Used to work for a large cable company as a repair technician. My job was threatened because my sale rate wasn't over 9%.
Lot of shady stuff happened because of this policy.
Very difficult to sell something to someone who is paying for a service that already isn't working.

Sounds like a sourpuss manager or HNIC. You need to either: A) Hire better employees B) Get over the high demand for software developers and DBAs.

Seems like the place has become a voice for the "man".

Every article seems to be about H1B visas, how it's hard to find a job as a coder, how coders over the age of 30 are unemployable, or how independent developers will never make it.

Seems like Slashdot is becoming a propaganda platform for the captains of the software industry.

Not going to happen without some improvements in latency. The time it takes for the phone to capture the image, post process it, and throw it to the screen would be in the time range that's just enough to throw off your balance and probably make you sick.

Is discrimination happening? Or are the companies hiring those who can get the job done?

I worked in a software development department at a government contractor who was pressured by HR to bring in minorities, mainly black females, into a department of "mostly white dudes".

The problem? There were not enough qualified minority applicants.

We hired in 5 new grossly underqualified developers that were minorities in one way or another(one was filipino, the rest were black, 2 were female), passing over numerous qualified "white dudes".

Fast forward 6 months. Only one of the 5 was still working in software development. The rest had to be transferred out.

Not saying that there are not "not white dudes" that can't handle these jobs. In certain parts of the country, there just happens to be a lot of "white dudes" who can, and a lot of "not white dudes" who can't.

So move. DC is not exactly a great area to live in. There's plenty of awesome places that offer much more at a lower cost of living.

Really, I thought the only reason people actually moved to DC, was because they were offered one of those "elite" jobs you referred to.

Please tell me that 90%+ of my fellow IT professionals are not really working 50+ hours a week.

You guys do realize that software developers/engineers/database dudes are in very high demand right now, right?

If you don't want to work over 40 hours a week, then don't!

Over the past 6 years of being a software developer, I've had three jobs and all have been 40s hour a week.

They've actually been less. You know why? I come in late and typically leave early. I get the job done and my bosses didn't/don't want to lose me.

So, just get the job done and don't worry about "what people think" about you leaving at 5pm. If you're good at what you do, they're not going to let you go.

If the demands are unrealistic, then again, find another job. There is PLENTY of work out there right now.

I wish CS majors were required to take economics. If these punk arse companies that like to play games and force long hours were actually hit with an informed workforce, they would have empty cubicles and we wouldn't have conversations like this.

Just a thought, but if there was a major impact from another planet, wouldn't we see a lot of that planet here on earth? Seems odd that they would just find it on the moon.

And so it begins.

Yes, but who was parallel?

You're crazy dude. Have you used even the "old" Oculus Rift? It's safe to say we're well beyond the time for "working" VR. We're in the "holy crap this is getting insanely real" time for VR.

Maybe in the Silicon Valley area, but honestly, who wants to put up with that? Working long hours, insanely high rents, stiff competition, and long commute times? I don't think you're finding 30+ year olds in that area because they have the life experience to know better than to move there. Most move to places with a much better cost of living and without the hassle. The "pride and glory" of working for a big software company quickly fades. I'll take my 20% cut in pay and work in an area with 40 hour work weeks and a 40% less cost of living. Signed, 30+ US Citizen programmer

So you've interviewed with Google too.

Oh, the irony.

"Government! Stay out of our business! Let the market decide!"

Enter a new competitor in a market full of good-old boy politics.

"Oh shit, competition. Government! Shut them down!"

What a horrible article.

"possible consolation prize: perhaps these kids can parlay their programming skill into jobs at Facebook or Google."?

I didn't realize Twitter, Facebook, and Google were the only companies on the planet hiring software developers. You couldn't pay me enough to work for any of them.

Are the odds of making it in the overpopulated "app store world" against you? Sure.

Are all entrepreneurial app developers making mobile apps? No.

This article is typical "give up your dreams and work for the man" propaganda.

You know what sucks? Working 40+ hours a week and giving up the best years of your life for a crummy paycheck all in the name of making some silver-spooned douchebag even more rich.

I make 3x what I used to make working for the man. Know why? Because I did everything this article told me not to.

If you have a dream and the means to go for it, then by all means, do. You'd hate yourself at 40 years old, in a windowless cubicle, looking forward to your half hour god-awful commute and your one week vacation in 5 months, if you didn't at least give it a shot.