chat is a bit dead, might as well spam it with completely irrelevant proposals...

Follow the proposal, and you'll never again get the "it's all Greek to me" feeling...

Hrrm I have a question about if it really adds security to a database design if you use an intermediary database to connect two other databases if the same login is used for all 3. Do you think that would be on-topic here? I'm getting nothing but crickets on dba.stackexchange

hello there!

wondering if anyone is around to chat up on some learning/career Q i had

@Rachel - I'm leaning no, just because I wouldn't expect a programmer to know much about DB login scenarios.

@gideon Feel free to post your question, and if someone's available they'll answer. If not, the question will stick around and might get answered later on.

alright. It's a little trivial so I just thought I'd type it out here instead of posting it.

I'm 21 and I have a somewhat senior job on the .NET (MVC) webstack. In the meantime I want to learn and expand, don't want to be stuck here.

Would it make more sense to get my feet wet in other languages and stacks, (I took up ruby and android recently) I'm even thinking PHP, python.

Q1. Will CO's who are say looking for a python/GAE dev hire me if I have lots of real world .NET experience and maybe an online GAE project.

Q2. Does it make sense in the long run to diversify like this and spread out into different stacks? Or are you more respected, get a batter paycheck/job if you have that ton of experience in ONE stack over years.

@gideon - It's very hard to say. Some companies recognize that programming is programming and a lot of language experience transfers. Others want to check the "20 years in python" box.

@steve What about big CO's like MS, Google?

@gideon diversifying is always the safer bet. Becoming highly specialized is high-risk, high-reward - if you pick the wrong stack you'll have to start over.

(Oh also I'm the nerd who didn't goto college, if that makes a diff)

Google is very polyglot (lots of languages embraced), MS is trending that way, but will certainly always have a place for .Net devs. Both have extensive hiring processes, so I doubt very highly that your number of years in a particular language will hold much weight.

@steve you mean for MS or Google=> Many years in .NET == Fewer .NET years + Other stacks

oh or you mean its more than just number of years

I'm sorry there's no definitive answer on this (if you asked on the site it would definitely be closed). If you're targeting a particular company, ask! Send an email and see what they look for in their candidates. The safest bet historically has been to A) get a college degree, b) have a large breadth of programming knowledge, so you can check all the boxes on HRs checklist.

@gideon Both companies are going to be far more interested in the interview, code samples, test results, etc than what your resume/experience says. But again, if you're targeting a google position, I'd send an email and ask what they're looking for.

ah alright :) large breath is an answer

I'm just trying as much to cover up for the lack of a college degree, (I am trying also do distance degree though, not working out well..)

Actually the best answer is to know someone - just in case that didn't occur to you :) All the easy/good job searches are via networking.

ah, nope, don't know someone at Google/MS or anything... ;)

User groups, Open source, etc. There are options for meeting the right kind of people. I've also emailed people from blogs I've read, some have been extremely gracious and helpful.

i see.

Anyway, hope that helps. Good luck!

One last thing, I'm just wondering if side projects, OSS projects in alternative stacks show experience, I mean if google is looking for experience in C++, I haven't worked a job doing C++ but would an OSS project in C++ be considered?

At google, yes I think it would. Some companies LOVE to see working code, others don't care.

:) Thanks so much.

Definitely helped.

kinda dead in here