[Pwn]

I'm just curious, as I haven't had the opportunity to actually land a job doing programming...what kind of mistakes will/have caused termination of your employment? {And/Or} What kind of mistakes would you, as a manager/supervisor think deserves termination of employment?

And I'm not talking in generic terms here, I'm talking programming related mistakes.

This post has been edited by Pwn: 25 April 2009 - 04:36 AM

[ivey.eli]

Maybe if you put lots of Easter Eggs in you code you will be fired.

[BigAnt]

Glitches which cause malfunctions. Such as the space ship blowing up/crashing. Or a train derailing. Or a mulitcar pile up because all the lights turn green at once.

[F!st!cuffs]

Calling in sick then changing your facebook

http://current.com/i...on-facebook.htm

[baavgai]

Bugs are expected. Don't try hide them. If you find an error in production code, tell everyone that needs to know and work out a plan to roll out a fix.

Don't deny that a bug exists. There is a certain amount of arrogance that an employer will put up with from a programmer... if they're right. Adults sometimes have to say "it's my fault, I did it" and then say "this is how I plan to fix it."

If the thing takes X and you promised X/5, no one is happy. Always take your mental estimate and multiply it by some mental number you think you can get away with. This is not to be intentionally misleading, but rather just giving Murphy his due.

People have a hard time explaining what they actually want, mostly because they really don't know. It's not uncommon for someone to say, when presented with the program they requested, "that not what I asked for at all." Be clear on what is wanted. Check back a lot. And above all else, get it in writing! Something said casually in a meeting just didn't happen. When the client says they asked for something different, pull out the emails. Be apologetic. Make clear, without rubbing it in, that you did exactly what was asked.

[Pwn]

F!st!cuffs, on 25 Apr, 2009 - 10:03 AM, said:

Calling in sick then changing your facebook

http://current.com/i...on-facebook.htm

You're off topic with this; this isn't programming related. And I really don't think your employer would be checking your facebook just because you took the day off. Maybe it's different in your part of the world, but here, we like to give people the benefit of the doubt. If someone makes a habit of it, yeah, maybe start building a case against them.

[F!st!cuffs]

Quote

When a small consulting company in Chicago was looking to hire a summer intern this month, the company’s president went online to check on a promising candidate who had just graduated from the University of Illinois.

At Facebook, a popular social networking site, the executive found the candidate’s Web page with this description of his interests: “smokin’ blunts” (cigars hollowed out and stuffed with marijuana), shooting people and obsessive sex, all described in vivid slang.

It did not matter that the student was clearly posturing. He was done.

“A lot of it makes me think, what kind of judgment does this person have?” said the company’s president, Brad Karsh. . .

from employmentblawg.com

I don't think what part of the world your from makes a bit of difference, but, as more and more of our everyday lives are floating up into the 'Cloudsphere'™, social networking sites have become a cheap tool to extract information on employees that they might not want their bosses to have. If you want to post that you 'smoke the blunts' then you better be ready to get fired or not called back for that second interview of your dream job.

After rereading your OP I realize that you were looking for programming related mistakes (must have been in speed read mode) so here goes.

I don't think there are many firing worthy mistakes that can be made if your good at your job. What I mean is that if you screw up big time like having to rewrite a few hundred thousand lines of code, setting the project back a few months and costing your employer millions, your probably gonna get fired(unless you got some juice on your boss). If you are good at your job, and make small mistakes like a few bugs( as baagvi said they are expected ) your probably in the clear.

Missing deadlines constantly would also merit firing. If they tell you give me X on June 1st and you give them half of X on June 7th, don't expect to be there too long. You should have said it was not possible and gotten some help. Unless you were [facebooking] or playing games all day for a month at work.

This post has been edited by F!st!cuffs: 25 April 2009 - 04:27 PM

[Pwn]

Yes, I'm aware of the evolving hiring habits of companies, but it is still off-topic. I'm also smart enough to not post idiotic shit on public websites. I know not to drink and drive. I know not to cook bacon in the nude; from experience.

But anyway, let's say I was full of bs enough to land an entry level programming job without experience. As with any novice programmer, I'm not going to know enough about the company's protocol to not make major mistakes and I'm not going to know enough about programming to be efficient. Do they generally put you in a sandbox to see how you're going to work out or do they just throw you to the dogs? That's basically what I'm getting at.

[c0mrade]

Pwn, on 25 Apr, 2009 - 07:42 PM, said:

Yes, I'm aware of the evolving hiring habits of companies, but it is still off-topic. I'm also smart enough to not post idiotic shit on public websites. I know not to drink and drive. I know not to cook bacon in the nude; from experience.

But anyway, let's say I was full of bs enough to land an entry level programming job without experience. As with any novice programmer, I'm not going to know enough about the company's protocol to not make major mistakes and I'm not going to know enough about programming to be efficient. Do they generally put you in a sandbox to see how you're going to work out or do they just throw you to the dogs? That's basically what I'm getting at.

They will start you off with small tasks and gradually work you up to bigger ones.

If you're useless at the small stuff, they are not going to have you implement a critical feature in their core product. If you continue to be useless at the small stuff without progressing, then they will probably move you around and see if you can't do something different. If you're still useless, your probably getting fired.

Note: That's all just opinionated and based off my (somewhat limited) experience. It could be completely different for you.

[no2pencil]

rm -rf when used incorrectly has led to termination.

[mattman059]

rm -rf when used incorrectly has led to termination