Ask HN: Just moved to SF. How can I leverage my new location to skill up in dev?
I'm self taught, have a technical high school degree in electronics and computers, and an AA that I meant to use to start a CS degree back in the east coast before we moved.
My work is a mix of App support with light software dev. I mostly support and update old apps written using ASP.NET (of which I know almost nothing), Nintex workflows that should've never been, make little scripts for ServiceNow virtual agent, and we have a series of low code apps that I also support, modify, etc. I replaced a guy who was also self taught and had no best-practices checks.
I'm solo in this endeavor since my product owner is not a developer and my other peer mostly deals with the red tape and administrative stuff like dealing with InfoSec's recurring paperwork and vendor licenses. Happy to have him, but I can't skill up in my field.
I'm now much closer to all the tech brain power of the country, and I'm trying to figure how to leverage my stay to improve my skills. I work 5AM to 1:30PM and so I have the whole evening open to feed my brain.
Are there any groups, meetups, schools, apprenticeships, or whatever else I could use to become a better dev? I know I could enroll in a CS degree and I do want that, but I already know of that answer.
I'd love to work on tools for people outside of the field that maybe boosts their productivity or makes their lives easier. A few months ago I worked with my GF to make an app that helps her identify cyanobacteria automating a process they used to do in MS Word and it was super satisfying, but I know it can be much better if I had someone to work with.
Anyway, any idea will be very appreciated, even if you are in the same position I'm in and you'd like to meet to work on something.
Thanks!
56 comments
[ 5.2 ms ] story [ 81.5 ms ] threadIf your goal is to get a tech job, you're in the right city -- and it'll be easier for you to go on job interviews (than someone who's not actually living here). For what it's worth, you'll probably also have an easier time attending some Bay Area tech conferences. They're expensive, but they're also good ways to network with people in your industry and potential employers.
Last piece of advice: upload code to GitHub. They're ultimately samples of your work, which tech employers will want to see. So it's good to have a lot, and to have it spread out over time (so start now). If there's not enough, you might consider volunteering for an open source project. (Maybe even one that meets in-person from time to time here in the Bay Area.)
If this is really what you want to do -- you're in the perfect city. Just put yourself out there, and have faith that things will eventually start to happen.
Then talk to the people there, and you'll hear about other events...
https://sf.tinkerer.ai/
and we run some events from our discord https://www.latent.space/i/115665083/events
there is nothing comparable to working as a professional though
How Perl Saved the Human Genome Project
https://bioperl.org/articles/How_Perl_saved_human_genome.htm...
Skip down to "I think several factors are responsible:" for the TLDR list.
Now, this is not to say that perl is your ticket: just to say that organizations often have many "glue" chores that require scripting skills.
From experience. Oh, and from experience, you may be able to pick up contract work to build skills and your CV.
As for getting into tech, in the bay it's rather hard to break in unless you have a cs degree, or graduated from Stanford, or you are seen as cheap labor (South Asian), or possibly if you fill a DEI quota (but it was still hard[0] and not even that one anymore after belt tightening). Used to be easier. Not anymore.
Good luck! You'll need it. Hustle hard.
[0] I used to watch bay area startups harp about DEI and pass on perfectly good boot camp hirees and go for a white male from Stanford (actually never any good), but also all the non-asian diverse people I knew in personal life didn't have a problem getting tech jobs, so I have conflicting data. Watched an Asian male friend churn through 180+ job rejections over 9 months until I picked him up when I got hiring authority, he was perfectly good coder
Launch School is great if you want more in depth learning compared to a coding bootcaml but not a 4 year degree.
Deal with the start up business after getting money and a fall back. You'll learn more all round stuff at a start up, but that's not what matters atm, only pure dev does.
Tech meetups are cool.
Startups can be great "the owner pays for lunch" or bad "the owner orders food and constantly skips out when the bill comes". Either way you get a chance to eat with senior management when the company is under 10 and see how the sausage is made
- Be aware that NB is perhaps best described as a “501(c)(3) disorganization.” The entire thing is volunteer-run, more or less by whoever happens to be there that day, so it’s pretty chaotic and your experience as a newcomer can vary wildly depending on when you happen to visit.
- You can just show up! Ring the doorbell and hope someone answers (6-8PM is a good bet, though there can be people there at all hours). Once you get a tour, hang out and chat with people. As others have noted it can be a mixed bag who you run into on any given day. The space is open to the public, with all that entails.
- You might also try some of the regularly scheduled events (some combination of https://www.noisebridge.net/wiki/Category:Events and https://www.meetup.com/noisebridge/events/ should get you a sort-of-mostly-up-to-date view of things); that way you’ll have an organizer and a topic to start with.
- There are also a lot of other hackerspaces/makerspaces in the area! Many of them are more formal than Noisebridge, with all the differences that come with that.
If you know nothing about software development, it will help to go to a bootcamp.
Good luck.
I've also had friends swallowed up by the bay area, also to violence and drugs. They all had in common that they were scraping by on a little over minimum wage or engaging in sex work to survive or homeless or almost homeless
By and large, the bay area is not dangerous for salaried tech folks receiving benefits that, yearly, amount to more than double what most service class folks earn in cash in 5 years. The bay area is dangerous for the homeless and the mentally ill and the folks with vastly fewer resources, working as dishwashers but classed as 1099 contractors or totally under the table.
The bay area is an extremely cruel place to most of the people who aren't on tech or finance salaries. Most of my friends not in tech are constantly having to move because their buildings are getting sold to companies that flip properties into luxury housing.
Anyway, if this isn't you, the bay is your oyster. There's constantly technical talks and dev oriented events and conventions and hackathons and meetups and spaces like noisebridge and sudo room in the east bay. There's great food, excellent excellent healthcare and probably the best mental healthcare in the world in terms of quality of care and accessibility. There are phenomenal libraries and bookstores (see Moe's in Berkeley and SFPL and alleycat books). Lots of great companies, lots of opportunities for mentorship.
My laptop was stolen at a coffee shop while I was typing on it, guy went running. Apple MB and cloud locked but they stole it all the same.
They stole my bike even though it was cheap. My friend was robbed at gunpoint for his laptop. I personally saw a stabbing in the Tenderloin. A man was shot pont blank sitting in a car behind our house. It’s dangerous AF
Noisebridge was fun until it shut down. Half of the stores downtown are boarded up now. Walgreens left because of theft they couldn’t do anything about bc of liberal policies. The whole mall is boarded up. It’s a long long list of exited stores and companies. Much of the real estate both commercial and residential sits empty because the landlords refuse to reduce the rent since they won’t be able to raise it later bc of liberal policies.
The meetups were good before covid that was the one perk. But moving to SF was one of the worst mistakes of my life. Again, run away screaming
... all that being said, I have lived in the Bay Area for a long time and do not intend to leave anytime soon. There aren't many other places in the world that can be called hubs of biotech, software and semiconductors all at the same time. Many parts of the South Bay are S-tier in terms of safety while maintaining the same price point as SF, so if you prioritize safety over having a life outside the confines of your computer terminal you return to after your 8-6 job, then the South Bay is actually pretty good. If you want to be able to hit the beach after a night of raving and clubbing preceded by 5-star dining and zuck-surfing on the Bay, while being willfully ignorant about the constant risk of a homeless man jumping out of the bushes at you, then SF is your best bet.
"Someone to work with", yes that is a local strength - but it's also not very accessible. Not quickly. Noisebridge is a small crowd for example - but yes, it's right there in SF and very easy to visit.
Several of these tools you work with may have local developer groups or conferences. That might work.That might be the right intersection between these things.And both googling and Noisebridge might be ways to find them.
I would have loved to stay and lived the millionaire tech dream I thought was achievable.
Loved the scenery, Marina to Sausalito was a great run.
Born and raised in the Bay Area, for honest and useful tech discussions, especially early in career, maker spaces, super happy dev house, and some other events (I won't mention since I'm not sure they still go on) were better than YC meetups, etc. in terms of what you mention - honesty, etc.
I think many Germans working in Switzerland would also call the Swiss "outright lying", but that's because the Swiss are consensus-oriented. Perhaps you were like a German in Switzerland (thumbs up).
To OP, I recommend to network with open mind and enjoy the tech savvy diversity.
In addition to meetup I recommend cold emailing companies and asking founders in your area of interest directly for picking up a brain. The ecosystem is very welcoming.
San Francisco Public Library (Main Branch) has a pretty great collection of CS books. Fourth floor (or fifth... can't remember), 000 on Dewey Decimel System. You can place a hold on any book in the SFPL system and have it delivered to whatever branch is most convenient for you.
Definitely make a pilgrimage down to the Computer History Museum in Mountain View. And walk around the Google campus since you'll be right there anyways.
I also find it inspiring to read up on all the stuff that was created at Stanford and Cal and then walk around those campuses. There are a lot of physical locations around the Bay Area that were the physical birthplaces of important developments in the computer industry.
Last and most importantly... welcome!
Search linkedin for people doing work you are interested in and say you'd like to learn about what they do. Offer to buy them coffee or a drink. But be very clear you are not recruiting or trying to sell anything. Expect maybe 1 in 10 to actually respond. But you will meet some interesting people and get to know some good coffee places (or bars). People are generally happy to talk about themselves as long as they feel like there isn't a catch.
I am not directly in development but I do work in Biotech software in SF. I am happy to chat, probably not directly relevant to your goals but maybe a starting point.
To be honest, your post is a bit of a mess in both what you are doing (and have done) and what you are seeking. You clearly have some skills since you are getting paid to be remote and work on technical projects. I would consider taking a step back and figuring out a way to package that.
Next, what sort of external engagement do you want? I think Meetups are great. I'd also look things like Super Happy Dev House and similar events to meet with other people across a mix of interests / skillsets.
Most importantly - what do you want to do / achieve? You have a job paying you, where you feel like you need to grow, but they are letting you be remote. Keep that until you grow more. Those saying join a startup are bat shit stupid. Startups are a walled cage to deliver on the goal of the company and investors. They are great for learning and opportunities for growth, but you need to first narrow down what you want to work on. And most importantly, do not give up that remote option you currently have.
And, honestly, do not idolize the "brain power of the country". There are many in Silicon Valley that will push others under the bus to maximize total comp/etc. Look for those wanting to build and discuss ideas not just push a particular thing.
Good luck. But also, I don't know your age, it sounds like you are in your early 20s, make sure to allow time for you and your GF in addition to your working hours.
If you see a startup saying "we work hard, we play hard, we are a family" RUN THE FUCK AWAY. They just want cheap labor and all your time. I've been to multiple YC "work for a startup" days where companies say this and ... people there were not happy unless they had no GF/other life.
Edit: Also consider looking up Hacker Dojo in Mountain View and events there.
I’m actually in my early 30s, I followed an unconventional path with a country change in my early 20s thanks to motorsports and luck, but postponed school.
My goal is to be proud enough of my knowledge to call myself a developer, not much tbh. I think I don’t do that right now because I don’t know at what level other devs are in their day to day, and my only point of reference is HN where everyone seems to have a postdoc. I also think I’m too humble for this space and location. I went to a VC party last Friday and I noticed everyone seemed to be lying up in what they did, but once I peeled the outer layer, we were all trying to figure it out.
I do have a very stable job with great benefits (and pension!) so I’m not planning on leaving that right now, but I have free time I want to use wisely.
But then again I'm mentioning that here because I probably only heard one side of the story there. And also, it's all about who you know, so I guess that sort of a culture makes sense in a discomforting way.
Big +1 to the meetup, hackathon and conference scene.
There is no city with as many events as SF. Follow this other local with a pulse on the local meetup scene:
https://twitter.com/michelleefang/status/1675997093989842944
+1 to building up a GitHub profile. Find something interesting at a meet up or hackathon to explore in your free time and do it out in the open on GitHub. Learn by doing. And a good GH profile with good code samples helps tremendously when applying for jobs.
+1 to eventually finding an in-person job. Remote has huge advantages as you know, but being in an office with a few people you really gel with has massive advantages for learning, getting things done, and building life long personal connections. I’m fully remote now but consider my SF office days the glory days of career growth and fun.
My advice on this is to look for the right people to work with… A manager that is a good mentor and peers that are fun to work with. Id work at a boring company with a great boss and colleagues over the most exciting startup pitch or growth any day.
Since you’re gainfully employed and have some free time, take your time with all of the above!_
I truly believe all of the above is easier to find in SF than most places by getting out and about in the city.
The reason I'm saying this is that, if you are only going to be around until January, that's not long enough to upskill on anything meaningful. Sure, you could get some good keywords on your resume, and if that's what you want, that's fine. But if your goal is to improve in a meaningful way, that's not going to cut it, unless the startup is truly exceptional with amazing people. Most startups aren't like that.