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Comment by joeframbach | Hacker News Reader

I can bring my kids in but I don't think I could tell you how they work. I've been in this industry for almost 20 years, but I don't have side projects, because, well, see above.

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My go to side project right now is training a neural net to operate a bio-mechanical process to automate waste management for consumers.

By which I mean I'm potty training my 3 year old.

Which is why this is a dog whistle for ageism.

You’ve never written a utility at work to help that isn’t part of your core work? You’ve never had a side project in 20 years ?

Maybe your view would change if you were actively looking for work? Spend a week on some fun project while taking a break from resume writing.

I've never heard side projects should be recent or ongoing. How do you not have any side projects? Have you only ever programmed professionally?

I doubt they would want to be judged on code they wrote 10 years ago, though

I doubt they would want to be judged on code they wrote 10 years ago, though.

Freelancers can quickly build out some side projects for you to use on your resume if you wish. It shouldn’t be a big deal.

That seems super dishonest and the kind of thing that would get you in big trouble if discovered. Hell if you're going to lie like that might as well lie on your whole resume.

There is zero chance of being discovered. You pay your freelancer, own the project, throw it up on your GitHub, no one will ever know.

Meanwhile, you get to spend more time with your kids.

Agreed not everyone has side projects. But being asked to build something of your own interest in about half a day seems like a good alternative.

I don't know what I could do in half a day that would impress anyone. Especially if other candidates are bringing in their serious side projects.

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