Questions tagged [software-industry]
Questions with this tag should be specific to the Software Industry, or to workplace elements commonly associated with said industry. The Software Industry deals with the creation, maintenance, and distribution of software. In addition, the creation of any associated training/documentation, as well as any consulting work, is included under the auspices of Software Industry.
2,878
questions
354
votes
20
answers
87k
views
What is a 'friendly' way to let managers know that having good developers is a privilege?
I work for a small company, where we recently had a change of managers. The new manager has no experience managing developers, and the old manager has moved into a development role to fill in gaps ...
309
votes
22
answers
118k
views
How can I overcome "years of experience" requirements when applying to positions?
Summary: I have 2 years of experience, but want to get a job that explicitly requires 3-7 years. I consider myself with sufficient skills. How can I get a job that requires more years of experience ...
user874
303
votes
19
answers
58k
views
Why is it 'expected' that software developers work on their own projects in their spare time?
I have been working in software development for the last five years, and have had a number of jobs during this time - most of them have been fixed term contracts, but I've also had a permanent ...
- 2,878
266
votes
27
answers
59k
views
How to know if I am a 'Real Developer'
I am in my 5th year as a developer (3.5 years as junior/mid level and now a senior dev).
My current role is not going well (people issues). Anyway, I said to one of the managers I was thinking of ...
- 4,375
257
votes
16
answers
40k
views
Is Screenshot Time-tracking Common?
I am a freelance developer. When I work on projects for a client I tend to bill to the half-hour, which has been fine. Additionally, I do my best to track each type of thing "research", "coding", "...
- 1,431
255
votes
15
answers
49k
views
Does using documentation as a developer make me look unprofessional?
I’m a junior developer and working every other three months in a software development company as part of my corporate studies.
Even though I’ve been programming for almost 1 year (3 x 3 months work ...
- 1,869
249
votes
8
answers
54k
views
Required to work unpaid overtime to "make up" for a shorter commute after moving closer to the office
So a friend of mine this weekend lamented one of the changes in his employment that happened recently. It got me thinking whether or not you can consider that acceptable.
He works and lives in the US ...
- 23.3k
226
votes
17
answers
36k
views
How will losing mobility of one hand affect my career as a programmer?
The effects of a genetic disorder started affecting one of my hands. Now it's barely visible and only causes mild discomfort and a slight loss of agility, but upon reaching its final stage my hand ...
- 951
223
votes
15
answers
35k
views
How can I move past being burnt out when working long hours?
I'm in my 30s, married with a couple of kids. I have been working at a company for the past 3 years. Last year our company bought a competitor that was having financial issues, and laid off most of ...
- 1,459
219
votes
15
answers
37k
views
Is it unprofessional to car share?
To save some money, my colleague and I decided to start car sharing to and from work. Our workplace operates a flexible working policy between 7 and 7 and we often come in early and leave early to ...
- 2,021
216
votes
10
answers
38k
views
My employer is forcing its employees to defraud its customers, how should I handle this situation?
Right now I have a really uncomfortable situation and not sure what's the best way to handle it.
I am working as a software developer for an outsourcing company based in Eastern Europe. Most of its ...
- 1,021
214
votes
27
answers
51k
views
Is it obligatory to make small talk with your colleagues?
I am a software developer and an introvert. I am two years into my first job after college. The reviews of my work have been good. But I'm facing a lot of anxiety these days because of the environment ...
- 1,555
214
votes
9
answers
31k
views
Is it okay for me to decline a project on ethical grounds?
I work for a big digital marketing agency as a Web Analyst. One of our clients is a sports betting website. In a recent meeting they asked us to help with a new strategy. It basically involves re-...
- 1,012
200
votes
24
answers
98k
views
A programming task is scaring off candidates, should we ditch it?
It is the first time that I am doing HR, and we are looking for a developer. The selection process is three rounds: technical phone interview, programming task (0.5 - 1 hr challenge), and then finally ...
- 11.8k
197
votes
27
answers
78k
views
Fired for third time from a software development job. What to do?
Today I was fired from a software company.. for the 3rd time in 1.5 years. Needless to say I feel like I reached bottom and it's impossible to get out without changing career. Should I change a career?...
- 2,493
192
votes
25
answers
36k
views
How to attract people to work on very old and outdated technologies?
I work in a IT company that is deeply specialized in projects made with old and outdated technologies.
The biggest projects are usually a mix of Cobol (the oldest versions, not the most modern) and ...
- 1,083
189
votes
19
answers
57k
views
How to stop an employee from holding the company hostage?
I work in a team that writes software to facilitate one of the key business units of the company. I joined the team a few months ago and found out that there is high turn-over in my team due to one ...
- 1,394
179
votes
23
answers
33k
views
How, in practice, can I hire more diversely?
Let's say that I've attended all the talks, I've read all the research, and I've concluded that what's best for my team and my company is to increase the amount of diversity in my software engineering ...
- 1,237
179
votes
21
answers
35k
views
Dealing with reactions from colleague about being self-taught
I'm working as a software developer for a big company in Western Europe. I have 2 years of industry experience and 2 more years as a freelancer doing web apps on the side. All in all, I've been from ...
- 1,804
172
votes
14
answers
40k
views
My boss gave me an end date for my job- but he wants a very complex project done before then
I've been working as a software engineer contractor for the last year and a half, at a company that has been promising to onboard me as a full employee for over seven months. However, I was recently ...
- 1,227
168
votes
11
answers
40k
views
How to handle interview technical tests that are absurd (e.g. an unreasonably large task with a short time limit)?
If an interview includes a technical test involving an unreasonably large task and short time limit, does it make sense for a candidate to turn in work that does not meet the candidate's quality ...
- 2,543
168
votes
10
answers
33k
views
My current job follows "worst practices". How can I talk about my experience in an interview without giving off red flags?
At my job, there's absolutely no code review, no testing, no version control, no organization of software architecture, no concept of "test vs production servers", no code commenting. In fact, all of ...
user107107
167
votes
17
answers
48k
views
It seems as though my employer wants me to come into work when I'm ill. Am I missing something?
I work as a salaried employee for a software company in the UK, I've been there about 1.5 years. Their primary market is consultancy - we get assigned clients, travel to their offices for the work ...
- 1,273
164
votes
19
answers
30k
views
How to explain business priorities to a programmer?
I have a recurring disagreement with a programmer about code quality. He insists that all of his code is written to the highest standard (i.e. that it looks just like the examples in the coding styles ...
- 3,867
162
votes
11
answers
21k
views
Soon-to-be-ex-employer trying to force me to disclose name of new employer
I recently tendered my resignation at my current company (senior engineer; get along well with the teams, but my boss's boss promised big bonuses and raises they never delivered even when my team ...
- 801
161
votes
16
answers
41k
views
Am I responsible for finding my own replacement?
Background:
I work at a small company where I am the currently the sole developer. I am planning to leave on a certain date in the near future, and do not wish to reveal this information to my ...
- 1,087
159
votes
13
answers
30k
views
Is it reasonable to ask a potential employer for samples of their code and/or employee contact information, to determine if I want to work there?
I'm currently looking for a new job as a developer. There are two things that companies usually require that bother me a lot: long programming assignments and reference checks. There are plenty of ...
- 1,251
158
votes
12
answers
26k
views
How can I avoid being chastised for a project I inherited which was already buggy, but I was told to add features instead of fixing it?
Past: Start new job as software engineer out of college. Assigned an uncommented, undocumented, mess of a project with no training or mentors. I am the only person working on this project, nobody else ...
- 1,304
157
votes
9
answers
31k
views
Is it ethical to read programming books on the clock?
I have an issue that hasn't ever surfaced as a problem, but it's a question that's been bugging me internally a little bit for the last several years.
I've worked at a few different places where they ...
- 1,639
155
votes
21
answers
25k
views
How to handle colleagues who are unwilling to write a bug report?
I'm working as a software developer at a small-ish company (~50 employees).
My main project is a mobile app. I have most of my colleagues on the alpha test channel and customers do not have access to ...
- 3,365
152
votes
10
answers
47k
views
How to deal with an intern's lack of basic skills?
Due to some internal reorganization, now my team includes a new intern. Since I'm the technical and team lead, it's up to me to bring the new guy up to speed with how we work and what we need to do ...
- 8,720
151
votes
14
answers
33k
views
How do I tell my boss I successfully did something they asked not to bother trying?
I am working on a programming project where I'm the only developer, but also working closely with my boss to design it. There's a certain step in the project that's a pretty big bottleneck, and I had ...
- 2,856
146
votes
15
answers
31k
views
Senior architect lashing out when junior developer asks questions. What to do?
I'm a female developer and I've been working at my current employer for 4 months. I’m new to the technology and to the business domain. I basically don’t know much about anything.
I am working on the ...
- 3,365
143
votes
23
answers
27k
views
How do we recruit junior software developers in an age where everybody studies for the interview?
As a recruiter, I find it increasingly hard to recruit good software developers, due to the fact that it has become very easy to simply study for a job interview by reading any of those 14020 job ...
- 1,115
139
votes
13
answers
32k
views
Employer doesn't want to pay me because I took longer than estimated to finish the work
I work as a junior programmer in Slovakia.
This is my first job and I have been with the company for less than a year.
This month I was working on a feature that was estimated to take about 1 week ...
- 931
135
votes
15
answers
38k
views
Is it "ok" to work on personal projects when home sick?
I work as a software developer, working for a client that is invoiced by the company I'm employed at. Yesterday I got sick, symptoms being fever & nausea.
With fever, the general treatment is ...
134
votes
10
answers
27k
views
How should I approach a boss that keeps hiring temporary workers, only to have me finish something?
Long story short, we've recently had a lot of work to do at my job and in order to fill that vacuum my boss has been hiring temporary workers. At first he hired three which stayed for about two months,...
- 1,301
133
votes
12
answers
26k
views
How do I tell my colleagues that the codebase they've built is a total mess and their practices are ancient?
The situation
For a few months, I've been working with a new team in a new company. The company offers some web services and the team's role is to develop and maintain those services.
Problem #1: ...
- 1,409
132
votes
13
answers
28k
views
Sexy desktop wallpapers in the office
A colleague uses a wallpaper manager which cycles through his collection of desktop wallpapers, a seemingly unending collection of tattooed women in lingerie. There is no nudity but the images are ...
- 1,100
131
votes
15
answers
18k
views
How to stay relevant as programmer in long term
I am 29-year-old programmer.
One thing I noticed with passage of time is that I'm not as ambitious, sharp and energetic as I was at the start of career. My job becomes more demanding as I age and ...
- 1,067
131
votes
12
answers
21k
views
How can I build reputation online as a programmer when my work is private?
I've been working as a programmer for around 12 years. I've worked for 4 different companies (including where I am now) all of which have a good reputation.
I have a LinkedIn account but due to the ...
- 971
128
votes
15
answers
34k
views
Rejected in the fourth interview round, citing insufficient years of experience [closed]
I have been interviewing with a very prominent software company, having completed one HR and two technical rounds (one with the team's manager) before. In the fourth round (coding round) I did very ...
- 1,003
124
votes
16
answers
22k
views
Constantly pulled onto different tasks/projects, becoming exhausted
I'm a data-analyst for my company and I also perform full-stack development work.
I have a web-development project I've been working on for the last 8 months, and the primary focus from my boss and ...
- 2,119
123
votes
14
answers
37k
views
Company does not understand what the “bus factor” is and continues to give me more and more responsibilities
At the company I am working for, I believe is beginning to give me more and more responsibility. Trying to get me to be responsible for more and more pieces of the application and infrastructure we ...
- 44.9k
123
votes
10
answers
26k
views
Consequences for leaving an easter egg in code?
I'm a software developer (at a small company with no government or military customers) and just out of fun left an easter egg in the code. The only way for a final customer to see it is if they press ...
- 979
123
votes
9
answers
20k
views
Colleague blocks change request in peer review because of perceived mistakes in code, but suggested improvements do not work
In the company I work for, change requests go through various steps, including a development step, a peer review step and a testing step. On this particular change request, I have been assigned as a ...
- 3,652
121
votes
10
answers
63k
views
Just got an initial job offer. How do I ask for more without any real justification?
I just got an initial programming job offer for $75k + benefits. It's an initial offer, so I feel like I should give a counter offer ($5k - $10k/year more) to avoid unnecessarily leaving any money on ...
- 1,321
118
votes
16
answers
27k
views
How to deal with a boss who has lost touch with modern software development?
I work (as a junior developer) for a medium-sized company which is the sole market leader in our industry. Our software mainly consists of old code which has been hastily ported/copied to a 90s ...
- 1,299
115
votes
17
answers
36k
views
How can I encourage a culture of punctuality in a software company?
As a new technical lead in a new company, what are some additional strategies to employ to change the culture of the development team so that people show up at the time that I've requested?
TLDR: My ...
115
votes
7
answers
27k
views
How to discuss a project that I accidentally gave a suggestive name to
Background
For my thesis I wrote a program that performs calculations on galaxy models. I named it easy_galaxy. My adviser thought the name was too long, and asked me to shorten it. I came up with ...
- 4,726