floweronthehill

Today I remembered the SETI@Home project. A distributed computing project for people to contribute their computer's power to help search for signals of extraterrestrial life.

And then I wondered if it's feasible to run more powerful open source models across multiple machines. Has it been tried before?

Let’s imagine a workflow that begins with a simple instruction like "I want to build an application" and then engages in a dialogue to grasp your vision and establish requirements. Imagine it seamlessly integrating with your operating system and programs, breaking down your concept into tasks and tickets. Imagine it starting a new project on your computer requiring only your confirmation at each step to make sure there’s no error. It could launch your IDE, create files, and explain its actions. Almost like a live coding session. Your task would be akin to a code reviewer, scrutinizing each segment of the code it writes. It might make mistakes here and there, but it drives you. Its primary role would be to guide the development process, replacing most of us with a team of code reviewers who validate each step and push buttons.

How far are we from realizing this vision?

I'm given the opportunity to join a high caliber team.

My job is not only easy but also not very demanding. I don't work a lot, tasks are mostly straightforwards, my team and my manager are all nice people to work with. But...pay sucks.

There's this shiny startup that offers me a 100% raise and tremendous benefits. The founders are really nice, have industry experience and seem to know what they're doing and have been doing it for a few years. But I can sense that the bar is higher, in terms of quality of delivery notably.

On one hand I'm excited for this opportunity that is life changing because of the money alone. Also I'll learn and grow a lot as a SWE. They use tools and paradigms I've only ever read about on HN so I'll have to spend time learning all that, maybe read books and watch videos on my spare time. On the other hand my life is...peaceful right now?

What I'm most afraid of is to be let go after 2-3 months because I'm can't meet their standard which from the interviews I had with them appear to be higher than my workplace. They also value people who take initiatives and these recent years I've mostly done what I've been told to. I've never been fired for performance reason in the past but I did quit a company at the beginning of my career because I was lagging behind.

I also started my present job in last October and I start to feel comfortable in this new role. And most of all I would dread having to go through another wave of interviews if I lose that new job.

I tried thinking of what I want. I always imagined I'll find a stable, straightforward job at some point in my career. Which I now have. But I'm also underpaid. My compensation used to be higher last year, before being laid off. This setback is causing a significant delay in my savings and retirement plans. That new job pays more than I have ever been paid. I just turned 34 and I feel this might be the last time I have the energy to join a team like that.

I want to jump and try, and if I do it I need to shift my mindset and be prepared to put in a bit more effort.

Any advice?

Is there such a group? Like a discord or something. A place to vent, to support each other, to be among people who understand what it is to go through this process.