[cryptoz]

Making fun of my side project.

An interviewer looked at me with this vicious, incredulous look when I described my side project in ~2019, which was a weather network built on the sensors inside phones. Guy said, “a weather app, really?! You think that’s a good use of your time in 2019? What makes you think a weather app is useful to make today?”

MFer, it was a good idea in 2011 and it’s a good idea today and it’ll be a good idea in 10 years.

And it wasn’t just a weather app omg! But he didn’t care, just kept pressing me for like 5 mins why I would ever think making a weather network service was useful. No amount of explaining the complexity or novel recently-developed techniques that made it possible would convince him I wasn’t wasting my time.

[bazil376]

And even if it wasn’t a good idea, the fact that the person couldn’t be respectful when they’re trying to impress you the most is a very bad sign.

[giantg2]

And you're not being hired as a product guy. You don't need marketable ideas. They could have dug into the technical architecture of it instead.

[kelnos]

Yeah, that's the thing. Being a dick to your interviewee -- being a dick to anyone -- is just a huge red flag.

And ignoring that, even if the project was just a toy that isn't particularly useful, that's not really the point. Developing and building a project/product from the ground up is useful experience, whatever it is. Demonstrating a valuable skill should never be a prompt for scorn.

[geoblack]

Imagine how handy it would be to read temperatures at 1000 phones if you were an HVAC engineer trying to optimize AC in a 50 story building on a 100 degree day in San Francisco.

A heat map heat map, so to speak.

Forest fires? Outdoor events on hot days? This is a good idea.

And yes, I am a marketing guy.

[geocrasher]

Any idgit who couldn't recognize a great hack when they see one is worthless. Glad you moved on.