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The truth of the matter is that us felons do work for less – at least I did – mostly because we have no choice. We are also less likely to be promoted. Three times I had job offers withdrawn because of my criminal past. Having much more to lose than someone without a criminal record I never considered doing anything illegal, or anything that would cast a shadow of doubt to my integrity. “Once a criminal always a criminal” is just not true. Unfortunately, too many people subscribe to the false cliché.

Yes, recidivism rates are very high indeed. And I am proof of it, having done time in two countries (US and Mexico) and two states (Arizona and California) for a total of 19 years of my life. But just as I am a statistical number of those that return to prison, I am a statistical number for those that get out and stay out. I have been working as a software developer for the last 20 years and make a comfortable living from the career I chose. But my story would have been very different if I had never been given a chance to work and prove my worth. Thankfully, someone was willing to take a chance by hiring me. I’ve been free for the last 22 years, married for the last 20, father of a beautiful daughter, and grandfather to an adorable girl.

I spent 19 years of my life incarcerated. My life of crime started when my family moved to East Los Angeles and I decided to become a gang member at the age of 15. My last stint in prison was fourteen years straight; having been sentenced to 21 years but was granted parole on my first parole hearing. During my prison time, I enrolled in educational activities and got my GED, an Associate of Arts degree with honors, and later a degree in Computer Information Systems. Needless to say, that it took me time to adjust to a completely different type of life on the outside than the one I had been accustomed to. More than once I had the experience of being rejected, and of job offers being withdrawn, because of my criminal history. For the last 20 years, I have been working as a software developer and make a good living thanks to the career I chose while in prison. I hope more companies have the courage to take a chance on others such as myself that have paid their debt to society and are trying to live a normal life. Kudos to Slack and all the companies that believe in giving people a second chance.

Is it possible for experienced backend developers to get into the program? I'm thinking someone like myself that has been programming in C# and would like to make a transition to frontend development.

Something similar happened to me. I asked my boss for a raise and his response was "a kick in the ass, that ought to raise you up a little". My reply: I quit on the spot -- no two-week notice, I just left.

I agree that neither of them is saying anything is "the answer". I read my comment and don't believe I implied it either. What I'm stating is my opinion: For me the answer is to do the best I can, with the tools I have.

Never stop learning, always strive to improve my skills. And yes, it takes discipline.

After reading the post by Hillel Wayne I decided to read Uncle Bob's article that is mentioned in the post (http://blog.cleancoder.com/uncle-bob/2017/10/04/CodeIsNotThe...). After reading both posts, and after reading most of the comments on this thread, I have to admit that my inclination is in favor of Uncle Bob. I agree with most of the points Uncle Bob made in his blog post.

Tools are not the answer. TDD is not the answer. Agile is not the answer. More programming languages are not the answer. There is no silver bullet. For me the answer is to do the best I can, with the tools I have.

Never stop learning, always strive to improve my skills. And yes, it takes discipline.

One thing that I neglected to say was that it was during the time I was on parole when I was unable to get a job. I got a job immediately after I got off parole. In order to meet parole regulations, I enrolled in school (two years in state university) while working part time on jobs having nothing to do with my skills. Once I was off parole the requirement of having to disclose my felony conviction was no longer. I applied for a job, checked the box that said I had a prior felony conviction, was interviewed and never asked about it. Got the job as a software developer.

I witnessed both: people changing for the better, and people changing for the worse. I had a hard time convincing family and friends that my old self was dead. While in prison it was easy to spot those that were genuine. Those that were looking to change their ways and behavior would stick together. I saw good people (people that weren’t career criminals like me) become involved with gang activity while in prison. The peer pressure inside goes against improving yourself. Being a square in prison is much, much harder than being a bad-ass.

I was lucky. The department of corrections where I did my time provided community college courses. I started by getting my GED then taking basic courses such as writing, math, and social studies. I decided to major in business but changed my major later on to CIS (Computer Information Systems). Managed to accumulate two degrees while in prison: Associate degree in General Studies, and Associate of Science in CIS. The prison system started cutting down on available college courses while I was there. Like I said: I was lucky.

It probably depends by state. I was required to reveal I was a felon while on parole. Once I was off parole I no longer had this requirement but... I was constantly faced with the question on my job applications. My approach was always not to lie and only answer the questions asked, adding "will discuss during interview if needed". Twice I made it to the interview only to be rejected after the nature of my crimes were revealed. On two separate occasions I was offered employment, started work, and was later let go because of my felony conviction.

Got tired. Really tired. Asked God for help. He did -- can't explain it any other way. I tried to change many times before but always came back to my old life style.

It was very tough getting my first job. I been with my current employer for more than 10 years, and will probably retire from here. Many people don't believe that people change. I know for sure that people change -- unfortunately not always for the better.

Burglaries, armed robberies, stealing cars, dealing drugs. Did it all as a gang member of an East LA gang -- that's where I got started.

Former career criminal here. Spent 19 years of my adult life in a combination of jail and prison. Longest stint was for 14 consecutive years. Been working in IT for the last 17 years, mostly as a developer. Had a very hard time getting my foot in the door; was denied employment more than once because of my record. Not sure that my current employer is even aware that I have a record, and to be honest I have no plans to reveal that part of my life. Also, knowing that my criminal activities would have life-long consequences was never a deterrent. One thing I know for sure: I’m not what I used to be. Today I live a peaceful and productive life with my wife, enjoy the company of family and friends, and try to stay up-to-date with technology.

I think that what you are doing is a good thing an applaud you for it.

Also people seem to care a LOT about immigration and preserving their culture.

Thus the reason I voted against Trump. (I'm second generation US citizen -- Mexican grandparents)

I did it because of issues with W10 disconnecting from my Bluetooth mouse and WIFI issues. I tried many things such as reinstalling drivers and applying fixes suggested by others that were experiencing the same problems. Also, my computer got slower: slower booting up, and slower shutting down. I'm not blaming Microsoft because it could very well be my laptop that has the problem; the fact is, however, that ever since I downgraded to W8.1 my laptop is working fine -- all over again.

I'm not 100% sure but it is listed in the following website:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/preview-supported...

I'll probably be shopping for a new phone if it's not...

When that happens - if it happens - I will buy a different phone. I feel that my investment has already paid off with the amount of great quality pictures and videos I have accumulated.

I never considered myself to be a WP fan but I can see how I can be perceived as one. My initial decision to buy a WP was mostly driven by cost (my first phone HTC Radar was free after the rebate) and my current phone is a refurbished Lumia 925 ($150.00). I’m just not the type of person that’s willing to spend $500+ on a phone that has features I will probably never use. Like I said IMO Windows Phones give you the best value per dollar spent – an opinion that apparently is also shared by many of those making comments on this thread.

I'm getting downvoted? Sounds like a bad thing but I'm not concerned. I'm a Hacker News reader and hardly ever write comments. I'll be fine. Thanks for the heads up...

The answer is NO to both questions. I don't see what's fascinating about my comment. I live in Tucson AZ and I work in the IT department as an Applications Developer. My department has 30+ employees and I only know of four other people in my department that own Windows Phones.

My first smart phone was an HTC Radar running Windows 7 which was later upgraded to 7.5. My second windows phone is my current phone which is a Lumia 925. I immediately fell in love with this phone because of the camera quality (pictures and videos). My phone is going on three years and it still takes better pictures than most Android and Apple phones except maybe for the newest Apple and/or high end Android devices. I bought my wife a Lumia 520 when they became available and she immediately was able to use it -- now she owns a 640. I never owned an Android or an Apple device but most of my immediate family and close friends own one or the other giving me a chance to compare features. To this day I haven't found a reason to switch. I have tested my phone against high end Android devices and my phone is more responsive and the picture quality is always better to the point where I'm constantly being asked to share my pictures. If I can find a better phone for the same amount of money I spent for my phone ($150.00 refurbished) I will buy it.

I own a Lumia 925, my wife owns a Lumia 640, and we use a Lumia 520 as our home line. I realize that Windows has a small share of the mobile phone market in the US but everybody that I've ever met that owns a Windows phone is pretty happy with their purchase -- I am. Apple phones are too expensive for my budget, and I tried helping a family member with his Android device and quickly realized I had made the right decision buying a Windows phone. I'm looking forward to see how the new OS (Windows 10) works on my devices.

Because I been using Bitbucket for the past five years and I have no compelling reason to switch.

Sorry but I don't unfriend friends. Reason: they are really my friends and it would be rude -- not to mention hurt their feelings. That is just one example of where Twitter excels above Facebook: you can unfollow or mute a feed. Most of the people I follow are not my friends -- just interesting people that have interesting things to share.

No it doesn't. Many of the people I follow on Twitter don't have Facebook accounts and for some that do have Facebook accounts I don't really want to be their friend -- just listen to what they say. I don't think you really understand how Twitter works. Twitter != Facebook. They are not even close.

My experience is completely the opposite to yours. My Facebook feed is full of information I really don't care about: what people had for dinner, where they are, invitations to play games, ugly pictures, etc. My Twitter feed on the other hand is full of nuggets that keep me informed on things I'm "really" interested in. My advice to you is that you just need to follow the right people.

Personally I find Facebook much more complicated to use than Twitter. Ever since I started using Twitter I use it all the time and I can go days without checking my Facebook account.

Having said that, I do agree with your statement regarding friends having accounts that don't use them. I have a hard time convincing people to create a Twitter account.

Don't know (and I don't think anybody knows) if Twitter will be around in 20 years but I do check my Twitter account constantly. Twitter helps me stay up-to-date with things that are important to me. I prefer Twitter over any other "social media" sites (and I subscribe to most).