[nfbcs] Research

Mon Feb 27 22:35:19 UTC 2017

The point is that you should have programming experience as a software
developer. So yes, I have programming experience, it's what I've made
money doing as an actual job. Therefore I was able to contribute to open
source projects. There's also the concept of getting a degree in a
specific field that should make you compitant enough to contribute to
open source projects. I didn't need to spend 5 years getting up to speed
before I submitted code to FreeBSD.On 2/27/2017 5:24 PM, John Heim via
nfbcs wrote:
> I suspect you are underestimating the amount of self-teaching you had to
> do before you were able to contribute to that project. In fact, a lot of
> the people on open source projects are self-taught. That's a skill that
> can be developed and it may be the most valuable skill an IT
> professional can have. But likemost skills, some people are better at it
> than others.
> 
> For years on this list I've been advising people to go out and get a
> used computer and put linux on it. That's how I learned linux systems
> admin. But experience has to be earned. If you did something for the
> freeBSD project that didn't requireyou to either have programming
> experience or to acquire it, then it's not worth putting on a resume.
> There is no shortcut here.
> 
> On 02/27/2017 09:50 AM, Littlefield, Tyler via nfbcs wrote:
>> I beg to differ here. I found something on the todo for FreeBSD and
>> implemented it. There's one open source contribution. If you use a
>> project and find bugs, contribute. There's another contribution.
>> Volunteering and working on a project doesn't mean  you just find one,
>> jump in and start coding. Usually people dogfood it, realize there's a
>> problem and then fix said problem.
>> On 2/27/2017 10:08 AM, John Heim via nfbcs wrote:
>>> By definition, an "entry level" job is one that does not require
>>> experience. That's what "entry level" means.
>>>
>>> For most people, I don't think it is really practical to suggest that
>>> they get experience by volunteering for an open-source project. You
>>> can't just walk into an open-source project and start coding away like
>>> crazy.  The project manager is going to say something like, "We could
>>> really use someone to write a USB driver. How much kernel module
>>> experience do you have?" Or something like that. It's true, though, that
>>> if you are the type of person who can jump into an open-source project
>>> and teach yourself somethinglike how to write a kernel driver module,
>>> then you probably don't need a CS degree.
>>>
>>> The main value of things like volunteering for an open-source project or
>>> building a web site for your church would be that it shows initiative.
>>> You didn't just sit around waiting for someone to offer you a job. This
>>> is really probably the elephant in the room. The truth is that if you
>>> are smart enough and determined enough, you can overcome any
>>> disadvantage. If you're not, you can fail in spite of every advantage.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On 26/02/17 12:08, Andy B. via nfbcs wrote:
>>>>> If you can get experience through opensource projects. Most hiring
>>>>> managers
>>>>> around here require boat loads of experience. Who wants an entry level
>>>>> (jr.
>>>>> developer job) when it requires a B.S. in CS and 5+ years of
>>>>> experience? Iam
>>>>> sure contributing to opensource and building personal projects doesn't
>>>>> pay
>>>>> the bills for 5 or more years. Most graduates have at least a $40K
>>>>> bill from
>>>>> school to pay back as well. We know the trend is for hiring
>>>>> organizations to
>>>>> keep the jobs just out of reach of recent graduates. What are we going
>>>>> to do
>>>>> about it? Most people start their own business, become freelance
>>>>> developers,
>>>>> or create a startup. Never forget that working for someone else is not
>>>>> your
>>>>> only option.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>> From: nfbcs [mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Christopher
>>>>> Chaltain via nfbcs
>>>>> Sent: Sunday, February 26, 2017 11:54 AM
>>>>> To: NFB in Computer Science Mailing List <nfbcs at nfbnet.org>
>>>>> Cc: Christopher Chaltain <chaltain at gmail.com>; David Andrews
>>>>> <dandrews at visi.com>
>>>>> Subject: Re: [nfbcs] Research
>>>>>
>>>>> It is true that a CS degree will not guarantee you a job, and it's
>>>>> also true
>>>>> that not everyone working in the technology field has a CS degree.
>>>>> I've been a hiring manager in the technology field for over 15 years,
>>>>> and
>>>>> I've worked for three different companies during that time. Most of
>>>>> the
>>>>> positions I've helped staff have required a CS, CE or I degree or
>>>>> equivalent
>>>>> experience. Obviously, if you're a recent college graduate, it's going
>>>>> to be
>>>>> hard to have that equivalent experience if you don't have a technical
>>>>> degree.
>>>>>
>>>>> My advice to anyone going into the technology field would be to pursue
>>>>> the
>>>>> appropriate degree. If you want to go into software engineering
>>>>> then I'd
>>>>> recommend a CS or a CE degree. If you want to go into some other area
>>>>> of IT
>>>>> then an associates degree or a relevant certificate may be
>>>>> appropriate.
>>>>>
>>>>> Whether you have a technical degree or not, internship experience is
>>>>> key. As
>>>>> I think someone else pointed out, nothing prepares you for the real
>>>>> world
>>>>> better than experience. Volunteering or contributing to an open source
>>>>> project will also help you stand out by showing your commitment and
>>>>> demonstrating your experience. All college graduates, especially from
>>>>> the
>>>>> same university, look the same. Internships and other experience can
>>>>> help
>>>>> you stand out.
>>>>>
>>>>> On 25/02/17 14:19, David Andrews via nfbcs wrote:
>>>>>> Greg, I have no doubt that what you say is true. On the other hand,
>>>>>> most people who hire entry-level people are going to consider
>>>>>> blindness a strike against a person. Not having a CS degree is
>>>>>> another, and this isn't baseball -- two strikes and you are out.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> We always need that little extra edge to end up in the same place.
>>>>>> You can talk about overcoming countless accessibility obstacles to
>>>>>> get
>>>>>> your degree. This is a plus.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Dave
>>>>>>
>>>>>> At 01:49 PM 2/24/2017, you wrote:
>>>>>>> This is going to sound odd but I work for a major technology
>>>>>>> company.
>>>>>>> I can not think of a single person in my group with a CS degree.
>>>>>>> More
>>>>>>> common in fact are fine arts degrees, like mine, history and
>>>>>>> humanities and music. We have some people including a supervisor who
>>>>>>> have no college degree at all, he came out of the military. We are
>>>>>>> all doing very technical work much of which involves coding which we
>>>>>>> all seemed to have learned as we needed it.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> So is having a CS degree a guarantee of a good job at a technology
>>>>>>> firm? Silicon Valley is filled up with CS graduates working at
>>>>>>> Starbucks so the answer is clearly no. IS not have such a degree
>>>>>>> going to keep you form a career at such a firm, well my experience
>>>>>>> the answer no as well.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>>>
>>>>>> m
>>>>>
>>>>> -- 
>>>>> Christopher (CJ)
>>>>> chaltain at Gmail
>>>>>
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>>>>>
>>>>>
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>>>>>
>>>>
>>>
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>>
>>
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-- 
Take care,
Ty
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