ichamo
ichamo on Hacker News
Really interesting to see this space developing. I'm building a masonry-specific quantity takeoff tool (vision model extraction into a parametric domain model that spits out bid-ready quantities) and the "data prison" framing resonates hard.
One thing I've learned going deep in a single trade: the distance between "structured JSON from a drawing" and "numbers an estimator will bid with" is enormous. I've been really impressed with Bobyard and SketchDeck especially.
h317's point about the liability-driven re-counting circus is spot on. Each party in the chain needs to own their numbers. Revit could have solved this a long time ago had this not been the case. An API that makes each individual count faster is valuable but it doesn't collapse the chain.
Would love to talk to anyone else building in this space.
How was transitioning from programming to an actuary?
I also have experience with this.
I'd say the industry type and company size matter a great deal. Felons are legally barred from working at any FDIC insured company. So forget banking/finance. Also healthcare will also have stringent background checks. Giant corporations may have policies that immediately skip over you regardless.
I'm not sure how I've made it really. Luck mostly. I'm ten years removed from my arrest and it still comes back to haunt me.
I haven't. Donating money to the IRA used to be very fashionable in Boston bars throughout the 80s and 90s (According to my Northern Irish Protestant family). I also remember when a Hollywood actor also publicly donated to the IRA as well.
As a former inmate who found solace in studying math, yes. I wish I had done the same with computer science.
As someone who has been there I would say this list is spot on. I'd add more about finding constructive uses of time though.
Google scholar says closer to 50k citations. Where did you get your information from?
What would you advise for smaller companies that don't background check? Or if I don't fill out an application and get an interview? Do I still bring it up and if so, when is it appropriate?
No, I have federal drug charges, and I embellished a little on "teenager". I was 18-19 which technically is an adult. I have this background forever.
Cali is too far for me, thanks for the offer though :) Hope to find people like you in the south east!
As an ex-con, these kind of attitudes really concern me! Hoping when I graduate university I can find a job somewhere that will be willing to overlook my teenage years.