Contribute to open-source, work on side projects, give tech talks, write blog posts, you name it.
Some software companies value your off-work activity more than your experience. What do you think about this? Is it fair?
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Some software companies value your off-work activity more than your experience.Can you expand on this? In my experience the opposite is true.
It depends on the person. If a persons finds coding to be their passion, then this activity isn't work anymore but a hobby. If a person feels like coding is a part of their system (life), then every free time would be a coding and a happy time.
As a programmer, the company where you are currently working might box you to the repetitive tools and programming languages that they are usually use. But, for a person who really starves for knowledge, free times would be a privilege for them to learn something new.
Some companies value your off-work activity more than your experience. Is it fair?
No, it's just lazy.
Your off-work activity shows passion in the job, and passion is definitely a valuable characteristic for any hire, independently of the field. However, there are definitely more ways to evaluate it. Plus, there are characteristics that are more important than passion. So, as a company, if I rely heavily on this item to assess a candidate, I am probably not doing a good job.
In some companies, this can also give an edge compared to other applicants. A good Github profile, for example, can show your level of expertise in coding quite nicely. However, your knowledge and expertise will have to be assessed anyway in an interview. If a company heavily relies on such elements for a hire, they are probably looking for shortcuts.
Do I like to work on side projects, give tech talks, write blog posts?
Hell yeah! But this is orthogonal to my career :)
Right. You just landed on a very important topic here: hiring processes are flawed if they judge candidates for their "passion" only. Whether they value this in their screenings is irrelevant, what matters is how they see you as a whole.
I love coding, and I love working on my own projects and experiments in my free time. That time is akin to creating art, relaxing and clearing my mind.
That being said, I believe it should not affect my relevance as a developer. I just need to make sure I have a decent portfolio and I keep it up to date. That doesn't mean to say it needs to be filled with off-work activity.
Right. Devs can be smart enough to build a strong portfolio which doesn't necessarily require off-work time.
On the one hand, you should practice your skills and contribute to the community, just because those are unequivocally good things to do.
On the other hand, if the company expects me to write blog posts and libraries, they can damn well pay me to do it.
In my opinion,your free time is your free time. You should calm down to prevent burnout. Do a hobby, go out do things that make you feel refreshed. But you could code but not intensive, just for fun simple stuff but remember to not overdo it, you need to prevent burnouts
Or put as: prevent burnout by playing the game long term. I can totally agree. It's a disservice to put a lot of time doing open source just to see yourself burned out at work.
For now, I'm student in computer science in France, and we do a lot of project during our school time but my most ambicious and intresting project is during my free time.
When I had to postule in some company for my school work, I give this project, and I think it's for that they take me, because not so many student does some extra work project.
(Sorry for my not perfect english x))
Your English is perfect :D
If you're a privileged student with no family and no need to work, I'd totally advise to code every waking hour. Build a portfolio in Github pages and start shooting a lot of code in your free time. This is the time in life where you can afford to do nothing else than just work and fun.
You'll have a great advantage over your peers and you won't ever look back.
If you can't do it and need to maintain your family after work then you're fine, you're trying your best and that's what counts.
Yep I now I've lot of chance! I've my own appartment, not far of the school, and even I don't work a lot I can grab good mark. So I work on some code for fun! And I think it's a big chance!
I'm adding a new word to my vocab: cathartic :D
Definitely. Working on side projects is fantastic, it's the whole mixture of ugly, maintainable, but lovely code. Excellent for experimenting and growing.
If they want to, have the resources to do so, sure. But as a requirement, nope.
I'm torn. On one side, a developer who is involved in extracurriculars may look more appealing. But, another developer, who may not have the time or resources to do so, isn't necessarily the "worst" choice. Looking at their 9-5 technical skills, they may be equal. Heck, the person who doesn't code in their spare time might even be the "better" candidate overall.
Having "free time" outside of work is a privilege. It's unfair that it seems like having that privilege is what it takes to get in/ahead/seen in tech. Perhaps this is my bias coming from a working-class family. Or my experiences with being slighted in favor of the privileged, but it's happened enough times that I'm torn with what to do about it. Do I keep trying to be "extra"? Or do I just give up and be ok where I am?
A few years ago, I hit the CFP scene hard. I did it partially because I thought it would help me move within my career, but ultimately, I'm not sure if it did. Maybe there's an unknown X-factor that is still playing against me. Maybe it is how it is.
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I think software companies recognize that off-work activity also counts as experience. The work we do in our free time is meant to facilitate our learning, increase our exposure to different things, and to grow as professionals (at least, as it related to software). Having switched industries almost a decade ago I found this aspect of tech careers refreshing: you could showcase your side projects and continuing education as valuable experience.
I don't think it should outweigh other considerations in hiring decisions, however. There are plenty of people who don't have much time out of work to dedicate to these activities: parents with young children, people taking care of relatives, people with limited means, among others. And some folks don't like giving talks and writing blog posts—things that are perfectly OK.
To your point, I think if you really enjoy code-related activities and like to pursue it on your own time, that shouldn't be discouraged. I really enjoy a lot of tech-related activities outside of work and I don't expect anyone else to. Thanks for the post!
You're putting a great point on the table: accumulate valuable experience in your free time.
This is even more impactful for juniors. You can easily build an industry-standard "2 years of experience" within 6 months just by grinding several side projects by yourself.
Off topic: Your content on tech writing is amazing, btw. I'm on your newsletter already, getting a lot of value. Keep it up!
"Accumulate valuable experience in your free time"—yes, this!
Haha and thank you so much, that means a lot! Followed you on here. Thanks for sparking such a great discussion!