So little actual software development in software engineering roles

[Rob Hasselbaum]

On Mon, Jan 10, 2011 at 1:40 PM, David Rosenstrauch <darose-prQxUZoa2zOsTnJN9+BGXg at public.gmane.org>wrote:

> On 01/09/2011 11:01 PM, Mark Woodward wrote:
> > I have been looking around for positions having had my last project
> > canceled. I'm so tired, it seems like "software development" is more
> > "software integration" these days.
>
> > Maybe I'm old and washed up.
>
> I think this depends a lot on the company.  IMO, you find this a lot at
> large, established companies.  (e.g., I used to find this a lot at Wall
> St. banks.)
>
> So IMO (and granted, I don't know a lot about your specific situation
> here, so I'm just speculating) the companies that you're looking at are
> what's old and washed up.  I see a tremendous amount of new development
> going on, but it's largely with smaller startups.
>
> Just my $0.02.
>
>
I second that assessment. There is interesting development work going on in
and around Boston. My $0.02 would be to look specifically at software
companies or web service companies -- as opposed to companies that happen to
produce software as a by-product of a corporate IT function or some other
line of business.

Also, if you don't already, make sure your resume is tailored to the
position you're seeking. It may be obvious to you why your 15 years of
low-level C/C++ and mainframe experience will help you contribute
productively on a Java web application based on Spring and Hibernate, but it
might not be obvious to the hiring manager. As someone who looks at a lot of
resumes, I sometimes get frustrated if a candidate with a lot of experience
buries me in 5 pages of details about work that is only loosely related to
the position I'm trying to fill.