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Well, I did mention my PDCLib during my interview three years ago. Mostly to get a waiver that the company wouldn't suddenly make any copyright claims on it (the contract they offered required checking with them when you're doing any kind of spare-time development work, so I thought I'd get that clear right from the start so I wouldn't be blocked from PDCLib development while being employed there).

But that was at the end of the interview... I was lucky, what I did in my last job perfectly matched what they needed to be done, so I didn't have to advertise myself that much.

Well, just be careful how you place that bit in the interview. Yes, it shows technical skill if the HR person is willing to look at it that way. But it's so "strange" a pastime that it might just as well put you in the "nerd" box, and many HR / manager types don't like them that much.

Solar wrote:Well, I did mention my PDCLib during my interview three years ago. Mostly to get a waiver that the company wouldn't suddenly make any copyright claims on it (the contract they offered required checking with them when you're doing any kind of spare-time development work, so I thought I'd get that clear right from the start so I wouldn't be blocked from PDCLib development while being employed there).

But that was at the end of the interview... I was lucky, what I did in my last job perfectly matched what they needed to be done, so I didn't have to advertise myself that much.

Well, just be careful how you place that bit in the interview. Yes, it shows technical skill if the HR person is willing to look at it that way. But it's so "strange" a pastime that it might just as well put you in the "nerd" box, and many HR / manager types don't like them that much.

Ideally you'll be interviewed by multiple people - an HR drone and a techie, at least. Pitch yourself to whatever the person across the desk from you will want to hear most.

The HR type will want to know you'll fit in. The techie may want that too, but will also want to know your hard skills. Talking about OS dev to an HR drone is never going to end well

Well, the keyword here, is "Self Evaluation". As long as you are confident enough of 'what you have achieved', you never need to care the ignorant. The best reply to them is your 'silence'. Just stay true to yourself.

Thanks for the tip guys And your right, death2all: it really is a waste on how being sad or depressed actually holds you back, if i didnt care so much, i actually probably could do better things, and that even if it still is the way it was, doesnt hold back the fact that ive done better, and learned more.

One other thing - I don't know what it's like where you are, but I've been out of high school for three years now, and there's maybe ten to fifteen people (out of a class of about 300) that I actually talk to on any regular basis... If I had set out to prove people in my high school wrong about something, it wouldn't really make any difference now!

Steve the Pirate wrote:I've been out of high school for three years now...

I graduated from high school in 1992. Number of classmates I still have contact with: One.

I went to university for four years. Number of fellow students that I still have contact with: Uhm... quite a few, actually, but none of them from the same faculty.

I graduated from a occupational re-training in 2000. Number of classmates I still have contact with: One.

Number of people from my first employer I still have contact with: One (happens to be in the same office as myself now that I'm with my third employer).

Number of people from my second employer I still have contact with: One, but not from the same department.

Bottom line, upside: there's not many people that take the same road through life as you do...

Bottom line, downside: ...but always enough so that if you really screw up, it will follow you around.

I don't know if it's been said yet, but OS dev isn't really the way to impress the majority. 99% won't have any idea what it is, and 99% of the 1% left over don't know enough about it to see why it's something to brag about. But, even in the rare case you meet someone who knows something, it is still likely that you don't have enough done/aren't original enough to impress them. "You," in this case, being the general OS dever, not directed at you.

This happens to me often.

1. Someone will ask a question.
2. I'll give what I believe to be a good answer.
3. Someone will offer what I believe to be a horrible answer.
4. Person who posed the original question will go along with horrible advice and treat me like I don't know what I'm talking about.

The best I can explain it is, good advice has an appearance of foolishness to those who don't know any better.

xxxcastenada wrote:This happens to me often.

1. Someone will ask a question.
2. I'll give what I believe to be a good answer.
3. Someone will offer what I believe to be a horrible answer.
4. Person who posed the original question will go along with horrible advice and treat me like I don't know what I'm talking about.

The best I can explain it is, good advice has an appearance of foolishness to those who don't know any better.

You need to practice getting your ideas across in an informative, friendly and non-dickish manner, and similarly point out the flaws in your colleague's design in a non-dickish manner.