The west coast sounds like a paradise for developers. Makes me wish I had moved...

Why didn't you?

Family is east

Human life and children in particular are also much more valuable than data.

Yes. Exactly. But if we could recover them from backups, they would be just about the same.

That depends on what the kidnappers do with their copy of the brain. I wouldn’t be happy if there was a copy of me forced to listen to Coldplay 24/7.

It is an example, I am not comparing children with data.

I work at Aberdeen, MD making 141k. I got an offer once for 155k from a nearby military base not long ago. I've seen houses nearby for 180k. Pretty easy to save here if you're ok with Gov beurocrac. Easy to get a new job, too.

SharePoint. Mostly because we use it improperly (as a backend for web apps)

I've always found that approach fairly insane. The Enterprise shops where I've done Sharepoint work and consulting always followed a strategy that SharePoint is good at its built-in features, but if you even think about writing .NET code to enhance it, just walk away from SharePoint and go write an app.

I have never ever seen a good and sane system built on Sharepoint.

I am using Sharepoint as a front end development platform. I am working in a secure environment where the installation of software is forbidden. Sharepoint lists provide me a database, REST API, and forms. Yes there are extreme limitations in this approach but I have made it work for me to provide some layer of accounting and analysis and just about everything is customizable with just a little bit of JavaScript

In my experience, the best ways to maximize your income as a software engineer are to job hop, study data structures/algorithms, and learn how to market yourself. Companies rarely reward engineers who stay put.

> In my experience, the best ways to maximize your income as a software engineer are to job hop

Until you find a good situation and stick with it. A good situation shouldn't be discarded on a whim.

Sure, but continuing to job hop will still get you more compensation more quickly.

When you're in a good situation you're usually around the top of your pay grade.

And when you're among the top most respected and authoritative persons in the room, it is usually a sign that you should be moving on to a different room or company to get better experience / skills.

And in such a situation, if you're highly compensated because you've job hopped, moving on to get a better experience or skills might mean that you have to take a pay cut. No one's stupid enough to pay a job hopper well above market value.

Edit: Furthermore, there's a well-defined career track for job hoppers, it's called being an independent contractor. You know what you're worth and you set your rate, and it's generally assumed that you know how long you're going to stay in a position when you start, and you only accept positions that are the length you want.

My experience with bootcamp graduates has been that they struggle with any non rudimentary problems and lack knowledge of any of the fundamentals required to do non CRUD applications.

My experience is the same with junior CS grads....

Not to mention the internet and gps, both which have roots in the DOD.

Perhaps I should have a talk with my lead and ask suggest he take a more authoritative approach?

I'd tell him that if he is not comfortable making solid technical decisions then he should delegate that to the next level of seniority down by appointing someone as the "architect". Tell him it does not work at all to have juniors dictating tech strategy and he risks his position by allowing it. Tell him that the opinions of juniors are welcome but they should not be making the decisions or dictating outcomes, unless of course he either doesn't care or is aiming for big problems later.

Honestly he sounds like a shit tech lead - a leader should, well, lead.

Most startups can’t afford to train anyone.

The “talent shortage” is a myth.