__app_dev__

Some stores are evening paying store managers $200k per year now (read it in an article about a month ago).

I haven't gotten a raise in probably 10 years. But realistically I make a lot more than most developers where I live (Los Angeles) and there would be no reason for my company to give me a raise when I'm probably the highest paid non-sales person where I work (and often have been). So I'm ok with it.

Just got an extra side gig for 20-25% hours per weeks so it's like getting a 50% raise and feels great.

Although seeing how many $500k jobs exist in Silicon Valley makes me think I should spend more time grinding leetcode.

Lol, premium brands and non-premium will often come from the same factory in China.

Source to back up - none! But I do work at a clothing company where we do this and markup is much higher for "premium" - 20x.

Thanks for calling that out as I wasn't aware it would look like that.

I made some edits to clarify.

Based on your skills I would highly recommend Python and some JavaScript.

Python being the main language to focus on because it's great for working with data and general scripting needs (working with files, etc). For data everything from basic data access to a lot of math and statistics that you would find in R.

I would recommend some JavaScript so that you have the ability to easily read it and because I feel that when you learn multiple languages it improved your skills overall for each language. Doesn't have to be long - perhaps a few days of focused learning (or even a day or less).

Recently I have been working on something related to using a lot statistics, analytics, etc and have been using Python the most for it and actually some SQL as all major databases now support Percent Rank and other statistical functions. For my project I'm using JavaScript a little for work such as Web Scraping but most work is done in Python and then final reporting is SQL.

Python is also great for Machine Learning. Even for basic API access with TensorFlow I prefer using Python over there JavaScript API.

Good luck with your new career!

Hello Vivek,

Personally I like Hacker Rank and consider it a good way to learn about new algorithms but at the same time I do not like the style of interviews that require it and it makes me wish I could leave the industry because it's a waste of time for people with a lot of practical experience and who have a good portfolio of apps/sites they've created.

That said, I would recommend not doing DMCA at all unless it's really serious. Sounds like your company has a lot of problems with this. Think StackOverflow, there are plenty of sites that copy it but I'm not aware of them going after anyone. If anything all the copying of a site makes it more of an authoritative source because a lot of people reference it.

I used that one once. It was great! Pricy but if you have an actual interview with a big tech company it's worth it if you can afford it.

Difference with trading though is someone is a great trader at one hedge fund they can jump ship pretty easy without hurdles. In fact they compete to get good traders.

For Software Engineering you have to jump through hurdles each time even if you have accomplished a lot at past jobs. I might be wrong but it feels like there are far more Software Engineers compared to jobs than 10 or 20 years ago.

Granted not all software jobs as the last one I got I just had to interview a CEO and show my portfolio. Seems like the algo challenges are really geared toward Silicon Valley but not it's ending up a lot of tech jobs.

Find a different job in a better industry.

No other profession tolerates this horrible style of interview.

Well said!!

Personally, I like designing and building software and have been doing so for 20+ years but after doing several HakerRank and Leetcode style interviews it makes me wish to do something else.

I’ve had FAANG recruiters tell me “study for hours per day for a few months” and then you can be ready. Even smaller companies focus on leetcode more than actual experience.

I’ve worked with plenty of optimal algorithms in my life but when I do I spend time researching and looking at many examples rather than having to memorize something that shouldn’t be memorized in the first place; but the way the interviews are done it seems like companies just want code monkeys (even the good paying companies).

No other well-paid profession tolerates this style of interview one you have experience. I would never recommend Software Engineering to anyone given the current environment.

One problem though (and I've interviewed at FAANG companies and similar process) is now they really expect you to memorize at lot because other developers are doing it as well. On one of my questions

I was supposed to quickly recreate the quick-select algorithm from memory in 10 min. Stuff like this I learned a long time ago but have no need to memorize how to code it by hand quickly.

Brushing up for the weekend is not enough if you haven't touched the stuff in 20 years. When I've spoken with recruiters they recommend studying many hours per day ever day for at least 2 months.

No doctor, lawyer, real estate agent (and many other much higher paying professions) would ever tolerate this type of interview.

Personally the interview prep is so boarding I can't wait for the day to be done with this field (not actually software development) just having to do it for work.

FAANG Software Engineer pay is not that great when compared to a Surgeon (or many other good jobs) for people who have been doing other good jobs for decades.

How many Software Engineers do you who drive Ferraris? Probably not many, but for Surgeons, Sales People (at good companies) it's not a big deal.

No other industry would anyone tolerate being told to study 4-8 hours a day for months for a chance to pass an interview.

I realize I'm ranting but I've a Software Engineer with over 20 years experience and I've kind of lost interest being in an industry where the only thing that matters for an interview is how good I can cram leetcode, rather than what I've designed and built. Granted it would be hard for me to easily find something that pays more so I'm not quitting my day job (and now extra night job).