Oh jeez. Any more requirements? Free ice cream? Company car? Perhaps use of the company jet? OK, I hate to be all doom-and-gloom and all that, but you are seriously setting yourself up for MAJOR disappointment and stress. I've had a fair number of jobs that SEEMED perfect on paper, but once you start working there, you learn the truth. Eventually you learn to live -- and make the best -- with what you have. And the more you really need a job, the more your requirements seem to disolve. Now that I've hopefully scared you a bit, I do have to mention that it IS possible to find a job that you DO really enjoy. A lot. Be open minded though - it's ENTIRELY possible that your dream job is completely different than the kind of job you're going for! My advice? Apply for jobs that seem interesting. During the interview process, do NOT be afraid to ask /them/ many many questions. If the attitude or environment doesn't seem like it'll work for you, don't take it and move on to the next one. In all honestly, finding a good, dare I say it, fun work environemnt is probably just as (or more) important that the actual job itself! On Fri, 29 Jul 2011, Jason Hsu wrote: > What are the best places in the Twin Cities for working as a software developer? > > The things I'm looking for: > 1. The team has all of the basic elements of a good software development team, such as version control, bug tracking, a 1-step build process, etc. Although I could be a hero by introducing a team to version control, bug tracking, the 1-step build process, etc., that would take time away from advancing the project, and a team lacking even the first few items in the Joel Test would surely have many, many issues. I'd rather be average or below average on a superior team than the hero of a lousy team. > 2. Software development is a very core part of what the company does. (I guess this means that software companies should be my top priorities in my job search while banks, insurance companies, etc. should probably be lesser priorities.) > 3. The company treats the software developers well and doesn't shortchange them on the resources they need. > 4. The team has good software developers and no bad ones (the ones who can't code their way out of a paper bag despite having a CS degree and/or "years of experience"). > 5. The team offers the option of using Linux instead of forcing Windows: Using Windows means sacrificing control, as nobody outside Microsoft knows everything about Windows. I do NOT want to have something go wrong and have to consider the possibility that Windows rot on my machine plays a role. > > -- > Jason Hsu <jhsu802701 at jasonhsu.com> > Founder and lead developer of Swift Linux (http://www.swiftlinux.org) > _______________________________________________ > TCLUG Mailing List - Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota > tclug-list at mn-linux.org > http://mailman.mn-linux.org/mailman/listinfo/tclug-list > -Yaron --