MOD PARENT UP

"Yes!!! "x1000

You could also head over to http://www.oswd.org/ and pick up a free website template and make some simple mind-blower web-based doohickey on a website that doesn't look half bad.

While you're at it, release some good code that YOU OWN on CPAN and link to it from your homepage.

Create a blog and write a few entries about something that interests you - programming related or not. Something that would show up favorably when your prospective employer Googles your name.

Create a LinkedIn profile and take 20 minutes to seek-n-find-n-connect previous co-workers who might also be on LinkedIn. More associates & recommendations are better.

Contribute to some kind of "cool" project. For example, Kamaitachi is a Perl-based Flash Media Server that provides the ability to interact with webcams via a web server. It could use some new features, tests and/or documentation. There are a thousand projects out there just waiting for something in your position to take a day or two to really make a difference and gain some accolades in the process.

P.S. - Good luck on the job hunt!

Comment on MOD PARENT UP Download Code

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Re: MOD PARENT UP by tilly (Archbishop) on May 12, 2009 at 02:04 UTC
In many locations, including much of the USA, by default any code that a professional programmer writes belongs to the employer even if that code is written on personal time on a personal machine. Furthermore in such legal jurisdictions it is standard boiler plate for employment contracts to reaffirm that all such software is owned by your employer, and not you. Given this, arranging to actually own some of the code you wrote is not always easy.	[reply]
Re^2: MOD PARENT UP by hangon (Deacon) on May 12, 2009 at 08:30 UTC
Yes, this is what happens when we let lawyers make the rules. I often thought we should have a "Washington Tea Party", and instead of cases of tea, throw politicians into the Potomac.	[reply]
Re^3: MOD PARENT UP by wol (Hermit) on May 12, 2009 at 09:24 UTC
!!! There should be anti-pollution laws to stop that kind of thing! -- use JAPH; print JAPH::asString();	[reply]
personal code? by LanX (Saint) on May 12, 2009 at 09:15 UTC
Are you sure? This would mean that no employed programmer could participate at copyright free projects without permission of his boss (???) OK maybe in the US, there I have the impression that lawyers are the modern correspondent of the priest-class in ancient Egypt, ruling the naive citizens with their interpretation of "God's will". ;-) But I doubt that this copyright law is the situation in most European countries, especially in Germany... Cheers Rolf	[reply]
Re: personal code? by dsheroh (Monsignor) on May 12, 2009 at 10:16 UTC
Yes, that's exactly what it means. Which is why GNU/FSF policy includes things like "Before incorporating significant changes, make sure that the person who wrote the changes has signed copyright papers and that the Free Software Foundation has received and signed them. We may also need an employer's disclaimer from the person's employer." and "You should also get your employer (if you work as a programmer) or school, if any, to sign a “copyright disclaimer” for the program, if necessary." But, yes, Europe is different. One of the reasons I'm glad I moved here...	[reply]
Re^2: personal code? by LanX (Saint) on May 12, 2009 at 10:36 UTC
Re^3: personal code? by tilly (Archbishop) on May 12, 2009 at 15:33 UTC
Some notes below your chosen depth have not been shown here
Re^2: MOD PARENT UP by DrHyde (Prior) on May 13, 2009 at 10:41 UTC
Is fixing this not a trivial matter of taking the time to actually negotiate your employment contract (instead of just agreeing to whatever is put in front of you without bothering to read it) before you start a job? That's what I did when presented with a contract that claimed ownership of everything I ever wrote while employed, including letters to my grandmother.	[reply]
Re^3: MOD PARENT UP by tilly (Archbishop) on May 13, 2009 at 18:00 UTC
Chicken and egg here. It is really hard to renegotiate an existing employment contract. So you need to find a new job to negotiate one. But you want to have a different employment contract to make it easier to find said job. See the catch? That said, most employers will not actually bother to negotiate with you. Many people just strike a bunch of crap out, sign, turn that in and hear nothing then think that they have negotiated. Unfortunately nothing makes the employer sign to that revision. So now you don't actually have an employment contract. Guess what? That means you fall under the default rules, which means in New York that a professional employee who is a programmer who writes programs in personal time on a personal machine is creating works for hire that belong to the employer. Congratulations on your great negotiating strategy. It earned you..nothing. While negotiating can work, it is a lot more risky and a lot more work than having the good luck to live somewhere with saner rules.	[reply]
Re^4: MOD PARENT UP by DrHyde (Prior) on May 14, 2009 at 10:47 UTC
Re^5: MOD PARENT UP by tilly (Archbishop) on May 14, 2009 at 12:47 UTC