I usually ask candidates about their projects, then ask about the decisions they made. I have enough experience that I can usually grok their problem domain rather than place them in mine.
But whatever works for you.
I pretty much don't want to see my coworkers outside of work, although some of them seem rather interesting. I need some space to decompress. I work in silicon valley, our workdays are long enough.
Feeling threatened? Did some of my complaint apply to you?
There is a game people play called "stump the candidate" where they invent questions (and research the answers) just to spring on people at job interviews. There is no need for contrived BS just to try and intimidate people. I'm not intimidated. If I don't know, I can look it up or figure it out. This "dick size war" proves nothing.
I recently have decided to just say "I don't know" early in the show and get it over with. Amazingly, technology companies (HP, Cray, Cisco, thanks for the memories) are usually better about this than non-technology companies (banks, etc).
As for the clubhouse: I'm paid to be pleasant and professional, which I deliver. I might even like you on a personal level. But I'm nobodies toady, and if work is your entire social circle... Well, you have problems that software will never fix.
Anyway, don't hire me. I'm fine w/that. You probably couldn't afford me anyway.
I am a "highly experienced J2EE person" and as a contractor I sit for interviews once a year or so.
I am not disagreeing w/your experience, simply because I wasn't there.
My point is most hiring managers don't know how to interview and frequently don't even know what skills are relevant.
My interviews routinely turn into some sort of geek dick size war (and the candidate must be polite) or a beauty pagent (where did you go to university, my professors are more glamorous than yours) or some other stupid diversion rather than the job at hand.
My least favorite is: are you kewl enough to work in our clubhouse? It's just a job, I get all the love I want at home.
It doesn't help that most jobs are using API's they barely understand. So when someone asks me an obscure question about XML bindings or hibernate, they frequently don't recognize the answer.
Anyway, I'm a little tired of hearing about "the shortage" when in fact there is none. The "shortage" (IMO) is manufactured.
Then I will quit coding. You think pilots want to wear that stuff? Well, not all of us. Some night freight companies (you know who you are) insist on those fake epaulets too.
True story. When I took my commercial checkride the examiner commented that not all of my logbook entries were in black ink. "So what?" "Well, the airlines like to see black ink."
I have no idea if the airlines care or not, since I have never interviewed for an airline. My only point is the social filters for airline pilot are arbitrary and mighty.
People, if you are so interested in aviation then get off the couch, take lessons and get some first hand experience. I know little airplanes are not completely the same as big airplanes, but you will be closer to some factual opinions.
Among other projects, I worked on the power supply controls for the Cray Super Dragon. No, you probably never heard of it, but it became the Sun ES-10K.
This box had variable voltage power supples which required me to adjust them from cold start. I had to calibrate A/D, take samples, tweak, etc all through JTAG and cumulatively it was quite slow. Like over an hour.
My manager was not impressed, I shrugged and said "who turns these off?" - and the marketing droid/product manager said "they do in Japan". Fine. The hardware people were nice enough to give me multiple JTAG lines and power up time shrank to acceptable limits.
I have never been certain if this was a "Spinal Tap" riff or it was really true.
I got my novice back in the '60s and my extra in 1979 (I think, it has been a long time). I even had 2nd class radio telegraph and radio telephone licenses back in the day (the next time you complain about morse code, go look at the test for commercial radio telegraph).
I don't even own a transmitter any more, but I do renew my license just in case I get back in the mood.
I'm not going to defend old people or the attitudes you are complaining about. Eventually you will have your own turn at complaining about the way things have gone. Do let us know how you feel then.
I will say this: IMO ham radio DID start to deteriorate when the general ham population changed from experimenters to appliance operators. Put another way, when the hobby became more about buying stuff than making stuff, it started to suck.
If you were an early computer user, you might note similar parallels. Or not.
I personally would rather hang out w/people who are actually writing software (or building stuff) than people who just buy stuff.
Which is why I don't bother w/ham radio any more. But I am happy to see some positive press for it.
This is simply marketing. There isn't much in it. Create a marketing catchphrase, quote ESR, say something provocative like "a PS3 could stop a missile" and he is well on his way to Faux News.
I guess I am glad to have let my IEEE dues lapse. Spectrum used to be much better.
Damn right. It takes a big pile of money for me to even consider a commercial flight. I am 6'4" and I can remember when I could bust out a laptop for the trip. Now I'm lucky to just wedge in a seat. And "security theater" doesn't help either...
I fly ~150 hours/year just going to work. It is my expectation (normally realized) that I will take off, climb, trim the aircraft and drink coffee until preparation to land. I would have quit flying long ago if every trip was a dramatic adventure. So far, only turbulence keeps me from my coffee.
Most airports do not have control towers (since you don't know this, I'm guessing you aren't really a pilot just yet). I can personally testify that "one of the guys" in the tower absolutely has his own work to do and doesn't really care what your are doing as long as it's not in his airspace).
I haven't filed a VFR flight plan since I finished my private pilot, and I do not anticipate ever filing another one. EVER.
I flew to work this morning (Redding, CA to Concord) without a flight plan. I haven't filed a VFR flight plan since I finished my private pilot. If I should ever make an unscheduled stop, I will whip out my cell phone (or handheld xcvr) and ask for a tow truck.
All this drama is amazing.
Fossett is flying a Super Decathalon, which is still in production. They are nice aircraft, reviewed in the current edition of "Aviation Consumer" - and I wouldn't mind having one myself (but I cannot justify owning a Decathalon and a RV-8).
A Decathalon is not your mothers Cessna. If you cannot land a Decathalon within a few hundred feet, then you don't deserve to fly a Decathalon. If I ever needed to get on the ground in a hurry (deadstick or whatever) a Decathalon would be my choice.
However, you spoil all the fun of watching people carry on about the big "sekret" technology.
One night I convinced some people that we all wore wet suits just like the movies and swam around inside the boat w/trained dolphins. Anyway, big lies, big fun and amazingly nobody wondered how we could wear wet suits for an entire patrol.
Next time, instead of killing the buzz you might consider adding fuel to the fire. I dunno. Let's say that LA boats are really powered by alien technology found at Roswell. Could be fun!
Uncles Navy needs surface ships to escort boomers now? All is lost, the terrorist have won! I knew it was only a matter of time after they closed the Horse and Cow!
I am tired of reading about people who move to the sticks and are surprised they don't have { broadband | fire department | police | medical | cable TV | trader joes | etc }
I moved to Shasta County, California from Santa Cruz. I know all about this and at least I took the time to research it before moving.
People should take some responsibility for their decisions.
Please quit whining about newspapers compromising national security. If a newpaper reporter was able to discover a big "secret" then you can be assured the "secret" has been compromised to state sponsored agents as well. In other words, there are people who are paid to discover these things and not all of them work for newspapers. Just because you are the last to know doesn't mean anything except that you are the last to know.
I return you now to the ritual flamefest in progress.
I also have a copy of the 9-11 Commission Report right here. I even read it.
Just wanted to remind everybody of how the Bush administration actually hindered the commission and publishing of this report. Who really believes was an honest and complete accounting?
Dear AC:
Of course, you have no idea what my ethic or economic status is.
It reads like you leave reasonably close to an airport w/scheduled jet service. Many of us do not. Whenever I must fly commercial, it takes over two hours (one way) to drive to the big airport, plus another two hours to run the TSA gauntlet. Then perhaps the airplane might leave.
In the same 4 hours I could have flown 600NM, which is pretty much anywhere I need to go.
I am happy for you if commercial air service meets your needs. It does not meet mine.
If I really was rich, the proposed user fee of $25 wouldn't matter much. I just happen to feel that fuel taxes, etc already represent my fair share of the costs. And the reality is that most pilots are not airplane owners and personal flight is already a rare treat for them.
But of course, you knew all this. Right?
P.S. If you call me a golfer again I will hunt you down and spank you. You have been warned.
OK, so I was born and raised in Oklahoma. There, I admit it. Years of speech therapy and a computer science degree (earned in California) help mask my terrible secret.
A data center in Pryor? Pretty funny. How many Google employees can sing "Okie From Muskogee"?
The Oklahoma chamber of commerce routinely runs adverts in the Wall Street Journal begging companies to come exploit the state. Hiding power usage is small potatoes to all the usual toxic run off associated w/chemical and petro production.
Slashdot Mirror
We agree.
I usually ask candidates about their projects, then ask about the decisions they made. I have enough experience that I can usually grok their problem domain rather than place them in mine.
But whatever works for you.
I pretty much don't want to see my coworkers outside of work, although some of them seem rather interesting. I need some space to decompress. I work in silicon valley, our workdays are long enough.
Feeling threatened? Did some of my complaint apply to you?
There is a game people play called "stump the candidate" where they invent questions (and research the answers) just to spring on people at job interviews. There is no need for contrived BS just to try and intimidate people. I'm not intimidated. If I don't know, I can look it up or figure it out. This "dick size war" proves nothing.
I recently have decided to just say "I don't know" early in the show and get it over with. Amazingly, technology companies (HP, Cray, Cisco, thanks for the memories) are usually better about this than non-technology companies (banks, etc).
As for the clubhouse: I'm paid to be pleasant and professional, which I deliver. I might even like you on a personal level. But I'm nobodies toady, and if work is your entire social circle... Well, you have problems that software will never fix.
Anyway, don't hire me. I'm fine w/that. You probably couldn't afford me anyway.
I am a "highly experienced J2EE person" and as a contractor I sit for interviews once a year or so.
I am not disagreeing w/your experience, simply because I wasn't there.
My point is most hiring managers don't know how to interview and frequently don't even know what skills are relevant.
My interviews routinely turn into some sort of geek dick size war (and the candidate must be polite) or a beauty pagent (where did you go to university, my professors are more glamorous than yours) or some other stupid diversion rather than the job at hand.
My least favorite is: are you kewl enough to work in our clubhouse? It's just a job, I get all the love I want at home.
It doesn't help that most jobs are using API's they barely understand. So when someone asks me an obscure question about XML bindings or hibernate, they frequently don't recognize the answer.
Anyway, I'm a little tired of hearing about "the shortage" when in fact there is none. The "shortage" (IMO) is manufactured.
Then I will quit coding. You think pilots want to wear that stuff? Well, not all of us. Some night freight companies (you know who you are) insist on those fake epaulets too.
True story. When I took my commercial checkride the examiner commented that not all of my logbook entries were in black ink. "So what?" "Well, the airlines like to see black ink."
I have no idea if the airlines care or not, since I have never interviewed for an airline. My only point is the social filters for airline pilot are arbitrary and mighty.
Please post this at every /. article on aviation.
People, if you are so interested in aviation then get off the couch, take lessons and get some first hand experience. I know little airplanes are not completely the same as big airplanes, but you will be closer to some factual opinions.
Among other projects, I worked on the power supply controls for the Cray Super Dragon. No, you probably never heard of it, but it became the Sun ES-10K.
This box had variable voltage power supples which required me to adjust them from cold start. I had to calibrate A/D, take samples, tweak, etc all through JTAG and cumulatively it was quite slow. Like over an hour.
My manager was not impressed, I shrugged and said "who turns these off?" - and the marketing droid/product manager said "they do in Japan". Fine. The hardware people were nice enough to give me multiple JTAG lines and power up time shrank to acceptable limits.
I have never been certain if this was a "Spinal Tap" riff or it was really true.
I got my novice back in the '60s and my extra in 1979 (I think, it has been a long time). I even had 2nd class radio telegraph and radio telephone licenses back in the day (the next time you complain about morse code, go look at the test for commercial radio telegraph).
I don't even own a transmitter any more, but I do renew my license just in case I get back in the mood.
I'm not going to defend old people or the attitudes you are complaining about. Eventually you will have your own turn at complaining about the way things have gone. Do let us know how you feel then.
I will say this: IMO ham radio DID start to deteriorate when the general ham population changed from experimenters to appliance operators. Put another way, when the hobby became more about buying stuff than making stuff, it started to suck.
If you were an early computer user, you might note similar parallels. Or not.
I personally would rather hang out w/people who are actually writing software (or building stuff) than people who just buy stuff.
Which is why I don't bother w/ham radio any more. But I am happy to see some positive press for it.
This is simply marketing. There isn't much in it. Create a marketing catchphrase, quote ESR, say something provocative like "a PS3 could stop a missile" and he is well on his way to Faux News.
I guess I am glad to have let my IEEE dues lapse. Spectrum used to be much better.
Damn right. It takes a big pile of money for me to even consider a commercial flight. I am 6'4" and I can remember when I could bust out a laptop for the trip. Now I'm lucky to just wedge in a seat. And "security theater" doesn't help either...
...then you are smart enough to do almost anything else. Go find something w/a future and code for a hobby.
I call BS on your BS.
I fly ~150 hours/year just going to work. It is my expectation (normally realized) that I will take off, climb, trim the aircraft and drink coffee until preparation to land. I would have quit flying long ago if every trip was a dramatic adventure. So far, only turbulence keeps me from my coffee.
Most airports do not have control towers (since you don't know this, I'm guessing you aren't really a pilot just yet). I can personally testify that "one of the guys" in the tower absolutely has his own work to do and doesn't really care what your are doing as long as it's not in his airspace).
I haven't filed a VFR flight plan since I finished my private pilot, and I do not anticipate ever filing another one. EVER.
Oh, just byte me.
I flew to work this morning (Redding, CA to Concord) without a flight plan. I haven't filed a VFR flight plan since I finished my private pilot. If I should ever make an unscheduled stop, I will whip out my cell phone (or handheld xcvr) and ask for a tow truck.
All this drama is amazing.
Fossett is flying a Super Decathalon, which is still in production. They are nice aircraft, reviewed in the current edition of "Aviation Consumer" - and I wouldn't mind having one myself (but I cannot justify owning a Decathalon and a RV-8).
A Decathalon is not your mothers Cessna. If you cannot land a Decathalon within a few hundred feet, then you don't deserve to fly a Decathalon. If I ever needed to get on the ground in a hurry (deadstick or whatever) a Decathalon would be my choice.
Of course, I completely agree w/your post.
However, you spoil all the fun of watching people carry on about the big "sekret" technology.
One night I convinced some people that we all wore wet suits just like the movies and swam around inside the boat w/trained dolphins. Anyway, big lies, big fun and amazingly nobody wondered how we could wear wet suits for an entire patrol.
Next time, instead of killing the buzz you might consider adding fuel to the fire. I dunno. Let's say that LA boats are really powered by alien technology found at Roswell. Could be fun!
Uncles Navy needs surface ships to escort boomers now? All is lost, the terrorist have won! I knew it was only a matter of time after they closed the Horse and Cow!
I am tired of reading about people who move to the sticks and are surprised they don't have { broadband | fire department | police | medical | cable TV | trader joes | etc }
I moved to Shasta County, California from Santa Cruz. I know all about this and at least I took the time to research it before moving.
People should take some responsibility for their decisions.
Dear Anonymous Coward:
Please quit whining about newspapers compromising national security. If a newpaper reporter was able to discover a big "secret" then you can be assured the "secret" has been compromised to state sponsored agents as well. In other words, there are people who are paid to discover these things and not all of them work for newspapers. Just because you are the last to know doesn't mean anything except that you are the last to know.
I return you now to the ritual flamefest in progress.
What do you mean already been done?
I am guessing you have never been to court.
You have to sell a ton of widgets to feed attorneys.
Better to simply promote your product in the usual way.
Guess how much I pay for medical insurance for two healthy adults?
$1044/month. How many of you could pay this?
Guess what is actually covered? I dunno. They send me a dense little book every so many months which describes what they won't pay for.
I haven't seen "sicko" yet, but I am pretty sure there is lots of room for improvement in the US health care system.
I also have a copy of the 9-11 Commission Report right here. I even read it.
Just wanted to remind everybody of how the Bush administration actually hindered the commission and publishing of this report. Who really believes was an honest and complete accounting?
Dear AC:
Of course, you have no idea what my ethic or economic status is.
It reads like you leave reasonably close to an airport w/scheduled jet service. Many of us do not. Whenever I must fly commercial, it takes over two hours (one way) to drive to the big airport, plus another two hours to run the TSA gauntlet. Then perhaps the airplane might leave.
In the same 4 hours I could have flown 600NM, which is pretty much anywhere I need to go.
I am happy for you if commercial air service meets your needs. It does not meet mine.
If I really was rich, the proposed user fee of $25 wouldn't matter much. I just happen to feel that fuel taxes, etc already represent my fair share of the costs. And the reality is that most pilots are not airplane owners and personal flight is already a rare treat for them.
But of course, you knew all this. Right?
P.S. If you call me a golfer again I will hunt you down and spank you. You have been warned.
Ya, the FAA is doing plenty to reduce the consumption of 100LL.
They are trying to impose user fees and escalate the cost of flying even more.
Mod up. Damn right. I also believe this is all about concessions.
OK, so I was born and raised in Oklahoma. There, I admit it. Years of speech therapy and a computer science degree (earned in California) help mask my terrible secret.
A data center in Pryor? Pretty funny. How many Google employees can sing "Okie From Muskogee"?
The Oklahoma chamber of commerce routinely runs adverts in the Wall Street Journal begging companies to come exploit the state. Hiding power usage is small potatoes to all the usual toxic run off associated w/chemical and petro production.
Some science leadership would also be nice