> Without being too mean-spirited about it, her success is mostly due to luck, reputation, and factors other than expertise such as checking off the right demographic boxes, or being charming in some way.
How do you know this? Just because some people have written dissertations on compilers and didn't find work? OP seems very talented. And doing compiler work for a blockchain is not the most competitive position. I did the same thing for a while, and I don't even have a computer science degree (nor do I "check HR boxes"). And her article has lots of information that would be helpful for someone looking for a compiler engineering role
>How do you know this? Just because some people have written dissertations on compilers and didn't find work?
Yes, I said exactly that. It's because virtually nobody who studies compilers ever has a job doing that, and this is a girl literally from MIT we're talking about. It's not as much about expertise as about the hiring end of things IMO. I could be wrong but I'm just connecting dots and making educated guesses here.
>OP seems very talented.
As a human being, or perhaps even as a generic new grad, sure. She might also be more studious than I'm expecting. She said she wrote a novel, which is cool. How much time did she spend doing that versus actually studying compilers? I'm comparing her to the kinds of people I would expect to be doing compiler work.
>And doing compiler work for a blockchain is not the most competitive position. I did the same thing for a while, and I don't even have a computer science degree (nor do I "check HR boxes")
There's always an exception to the rule. For what it's worth I would not expect you to be a competent compiler engineer either, especially without a degree or killer experience. I might believe it if given enough evidence but first impressions say no.
> For what it's worth I would not expect you to be a competent compiler engineer either, especially without a degree or killer experience.
Which indicates to me that you think a degree would be evidence of me being a competent compiler engineer. But when OP gets a degree from MIT (and does part of a graduate program in compilers), and then gets hired, you suggest that she has substandard skills compared to what you would expect from someone in her role. I'm not sure why me not having a degree would count against me, but her having gotten a degree doesn't seem to count in her favor
She's taking a very standard junior engineer route into a specialized technical field. It's perfectly normal to be hired at that level without having deep expertise of the topic. I don't see what you're getting so worked up about really.
It's incredibly rude, and wrong, to assume that a woman was hired because she "checks off a bunch of HR checkboxes" rather than skill or hard work when you know nothing about her.
> Lots of people study compilers and even do theses and dissertations on the topic, and absolutely can't find work doing that.
What's your point? Maybe those people aren't as good as her at turning their academic knowledge into real-world skills. Clearly the main reason she ever got hired anywhere was because she passed the interviews, which should tell you that she knows her stuff. Being charming and having contacts only gets you so far; nobody will hire you to work on compilers just because you smile and drop names.
> There are two equally disappointing outcomes I can see here. One is that she realizes that she was just lucky, and she isn't an expert like this. Another is that she never realizes how much luck was involved and begins to think she is the shit because she made it.
From the article: "I am super-lucky in a lot of ways".
> I'm just not going to expect much good advice about to get hired from a fresh MIT grad who checks off a bunch of HR checkboxes.
What exactly is wrong with the advice she does give? And exactly what "HR checkboxes" does she check off? C'mon, don't be coy.
Despite not basing your comments on the content of the article, you seem to have a lot of knowledge about her skills. Or perhaps it's just a common bias against people referred to as "her".
