounded by people that have passion only for the paycheck. Personally, having gone through a soul searching process a few years back, I came to various conclusions that work for me: 1. I'm better off if I ignore the industry, do what I'm passionate about doing, and look at the industry for "has it done anything useful that I can take advantage of?" 2. balance that with the reality that sometimes I have to do something I have no passion for because, yes, I need the paycheck too. 3. balance that with recognizing that the tech is irrelevant, and what I have passion for and what makes life worthwhile is the interactions with the people. Real interactions, not IM's, emails, Slack chats, etc. Interacting with tech ultimately is a rather hollow experience. 4. balance my enthusiasm for hollow tech by writing articles to touch people's lives. Thank goodness for tech so that I can do that! And the whole t
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Jaded? Yes. There are times I just want to switch a totally different profession, but I have been ddoing this for so long everything else I was profficient in (chemistry, mathematics, statistics) I am no longer up-to-date. For several years I have had a yen to learn bartending - when I retire and move to the Dominican Republic (my wife was born there), I will open a bar on the beach. I may be looking for bouncers, live music acts and patrons :-D
A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, navigate a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects! - Lazarus Long
I feel very similar. My job skills are very conducive to my current employer and I want to be challenged, yet I'm not overly motivated to chase every new technology; I have become content. I'm also am seriously thinking of retiring early, like in the next 3 to 8 years, and cannot decide if I want reinvent myself again in my future homeland or call it a day.
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Jeremy Falcon wrote:
You don't really see that type of passion in most industries.
Actually, I do. I know doctors and nurses that are incredibly passionate about their work. I play poker with guys that run their own construction companies, write editorials for news journals, work for drug companies, etc., and they all love their work. I know a lawyer that is passionate about their work in legal representation for women. They are all involved in "creating", whether it's a deck, an informative article, better medicine, better human conditions.
Jeremy Falcon wrote:
As a whole, we're changing the planet.
With little ethics applied to those changes. ;)
Jeremy Falcon wrote:
So has anyone else found themselves jaded for a period while the industry finds itself, yet to only realize that as people we are right where we are meant to be?
Yes, but then again, the industry is always finding itself, and whatever flash in the pan it finds itself in at the moment is often not one that I'm eager to partake in. That was the case when I was in my 20's, and is so in my 50's now as well. Actually, tech has itself made the flash-in-the-pan effect worse. I don't know if I would go so far as to say we are right where we are meant to be. Literally where am I sitting right now (cubicle, insurance company) there are people around me that are doing what they are doing for the paycheck and nothing more. It's frustrating to be mostly surrounded by people that have passion only for the paycheck. Personally, having gone through a soul searching process a few years back, I came to various conclusions that work for me: 1. I'm better off if I ignore the industry, do what I'm passionate about doing, and look at the industry for "has it done anything useful that I can take advantage of?" 2. balance that with the reality that sometimes I have to do something I have no passion for because, yes, I need the paycheck too. 3. balance that with recognizing that the tech is irrelevant, and what I have passion for and what makes life worthwhile is the interactions with the people. Real interactions, not IM's, emails, Slack chats, etc. Interacting with tech ultimately is a rather hollow experience. 4. balance my enthusiasm for hollow tech by writing articles to touch people's lives. Thank goodness for tech so that I can do that! And the whole t
Marc Clifton wrote:
Actually, I do. I know doctors and nurses that are incredibly passionate about their work. I play poker with guys that run their own construction companies, write editorials for news journals, work for drug companies, etc., and they all love their work. I know a lawyer that is passionate about their work in legal representation for women. They are all involved in "creating", whether it's a deck, an informative article, better medicine, better human conditions.
Marc, why are you trying to ruin my points with reason and logic? :-D
Marc Clifton wrote:
Yes, but then again, the industry is always finding itself, and whatever flash in the pan it finds itself in at the moment is often not one that I'm eager to partake in. That was the case when I was in my 20's, and is so in my 50's now as well. Actually, tech has itself made the flash-in-the-pan effect worse.
I went through that same phase. I'm still going through it. Current industry in any field has done more to dehumanize us than anything I can think of. People aren't aware of their instincts or senses anymore. It's like we're turning into machines that barely think under the illusion we think because we are in our heads. Which isn't always really thinking. Not to sound doom and gloom, but something should be done to change this. We're still humans - for now.
Marc Clifton wrote:
I don't know if I would go so far as to say we are right where we are meant to be. Literally where am I sitting right now (cubicle, insurance company) there are people around me that are doing what they are doing for the paycheck and nothing more. It's frustrating to be mostly surrounded by people that have passion only for the paycheck.
But we are man. We're always where we are meant to be. Every choice we've made in life put us exactly where we are. And our choices dictate exactly where we are meant to be. Once that's accepted it's pretty liberating actually. Because we can always choose something else.
Marc Clifton wrote:
Personally, having gone through a soul searching process a few years back
That's part of the wisdom that comes with introspection and aging and seeing and experiencing more of life I believe. Glad you did it man.
Marc Clifton wrote:
- I'm better off if I ignore
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I have a question for the old timers. The youngins won't understand this unless they've lived a pass life they recall. Anyway, y'all ever get jaded with the technology industry? Just sick and tired of it all? The buzz words. The fact 99% of the industry is BS. PHBs. The acronyms for that matter. The fact that we've all probably lost hair due to our work. Not so much the actual tech, but the relatively young industry that grew up around it. And yet, we do this because we're creators. Programmers are some of the few I've seen will to do whatever it takes to get the job done. Sometimes out of fear of being fired from poor management but sometimes it's out of passion and love for the work of creating. You don't really see that type of passion in most industries. It's so ingrained in tech in fact, I think the industry counts on it. The industry is spoiled by it. And despite this. There really isn't much else we'd rather do. Think about it. We're the future. Technology is taking over the world. Knowing what you're doing with your life, would any old timer rather be a lawyer that doesn't know much about tech? As a whole, we're changing the planet. When I see people like Elon Musk, well that dude is a programmer. He's changing the world. I think it's hard to imagine a life better spent than one helping humanity take the next step. Not every job gets to do that in their tiny way. So has anyone else found themselves jaded for a period while the industry finds itself, yet to only realize that as people we are right where we are meant to be?
Jeremy Falcon
It seems like Marc has written most of my post already, much better than what I could've done. Just like with code. :sigh: Anyway, in my experience it isn't what you do that is the problem, it's who you do it with/for. I suspect you would be better off swapping employer. I did that a year and a bit ago, it is one of the best things I've done.
Wrong is evil and must be defeated. - Jeff Ello
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It seems like Marc has written most of my post already, much better than what I could've done. Just like with code. :sigh: Anyway, in my experience it isn't what you do that is the problem, it's who you do it with/for. I suspect you would be better off swapping employer. I did that a year and a bit ago, it is one of the best things I've done.
Wrong is evil and must be defeated. - Jeff Ello
Jörgen Andersson wrote:
Anyway, in my experience it isn't what you do that is the problem, it's who you do it with/for.
Slowly but surely I'm starting to realize this too. I know when I've hired people I cared much less about things like degrees than way more about personality and desire to do good work. I believe knowing tech tidbit that anyone can Google is even secondary to that.
Jörgen Andersson wrote:
I suspect you would be better off swapping employer.
Funny you should mention that. It's exactly what I'm doing. Yay.
Jörgen Andersson wrote:
I did that a year and a bit ago, it is one of the best things I've done.
Glad it worked out for you man. That's awesome.
Jeremy Falcon
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I have a question for the old timers. The youngins won't understand this unless they've lived a pass life they recall. Anyway, y'all ever get jaded with the technology industry? Just sick and tired of it all? The buzz words. The fact 99% of the industry is BS. PHBs. The acronyms for that matter. The fact that we've all probably lost hair due to our work. Not so much the actual tech, but the relatively young industry that grew up around it. And yet, we do this because we're creators. Programmers are some of the few I've seen will to do whatever it takes to get the job done. Sometimes out of fear of being fired from poor management but sometimes it's out of passion and love for the work of creating. You don't really see that type of passion in most industries. It's so ingrained in tech in fact, I think the industry counts on it. The industry is spoiled by it. And despite this. There really isn't much else we'd rather do. Think about it. We're the future. Technology is taking over the world. Knowing what you're doing with your life, would any old timer rather be a lawyer that doesn't know much about tech? As a whole, we're changing the planet. When I see people like Elon Musk, well that dude is a programmer. He's changing the world. I think it's hard to imagine a life better spent than one helping humanity take the next step. Not every job gets to do that in their tiny way. So has anyone else found themselves jaded for a period while the industry finds itself, yet to only realize that as people we are right where we are meant to be?
Jeremy Falcon
I think I need a rocking chair and pipe to answer this one. I've actually gone through and out the other side of the jadedness. Dave and I talk about it often: a new tech or trend or method or design or way of making coffee comes up and you scratch the surface a little and go "oh yeah - that's like that thing they were doing in '98, but with a bigger font". However, the thing this brings me is pure joy when I see something being done now that was impossible when I started. A dancing Optimus Prime rendered via raytracing[^], or even just basic web applications with beautiful, smooth animations, responsive, intuitive, intelligent. And running on my phone. In fact CodeProject is old enough that we still have code in use that was written to get around the limitations we faced, but which needs to be removed because it's actually holding things back. Technology - and most importantly the creative side of technology - has come so far and has enabled development to go from being creative in the mathematical sense (ie the true sense ;)) to creative in the artistic sense. It's this that (to me) is what is bringing in a wider array of talents and ideas. I do feel, however, that we're living at the end of an age. Full AI will be here sooner than we like, and we are totally, hopelessly unprepared. #goshdernit.
cheers Chris Maunder
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patbob wrote:
mainly because it's always going the wrong direction according to me
It's like market foresting forecasting with stocks. Most folks try to predict the future of it and nobody really knows what the market will do. And it is an interesting ride my friend. Just wait until Japanese robots become the norm.
Jeremy Falcon
Jeremy Falcon wrote:
market foresting with stocks
I didn't know the US Forestry Service was involved! ;P
Jeremy Falcon wrote:
Japanese robots
Shades of Battlestar Galactica. We're on a repeat cycle.
#SupportHeForShe Government can give you nothing but what it takes from somebody else. A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take everything you've got, including your freedom.-Ezra Taft Benson You must accept 1 of 2 basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe or we are not alone. Either way, the implications are staggering!-Wernher von Braun
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Jörgen Andersson wrote:
Anyway, in my experience it isn't what you do that is the problem, it's who you do it with/for.
Slowly but surely I'm starting to realize this too. I know when I've hired people I cared much less about things like degrees than way more about personality and desire to do good work. I believe knowing tech tidbit that anyone can Google is even secondary to that.
Jörgen Andersson wrote:
I suspect you would be better off swapping employer.
Funny you should mention that. It's exactly what I'm doing. Yay.
Jörgen Andersson wrote:
I did that a year and a bit ago, it is one of the best things I've done.
Glad it worked out for you man. That's awesome.
Jeremy Falcon
They do the hiring the same way as you did, except that they only demand good enough work. Knowing that with the right people they get good work done. My manager learned how to manage at Deloitte&Touche, using the assumption that everything they did was wrong. My boss might be the smartest person I ever met. He always understand what I'm talking about technically. (yes, that have to be considered rare for bosses in my experience). Never bullshits, never takes bullshit. I've seen him walk out of a meeting with a customer that he couldn't stand. Respect.
Wrong is evil and must be defeated. - Jeff Ello