Hacker News Reader

Comment by morganwilde | Hacker News Reader

I know the feeling, in fact a little over two years ago I posted something similar on HN and got 0 responses. It’s always empowering to finally acknowledge that there is no safety net.

Forget computers and engineering interviews, start looking for any and all work that pays. If all else fails, go to McDonald’s and work there until you save up a little. Once you have an income restart your job search.

If you go homeless that becomes a social stigma that’s hard to come back from, so do EVERYTHING in your power to avoid that.

Oh, and find an apartment you can afford.

If you want someone to talk to, you can give me a call (send message first to morgan@wilde.work).

View on HN

"McDonald's" will not hire just anybody. I lived in Seattle for almost 8 months before finding a low-level wage job. The McDonald's argument is what entitled people say to poverty stricken people who are suffering.

Also "find an apartment you can afford" is hilarious and patronizing. I make enough money in the industry I have worked in for over a decade to not really be able to afford a 140 square ft efficiency.

Totally agree re: "find an apartment you can afford". My parents we're laughing their asses off when I told them "it is not easy to find a room for $600 in NYC with a month-to-month lease".

They thought I was brain dead. It just turns out that they haven't apartment hunted in 30 years.

They will in today's job market (which isn't typical). Hiring for unskilled labor is incredibly tight.

Talked to a local business owner here. He started a small restaurant because, after having moved here and looked for a job for a year, he couldn't get hired. Big box stores, grocery stores, other restaurants. He's ... probably early 50s, and was looking to just be a good employee someplace, clock in, clock out... and could not get hired. He's always been a hustler, and that probably comes through in the interviews, and they pass on hiring him. So... the "go get a job flipping burgers"... isn't always as easy as it's made out to be in many regions. For the record, he's now flipping burgers in his own burger place (made his own job, basically).

Anecdote, possibly no longer relevant because of political changes (especially 9/11):

I've been in the US for six months, back in 2000. A few days before my visa expired, I was in a fast food and started talking to the guy selling me food. (Not a McD.) Turned out he was the owner :) One thing led to another, I told him I was bummed because my visa was expiring and I had to leave; he said "you speak English very well, I will hire you - none of my guys here have a visa". I didn't want to take him on, the company I was working for at the time had promised me they would try to bring me back (they didn't) and I didn't want to overstay since that would have been an automatic rejection.

The worst thing was... the company I was working for (as a programmer) was paying me around $15 / hour. He offered me $17 :)

Anyway, back to your point. That event had also led me to believe that finding a job in fast food is incredibly easy... I'm surprised to find out it's not.

To add to this, if you are applying to McDonalds, try to dumb down your resume so that they don't think you are a flight risk.

I.e. remove really technical stuff and leave high school education.

"Just go to mcdonalds" may not necessarily be a strong argument, but "look for any job, not just a cs/eng job" definitely is.

"Go work at McDonald's/Walmart/whatever retail for a few weeks/months" is generally not great advice.

Hiring is an investment at all levels and oftentimes restaurants (especially chains/corporations) and retail stores don't want to invest in training someone with higher level skills out of the fear that they'll just leave immediately when something that more closely matches their skills comes along.

Not to say that food/retail jobs can't be found, but in my experience you need to a) not go try at a chain and b) make a more personal connection with the person doing the hiring, not just filling out an application.

If OP is able and has a bike or car (and doesn't mind doing non development work), food delivery through postmates/caviar/whatever has a lower barrier to entry and doesn't require certain models the way ridesharing apps do.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com