This might be the caffeine talking, but I feel very excited about my android project. It will not only make me learn about the android platform, it also forces me to brush up on my java. Once more, I can confidently put java on my list of skills on my resume. I'm so pleased... I think I'm going to die.
This is day 3 of working on android. I really wish I was a better programmer, but at least I'm a very good "googler." Thank God for all those awesome programmers out there who post up sample code on their blogs and forums. Thank God for the internet and it's elephant like memory. You know what they say! "An elephant never forgets!"
Example of how stuff on the internet never dies: I googled my old highschool club page... and whaddya know! It's still there on angelfire.... sitting there quietly as if it was still the year 1999... announcing the "recent event winners" and etc.
... wow... this coffee must be very strong. Sorry for the tangent.
Here's a link to a blog that is solely focused on android development.
Android-er on blogspot http://android-er.blogspot.com/
He does a lot of basic examples. I found the samples extremely helpful... however I was annoyed by the pop-out links embedded in his post. And the "download" link on his blog seems to lead to some questionable server site. I call it questionable because with the download window came a bunch of pop-up ad windows and warnings from my MicroTrend security program.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Pros and Cons of being an Engineer
I'm pretty please to announce that I have been assigned to an android project at work!
It's not a fancy project, but it's always good when you get paid to learn something you wanted to learn anyway. These are the times when I'm happy to be an engineer. We get paid to sit and use our brain! We get paid (sometimes) to improve our professional worth! And if we're lucky, we don't have to work a full 8 hour day if we get our tasks done quickly and correctly on the first try.
But I should also point out some of not so good perks of being an engineer.
1. No overtime pay. But you better get your stuff done on time even if it means working 12-15 hour days!
2. There is the constant fear that maybe you're not as good as you should be
3. It can be hard to concentrate on your task when it's a boring, mind numbing project.
4. You must constantly be up to date on the latest new technological tool.
10 years ago java was the language to learn
8 years ago web programming was the skill to learn
5 years ago database management seemed to be the hot ticket item
Present day, it's all about the mobile app programming.
Fortunately, most of these things overlap and build on each other. But staying fresh and sharp on all these skills can be a challenge.
So anyway, I should go back to focus on my android programming. My task is to communicate to our wireless printer via a simple android app.
Allotted time: 1 wk.
Final product: A demo program that will print via wifi or bluetooth.
I'll update my blog with my notes on android programming as well as links or tutorials that I found to be helpful.
It's not a fancy project, but it's always good when you get paid to learn something you wanted to learn anyway. These are the times when I'm happy to be an engineer. We get paid to sit and use our brain! We get paid (sometimes) to improve our professional worth! And if we're lucky, we don't have to work a full 8 hour day if we get our tasks done quickly and correctly on the first try.
But I should also point out some of not so good perks of being an engineer.
1. No overtime pay. But you better get your stuff done on time even if it means working 12-15 hour days!
2. There is the constant fear that maybe you're not as good as you should be
3. It can be hard to concentrate on your task when it's a boring, mind numbing project.
4. You must constantly be up to date on the latest new technological tool.
10 years ago java was the language to learn
8 years ago web programming was the skill to learn
5 years ago database management seemed to be the hot ticket item
Present day, it's all about the mobile app programming.
Fortunately, most of these things overlap and build on each other. But staying fresh and sharp on all these skills can be a challenge.
So anyway, I should go back to focus on my android programming. My task is to communicate to our wireless printer via a simple android app.
Allotted time: 1 wk.
Final product: A demo program that will print via wifi or bluetooth.
I'll update my blog with my notes on android programming as well as links or tutorials that I found to be helpful.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Tribal Knowledge
Every company I have worked for has had to deal with the issue of Tribal Knowledge. What is tribal knowledge in a company? It's any undocumented knowledge that is required to keep the company or the company's products working. The fact is that it's hard to document things, and it's even harder to keep the documents organized once a company reaches a certain size and the workforce starts to turn over.
I keep a notebook full of the tribal knowledge that I come across at my company. Even within my own notebook, it's hard to keep this knowledge organized. My only advice to my juniors is: GET A NOTEBOOK! And recopy your notes at the end of the day so that you can keep it all organized.
I keep a notebook full of the tribal knowledge that I come across at my company. Even within my own notebook, it's hard to keep this knowledge organized. My only advice to my juniors is: GET A NOTEBOOK! And recopy your notes at the end of the day so that you can keep it all organized.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Too much work...
Aria's 1st birthday falls on a Friday this year. Trying to decide on a day to celebrate her birthday has been surprisingly difficult. It makes sense to make the birthday a daytime event, because that's when the birthday girl would be awake right? So obviously we should have the birthday on Saturday! BUT! It turns out Saturday my mother in law arrives back from HK @ 2PM and my husband needs to go pick her up. So that means... Saturday would not be a good time to have the birthday party. Without my husband around to help set up and take down... it seemed too much work for me to bother with.
So how about Sunday? Well... it's memorial weekend and the idea of hosting a memorial day bbq seems like too much work. We are low key people, and don't like hosting a huge get-together. But for memorial day, a big get together is almost required.
Since we usually have a weekly get together with our friends every Thursday, I thought a low key Thursday night bbq that's also in celebration of Aria's birth would be a happy compromise. This way when she's down for the night, we can keep eating, drinking, and playing. No need to handle a baby! I ran this idea by my husband and he gave it the greenlight. I sent out the evite for the event... We knew most of the family would not be able to make the bbq because it's a weeknight... but we sent them an invitation anyway because we wanted them to know that we had thought of them.
Unfortunately this gesture seems to have been misinterpreted. Apparently my mother in law is also sad that she can't make her granddaughters birthday. But I'm confused, because 2 weeks ago she said that she wasn't going to her other granddaughter's birthday dinner either. So I thought that she wouldn't mind missing this birthday bbq?
Don't even try suggesting a "family only" event in addition to this bbq either! My goal is a low-key birthday celebration. To have multiple events... it's just too much work! I have enough stuff on my plate to worry about.
So how about Sunday? Well... it's memorial weekend and the idea of hosting a memorial day bbq seems like too much work. We are low key people, and don't like hosting a huge get-together. But for memorial day, a big get together is almost required.
Since we usually have a weekly get together with our friends every Thursday, I thought a low key Thursday night bbq that's also in celebration of Aria's birth would be a happy compromise. This way when she's down for the night, we can keep eating, drinking, and playing. No need to handle a baby! I ran this idea by my husband and he gave it the greenlight. I sent out the evite for the event... We knew most of the family would not be able to make the bbq because it's a weeknight... but we sent them an invitation anyway because we wanted them to know that we had thought of them.
Unfortunately this gesture seems to have been misinterpreted. Apparently my mother in law is also sad that she can't make her granddaughters birthday. But I'm confused, because 2 weeks ago she said that she wasn't going to her other granddaughter's birthday dinner either. So I thought that she wouldn't mind missing this birthday bbq?
Don't even try suggesting a "family only" event in addition to this bbq either! My goal is a low-key birthday celebration. To have multiple events... it's just too much work! I have enough stuff on my plate to worry about.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Dr. Mom vs. Pneumonia
The doctor said he had a sinus infection and bronchitis. But Hubby was still spiking fevers all through the weekend despite being on antibiotics .
As we were taking a stroll around the block two days ago, Vince joked: "Maybe I have pneumonia, cause I feel so sick." Then he said: "What is pneumonia anyway?"
I said "I'm not sure. It has something to do with the lungs and you can die from it. So I hope you don't have pneumonia."
Yesterday I sent him to the doctor cause his fever was 102 again! They took an X-ray of his chest. Lo-and-behold! A patch of pneumonia on his lung. They gave him broad spectrum antibiotics, and sent him home. He ate, spiked another fever to 104 Fahrenheit, and went to sleep. I'm glad to report that he feels much better this morning. But we won't really know if the antibiotics are doing their job until he has been taking them for 48 hours.
I'm a little scared that this might be a drug-resistant bacteria? After all, it didn't respond to the original antibiotics! I'm also wondering how he got pneumonia? Is it because of the human-lung-powered snot-sucker (nosefrida) we use on the baby? But the fact is that most healthy people do not get pneumonia. Only young children or seniors or people with compromised immune systems get pneumonia! I wonder if this is a sign of something more? It's hard to concentrate on work with this hanging over my head.
As we were taking a stroll around the block two days ago, Vince joked: "Maybe I have pneumonia, cause I feel so sick." Then he said: "What is pneumonia anyway?"
I said "I'm not sure. It has something to do with the lungs and you can die from it. So I hope you don't have pneumonia."
Yesterday I sent him to the doctor cause his fever was 102 again! They took an X-ray of his chest. Lo-and-behold! A patch of pneumonia on his lung. They gave him broad spectrum antibiotics, and sent him home. He ate, spiked another fever to 104 Fahrenheit, and went to sleep. I'm glad to report that he feels much better this morning. But we won't really know if the antibiotics are doing their job until he has been taking them for 48 hours.
I'm a little scared that this might be a drug-resistant bacteria? After all, it didn't respond to the original antibiotics! I'm also wondering how he got pneumonia? Is it because of the human-lung-powered snot-sucker (nosefrida) we use on the baby? But the fact is that most healthy people do not get pneumonia. Only young children or seniors or people with compromised immune systems get pneumonia! I wonder if this is a sign of something more? It's hard to concentrate on work with this hanging over my head.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Dr. Mom
It's Friday 11 AM and I'm at home not at work. Why? Because Aria's new daycare is not an egg and nut free facility and my husband allowed them to feed her some french toast. What's in french toast? EGGS. Aria threw up and then broke out in hives EVERYWHERE and then cried so sadly. Poor baby. So she had to come home.
I don't blame the daycare for feeding her french toast. I don't blame my husband for letting them feed her french toast. It was bound to happen sometime right? I am just really sad that she might have an egg allergy. I'm scared to let her try eggs again though... how can I safely confirm her egg allergy?
I'm also wondering if this means I should try to always bring her own food in the future?
At the same time, my husband seems to have a sinus infection. He's had a high fever on and off for the last 48 hours. I finally convinced him to go see the doctor. I really do feel like Dr. Mom today. Hopefully he'll get a shot, feel better and be able to watch Aria for the rest of the day. Then I will be able to go back to work and focus on my projects. *joy*
I don't blame the daycare for feeding her french toast. I don't blame my husband for letting them feed her french toast. It was bound to happen sometime right? I am just really sad that she might have an egg allergy. I'm scared to let her try eggs again though... how can I safely confirm her egg allergy?
I'm also wondering if this means I should try to always bring her own food in the future?
At the same time, my husband seems to have a sinus infection. He's had a high fever on and off for the last 48 hours. I finally convinced him to go see the doctor. I really do feel like Dr. Mom today. Hopefully he'll get a shot, feel better and be able to watch Aria for the rest of the day. Then I will be able to go back to work and focus on my projects. *joy*
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Stressing over Daycare
When I first sent my daughter to full time daycare (Kiddie Academy) at 3 months old, I cried. I was so sad to "send her away" at that tender age. I literally sobbed myself to work during that first week.
Aria is now almost 1, and she LOVES her daycare. She is happy when we drop her off and happy when we pick her up. She is even making friends and playing hide'n seek with some of the kids there. She has even started signing! Despite all these positives signs my husband and I have made the tough decision to move her from this daycare center to an at-home daycare.
Logically speaking, the reasons to change are great!
1. The new daycare is literally an 8 minute walk from my house.
2. The daycare has a better ratio of caregiver to kids with two adults for 5 kids.
3. The cost of the new daycare is 1/3 less than the current daycare.
4. The new daycare will provide food so I don't have to worry about packing her breakfast and lunch and premix her formula everyday.
5. Because it's in a residential area, I feel like the air is better.
6. She does some structured activities such as nature walks and simple arts and crafts.
Conclusion: The savings in time, energy, gas, and money is very significant. We can finally start that college fund for her!
Despite all the positives of the new daycare, there are some negatives.
1. She has the TV on all the time as background noise. Or to play music for the older kids to dance and wiggle to. Sometimes she puts it to news (cause I guess she gets bored)
2. She has a pet dog and cat, and that may possibly irritate underlying allergic tendencies.
3. She allows people to wear shoes in the house... so her floors are not as clean as I would like. And since Aria is still crawling, I worry about germs!
This decision is causing us stress. We have tried out the new daycare for 3 days... and Aria does not seem to be adjusting very well. It's possible that the difficult transition is exacerbated by teething and a cold. But as a mother, I can't help but worry when I hear that my daughter has refused to eat all day and is barely drinking her milk.
Tomorrow will be Aria's last official day at Kiddie Academy. She will go there for her last day, take pictures with her teachers there. And that will be it. Tomorrow will be the point of no return. There is currently a wait list at Kiddie Academy, so once we leave... we can't immediately go back. And even if we do go back, we will lose our current tuition rate and have to pay at the higher rate.
It's stressful... it really is! Will she get better care? Will she get worse care? Will she have ADD because the TV is on? Will she be able to reach her full potential in a less structured environment such as this? Will we end up going back to Kiddie Academy and end up paying more money in the long run?
I guess this is a situation where we have to go with logic. One or two years of early childhood care will not make or break Aria's future. I did not go to a daycare center until I was 3, and I am JUST FINE
Aria is now almost 1, and she LOVES her daycare. She is happy when we drop her off and happy when we pick her up. She is even making friends and playing hide'n seek with some of the kids there. She has even started signing! Despite all these positives signs my husband and I have made the tough decision to move her from this daycare center to an at-home daycare.
Logically speaking, the reasons to change are great!
1. The new daycare is literally an 8 minute walk from my house.
2. The daycare has a better ratio of caregiver to kids with two adults for 5 kids.
3. The cost of the new daycare is 1/3 less than the current daycare.
4. The new daycare will provide food so I don't have to worry about packing her breakfast and lunch and premix her formula everyday.
5. Because it's in a residential area, I feel like the air is better.
6. She does some structured activities such as nature walks and simple arts and crafts.
Conclusion: The savings in time, energy, gas, and money is very significant. We can finally start that college fund for her!
Despite all the positives of the new daycare, there are some negatives.
1. She has the TV on all the time as background noise. Or to play music for the older kids to dance and wiggle to. Sometimes she puts it to news (cause I guess she gets bored)
2. She has a pet dog and cat, and that may possibly irritate underlying allergic tendencies.
3. She allows people to wear shoes in the house... so her floors are not as clean as I would like. And since Aria is still crawling, I worry about germs!
This decision is causing us stress. We have tried out the new daycare for 3 days... and Aria does not seem to be adjusting very well. It's possible that the difficult transition is exacerbated by teething and a cold. But as a mother, I can't help but worry when I hear that my daughter has refused to eat all day and is barely drinking her milk.
Tomorrow will be Aria's last official day at Kiddie Academy. She will go there for her last day, take pictures with her teachers there. And that will be it. Tomorrow will be the point of no return. There is currently a wait list at Kiddie Academy, so once we leave... we can't immediately go back. And even if we do go back, we will lose our current tuition rate and have to pay at the higher rate.
It's stressful... it really is! Will she get better care? Will she get worse care? Will she have ADD because the TV is on? Will she be able to reach her full potential in a less structured environment such as this? Will we end up going back to Kiddie Academy and end up paying more money in the long run?
I guess this is a situation where we have to go with logic. One or two years of early childhood care will not make or break Aria's future. I did not go to a daycare center until I was 3, and I am JUST FINE
Monday, April 25, 2011
Is test equipment COMMUNAL?
After working nearly 12 hours over Easter Weekend, I went back into work today only to find that those Thai fonts are STILL INCORRECT. I'm pissed off. Why did I even work on the weekend, if all my effort still resulted in a WRONG RESULT?!
Anyway, the bug with the Thai fonts required me to use some hardware test equipment. My test setup was cannibalized while I was on maternity leave about a year ago. When I asked around if I could borrow other people's development board, no one was willing to lend theirs out.
The reasons are:
1. I have a reputation for breaking hardware. (Although, I think this reputation is unfairly earned...)
2. The development boards are old, and expensive and there are only a handful of functioning boards left, and everyone is scared that if they lend it out, it will never come back in working condition.
3. It's a hassle having to setup a development board... so no one wants to lend it out just to have to set it up again. Especially if they "suddenly" need that equipment back.
So the question I have is... Is test equipment PERSONAL PROPERTY? Or is it communal? I always thought it was communal. But the way things are going... I might have to start treating the stuff I have as personal and even set up a log to track who I lend it to and when.
I'm irritated. I'm irritated that my company can't afford to keep us stocked with the test equipment that we need. I'm irritated that I can't quickly accomplish my task because of missing tools! I'm irritated that I worked on the weekend and didn't get any of my personal chores done!
Today...life sucks... I can't believe today is ONLY MONDAY... 4 more days left. I hope this week starts improving when I wake up.
O... but on a brighter note. My daughter is wonderfully cute. I love her more everyday. She climbs the stairs like a little pro... and she's moved from rice gruel to rice! Wow!
Anyway, the bug with the Thai fonts required me to use some hardware test equipment. My test setup was cannibalized while I was on maternity leave about a year ago. When I asked around if I could borrow other people's development board, no one was willing to lend theirs out.
The reasons are:
1. I have a reputation for breaking hardware. (Although, I think this reputation is unfairly earned...)
2. The development boards are old, and expensive and there are only a handful of functioning boards left, and everyone is scared that if they lend it out, it will never come back in working condition.
3. It's a hassle having to setup a development board... so no one wants to lend it out just to have to set it up again. Especially if they "suddenly" need that equipment back.
So the question I have is... Is test equipment PERSONAL PROPERTY? Or is it communal? I always thought it was communal. But the way things are going... I might have to start treating the stuff I have as personal and even set up a log to track who I lend it to and when.
I'm irritated. I'm irritated that my company can't afford to keep us stocked with the test equipment that we need. I'm irritated that I can't quickly accomplish my task because of missing tools! I'm irritated that I worked on the weekend and didn't get any of my personal chores done!
Today...life sucks... I can't believe today is ONLY MONDAY... 4 more days left. I hope this week starts improving when I wake up.
O... but on a brighter note. My daughter is wonderfully cute. I love her more everyday. She climbs the stairs like a little pro... and she's moved from rice gruel to rice! Wow!
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Working on Easter Weekend
It's 9 AM on Easter Sunday, and I'm alone in the office. I also came in yesterday from 7AM until 12. Then I worked from home from 7:30 until 9. Why??? Because we received a customer request to make Thai fonts. Long story short, I'm trying to get the fonts out to them before Monday (Thai time). It's a frustrating task because
1. I don't know Thai.
2. This was a sudden request and there was not enough time for me to learn how to make fonts and create a font for a language I don't know!!!!
3. There are not enough test files for me to test and release the fonts with confidence.
4. This is not coding. I want to become a better software engineer... not a person who can make artistic interpretations on fonts while converting them from true type to bitmap.
This is frustrating, and I'd rather be spending my easter weekend with my family. I mourn the loss of the weekend. But I relish the opportunity to show my "go get 'em" attitude. Hopefully it'll core me some points when review time comes.
Praise to God that my daughter has been a real sweetie this weekend. So even though I ended up working and doing chores all of yesterday... her sweetness really gave me a few highlights that made the day bearable.
And props to my husband for watching our daughter while I'm working this weekend. And also, I feel so loved that he even read me a bedtime story so I could calm down from the stressful day and fall asleep.
1. I don't know Thai.
2. This was a sudden request and there was not enough time for me to learn how to make fonts and create a font for a language I don't know!!!!
3. There are not enough test files for me to test and release the fonts with confidence.
4. This is not coding. I want to become a better software engineer... not a person who can make artistic interpretations on fonts while converting them from true type to bitmap.
This is frustrating, and I'd rather be spending my easter weekend with my family. I mourn the loss of the weekend. But I relish the opportunity to show my "go get 'em" attitude. Hopefully it'll core me some points when review time comes.
Praise to God that my daughter has been a real sweetie this weekend. So even though I ended up working and doing chores all of yesterday... her sweetness really gave me a few highlights that made the day bearable.
And props to my husband for watching our daughter while I'm working this weekend. And also, I feel so loved that he even read me a bedtime story so I could calm down from the stressful day and fall asleep.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Men are Moody Too
There is the stereotype that men are not emotional... and ENGINEERS are all logic and no heart. But that is not true at all. As a female engineer I have my monthly moods... but a few of the MALE engineers around me have moods too. The difference is that I recognize my moods and warn my coworkers by saying: "I'm grouchy (today)/(right now), so please (leave me alone)/(don't tease me) today." I'm sure that's not the most professional way to deal with my moods, but at least I'm civil about it.
It seems that the moody men at work either don't recognize their emotions or don't know how to handle it.
Sometimes they don't realize that they are in a bad mood. Maybe some stress is happening in their personal lives and they bring it to work. This is when they will be in a bad mood and get annoyed easily. I've had several occassions where I had my head bitten off for a joke or comment that would have been perfectly okay a day ago. I've even had the experience of a coworker getting mad at me when I brought in donuts and didn't announce it first thing in the morning. He said I should've announced first thing in the morning before he ate his breakfast.
I have another coworker who will walk away in the middle of a conversation when he gets upset. Just today I politely asked him to clarify what he was asking for. (I thought I might be able to help.) When he felt that I couldn't understand what he was saying, he just sighed and walked away quite abruptly.
There are also the male engineers who get grouchy and send off clear non-verbal signals to leave them alone. Such signals may include growling, non-commital grunts as answers, or putting in ear plugs or ear phones when you start talking around them.
So what have I learned? I've learned to keep a professional distance away from the super-moody coworkers. What is a professional distance? It means no joking, no bantering, no sharing of food, no personal conversations, and no asking for favors. Just say good morning, good night... and if you have to work together, be polite and courteous. Never demand and always say "thank you."
That last rule applies to all relationships. =) I guess my Kindergarten teacher taught me the key to a successful life: "Always say please and thank you."
It seems that the moody men at work either don't recognize their emotions or don't know how to handle it.
Sometimes they don't realize that they are in a bad mood. Maybe some stress is happening in their personal lives and they bring it to work. This is when they will be in a bad mood and get annoyed easily. I've had several occassions where I had my head bitten off for a joke or comment that would have been perfectly okay a day ago. I've even had the experience of a coworker getting mad at me when I brought in donuts and didn't announce it first thing in the morning. He said I should've announced first thing in the morning before he ate his breakfast.
I have another coworker who will walk away in the middle of a conversation when he gets upset. Just today I politely asked him to clarify what he was asking for. (I thought I might be able to help.) When he felt that I couldn't understand what he was saying, he just sighed and walked away quite abruptly.
There are also the male engineers who get grouchy and send off clear non-verbal signals to leave them alone. Such signals may include growling, non-commital grunts as answers, or putting in ear plugs or ear phones when you start talking around them.
So what have I learned? I've learned to keep a professional distance away from the super-moody coworkers. What is a professional distance? It means no joking, no bantering, no sharing of food, no personal conversations, and no asking for favors. Just say good morning, good night... and if you have to work together, be polite and courteous. Never demand and always say "thank you."
That last rule applies to all relationships. =) I guess my Kindergarten teacher taught me the key to a successful life: "Always say please and thank you."
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Pet Project idea #1
I had a lightbulb go off in my head last night. I know what my first pet project will be! I'm going to write a task-list application.
Right now I'm only mulling over one stupid technical detail. What is the smartest way to implement the task list and the tasks that will populate the list? Should it be an object oriented design? Should I have it interface with a database backend? Should it just be a text file that gets parsed and is then properly displayed???
How do existing task lists do it?? Argh~ I feel so inept.
Right now I'm only mulling over one stupid technical detail. What is the smartest way to implement the task list and the tasks that will populate the list? Should it be an object oriented design? Should I have it interface with a database backend? Should it just be a text file that gets parsed and is then properly displayed???
How do existing task lists do it?? Argh~ I feel so inept.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Pet Project #1
I talked to some of the tinkerers at work today. These are guys who like to tinker at home on personal projects. I asked them for project ideas to help improve my programming. One of them said, "Just write something! Anything! How about something to track your baby's weight and growth?"
I said: "Isn't that what excel is for??"
He said: "That's not the point! The point is to write something YOURSELF, so you can get practice."
Me: "Oh.... I get it..."
So today I downloaded the Java programming language, the Android SDK, and Eclipse IDE. My first pet project is to make some type of simple Android App. I don't care if it's already been made! My goal is to get practice!
My only comment is: Man! The Android SDK is HUGE!
I said: "Isn't that what excel is for??"
He said: "That's not the point! The point is to write something YOURSELF, so you can get practice."
Me: "Oh.... I get it..."
So today I downloaded the Java programming language, the Android SDK, and Eclipse IDE. My first pet project is to make some type of simple Android App. I don't care if it's already been made! My goal is to get practice!
My only comment is: Man! The Android SDK is HUGE!
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Technological Dust
Today one of the software application engineers announced that Friday would be his last day. This guy is ridiculously smart. He went to Cornell University to get his masters in astrophysics. He is not just smart at computer stuff, he also tries to be well rounded by taking martial arts classes at the university rec center, and knows all about fixing cars!
Anyway, my point is that he is someone I would like to emulate. He is leaving our humble little company to work head up a team at Samsung. Part of the reason I like my current job is because I WAS surrounded by 4 very smart and experienced software engineers who I could learn from. Now that one of them is going, I fear that ALL of them will start thinking about going. So his announcement that he would be leaving at the end of the week really shook my world.
I also wondered about my abilities as a software engineer. Will I ever be good enough to have a head hunter call me and interview me to lead a team at a multi-national, multi-BILLION dollar company.
On a car ride from lunch, I once asked him what I could do to become a stronger programmer. He said: "Code a lot. Even when you're at home. Write thousands of lines of code, and you will get better. In my free time I work on little side projects." He paused for a second and said: "But it's probably too late for you, because you're a little bit old to get started. It takes 10000 hours of practice to become a master at anything." At that time I thought to myself: "I guess I don't want to be an elite engineer.... just a decent one..."
Now I pause and reconsider. Maybe I DO want to be an ELITE engineer. After all, only elite engineers get into the "cool" companies right? Only the elite engineers get to work on the fun projects right? The mediocre engineers get stuck as a peon in a company with no future for advancement. I don't want to be left in the technological dust.
So, I'm going to set out a few goals to improve my technical skills. I'm not just talking about programming skills! I'm talking about all around engineering skills.
1. Read my friend's Electric Circuits text book by James W. Nilsson and Susan A. Riedel. As an embedded software engineer, a general understanding of electrical engineering could help me see the bigger picture. Remember, embedded software engineers work with pins, bits, resistors, analog-digital converters and etc. So simply knowing how to program sometimes isn't enough.
2. Design a pet project, and work on it for at least 30 minutes a day. This pet project should be something related to desktop applications. I don't get to code enough at work. And I don't have enough experience in developing desktop applications to make me a flexible engineer.
3. WORK OUT! A healthy body is a healthy mind right?
The only problem is.... I have no idea what kind of pet project I should be doing. I'm not very creative in the technological sense. If someone has an idea, I'd love to hear it!
Anyway, my point is that he is someone I would like to emulate. He is leaving our humble little company to work head up a team at Samsung. Part of the reason I like my current job is because I WAS surrounded by 4 very smart and experienced software engineers who I could learn from. Now that one of them is going, I fear that ALL of them will start thinking about going. So his announcement that he would be leaving at the end of the week really shook my world.
I also wondered about my abilities as a software engineer. Will I ever be good enough to have a head hunter call me and interview me to lead a team at a multi-national, multi-BILLION dollar company.
On a car ride from lunch, I once asked him what I could do to become a stronger programmer. He said: "Code a lot. Even when you're at home. Write thousands of lines of code, and you will get better. In my free time I work on little side projects." He paused for a second and said: "But it's probably too late for you, because you're a little bit old to get started. It takes 10000 hours of practice to become a master at anything." At that time I thought to myself: "I guess I don't want to be an elite engineer.... just a decent one..."
Now I pause and reconsider. Maybe I DO want to be an ELITE engineer. After all, only elite engineers get into the "cool" companies right? Only the elite engineers get to work on the fun projects right? The mediocre engineers get stuck as a peon in a company with no future for advancement. I don't want to be left in the technological dust.
So, I'm going to set out a few goals to improve my technical skills. I'm not just talking about programming skills! I'm talking about all around engineering skills.
1. Read my friend's Electric Circuits text book by James W. Nilsson and Susan A. Riedel. As an embedded software engineer, a general understanding of electrical engineering could help me see the bigger picture. Remember, embedded software engineers work with pins, bits, resistors, analog-digital converters and etc. So simply knowing how to program sometimes isn't enough.
2. Design a pet project, and work on it for at least 30 minutes a day. This pet project should be something related to desktop applications. I don't get to code enough at work. And I don't have enough experience in developing desktop applications to make me a flexible engineer.
3. WORK OUT! A healthy body is a healthy mind right?
The only problem is.... I have no idea what kind of pet project I should be doing. I'm not very creative in the technological sense. If someone has an idea, I'd love to hear it!
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Career Aspirations
At my company, I accrue 3 weeks worth of paid time off a year. This is a lot of vacation time! My manager is also very good and allows us to TAKE our vacation.
I just came back from a 1 week trip to Hawaii. Sadly this trip came right on the heels of my negative performance review. This review really hung over my head during this trip. I think a point that really stung from my review was my manager saying "Because you're still an inexperienced programmer, you didn't design for all the cases in your code." I spent quite a few moments mulling over what this review means, thinking over what my work ethic is and trying to pinpoint what I want in my career and taking stock of my skill-set.
As a white collar worker, I am stuck in this position: I can be assigned exciting projects that challenge me to grow but that are loaded with pressure and stress. Or I can be assigned boring projects, that have little pressure but makes me unmotivated to work.
Ultimately, I want to be respected by my peers for my technical skills and my professional attitude. But I don't want projects that keep me up at night and cause my nightmares. Like I said before, I really want to leave work at work. That way I can focus on my family when I get home.
But what kind of engineer would I be if I never grew my technical skillset and shied away from hard projects? Maybe I should embrace boring projects at work, and work on expanding my technical skills on my own free time? Is it realistic to think that I will never be assigned a "hard projects?" Maybe I shouldn't be an engineer? Maybe I should try to start a side business.
I really don't know the answer. These are just some thoughts.
I just came back from a 1 week trip to Hawaii. Sadly this trip came right on the heels of my negative performance review. This review really hung over my head during this trip. I think a point that really stung from my review was my manager saying "Because you're still an inexperienced programmer, you didn't design for all the cases in your code." I spent quite a few moments mulling over what this review means, thinking over what my work ethic is and trying to pinpoint what I want in my career and taking stock of my skill-set.
As a white collar worker, I am stuck in this position: I can be assigned exciting projects that challenge me to grow but that are loaded with pressure and stress. Or I can be assigned boring projects, that have little pressure but makes me unmotivated to work.
Ultimately, I want to be respected by my peers for my technical skills and my professional attitude. But I don't want projects that keep me up at night and cause my nightmares. Like I said before, I really want to leave work at work. That way I can focus on my family when I get home.
But what kind of engineer would I be if I never grew my technical skillset and shied away from hard projects? Maybe I should embrace boring projects at work, and work on expanding my technical skills on my own free time? Is it realistic to think that I will never be assigned a "hard projects?" Maybe I shouldn't be an engineer? Maybe I should try to start a side business.
I really don't know the answer. These are just some thoughts.
Friday, February 25, 2011
My Baby Set Back My Career?
I am a relatively young software engineer. I'm not very far into my career. I have a great manager, and great coworkers. Last year we launched an ambitious project to develop a revolutionary new printer. My manager gave me two very important projects.
1. Write the bootloader for the printer.
2. Write the battery charger for the printer.
I spent 10-12 hour days at the office doing research and working on this project. And then I got pregnant. I was ecstatic to be pregnant! We had been trying to conceive... and I naively believed that being pregnant and taking 3 months off work for maternity leave would not affect my professional performance.
9 months ago I was blessed with a beautiful baby girl. She is the cutest thing ever. But she came TWO WEEKS EARLY! I didn't have a chance to cleanly hand off my projects to my teammate. I believed that the two projects where 95% done and just needed some polishing. As all software engineers know, there will always be bugs... but I really thought that the framework and design of my code was solid.
6 months ago I went back to work and have been trying to readjust to my new role of a working mom. Well, today I got my annual review for 2010... and because of my two "unfinished projects" I was majorly dinged. The teammates I handed off the project to said that they had to rewrite the code. My manager also noted that the "drive and ambition" he saw in me in the early half of 2010 was missing in the second half. In conclusion, I didn't get a raise this year. And my overall evaluation was a negative. If I was to get a letter grade, it would have been a C-.
I am very disappointed. Not because of the lack of a raise, but because my professional performance was deemed a disappointment by my manager and the managers above him. This seriously bruises my ego as an engineer.
How has becoming a mom hurt my career?
1. I couldn't see my projects to completion and the lack of results reflects poorly on me.
2. Taking 3 months off from work means that it takes quite a bit of time to readjust into the world of an engineer.
3. My priorities have changed. In the past, my job had very high priority. I would stay at work for as long as it took to reach a good stopping point. But now my professional ambition has been watered down. And honestly, I'm not focused on my job anymore. Part of me just wants to slide by on minimal effort and focus all of my energy on raising my daughter and creating a perfect home for her and my husband.
I feel guilty that I'm not giving my company 100%. But at the same time, I don't want to.
I wonder what will happen when I have my next baby? Will I get dinged once more? I hate disappointing my manager. But I also feel very frustrated that these biological events WILL affect my professional career! The only solution is to be like a man and NOT GET PREGNANT! Or find a new job where the responsibilities and expectations are different. But I think all engineer jobs are like this.
I wish I had a female engineer to be my mentor.
1. Write the bootloader for the printer.
2. Write the battery charger for the printer.
I spent 10-12 hour days at the office doing research and working on this project. And then I got pregnant. I was ecstatic to be pregnant! We had been trying to conceive... and I naively believed that being pregnant and taking 3 months off work for maternity leave would not affect my professional performance.
9 months ago I was blessed with a beautiful baby girl. She is the cutest thing ever. But she came TWO WEEKS EARLY! I didn't have a chance to cleanly hand off my projects to my teammate. I believed that the two projects where 95% done and just needed some polishing. As all software engineers know, there will always be bugs... but I really thought that the framework and design of my code was solid.
6 months ago I went back to work and have been trying to readjust to my new role of a working mom. Well, today I got my annual review for 2010... and because of my two "unfinished projects" I was majorly dinged. The teammates I handed off the project to said that they had to rewrite the code. My manager also noted that the "drive and ambition" he saw in me in the early half of 2010 was missing in the second half. In conclusion, I didn't get a raise this year. And my overall evaluation was a negative. If I was to get a letter grade, it would have been a C-.
I am very disappointed. Not because of the lack of a raise, but because my professional performance was deemed a disappointment by my manager and the managers above him. This seriously bruises my ego as an engineer.
How has becoming a mom hurt my career?
1. I couldn't see my projects to completion and the lack of results reflects poorly on me.
2. Taking 3 months off from work means that it takes quite a bit of time to readjust into the world of an engineer.
3. My priorities have changed. In the past, my job had very high priority. I would stay at work for as long as it took to reach a good stopping point. But now my professional ambition has been watered down. And honestly, I'm not focused on my job anymore. Part of me just wants to slide by on minimal effort and focus all of my energy on raising my daughter and creating a perfect home for her and my husband.
I feel guilty that I'm not giving my company 100%. But at the same time, I don't want to.
I wonder what will happen when I have my next baby? Will I get dinged once more? I hate disappointing my manager. But I also feel very frustrated that these biological events WILL affect my professional career! The only solution is to be like a man and NOT GET PREGNANT! Or find a new job where the responsibilities and expectations are different. But I think all engineer jobs are like this.
I wish I had a female engineer to be my mentor.
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