134
You are worrying about nothing. Software has bugs, that is inevitable, and everyone knows it. QA finds bugs, hopefully puts them into a bug tracking system, and you take one bug from the bug tracker, fix it, then the next one and so on until you are finished.
There is no need to mention where this bug comes from. Nobody cares. If someone asks you why there ...
62
Take a deep breath, and start over.
Remember: What seems to be very realistic for you, can be seem arbitrary for someone else who does not know the details that you know. Ask yourself: are you providing enough data with your estimates to show / support your estimation?
If yes,
Are they detailed enough and shows the complexity of the work that needs to ...
40
Networking only works amongst people who want to network. If the motivation is all from one person, then it isn't going to work.
Software engineers tend not to be all that gregarious - these emails and lunch invites are probably not targeted enough at other engineers who might also interested in networking - so you get little or no response.
You're ...
31
In the stand up, you should just state the facts:
Yesterday, I worked on bug #532 about the widgets being the wrong colour. Completed that and it's ready for the next deployment.
Today, I'm going to work on bug #536 about the crash when trying to order more widgets.
Potentially blocked because I don't understand the interactions with the back-end ...
26
This whole "Hey, we haven't talked in years, but let's go have lunch together" feels absurdly unnatural to me. I would also probably ignore it.
On the other hand, I'd have no problem recommending old colleagues with whom I haven't talked in years but am well aware that they are good at their jobs. I have done that a few times.
My point is, networking isn't ...
25
He literally said to you, “we can keep you here if we revise your salary,” and you agreed. Then he checked this with you again, and asked for evidence of what you were paid last time, and then paid you that. It sounds to me as if there was ample communication and feedback. Your contract was modified for cause, based on your performance during the probation ...
25
Personally, I think you are right on the money giving worst-case estimates.
It is much better to get something done in a shorter amount of time that they're expecting ('underpromise and overdeliver'), than the opposite. Running over time estimates is stressful and no fun for anyone.
My strategy for estimating tasks is basically a function of 'how much ...
20
Personally, I feel keeping a decent separation between work and business is a good solid plan. Even if your employer allows you to use your laptop on the job, or they allow you to use their laptop for your personal use, I would say it's not worth the risk involved to take them up on that.
I've had computers freeze up and need a complete operating system ...
18
What's a simple, honest, but firm way to state that I don't want to take part in this hackathon - even for the daytime?
Sometimes simple, clear statements can go a long way. No need to give detailed explanations, a simple "I do not want to participate in this year's Hackathon" should do the trick.
If someone asks (which they shouldn't, as it's not their ...
18
1) Don't make it sound like I'm speaking badly about the code or the former employee that left, who's work I'm fixing.
Well, you talk about the problems in the code, without mentioning the why (or whom) part, bugs are there and they need to be fixed - that's it.
2) Try not to make myself look bad as I'm going to be busy fixing something that didn't pass ...
17
I have started around 7-8 projects in these 3 years and updated around 7-8 old projects also. So currently I have involved more than 15 projects. New requirements/ changes are coming each month for all old projects. So it is very hard to remember and working all projects together.
All of these points to the fact that your company is seriously under-staffed. ...
16
Technical work you do in a non-professional context is different from work you do while employed. Not necessarily in terms of the technical nature or difficulty of the work you do (I've known people who do much more difficult work outside of the day job because they find their paid work insufficiently challenging!) but more in the mindset and environment.
...
15
Have you ever considered the impact of reading "recent graduate" and "Cofounder and Director of IT" in the same resume?
Yes, there are rare individuals where such a thing fits, and then there are many more "slightly delusional" people who think trash collection is "sanitation engineer / health care professional". While I personally think you're the real ...
13
should I just move on even if they offered me a retry?
Absolutely not! If they offer you a retry, they're clearly OK with it. Why second guess what they might or might not really mean?
Of course - it might be that they don't offer you a retry, for whatever reason. If that's the case you'll just have to chalk it up to experience and move on.
13
I am told that I should learn to present myself better and "stop being so modest".
That's true.
In other words, how much ever good something is, if it can't be sold, it's of no use.
As you might have already figured out, a resume / CV is your gate-pass to the interview. What you know and don't know, and whether you are fit for the role will be decided ...
12
You can thank them for their interest and politely decline citing that the posted salary is not within an acceptable range for you. This gives them the opportunity to begin a discussion with you around potential salary if they are flexible.
12
Talking with people often hinges on understanding their goal. It seems to me that while your main goal is to produce good software right now your manager wants a to invest some of the present expertise to train the juniors so that there will be more good developers in the future.
As you know very well, educating younger colleagues takes time and the tasks ...
12
Do not EVER reduce your estimates, unless you have new information pertaining to some specific part. Most developer estimates, especially from those inexperienced at it, are always optimistic - in this respect, providing worst case is probably a good idea, although presenting as a range from worst to most likely (not "best") is better.
However, he started ...
12
Although the last thing you want to do is contact your team lead. It may be that it is exactly what you have to do. You've tried talking to him about it professionally, you've tried asking your team mates and you've tried carrying on as "normal". None of these methods have worked for you as it's effecting your work.
A scrum team needs to communicate. That's ...
11
Well, firstly, no one is forcing you to code in any given language - the option of employment is a voluntary one, and one that you yourself make. By agreeing to be employed, you agree to give up some of your time to do tasks that your employer requires to be done. If you don't like the tasks, the pay or the time required, then you are free to seek ...
10
What makes asking questions so controversial with Software Engineers in the workplace?
I don't think this situation is unique to software engineering having worked in software engineering, product management, education and the food service industry, but indicative of a poor work culture in general. In my role as a Team Lead, it's my job to make my team feel ...
10
How should I deal with this?
What should I do?
If you have already asked your coworker to stop this in a polite way, and did not work, you should take this to your manager/superior, so they can sort this out the way they see fit.
IANAL, nor I live in India, but a quick Google search seems to indicate that not only is this unhealthy, but also seems to be ...
10
Networking, at least how I understand it, isn't about forming actual meaningful relationships, or directly hooking people up with jobs. The main benefit to networking is to get your name out there.
People are strange in that we like the familiar more than the unfamiliar, even if we don't know much else. Companies spend billions of dollars on "brand ...
10
TL;DR: I would never recommend someone I met casually at a tech workshop, but I might help them get a foot in the door.
There is a difference between "recommend" and "refer". If I causally know you and think you are a good person, I might refer you to an opportunity. And I would make it clear to the hiring manager that I'm only referring you. I might say, "...
10
There's a simple fact: If you give a good estimate, then 50% of the time the work will take longer, and 50% of the time the work will take less time. If it's different for you, then you are not giving good estimates.
There's another simple fact, and that is that many managers don't understand this simple fact. You give an estimate, and they take this as a ...
10
Have an honest conversation with your line manager about this. Tell them clearly that you're uncomfortable, and explain why it makes you uncomfortable (it may help to sit down and make a list of reasons beforehand). Also tell them clearly that you don't want to do it.
Since their goal is (presumably) to get the videos made and viewed, having a reluctant ...
9
If you need your manager's approval, there isn't much you can do apart from trying to understand where they're coming from and then trying to convince them to change their mind.
Your manager said you have to justify why the projects are beneficial to the team.
The first step might be to simply ask them why how you spend your free time needs to benefit the ...
9
I’m not sure if I should raise a discussion about it, and if I do so,
how should I proceed
In this case you don't do anything.
As you mentioned, the code is the property of the company.
However, credit and/or responsibility for is very different. Ultimately, this is up to your manager to recognize who has contributed what. A good manager with some ...
9
Ignoring the conversations you had with your manager, you must have a signed contract which has your salary on it when you started the employment?
If your contract has now been changed (even if you verbally suggested you would be ok with this), where is the new signed contract? Have you been provided with any documentation of this change? If not I would go ...
9
Giving only worst case estimates is not useful. Over time they will be wrong and your estimates won't have credibility, as possibly evidenced by your manager's questions. Sure, some times things go wrong and it is the worst case. But other times things are fine and even a few times things go great. If your estimates aren't reliable over time, they lose ...
Only top voted, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible
