Khanh Nguyen

Pro tip: Tired of your co-workers deleting your code? Leave a comment saying "This code is auto-generated. Do not delete." Follow me for more tech tips 👍

262

29 Comments

"Founding Engineer" is just the worst job. Don't do it. https://lnkd.in/eFT__4v3 ^That reddit post is not me, but beyond the clickbaity title, the post is still worth reading. It does raise some interesting points that I’ve experienced too, and I want to discuss. These are my opinions, I welcome any disagreement/ difference in opinion. Recently, 3 separate startups reached out to me for a "Founding Engineer" role, asked if I am available or if I could recommend someone. 1 was Ok, 2 were red flags. Let's talk about the red flags. Both have raised pre-seed, one in NY, one in Seattle. Both are building products that solve a real pain point for their respective industries. The offers are somewhere between 2-10% equity and 150-200k USD base comp. But I wouldn’t take such a position, nor send an engineer their way. Why? 1) The only technical person they had on the team before raising, either quit or was let go (already raises a lot of questions) 2) While one of the cofounder has domain knowledge and is raising/selling, its unclear on what the others do 3) None of the remaining cofounders are technical. And besides the main guy, they weren’t planning on meeting this critical hire. So what does this imply? Allow me to oversimplify it a bit to drive the point home but an early stage startup needs 2 things: the product, and the sales. If you primarily come from engineering background, you think sales is easy. If you come from sales, you think code is easy. Neither are. 2 non-technical cofounders looking for a "founding engineer" often (but not always) screams: 'hmm we need a code monkey to work as hard as us, to build our amazing idea that we have already sold to a customer. And in return we'll give him a tiny piece of equity , below market pay, and long working hours' A vice versa example is: 2 engineer co-founders with no ability to market/sell wanting to hire their 'head of sales' hoping he/she can magically generate revenue and growth. ^Both of those scenarios are setting up the hired person for failure. I feel like early stage founders need to understand this: - Unless you're famous, you and your company has no brand value at the moment - The comp you're offering is sh*t compared to market rate - Your cashflow is non-existent or insignificant, so anyone who joins you is taking massive risk as far as their employment is concerned. If you want someone competent to join, your offer has to be at least somewhat attractive. Maybe you should consider looking for a cofounder with substantial equity, rather than an employee who's going to be the catchall for half of the work that needs to be done in a startup. Otherwise good luck hiring (esp retaining) anyone who's worth their salt. #Engineers: Realize your worth, and don't get sucked into bad deals for shiny words. I can call myself Batman and you can call yourself a CTO, but in a 3 person (or even a 20 person) company, that title has no meaning. #hiring #tech #startup #foundingengineer

6

2 Comments

Creating resumes for your game dev job search can be a challenge.   From all the conversations I’ve had with aspiring game developers and those that are already in the industry here is 1 thing I found that could help you in your job search.   The only developers that actually got consistent interviews by simply sending in a resume were the ones that had actual professional experience to put on their resume, and with that, had professional experience in the field for the jobs they were applying for.   Those who are truly junior, those without any professional experience to put on their resume very rarely land interviews by simply sending in a resume.   I personally have only ever had 1 single interview from simply sending in a resume across the hundreds and hundreds of jobs I’ve applied for. Yet, through networking and keeping active on LinkedIn, I’ve had 15 – 20 interviews over the last 2 years. Never even utilizing my resume till after first contact and interest in me from those handling the hiring process.   Almost every single person I’ve talked to, when it comes to getting their first job, has landed that job through networking in the same way.   Networking is more consistent to landing jobs for junior developers than the standard job application process.                                                                                       I recommend learning it. #gamesindustry #careercoaching #growth #mindset

2

Are colleges/universities failing Computer Science grads in 2024? The vast majority of CS grads end up working as software engineers. But many CS grads are unable to answer basic programming questions during an interview. (We talked about OOP last week). Why should CS grads have to invest in a bootcamp or additional hands-on training to land a job after a pricy college degree? We provide these hands-on skills at no cost at HTD Talent, but we can only help so many. Has this been your experience? What do you think is behind it? Let me know in the comments.

42

19 Comments

Not all coding languages are created equal, and some are definitely much easier to learn than others. Which ones are more beginner friendly? Which ones should you avoid? https://lnkd.in/g5C3N-GE 🌟 $1,500 OFF Tech Bootcamp 👉 https://lnkd.in/gENGyazW #computerlanguages #computerprogramming #programminglanguage #pirateking

8

HTML - for structure CSS - for style JavaScript - for fun React - for work C - for dinosaurs C++ - for college PHP - for nothing Ruby - for Rails jQuery - for legacy Python - for science TypeScript - for safety Java - for 3 billion devices

1

Not a ChatGPT post. Certainly not a ChatGPT blog. 🚫💻 The other day, I was talking to a junior who was making a small dummy project. It involved Authentication. 🔒 Surprisingly enough, that junior wasn’t very mindful of the authentication part and the types of auth available. 🤔 That’s when I realized how easy it is to not know about the various authentication mechanisms we have available and their pros and cons. 🛠️ That’s why, I wrote a small blogpost talking about the choices for auth mechanism for your next project. 📝 The blogpost is purely non-code and if time permits, I’ll surely add-on code parts for each of them. 💻 Do check it out and let me know how’d it go for you. 👀👇 https://lnkd.in/gT6ifDd6

10

2 Comments

Imagine playing DOOM without a single line of code. 🎮 Google released a paper showing that it's possible to run the classic game DOOM at 20 FPS using only a neural network - no game engine, no rendering pipeline, just a neural net and a gamepad. The key is a new architecture called GameNGen that converts the game into a sequence of frames and controller inputs, which are then used to train a large language model. During inference, the model takes the current frame and controller input, and predicts the next frame. This allows it to essentially "play" the game in real-time. While there are still some limitations (e.g. the model only has access to a few seconds of history, so complex game state is not always maintained), the results are impressive. This could pave the way for a new paradigm in game development, where instead of writing code, developers simply provide examples of what they want (e.g. images of characters or levels) and the model generates a playable game. Roughly a year ago, Google Stadia, their cloud gaming service, was considered a failure. But maybe they have much bigger plans now? ↓ Liked this post? Join my newsletter with 35k+ readers that breaks down all you need to know about the latest LLM research: llmwatch.com 💡

273

12 Comments

The current version of JavaScript bears little resemblance to that first-generation scripting language. While much of the old code still runs in websites, innumerable features and layers have been added since the early days. #JavaScript #Code #Scripting

1

Built a fun tool to roast the resume https://lnkd.in/g8HGZ8kq, All you need to do is upload your resume here and let the fine tuned ai model give you funniest and sometimes brutal reviews.

8

🚀 Exploring the Future of AI: The Rise of AI 2.0 Companies 🚀 We’re witnessing the dawn of AI 2.0—a new era where AI is not just about advanced algorithms but about creating smarter, safer, and more generalized models that can transform industries. Here’s a look at some trailblazers leading this movement: 1. Anthropic: Redefining AI safety with “Claude,” a model designed to be both powerful and aligned with human values, ensuring ethical AI interactions. 2. Runway: Innovating in the realm of generative AI, Runway allows users to create video content from text, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in video editing and synthetic media. 3. Inworld AI: Bringing AI into the world of gaming, Inworld AI creates characters that can mimic human behaviors, making gaming experiences more immersive and interactive. 4. Stability AI: The force behind Stable Diffusion, Stability AI is democratizing AI by developing open-source models that empower developers to build next-generation applications. 5. Jasper: Helping marketing teams unlock creativity and efficiency, Jasper automates content creation and analysis, making it easier for businesses to engage their audiences. These companies are not just evolving AI; they’re setting new standards for what AI can achieve. Whether it’s enhancing creativity, improving user interaction, or ensuring AI safety, these leaders are defining the future of technology. #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Innovation #Technology #GenerativeAI #AI2_0 #FutureOfWork #TechTrends

3

Lucid Lang update: - The lexical basics are nearly complete. - The parser currently only supports math expressions, variable assignments, compound statements and strings. - Started syntax highlighting. Interested in learning more about the language I'm building? Visit official site: https://lucidlanguage.org/ #programminglanguage #programming #softwareengineer #devlog

1

Let me show you how investors are taking million-dollar moves. 🚀 Day 79 of 365 Waheguru ❤️ Turning a layoff into a $10M business!  Streak: 0🔥💪 7🔥🥦 0🔥📚 Would you make a move like this? Let me know in the comments how you would add value to a property! Stay tuned for my journey from zero to $10M! 📈✨  #365DayChallenge #LayOff #SoftwareEngineer #IT #EntrepreneurLife #BusinessJourney #ChallengeAccepted #RealEstateInvestment #ViralChallenge #NewBeginnings #RealEstate #MultiMillionDollarBusiness #REI #RE

2

1 Comment

Jr. Devs, When you are sitting in that interview chair trying not to say the wrong thing and trying to remember all the stuff you’ve been told about how to interview well, don’t forget this one thing that should give you at least a little more confidence. You're not the only one being interviewed. You may think… duh, there are tons of candidates for this job. However, that’s not what I’m talking about. You are interviewing the company. Most Jr. Devs don’t think like this because, frankly, most Jr. Devs are just trying to get a job and they often don’t care or don’t consider the company or the culture they end up in. I’ve spent a lot of time on the DevMentorDave YouTube channel recently talking about mentoring and the need for it in our organizations. But that’s only one part of finding the right fit. The company is looking for candidates they think will fit what they need. Notice I said, ‘NEED”. They don’t just hire because it’s fun (it’s not). They need someone and you need to make sure they are a good fit for YOU before accepting an offer or before leaving the interview. Don’t just ask questions you found on a website or were given by a recruiter. Think about what matters to you as an employee and as an individual and ask questions that will impact how you work and impact your success and future. That level of confidence and interaction in the interview may just set you apart from the pack, even if your dev skills are the same as all the other candidates. #juniordeveloper #mentoring #interview 

12

1 Comment

CSS/TS/Javascript UI Mini Software in Meta Horizon! In two days, with help, I’ve made two old Windows style programs for Mobile/VR. These simple scripts use a combination of languages to enact a mini-game housed in one UI window. I’m building a mini-OS. 😂 #programming #javascript #meta #metaverse #coding

3

I’m going to make a TODO: in the codebase that simply says cry, just so my fellow programming successor(s) will know they’re not alone // TODO: *cry* 😭✅ #programming #developer #software #csharp #dotnet #java #python #css #html #javascript

4

I feel like 90% of y'all, ESPECIALLY if you are trying to get your first job in tech, are completely missing the MARK on what your portfolio site should be. To me, this is how you should be thinking about your portfolio site. Do you agree? 🤔 #coding #code #programming #softwareengineering

184

37 Comments

Ever felt like public service websites are a maze you can’t escape? 😵‍💫🌀 Whether it’s filing taxes on IRS.gov 📄 or booking a DMV appointment 🚗, the struggle is real. That’s why we created Llama Navigator 🦙💻 during the Llama Impact Hackathon! This Chrome extension is your personal guide 🧭, instantly finding the info you need without endless scrolling or confusion. Now, I need your help! 🫵🌟 What do you think of this solution? 🤔 What websites frustrate you the most, and how could we improve? Check out the live demo 🎥👉 here https://drp.li/Tu0GG and share your thoughts. Let’s take this idea from hackathon to global impact 🌍🚀—together, we can make public services easy for everyone! 💪✨ Check out our live demo here: https://drp.li/Tu0GG #HackathonProject #LlamaNavigator #TechForGood #Innovation #ai #meta-ai #hackathon #lablabai #Meta #LlamaImpact #PublicServices #AI #OpenSource #LlamaNavigator #HackathonWin #Llama3Impact #ai #bayarea #hackernews #meta #llama #llama3.2 💡🌟

8