Toptal.com. Pain in the ass evaluation process, but it's worthwhile to get through.
I had the impression that you have to bid yourself down to catch work over there due to that discrepancy. There are people in Eastern Europe more qualified than me, willing to work harder than me, at 1/3 the cost of me. Thus I preferred local contract hunting.
Which networks still exist that do not require this large upfront timesuck (regardless of how well it may filter candidates)?
Of all the solutions our industry can provide, why cannot we not solve for if someone is performant in the industry?
Trades figures this out centuries ago.
However, our industry retains a hint of mystery. A magical sauce that cannot yet be taught.
But more importantly, a level of some mystery remains that cannot be detected without forcing the recruit through a rigorous course. Its biggest attrition being a the large potential for no return.
The difference with “us” is that our skills are still evolving - and quickly in many spaces…. The tools change, the methods change and the skill sets are constantly evolving to match.
What about for a React/frontend role. Surely no leetcode
I did all tests in half the required time, 100% success rate, had a bug during the interview with the screener, in the last of 5 overall I've done, I probably could've fixed it with 2 more minutes but no, I failed and was asked to practice leetcode puzzles and apply again one month later.
Yeah, I don't think I will.
The thing that bugs me the most is it was obvious the interviewer wasn't an engineer. There weren't able to tell how close I was to the solution. I dunno, that method might work in some cases, but I've been doing software engineering for 16 years. I guess I'm not good enough.
Also fuck having to solve puzzles with a timer with someone looking over your shoulder. I have done emergency "servers are on fire" maintenance in the middle of the night for big customers and it's less stressful than that.
Anybody of that opinion here?
Yes, the interview process is a bit long, but opportunities have been non-stop for several years in a row now.
Never an issue with pay, although it can border on 6 weeks in arrears due to billing cycles with the client and bi-weekly deposits from Toptal.
It has varied from me being the only person working on it to full time work.
It's been easy enough that I've always taken 2, 20 hour/week jobs so that I don't lose all my employment at once when one ends. It's never been a problem picking up the next contract.
I've never worked with anyone else from Toptal, though I have been the replacement.
I haven't been using them for a while, but it's been non-stop inquiries from them, even though I've set my availability to 0hr/wk.