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Comment by whatyesaid | Hacker News Reader

Age is pretty easily guessable by degree dates and your appearance, they don't need to ask it explicitly.

More than that, too. I bet you could guess my age within 2 years with solely a list of technology I've used. I don't think it would even have to be sorted by date.

Yah, when your answer for "most interesting project" involves an MCU with 63 bytes of RAM...

That could be very well today.

Here is an example of an MCU with 48 bytes of SRAM that is relevant in 2024 because it costs less than 2 cents: https://www.lcsc.com/product-detail/span-style-background-co...

Could I use a $0.02 microcontroller unit that has 48 bytes of RAM to function as the computer for a homemade networked camera package? Like, attaching the MCU to a one dollar WiFi module to begin building an amateur information technology system with a Raspberry Pi single board computer performing as the mainframe server?

The $1 WiFi module probably has a better microcontroller built in... And thus the popularity of the ESP8266...

I just learned about the ESP8266 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ESP8266). Thanks.

So, there's already entire systems on chips? Like the Raspberry Pis and ESP32s?

Are they robust and general purpose though? Can they be integrated into any little home project? Or would you have to design and make your own microchips for your own cases?

If you're familiar with the ESP32, the ESP8266 is similar, but less capable and less expensive. As far as I know, the ESP8266 was designed and sold as a wifi add-on chip for a separate microcontroller, but then an SDK came out and some applications don't actually need a separate microcontroller.

Depends on your project if it will work, but I use them around the house to report on temperature and humidity, and I've got one setup on an arcade video converter that I was hoping I could get better output from (but it didn't really work).

Go ahead, leave "Hypercard" on your resume. Wear it as a badge of honor.

>I bet you could guess my age within 2 years with solely a list of technology I've used

You could always not list "Expert on Symbolics machines, Smalltalk, Algol 68" and keep the newer/evergreen stuff.

You don't need to list the dates you obtained your degree.

When I was just getting started in the field, I already had some work experience from prior exploits and college employment. Leaving the dates off my degree helped me get a reasonable job early on, I think.

Just wear your ballcap backwards and folks will assume you're at least young at heart! (I jest)

Fortunately for me, I finished my degree much later in life than most folks. Pretty sure I could pass myself off as being at least 10 years younger than I am in a job hunt.

Though we could just normalize leaveing graduation dates off of resumes... I dont6think that is especially relevant for most jobs.

I completed my undergrad at a pretty normal age of 21, I did my Masters 20 years later... but that's now getting close to 20 years ago so I guess I should remove the date on that one now too.

>Pretty sure I could pass myself off as being at least 10 years younger than I am in a job hunt.

Until you get an in person or zoom interview.

I think I can make myself look at least a decade younger, especially over Zoom.

Is there some reason to add degree dates? I removed them as clutter.

Maybe at some point it’s better to leave off your degree? Your 20 years of experience are a lot more important (and the 10 before those irrelevant).

I did this once, after working for 15 years. Maybe that wasn't long enough? First question in the interview: whether I had a degree.

I could audit a class and put that as the date. Still live near the same uni I graduated from.

Never had those checked either.

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