The Employee Right to Privacy
I’ve seen a lot of posts on social media in recent months where people are complaining about their companies spying on them and what they’re… Read More »The Employee Right to Privacy
Life
Is a College Degree Necessary To Find A Tech Job?
It used to be that having a college degree was a necessary thing to getting a job in software development. This was especially true at… Read More »Is a College Degree Necessary To Find A Tech Job?
My Being Fired/Laid Off Horror Stories
For the most part, every job I’ve ever left has been on my own terms. It might be for a better opportunity. It might be because I was fed up with the state of the company I was working at. But almost always I left when I decided it was time to go…. with 4 exceptions.
Contributing to the Community
Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve taken the opportunity to participate in a number of “coffee chats” with some who are just getting started… Read More »Contributing to the Community
The True Costs of a Startup Failing
I read an article in Fortune magazine’s online site this week titled ‘What Happens When a Startup Goes Bust’. The article focused on vendors who don’t get paid when startup fails. It gives examples of several small businesses owed various amounts of money in the wake of Bay area food delivery startup Munchery failing. And while the article is interesting in its take on vendors losing out on payments and how venture capital firms should have more accountability, it doesn’t even give a single mention to those who end up getting screwed the most when a startup fails: the employees of the startup.
Developer Stockholm Syndrome
Developers seem to have an irrational love/hate relationship with programming languages. We tend to love the languages we use on a regular basis. And we seem to hate languages we don’t or no longer use. I’ve come to refer to this as Developer Stockholm Syndrome.
Pivoting Your Career
I recently found myself in the uncomfortable position of having to look for a new job. Thanks to the ‘alleged’ poor life decisions of a certain former leadership person, the company I had poured most of the last four years into was closing its doors. We’d limped along best we could for a time after the ‘event’, but it was not to be. It was time to put it out of its misery. Those of us that had survived that long suddenly found ourselves with a need to go job hunting.
Embrace Failure
For all of us, there will times, many times, when our efforts end in failure. Sometimes, they will be small failures. And sometimes, they will be spectacular failures. Sometimes, you will be at fault. And sometimes, despite all your best efforts, someone else will be at fault. It doesn’t matter. It’s just another opportunity.
My Advice: Finding a Developer Job
It’s a great time to be in the tech industry in general. Unemployment is down in most areas in the tech sector. You have the advantage. Use it. As with all things, times change. There were times it wasn’t good to be in tech. Those times will likely come again. But for now, you’ve got it good. If you’re not happy where you’re at right now, do something about it. Go and find a new job.