I would absolutely prefer to not have to individually tag photos with high-level tags, but my limited search of desktop programs didn't surface any that were capable of machine vision to do it for me. I should have considered cloud solutions too, thanks for the suggestion!
I'll check that out, thanks! I have an entry level DSLR (18MP) so I was hesitant to Google Photos due to the compression, but the features look great. I didn't realize the machine vision for search and tagging was all included in the price/free for compressed pictures It's probably cheaper to pay for Google Drive space than pay for Lightroom, so it's probably worth it.
One followup question, since the browser is cloud-based, have you experienced significant latency viewing your photos? For example, when I use the Dropbox webapp it takes a couple to load thumbnail previews for a folder of 200ish photos while Finder on my Mac does it basically instantaneously.
I've found no lag when using Google photos, however it is mostly on the iDevices. When I do log in from a laptop I have never noticed any lag. This is in contrast to logging into iCloud photos from a browser which often has significant lag.
As my photos have been syncing with Google it has been automatically creating slide shows and collages. Each day I'm getting something new as it goes back in time. Pretty neat.
Seems like it's documented here that there's a difference in referral bonus between the Basic and Pro accounts (https://www.dropbox.com/en/help/200). Maybe you had earned 6.5GB in referrals on your Pro account, which has now been reduced by 3.25GB. It's frustrating that they're taking away the benefits you earned while paying for the Pro account, but it's not unusual.
I have limited experience compared to many people on here, but 30% for a seed round seems higher than average. It might make more sense to go straight to a series A where you will likely get more money than a seed round (expanding abroad is always more expensive than you think). I don't know which county you're in, but many (if not most) U.S. investors will be wary of investing in a company where 50% has already been given away, making it difficult to raise more money later. Exceptions are made if you're doing incredibly well and they're guaranteed to make money, but on average it's not something they like.
I'm not saying it is or it isn't, I just see a lot of programmers using it, especially ones who maintain open source projects (they post updates about it on Twitter)
I was interested in this too at one point in time and spent some time perusing the links in the above post, but after taking the database class at my university I realized it wasn't for me. :P
You may be in a little bit of a tough spot trying to get into the big tech companies with that GPA but I still think there are plenty of options when you start to look at smaller companies in areas of the country that are not Silicon Valley. I'll give you my opinion as a semi-recent grad working in tech.
- Depending on what you mean by "basic programming and CS skills", it may be hard to find a programming job other than an internship. Unless you are in an environment that makes heavy use of math-based languages like MATLAB, R, or Mathematica where you can rely on your math background, most employers will want to see more experience before hiring you as a programmer.
- Software Q/A testing or IT support may be your best bet given your prior experience in IT support and some familiarity with programming. Software Q/A testing can actually be quite interesting and will definitely pay around (or more) than what you're looking for. I would try to look with smaller tech companies that do niche enterprise software, they're quite flexible and open. The best thing about software QA/testing is that you have a very predictable work schedule and won't have to take work home or be called in at odd hours.
- Business analyst is also a good option, but again you may have to settle for smaller or lower-tier companies in the short term as GPA is of unexpectedly large importance for that position.
Noted. Thank you so much. In that case, it sounds like software Q/A testing or business analyst are my best bets.
If it matters, my programming experience is a couple of Java classes in HS, an intro to algorithms and data structures (in Java) in college, the research project I mentioned (which was in Matlab), and many small Python scripts for various math/physics classes.
I'm pretty confident I could self-teach and/or learn on the job whatever programming I need to get up to speed as a professional developer, and I've heard of people who got programming jobs right out of college with an unrelated technical degree. So I guess I'm just wondering whether they are outliers or if this is actually a feasible thing to try (and if so, how I would go about doing it).
Also, as far as getting into larger or higher-tier companies, I could really care less about the size or prestige of a company as long as it meets all my other goals (esp. salary). And I actually would rather not live in Silicon Valley (or California in general) due to the high taxes and cost of living.
Regarding teaching yourself programming, that's always a good idea. There are enough people who get programming jobs out of college with unrelated degrees so it's definitely not just outliers, but still not close to the norm either. I just wasn't sure what you meant by basic knowledge, but from what you describe you could easily teach yourself, though I would expect it to take some time.
If you can wait anywhere from 1-6 months and are willing to study programming like it's your job for that time I'd wager you could learn enough to get a job as a programmer. In 1 month you can target the skills toward a particular type of position (ex. Ruby on Rails, Node.js, iOS, Android, etc.) and given longer time you could study more core computer science concepts (system design, security, more advanced algorithm analysis, etc.)
If time is in short supply, then you should try to look into companies where software QA/testing can be a transition to a programmer. In this case you could work in QA for 6 months while building stronger coding skills and then transition pretty smoothly.
However, given that programming interviews are so variable and usually stick to fundamental data structures or puzzles, there's a good chance you could find a programming job with your background. In that case, go for it, the pay will be better for sure. Expect to work quite hard the first year as you catch up.
TL;DR anything is possible, don't let my limited experience steer you too much
As time unfortunately is in short supply, it seems like it will probably make the most sense for me to just jump right into QA/testing and go from there.
I would wait it out and look for a true software engineer position somewhere else. With a BS from a top school, startup and management experience under your belt you should be a solid candidate for software or product management jobs and shouldn't have to settle for support engineer.
From what I've gathered a support engineer is a combination between a QA engineer and an applications engineer, both of which are considered to be way less technical than a SWE. You likely wouldn't be responsible for new feature development at all as a support engineer.
In general they're not on the same ladder, so it's not a natural transition from support to software engineer. Like you mentioned, you'll have to settle for quite a bit of a pay difference, which will still exist if you transition within the same company. However, if it's absolutely your only way of getting your foot in the door at this company and you're set on working there, it may be something to consider.
After the initial package with the standard vesting schedule, everything else is flexible and at the discretion of management (almost always the C-suite and Board of Directors). You can try to negotiate and it may work depending on the company policies and the stage of the company. Some more established startups will have a defined policy for this to make everything uniform among employees while young companies are super flexible.
I'm guessing it's because of the hipster culture that prioritizes natural ingredients and healthy choices. Either that, or it's cheaper than more famous brands.
