Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (September 2024)

Hacker News Discussion ↗

Overview

  • Thread is an “Ask HN: Who wants to be hired?” with hundreds of self‑descriptions from people seeking work.
  • Posts follow a common pattern: location, remote/relocation preferences, technologies, CV links, and brief “about me” blurbs.
  • Content is almost entirely one‑way listings; there is very little conversational back‑and‑forth.

Roles & Skill Sets

  • Strong concentration of software engineers:
    • Full‑stack web (very heavy on TypeScript/JavaScript, React/Next.js, Node.js, Python/Django/FastAPI, Ruby/Rails, PHP/Laravel, Go, Java, C#/.NET).
    • Frontend specialists (React, Vue, Svelte, Angular, design‑oriented “devsigners”).
    • Backend/platform/infra (Go, Rust, Python, Java, C/C++; microservices, Kubernetes, Terraform, AWS/GCP/Azure, SRE/DevOps/Platform engineering).
    • Data/ML/AI (NLP, LLMs, RAG, computer vision, MLOps, classical ML, data engineering, analytics).
    • Mobile and embedded (Android/Kotlin, iOS/Swift, React Native, Flutter, embedded C/C++, firmware, robotics, game consoles).
  • Also represented:
    • Product managers, technical product and program managers.
    • Designers (product, UX/UI, visual, web, design systems).
    • Security (AppSec, infra, blockchain security, red/blue teaming).
    • QA/automation engineers.
    • Data analysts, financial analysts, optimization/operations research specialists.
    • Tech writers, marketing/growth, strategy/architecture consultants, and non‑technical roles tied to tech.

Remote Work and Relocation

  • Majority explicitly prefer or require remote work; some will do hybrid or occasional travel.
  • Relocation willingness is mixed:
    • Many tied to current country/region; others open within EU, US, or specific cities.
    • A few require visa sponsorship; some highlight existing multi‑jurisdiction work authorization.

Seniority, Engagement Models, and Goals

  • Range from interns, juniors, and fresh grads to staff/principal, directors, VPs, CTOs, and founders.
  • Engagement types span full‑time employment, part‑time, contract/freelance, fractional CTO/architect, and consulting studios offering entire teams.
  • Common themes:
    • Desire for meaningful work (climate, healthcare, education, social impact).
    • Preference for small teams, startups, or high‑ownership roles (founding engineer, greenfield, zero‑to‑one).
    • Interest in AI/LLMs, distributed systems, dev tooling, and performance‑critical systems.

Meta Observations

  • One poster questions whether anyone actually gets hired through these threads; another responds positively but without detailed evidence.
  • Several people highlight open‑source projects, side products, and prior startup exits as signals of capability and initiative.