1. Michael Losee

2. About me – Michael Losee
 Grew up in Layton
 6 sisters, no brothers
 Video Games- Doom, Warcraft, Starcraft, Diablo
 Reading-Wheel of Time, Forgotten Realms
(Drizzt!!), Sword of Truth
 Hardware- Custom
builds, overclocking, benchmarking
 Teach paralyzed people to walk
 Aspiring Author

3. My Credentials
 Defense Logistics Agency
 Lead Systems Analyst
 5 Years Experience
 Emagined Security
 Security Consultant/Penetration Test Engineer
 2 Years Experience
 BS Computer Science
 Emphasis in Software Engineering
 April 2012

4. Professional
 Noun: A professional is a person who is paid to
undertake a specialized set of tasks and to complete
them for a fee.

5. What makes a professional?

6. Is it about looking good?

7. Is it about working really hard?

8. Is it about ambition?

9. The Lazy Pro

10. Professionalism & Mastery
“I have been consistently disappointed by the quality of CS graduates.
It’s not that the graduates aren’t bright or talented, it’s just that they
haven’t been taught what programming is really all about…
I think it is possible to get an excellent education at a university. It’s
just that I also think it’s possible to wiggle yourself through the system
and come out with a diploma, and not much else.”
-Robert C Martin The Clean Coder 2011

11. Are you in the right place?
 Do you love to tinker with stuff?
 Stuff like computers?
 Do you love to code?

12. Can everyone learn to code?
 “Despite the enormous changes which have taken place since
electronic computing was invented in the 1950s, some things
remain stubbornly the same. In particular, most people can't
learn to program: between 30% and 60% of every university
computer science department's intake fail the first programming
course.
Experienced teachers are weary but never oblivious of this fact;
brighteyed beginners who believe that the old ones must have
been doing it wrong learn the truth from bitter experience; and
so it has been for almost two generations, ever since the subject
began in the 1960s.” ~ Jeff Atwood

13. Natural Ability?
 “Some people do not have an aptitude for logical and critical thinking”
 “Just like some people are natural artists, some people are natural
programmers. Some people aren't natural programmers, but can
become proficient with a lot of practice. Some people can't get it no
matter how much or how long they practice.”
http://developers.slashdot.org/story/12/09/16/1631239/can-anyone-become-a-
programmer

14. The Fallacy of Talent
 “Outliers” by Malcom Gladwell
 10,000 hour rule
 “Talent is Overrated” by Geoff Colvin
 Deliberate Practice
 “Mindset” by Carol Dweck
 Fixed vs Growth Mindset

15. Effort
 I Failed CS 1410 THREE times before finally passing
with an A
 Had to read the book cover to cover
 Spent hours upon hours on assignments
 Currently helping two different groups at work as lead
developer and architect
 Re-implement a legacy Oracle Forms application as a java web
application
 Building a new system to replace an existing 20 year old legacy
system
 My best programming achievement: A software contract to
build a “Component Content Management System.”

16. Document Generation

17. Document Generation

20. Principles of Coding
 Coding is intellectually challenging and exhausting!
 Your code must work.
 Your code must solve the problem set for you by the
customer.
 Your code must fit well into the existing system.
 Your code must be readable by other programmers.

21. Tips for Coding
 3 AM Code
 Worry Code
 The Flow Zone
 Music

22. Lines of Code
 Smallest number of lines of code > all?
 Code unto others and you would have others code unto
you. ~Greg Anderson

23. Lines of Code
 Any fool can write code that a computer can understand. Good
programmers write code that humans can understand. ~Martin Fowler

24. Make It Easy
 Controlling complexity is the essence of computer
programming. ~Brian Kernighan

25. Learn a new language
 XML
http://kousenit.wordpress.com/2008/03/12/nothing-makes-you-want-groovy-more-
than-xml/

26. XML in java

27. XML in groovy

28. Not enough sleep?
 Rely on the snooze button
 Have a hard time getting out of bed
 Feel sluggish in the afternoon
 Get sleepy in lectures or warm rooms

29. Effects of Sleep Deprivation
 Fatigue, lethargy, lack of motivation
 Moodiness and irritability
 Reduced creativity and problem-solving skills
 Concentration and memory problems

30. Sleeping for Dummies
 No caffeine after 12pm
 Exercise!
 Consider supplements like Melatonin
 Give yourself 30 min to an hour for your “going to bed”
routine
 Read
 Listen to audiobooks
 Aim for 7.5 to 9 hours each night

31. Standard interview questions
 What is the biggest problem you have faced on
projects so far and how did you solve it?
 What are your biggest strengths and weaknesses?
 Which programming languages are you best at and
what’s good and bad about those specific languages?
http://www.devtich.com/interview-questions-developer/

32. Technical Questions
 Do you know about design patterns? Which design
patterns have you used, and in what situations?
 Explain MVC in simple terms.
 How would you change the format of all phone
numbers in 1000 static html pages?
 How do you maintain aptitude and stay current with
the current technologies?
http://www.devtich.com/interview-questions-developer/

33. Classic Interview Testing
 Fizzbuzz
 Write a program that prints the numbers from 1 to
100. But for multiples of three print “Fizz” instead of
the number and for the multiples of five print
“Buzz. For numbers which are multiples of both
three and five print “FizzBuzz.”
http://www.devtich.com/interview-questions-developer/

34. Classic Interview Testing
 Fizzbuzz

35. Interviewing
 Be honest – don’t be afraid to say “I don’t know”
 Keep preparing and interviewing until you feel
confident!

36. Build Your Network
 It’s all about networking
 Corporate and third party recruiters both rely on their
network
 Build your OWN network
 http://linkedin.com/
 http://softwaredev.meetup.com/cities/us/ut/ogden/
 Your friend Cory

37. Building My Network
 WSU -> Federal Summer Internship
 6 Months Later:
 Call from the old internship about Student Trainee
position

38. Building My Network
 Meet Cory
 Full-time Security Consultant for Emagined Security
 Went back to school full-time
 My buddy since we were 12 years old
 Cory’s Problem:
• Turn down work, or teach me and split the money?
 6 months later:
 Job offer from Emagined

39. Be this guy