mh_yam

How about simplifying the tax code so we don't need computer programs at all?

Really depends on your team. I work on a small team in a huge investment bank and we are working on new nice-looking apps. I usually don't have to deal with audit, risk management, compliance, regulators, etc. When I do it's usually minimal. We don't have root access but we have full access to production. We release twice a week. I have to deal somewhat with India but it's bearable

Foreigners can't apply to be a citizen just because they've been here for 10 years. The US immigration system is so f*cked up and the current administration favors illegal immigrants over legal ones.

The most common pathway for those who complete their studies in the US and want to remain in the country to work is to obtain a work visa (H-1, L-1, TN, etc) under employer sponsorship. And then, some of these visas permit immigrant intent i.e. your employer can sponsor your green card even though you're technically on a temporary worker visa.

I'd love to get permanent residency and possibly citizenship. The framework in place right now is tedious and frankly, outright hostile to those of us doing everything right to remain in this country. Thankfully, I'm not from one of the countries with huge visa backlogs - I can only imagine their pain.

I am in the same boat (bachelors + masters from US universities and on H-1B).

I've been in the US for almost 10 years now since undergrad and have put down roots (friends, acquaintances, credit history, etc). It is very unfair for us to be put into the same bucket as body shop labor from India. I personally know several people who were forced to leave the US because they didn't get chosen in the H-1B lottery.

There needs to be a new visa that caters specifically to those in our situation. USCIS needs to let the consultancy companies and body shops compete among themselves for H-1B and stop screwing law-abiding international students who have devoted 4-6 (or more) years of their lives to living in the US, who suddenly might lose everything they've worked for because of the H-1B lottery.

It's horrible. I have a bachelors from a top US school, working on a masters from another top school, and I can't even take a week off in between jobs because it may cause immigration problems.

Meanwhile Obama goes around making speeches about how kids of illegal immigrants somehow have the 'right' to citizenship and would be able to benefit from US public services (which by the way I and other legal immigrants are paying for).

Completely absurd and needs to change.

Most people I know who are in this situation are

1) Old

2) Have tons of experience and worked hard earlier in their life

3) Have lots of connections that prevent them from being fired

I'm sure there are employees at large companies who collect 6-7 figure salaries and do little to nothing on a day-to-day basis. However, they can only do this because of their past merit and connections.

Have an Aeron at home and a Knoll Life @ work.

This reminds me of when I asked for permission to make an iOS app for my school and was denied with similar arguments. I guess it sucks more when you've already put in so much effort and it gets shot down in one meeting.

I did learn that the school stored user/password information from Active Directory in a flat file for one of the legacy applications...that was scary.

Programming is not the same thing as computer science...you can get very far in programming without knowing much math, but not in computer science.

>>> More public funding needs to be directed towards schools and youth programs in poor areas. More money needs to be focused on easing poverty. Give these kids back their parents, reduce the desperation of extreme poverty their families experience, and give them quality education. Do all this, and we won't still be talking about race-based hiring practices a generation from now.

There is an enormous amount of public funding going to these very things right now and it doesn't seem to have changed anything. The stereotypical black family (missing father, poor single mother) is not the result of a lack of action on the part of government. The government did not cause parents to abandon their children. It is the result of the changing message of mass media, celebrity icons, and social trends-from one that rewards integrity, and hard work to one that glorifies violence, 'thug' culture, and insubordination.

It was interesting to find out who the people behind Sysinternals were.

The article, though, has an embarrassing number of typos...

There's a balance. >it's the ONLY WAY to have tests in the business world

Perhaps in some organizations. I feel sorry if you have to work in such an environment. My company recognizes the value of testing-we have 15,000 acceptance tests and unit tests, and we do TDD perhaps 20% of the time.

I worked at a bank where there were 0 unit tests or acceptance tests. Just some half-assed QA guy going through toy scenarios and pushing the 'approve' button. That's not where I want to be (therefore I quit), but I also don't want to be in an environment where people scream and call me an infidel if I don't do TDD.

This is golden

You really don't want to be surrounded by those people. They'll make you hate your life. Unless you are one of them.