apryldelancey

I can't help it. I love books and have a huge collection. I used to have a really bad habit of buying something almost weekly but have since recovered to only go through buying spurts every 3-6 months. My dream is a house with a massive built-in bookshelf. Sick? Maybe.

Having worked at an old school insurance company I witnessed many cases of inefficiencies that I could fix but they are VERY resistant to change. VERY. Where I was held on to long-standing processes because "that is the way it has always been done" and those people have usually been there 5, 10, 20 plus years. Be very careful suggesting that you will put any amount of people out of a job. Old school companies don't often appreciate someone disrupting the way they have been doing things, especially if they have been in business for a long time. I would approach it as you think you found a way to make jobs easier and more efficient rather than boldly claiming your code will immediately replace 80 people.

Well, I have seen both cases happen where you have to and where you don't. In some industries it is standard, others not so much because of the incestual nature of that field. Perhaps ask others that you know in the same industry?

That depends on the industry, can you be a bit more specific?

Well, that would make me guilty too then.

What's your definition of evil?

I agree - let her decide.

Yes, depending on my mood I have a trance/techno playlist, an old-school punk playlist (Fear, Bad Religion, NOFX, etc.), and a metal playlist (Slayer, Slipknot, U.D.O., etc). Once in a while the retro disco as in Donna Summer, Kool & The Gang, and the Village People will be played also. One thing I really must have is variety.

Indeed they are. Here in the states it is against the law to feed them or even approach them according to the Marine Mammal Protection act although I've witnessed people ignoring this. I have seen them follow bait balls close in to shore.

Cool, thanks for the link.

Thanks for the link, I'll check it out.

I've spent most of my life in the ocean as a scuba diver/surfer and have encountered dolphins many times. They're just like humans in terms of personality. Some are cool, some are jerks. For example, I was surfing alone on the north side of a jetty and there was a pod that was swimming close by. One of them started slapping it's tail at the surface. This is a sign of aggression so I got out of the water and moved to another spot. Another time I was surfing about 200 yards north of a pier with one other person. We were circled by a dolphin that seemed quite playful that suddenly bumped the back of my board and then jumped out of the water over me. I've had another jump over me when I was paddling toward the wave and it was riding through it as they have been observed doing many times. If there is a juvenile with a pod I definitely keep my distance. Mama dolphin does not want to be friends with any human that comes near her baby. Quite the contrary, they will get very aggressive to protect their young. Additionally, I have seen my share of sharks and pinnipeds. Just last week a pinniped surfaced next to me and then came at me and grabbed my surfboard leash. Of course, I let out a little shriek since I wasn't expecting it but it quickly let go. I've had them follow me more than once. They've swam alongside me as I was paddling out and have surfaced right in front of me. I've had juvenile white sharks (4-5 feet) swim by curiously as well. Many of these encounters can be taken as the animal wanting "to be my friend". By the way, orcas are actually more a dolphin than a whale as they are in the Delphinidae family.

Yes, you must definitely enjoy it. When it becomes a chore or you don't look forward to working on something you're probably not one with "programming aptitude". That said, I have met people that could pick it up quickly and then stopped because it wasn't their thing.

Thank you for this, I think it's great!

Best of luck to you, concrete goals are a great start.

I agree and think it's hard to hire for resourcefulness. I've found that people don't always know what they are really capable of until they are faced with a need. For example, I never knew I could code in JavaScript until I needed to.

As everyone else said, this is a major red flag. You need to look for something else immediately. This person will use you as long as he can.

For me, I notice that I still have big company thinking and I think it has served me well. While I watch others in my field struggle to grab every scrap of work I position myself as a higher-end solution that isn't right for every company. Because of this my clients are larger companies. That said, I have a colleague that does what I do but has made it a commodity and is doing fine - but - has a hard time closing larger companies. And yes, working at a large company gave me a lot of reasons to become an entrepreneur and many examples of how to or not to foster a successful company culture.

Lots of great advice here I would just add to do your research and know what your skills are worth and what others in similar positions are being paid. I would not add that you're flexible right off. As someone that hires people I prefer people that confidently tell me what they're worth and what they expect. Most hiring managers will go for the low number once they see you're nervous or immediately offer that you are willing to negotiate after naming a number. It really is best to have a number - definitely higher than you will settle for but not so high that it puts you out of the consideration set.

Agree with codegeek and would add to assure you don't sound like you can do everything. When I see a resume that has a variety of skills I don't think versatility, I think, "what do I call this person for". Don't be a jack-of-all-trades because then you're a master of none.

I agree that coding bootcamps are a great source. Most of them are incredibly supportive and have instructors, mentors and TAs that are generous with their time. I've seen a few also have free meetup groups that are open to all, not just students, to learn a quick project in a couple of hours.

Also, to echo @hitsurume the coding bootcamps do have easy ways to pay, most have flexible payment plans. @saluki has a great point as well to start with HTML and CSS. I agree.

Other than that, what works for me is practice, practice, practice. I practice in the programming language and actually writing out code with pencil and paper.

I also get them at least weekly.

I think it is both personal problems of founders and problems that affect the world around them. Many startups begin with someone realizing that there isn't something that they need so they create it. We also observe things in our world and see things that can be improved.