I used to take a wide array of cognitive boosters during higher education and piracetam is one I know quite well personally. To make this short:
It works for some things (like reading for hours at a time) but it has made me sometimes feel "foggy-headed" and less productive/creative. The effects it has on my GI tract have been problematic at times (causing gas) and it tends to make my blood sugar crash at T+3. Plus with the massive amount of choline you have to take alongside the product, it became an inconvenience rather than an aid.
I would recommend sulbutiamine over piracetam if you want to "get things done".
>* anything that "works" has a very pronounced psychoactive effect on the brain. Which is scary in the long-term.
What are you specifically talking about? What do you qualify as a "very pronounced psychoactive effect" "on the brain" and how is that "scary in the long-term"?
Please don't just make blanket statements without qualifying them to the rest of us. Show some evidence or reasoning to argue.
I agree with this advice. I just got out of b-school and my background is in computer information systems, but I am attempting to learn a lot more of the nitty-gritty aspects of computer science I was not exposed to in my university education. This includes topics like algorithms, data structures, operating systems and compilers. I do not know where to start and I've been using Hacker News to follow the tech scene as much as possible. Unfortunately I still feel that I am missing out because I chose business over engineering (which I continue to regret).
I'm just 1.5 years away from being 30 so I realize that I have quite a long time left in my software development career to catch-up to all you CS people. I don't think I've been undirected (the opposite of conscientiousness) but I've been misdirected and distracted. I've studied other things including web design and music production. I've also enjoyed life a lot (and slacked off by watching too much Adult Swim and Comedy Central, as well!).
It's hard being productive and studious all the time. While some people work 80 hour weeks continuously, most people don't out of need for sleep, exercise and relaxation. There is certainly an ebb-and-flow to this so I am embracing the idea that it will take me many more years of continuous growth and effort to get where I want to be. I also know that I need to eliminate as many distractions as possible, including turning off the TV and avoiding going out to concerts, clubs and bars. I have picked up some meditation techniques as well (including spending 10 minutes a day, at least once a day, focusing on deep breathing in order to unwind my frontal cortex). Sacrifice sucks but it is necessary to become the person you want to be!
I've never worked for a start-up in a development role before, but I think I would like it. I am 28, fresh out of grad school and working for a bank currently. I like my coworkers and the work but when I walk by management and I overhear "We're not a development shop," I get disheartened because banks are becoming data centers and have to be in the software game.
Take a look at...
Dwolla: they are out to destroy the Automated Clearing House industry.
Bitcoin: banks need to know how to interface with that!
Micropayments: same deal.
Mobile: OCR for check deposits!
Data science/analytics ("big data"): obvious.
Banks that fail to adopt a hacker culture because IT is a "cost center" (despite the fact that all operational units of any business are) will crumble.
Retiring at 30 = being a boring person for your 40s, 50s, etc.
I think a better situation is to be financially secure by your 30s (be completely out of debt, pay off a mortgage, have money for children, etc.) and then have the ability to start companies or work freelance for the rest of your life rather than being a slave to the 9-to-5 grind.
I do like the concept of getting rich slowly and learning slowly. I would love to peruse multiple degrees (I already have two) just out of the love of learning and also meeting other lovers of knowledge.
...while reaching out across your personal and professional network. If I were in your situation, which I have been (let go from a development job), I would file for unemployment while searching for another job everywhere you go.
Do everything it takes to prove to other firms that you got the programming skills to pay the bills (as Weird Al would say). Use the funemployment money to sustain life.
I can also tell you what not to do. Do not move back in with your parents if their hometown is small. I did this and I languished.
I am working on an app that does a similar function but for 'friends'. Removing friends is very slow on desktop because of the thumbnails generated for all the profile pictures. The page refreshes often which further slows down the tedious task of deleting friendships.
I agree with you. Outside of NY/SF, I highly doubt anyone is starting any software engineer/big data individual more than ~100kish. I've had friends work up to that level but certainly not starting as Software Engineer I or II.
(That reminds me, I should check into working in NY or SF.)
Did anyone else just immediately scroll to the bottom to look for the U.S.? That's what I did, as that's where I expected to see it. I had to scroll up to look at the rest of the countries.