Everyone knows about the Joel Test, a quick testing method invented by Joel Spolsky to judge the quality of a software team. If you are looking for a job, using the Joel Test to weed out bad employers is definitely a wise choice.

Below, I am honored to introduce the Codypo Test, also known as the 8-question detection method. Just answer these 8 questions, and you can judge whether a job is good or bad. We can also secretly test the company during an interview. If your answers contain 2 "yes" responses, then you need to sound the alarm and stop considering this company.

1. Is my salary below market value?

If a company is willing to offer a monthly salary of 48,000 to recruit an elite programmer with 10 years of C++ multithreading programming experience, I'd say this company is definitely crazy! Haha, such crazy talk is by no means a long-term solution, because only when your value is greater than the price offered to you will a company be willing to hire you. So everyone, don't hold onto illusions; be a bit more realistic.

2. Do I need to be on call?

No one likes being on call at all times, because once that's the case, it means even at 3 a.m. on a weekend, even if the blue tint of the Reset button on the support portal page is different from what was expected, they'll call you. Of course, we can understand and tolerate it once in a while.

3. Am I an IT person?

It's perfectly natural for programmers to write software and support software. But this doesn't mean you are the IT person specifically in charge of computers. Ask yourself: will company staff come to bother you over trivial computer matters, such as when an employee's laptop starts acting abnormally after she installed a Garfield screensaver?

4. Does the company meet our requirement for multiple monitors?

I still clearly remember that in 1998, we had to stare at a 17-inch monitor all day long, suffering terribly. Now, you can buy a large, thin LCD for $100. If your company thinks spending $200 isn't worth doubling your efficiency, then this company might be a toy that an eccentric billionaire who isn't profit-oriented uses for a joke, right?

5. Will I have to maintain some ancient systems, and in what language are these old systems written?

After working for a long time, you might hear, "Okay, next we're going to move into the Ruby on Rails language system, but first we need you to solve some VB 4 issues." Haha, don't take it too lightly.

This VB4 system will keep lingering on, giving you a huge headache.

6. Is my internet access monitored and content-filtered?

Programmers need to solve problems; they need to solve them efficiently, and resources are a must. The internet is like an inexhaustible treasure trove of resources. If a company can't keep up with the times and even prevents employees from freely using Usenet/Google/Stack Overflow, treating employees like children and perverts, then what's the point of staying?

7. Am I the only programmer?

That we can grow into programmers, we should first thank our colleagues. We answer each other's questions, review each other's code, discuss together, and go through experiences together from being completely lost and directionless to coming up with creative suggestions one after another. If you're the only programmer, you won't get any technical feedback, and we ourselves can't grow either. In addition, when problems arise, you can only rely on your own intuition to judge right from wrong.

8. Do I need to travel on business every week?

Business travel is sometimes essential, especially when it comes to face-to-face meetings with clients or meeting with dispatched colleagues. But if you need to leave home every week for business travel, then you need to think twice.

The above 8 questions constitute a complete job test. Of course, not every item must be met (for example, in a startup, we might have to double as IT staff or be on call 24/7). However, as long as the answer to one question is yes, you'd better leave the interview with this crappy company as soon as possible, even if you have to make up a story that you had a heart attack.

No matter how much potential the project has, no matter how capable your teammates are, in such an unhealthy environment, you, as a small programmer, cannot do truly meaningful work. If a company answers yes to all 8 questions above, then it is either on the decline or already in the process of collapse.

Source: http://www.codeceo.com/article/8-question-programmer-jobs.html