All this and the developers that were driving new line of biz products were coming from the front end ( web and mobile ), of course all front ends need backends and when these these folks went looking they naturally leaned toward JavaScript the same language they were using on the front end and Async model
It's amazing how much nautical language and references contribute to colloquial phrases. It may be just the company I keep but I find it consistently comes up in French.
I would add to that oil and gas project managers. When I moved to SF from Dallas I was astounded how little Product Managers assessed resource costs + risk to value. I get that it's a different world with different objectives but there were clear moments in the SV where some good old fashion blue collar project management would have made a significant impact.
I agree with a lot of this. My one comment is that not all side projects are about a "full startup business". I shipped my 2 mo. side project this summer. Donors Choose Project Finder
https://appsto.re/us/JVmbab.i . It was 100% pro bono , and to keep my skills sharp. So far over $20,000 in supported donations. Keep an eye open for the next set of features :)
Agreed; many side projects are just for fun, to create a tool that you want & you don't care if others want it (though you may or may not choose to share it having created it), to ship just to show your friends, or see how it does in the wild without caring about whether it generates cash; just hoping that a few people find it & appreciate what you've made.
Personally I'd hate to run my own business, since that means moving away from the code (even if you get another person to take care of the non-code stuff; you still have to go out and find the right person for that / get involved in things that you wouldn't otherwise choose to). That said I'd love to create something, put it out there, and have 5 people come back and say "thanks for this; you've fixed a problem that I was having"; to get 100 people say that would be even better; any more and I'd probably start to get upset as there would become expectations to start implementing things the user base was asking for, rather than just doing my own thing; which for a hobby project is all I'd want.
A lot of my side projects relate to my day job; I use my spare time to create tools which make my work life simpler. Sure the IPO belongs to my employer, but it means I remove frustrations from my working day without having to justify spending company time on the tools which allow that, and I can share these tools with colleagues so that my friends get the benefits too. That makes for a pleasant life.
I don't understand why (forgive me for the generalization) blue collar work ethic and blue collar loyalty are so often dismissed in the tech field. Some of the best advice I ever received was 'execute in the seat your in'. Sure there are higher order strategies to work out but grow into it and growth is around growing into the company, not just growing into your specific vertical profession. Kudos on your directness.
A few reasons I can think of off the top of my head:
1) Anything that can be effectively described as "blue collar" will probably be replaced by automation within 3-10 years depending on the job.
2) Creative thinkers should be valued more highly in the tech field than those that can just follow orders blindly. Very few tech fields emulate an assembly line and the ability to think for yourself and develop an alternative solution is and should be highly valued.
3) Most people in the tech field, both employees and employers, are probably intellectual to a degree and free thinkers in and of themselves. So the cycle continues.
I'd also like to point out that this idea of a blue collar work ethic is somewhat flawed. There is not specific work ethic associated with the blue collar worker naturally; it's just a result of never having enough money for pleasure, so work becomes a part of the routine. The job doesn't matter as much when you're dirt poor as long as it's making money, and the risk of job loss is what you're describing as loyalty. This is really nothing more than a capitalist machine at its worst, not some utopic worker's attitude we should all aspire to.
>Very few tech fields emulate an assembly line and the ability to think for yourself and develop an alternative solution is and should be highly valued
A lot of management hates this. Less skilled managers, just want a dev shop where they can build and assemble parts.
It might have something to do with the business you're in. If you are b2b in certain areas, innovation isn't as highly valued as reliability. In fact it can be downright disruptive.
And the traditional "blue collar" jobs often have/had "Spanish" Practices designed to game the system - eg postal workers deliberately holding back first class post on a Friday to provide OT at the weekend - or doing a go slow in order to get a bung in a brown envelope.
I think this is an idealistic view of what a work ethic is. This may be anecdotal, but I left home earlier than I should have and worked my fair share of "blue collar" jobs as a result and in none of these jobs were there people enjoying the present moment or describing any sense of loyalty to their jobs. They all hated their lives, hated their bosses and hated their jobs. Many could probably fit the description of a borderline alcoholic because that was the coping mechanism: Work all week, 9 to 5, then cut loose on the weekends until sloppy drunk and forget that you had to wake up and do it all over again Monday. And yet they were all "hard workers" with what may be described as a good work ethic. They cared because they had to...they needed the job and for them, anything better was a pipe dream. People in this position will literally fight each other for just a few extra hours of work...work that's shit and barely pays for a cup of coffee per hour. When you have the luxury of quitting, a strong work ethic should be valued higher because it shows an employee that genuinely takes pride in what they do. But when your life literally hangs in the balance of an extra shift a strong work ethic becomes instantly more selfish and less of an objective measurement of someone's capacity and instead is just a modern statistic on how far someone will go to survive. Most of these people are not noble altruists; they just lost their ambition when they realized their childhood dreams could never be accomplished and they've made the best of the situation. Working class heroes, indeed.
I can only respond with "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work" which is my favorite Edison quote. A 9 to 5 effort IMO will have disappointing 9 to 5 results. If you offset that with a fantastic personal life and a sensible retirement strategy, that's an epic win. If instead you squander that time on couch potatoing, you might want to rethink that outlook.
I wouldn't work for this guy, I want to work with people who are smarter than me and from whom I can learn new things. That said, he's right to not want someone like me, I get bored pretty quickly when I'm the smartest guy in the room so I try like hell to avoid that situation. But to each their own of course.
The plodders he wants are not well paid either. The people who tend to rise to the top of silicon valley companies tend to be like he describes, and tend to work many many hours.
You don't have to be at the top of a silicon valley company to have a successful tech career. I wouldn't want that for myself. Too high stress, not enough free time. I think that people that rise into those roles truly enjoy the stress and challenges of such a position, and good for them, but it's not something I'd ever want for myself.
I think test after is a reasonable approach. I am constantly dealing with new code bases and in the interview process I am often asked about my philosophy about testing. My response is thatbtrsting occurs on two fronts from the top down ( functional UI tests) and from the bottom up (unit tests). When it comes to unit testing my approach is to focus on the hotspots. If something gives you trouble, or if you find a bug/ issue then wrap it in a unit test. That way you don't have to worry about it. Bugs tell you where the weak spots in your code base are. When they speak to you, listen and take some action. Otherwise, I feel like chasing blanket coverage is not worth the effort in most products.
Hey I have some time behind the iOS Dev "wheel" (about 12 iOS apps shipped, some better than others :/ ) , I'm between jobs/contracts and just hanging out so if you want someone to bounce questions off of feel free, or even better we can schedule 45 min and I'll give you the walk through of the fora and fauna of iOS SDK's ( it's not that hard after a bit of coaching ) . my email is in my profile . Good luck !
