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Comment by jcapote | Hacker News Reader

I could say a million things, but they would all be snarky and mean (this comment has gone through at least 50 revisions). So I'll just say this: Any developer worth their salt could find a job within 24 hours of being in this city. How do I know? I recently moved here and within a few days, I already had recruiters emailing me for jobs. Even if you just know HTML, it's impossible to be homeless here. Why is this guy hiding? Where is your twitter? Where is your github? Where is your stackoverflow? Where is your blog? Those things are all important to making yourself attractive to jobs. By "no experience" those recruiters probably meant "we haven't heard of you" or "cant find any evidence of your skill online". I know plenty of people who probably know less than this guy, but have cushy jobs, even in this economy, in cities less techy than SF. Only difference is they disclose their last name and market themselves properly.

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I have to disagree. In fact, I think you're resorting to a bit of hyperbole there. Knowing HTML won't save you from being homeless, and most people won't find jobs here within twenty-four hours. Yes, it helps to have a good name, a good resume and an Internet presence, but some of us don't bother, and I know a lot of employers that don't care. Besides, the guy is fresh out of college and launching a new career in his 30's, with a family.

"... So I'll just say this: Any developer worth their salt could find a job within 24 hours of being in this city. ..."

By ascribing success to meritocracy, you also by definition ascribe failure to lack of merit or application. This is platently false. The failure here is to not recognise that merit isn't the only reason for being employed, unempolyed and underemployed. [0]

[0] "A kinder, gentler philosophy of success": http://www.ted.com/talks/alain_de_botton_a_kinder_gentler_ph...

The key is the word, "aspiring" :

After a decade of working as a chef, he was looking forward to finding a job as a Web developer.

Calling him a web developer is a bit of a stretch. He initiated a career change in the middle of the recession (albeit caused by the recession as well).

Yeah I can't help but wonder if he doesn't know the online culture very well. I know a lot of people who don't do anything on stackoverflow barely know what Twitter is, don't read a single blog much less write one. I don't get it but they seem to be able to get a job without doing much of anything. They're also rarely useful but that's another issue.

I don't get it but they seem to be able to get a job without doing much of anything. They're also rarely useful but that's another issue.

It's incredibly strange that you view not twittering, spending time on stackoverflow, or blogging as not doing anything.

By that standard, absolutely all of the best people I've worked with in the past decade are useless, and some of the worst people I've worked with pass your test with flying colors.

I'm not generalizing to the idea that bloggers and stackoverflow users are all useless. I'm taking the far more sane position that blogging, twittering and stockoverflowing are uncorrelated to work ethic and talent.

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