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Apr 6 2015 08:45pm
please help me prepare for this interview; i really don't wanna fuck this up. some questions they might ask etc. i've always been a mediocre programmer during college and i never had an internship in school, now i'm paying the price. i've "failed" every single one of my past phone screenings/ face to face interviews that i've had (and most of the questions were simple object oriented concepts even though i felt like i got most of the them right but most is not gonna cut it). i've had plenty of companies wanting to interview me on the phone so obviously the interest is there. i graduated in may 24 2014 (almost a year now) and still no job/intern experience. i really dont know what to do. i didn't actively apply after i graduated though because i was afraid of rejection because i knew my skills weren't up to par. now i'm realizing how dumb i was.

recently, I took a Hadoop course for 10 weeks and i am constantly learning new stuff but it's sometimes hard to stay self-motivated. I've built some projects during this time and on the verge of learning android and web based development.

although, i have no related experience listed on my resume and no networking knowledge (listed in their description), this company still wants to meet with me for an on-site interview( which is rare) so obviously they're interested in me...i usually get phone interviews or screenings. now all i gotta do is give them a good first impression and capitalize. i've been reviewing some data structures/oop concepts the past few days; it seems like almost all companies ask these types of questions since i listed java as one of my proficient languages. what else should i focus on? i know they will ask me to "tell me more about yourself" and although i'm always expecting that question nowadays because it's so common, i still don't have my answer completely down. idk what's turning off the employers, maybe because they filter all the candidates who cannot even get all the simple concept questions correct (since they expect you to get 100% on those).

also, what should i tell them if they ask me what have i been doing all this time since graduation ? i dont have a lot of projects to show for except for the ones i did in school which were from a year ago (but like i mentioned i tried learning new stuff, attended a course, and did some smaller projects after graduation).

i live in the silicon valley btw which is where all the startup /tech companies are and i cannot find a job... i must be failing my phone screenings/interviews that horribly for nobody to want to hire me. i've applied a total of about 220 jobs since 12/24/14 ..i haven't applied in recent weeks though because i've been working on my interviewing questions and programming skills.

thanks!



This post was edited by iGotThatFiyah on Apr 6 2015 08:48pm
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Apr 6 2015 08:54pm
so you just want basic java questions?

http://www.indiabix.com/technical/java-basics/

https://www.google.com/search?q=basic+java+interview+questions

This post was edited by carteblanche on Apr 6 2015 08:54pm
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Apr 7 2015 06:58am
Do you even enjoy programming? You sound a lot like I was when I was in college. You went through a software degree and scraped by without really enjoying or learning much about the languages you were programming in.

There is no reason to limit yourself to a programming position just because your degree is in it. You could start out at an analyst position such as being a QA, SA, or BA. You could even go the IT route and work on getting certifications.

From my experience, I received an internship position right after I graduated and quickly realized I'm not a programmer and have no passion for programming. I still wanted to be involved in the technical field so I accepted a job as a Business Analyst - a role that communicates between the developers and the business. I think you're at a point where you should look at other positions out there as well and get a feel for them to decide what you're passionate in. The great thing about your degree is it's desirable in any business setting over a non-tech degree.
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Apr 7 2015 07:45am
It sounds like they're looking for a programmer with a lot of networking familiarity, I'm just going to assume you don't know how BGP works, so if this is the position you're interviewing for look-up the algorithm that makes OSPF work so you can explain something relevant about it.

Show them your Github full of all the projects you worked on in school and after school (you did this right?) and make sure your SQL and Linux knowledge is up to task.

Then the rest of it is simply knowing and writing Java, sorry for that.

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Apr 7 2015 08:05am
lol you sound like one of the kids i turn down every day good luck

if you dont know a programming language and how to use SQL, you arent getting a programming job

idc if you have a masters in computer science, if you cannot program you are worthless in the field

noone is going to spend months training you on what you should have learned in school
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Apr 7 2015 12:17pm
Quote (Ryans @ Apr 7 2015 05:58am)
Do you even enjoy programming? You sound a lot like I was when I was in college. You went through a software degree and scraped by without really enjoying or learning much about the languages you were programming in.

There is no reason to limit yourself to a programming position just because your degree is in it. You could start out at an analyst position such as being a QA, SA, or BA. You could even go the IT route and work on getting certifications.

From my experience, I received an internship position right after I graduated and quickly realized I'm not a programmer and have no passion for programming. I still wanted to be involved in the technical field so I accepted a job as a Business Analyst - a role that communicates between the developers and the business. I think you're at a point where you should look at other positions out there as well and get a feel for them to decide what you're passionate in. The great thing about your degree is it's desirable in any business setting over a non-tech degree.


Yes, I enjoy programming at times but I guess I didn't pay much attention to theoretical concepts they made you memorize in school and I barely squeaked through some of my classes in order to graduate. I'm sure I wasn't the only person on this boat in the CS program. A lot of people quit but I didn't. I'm not saying that's a good thing on my part because those other people who quit figured out earlier that this major wasn't right for them.

I guess I'm the same as you, I enjoy programming but not passionate enough to become great at it. I always thought if I just endured through it and programmed more, I would eventually enjoy it more. I guess you just cannot force someone to love something. But isn't this true for all careers? You don't necessarily have to love the thing you do and you certainly don't have to be great at it, but if you do a good enough job and you don't dreadfully hate it, you can make it. Maybe if a company gives me a chance to get my feet wet, I might discover a particular area that I didn't know existed and become really passionate about my job. That could happen, right?

I've looked at some of the QA/BA job postings and they require you to know automation and stuff like that. I never took any class in school in those areas so I'm not sure how they work. I've been contacted by companies that specializes in training and placement. They would pay you a stipend of $1500/month for about 8 weeks but you would have to relocate while some others made you pay an upfront fee of $1000.. I'm iffy about these companies though.

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Apr 7 2015 05:45pm
Quote (t9x @ Apr 7 2015 09:05am)
lol you sound like one of the kids i turn down every day good luck

if you dont know a programming language and how to use SQL, you arent getting a programming job

idc if you have a masters in computer science, if you cannot program you are worthless in the field

noone is going to spend months training you on what you should have learned in school



do you just come to this forum to vent/gloat about how you have the ability to hire people?


BTW, nice dodge on this thread:

http://forums.d2jsp.org/topic.php?t=72386939&f=120

get BTFO much?
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Apr 7 2015 07:14pm
Quote (t9x @ Apr 7 2015 10:05am)
lol you sound like one of the kids i turn down every day good luck

if you dont know a programming language and how to use SQL, you arent getting a programming job

idc if you have a masters in computer science, if you cannot program you are worthless in the field

noone is going to spend months training you on what you should have learned in school


You sound like a tool.

To topic - I went through school and have a now masters in computer science. Through my bachelor's degree program we primarily did theory and concepts and not a lot of practice so I didn't feel like I learned much. I taught myself outside of school because it interested me and was able to prove in my interviews that I had the problem solving skills necessary to learn, which is what got me my job. If you think you have the skills to be good at it, you will be fine. Being a programmer isn't entirely about knowing languages as much as having the mindset and problem solving abilities required to provide efficient solutions to hard problems :)
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Apr 8 2015 06:16am
Quote (Eep @ Apr 7 2015 07:45pm)
do you just come to this forum to vent/gloat about how you have the ability to hire people?


BTW, nice dodge on this thread:

http://forums.d2jsp.org/topic.php?t=72386939&f=120

get BTFO much?


Its funny you say this because this subforum is proof, kids come here and to other forums to cheat their way through school.

Give these kids a simple data entry client project and they wouldnt even be able to start it because they lack the thought process they were supposed to learn in school, but they got other people to do the work for them.

and to further prove my point, where do you work kind sir?

mcdonalds? publix? you are definately not a programmer thats for sure

Quote
To topic - I went through school and have a now masters in computer science. Through my bachelor's degree program we primarily did theory and concepts and not a lot of practice so I didn't feel like I learned much. I taught myself outside of school because it interested me and was able to prove in my interviews that I had the problem solving skills necessary to learn, which is what got me my job. If you think you have the skills to be good at it, you will be fine. Being a programmer isn't entirely about knowing languages as much as having the mindset and problem solving abilities required to provide efficient solutions to hard problems


even this guy agrees with me, hes just too scared to say it

these kids can have all the degrees they want, if they cant code on their own without someone holding their hand, they are worth absolutely nothing to anyone in the industry

im not gunna baby you and soften up my opinion, and neither will the people who hire you, so get used to it

im the guy you are gunna be working for

the other thread the guy was going to the airforce, you think they are gunna let him dick around all day? if he cant code or fulfil his job, he wont last, and thats the truth

not trying to be a dick, if yall cant handle a little bit of hard truth, you arent capable of being a programmer

This post was edited by t9x on Apr 8 2015 06:23am
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Apr 9 2015 05:19pm
Quote (t9x @ Apr 8 2015 07:16am)
Its funny you say this because this subforum is proof, kids come here and to other forums to cheat their way through school.

Give these kids a simple data entry client project and they wouldnt even be able to start it because they lack the thought process they were supposed to learn in school, but they got other people to do the work for them.

and to further prove my point, where do you work kind sir?

mcdonalds? publix? you are definately not a programmer thats for sure



even this guy agrees with me, hes just too scared to say it

these kids can have all the degrees they want, if they cant code on their own without someone holding their hand, they are worth absolutely nothing to anyone in the industry

im not gunna baby you and soften up my opinion, and neither will the people who hire you, so get used to it

im the guy you are gunna be working for

the other thread the guy was going to the airforce, you think they are gunna let him dick around all day? if he cant code or fulfil his job, he wont last, and thats the truth

not trying to be a dick, if yall cant handle a little bit of hard truth, you arent capable of being a programmer


you must be new around here

nice spelling btw +1 epic recruiter skillz

This post was edited by Eep on Apr 9 2015 05:20pm
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