SparkFun Forums

[Jason]

Hello everyone,

I am planning to enter a science fair and the entries are due by March 9th. I am on a really, tight schedule and I don't think I'd be able to finish on time which is why I'm seeking help for the programming. I'd be able to do it. I just wouldn't be able to do it fast enough.

I need a C program that I can upload to my Atmel chip. There are no autonomy algorithms because this will be a teleoperated robot. I will be operating this from my Windows laptop. If you take up the job, I'll tell you about ALL of the details on the electronics. It should be a fairly simple program to write for a professional considering there is no autonomy involved. I cannot spend too much because I am student.

Thanks

[AndyC_772]

If you're a student on a tight budget, I'd recommend a few late nights and a considerable amount of strong coffee. Hiring a professional is likely to be much more expensive than you realise, and almost certainly not worth it for a science fair project.

[Mee_n_Mac]

... for a science fair project.

Just wanted to repeat that part.


:whistle:

[skimask]

I don't consider myself a professional, but...

I just started a job a couple months ago (or rather I'm taking over a one-man business for an older gent that does I.T. stuff, computer consulting, etc.etc.blah.blah.)...

Our going rate for hardware work is $75/hour with a one hour minimum, whether it's stringing wires or a tech support phone call that ends up in rebooting a frozen PC...from over the phone. (75 freekin' buck for telling somebody to turn it off, wait a minute, and turn it back on...Professional rates...who knew?)
For software work (writing scripts, G.U.I.'s for hardware, blah blah blah), we effectively gotten anywhere from $100/hr-$250/hr (might be a $1,000 job and 10 hours invested into it or a $250 job for an hour)...just for the time dedicated to writing the code for whatever we're working on.

So...how much is that "prestige" of winning a science fair based on copying a file worth to ya?

[Philba]

Aw guys, go easy on the kids. He's just trying to buy his way to the top.

[Mee_n_Mac]

Why settle for this ...

... when you can buy this ...


Alas I suspect he can only afford this ...

[Jason]

This would actually be for multiple science/ engineering/ inventor fairs. I just wanted to finish it for this science fair because the grand prize is a $50,000 thousand dollar scholarship. This isn't just a school fair where you get a ribbon for winning. This robot is kind of a transition into my profession. I have been working on it for ten months now. I must have this done around March 9th. I am seeking help because I dont think I am going to finish if I get help. I just sent an email to local college professors to se if they'd act as mentors. If you guys are going to mock, I will look elsewhere.

[Mee_n_Mac]

This would actually be for multiple science/ engineering/ inventor fairs. I just wanted to finish it for this science fair because the grand prize is a $50,000 thousand dollar scholarship. This isn't just a school fair where you get a ribbon for winning. This robot is kind of a transition into my profession. I have been working on it for ten months now. I must have this done around March 15th (the actual deadline is April 1st, but I need time for testing and Im going on spring break the week before). I am seeking help because I dont think I am going to finish if I get help. I just sent an email to local college professors to se if they'd act as mentors. If you guys are going to mock, I will look elsewhere.

I'd mock more but I think mere mocking to be inappropriate. Since I now know that this is for a 50K$ prize, I'd like to see the rules to make sure you aren't a crook ... or at least shouldn't be reported to the organization running the fair for fraud. Hiring people to win a scholarship ... :hand:

Spring break ... Heaven forbid you should let that be disturbed. :violin:

[skimask]

You might not mock because mocking would be inappropriate, but I will.
After 24+ years in the USAF, as a shop chief, supervisor, and so on, I think I can qualify as a "mentor" in one form or another.

A) Mentors don't ask for money.
B) Mentors...good mentors, REAL mentors, won't do the work for you.
C) Assuming the O/P actually did get away with hiring somebody to do the work for him, I'd give good money to see the results of that first test where he didn't know the answer because that particular part was taken care of by somebody else.
D) ???
E) Profit.

[AndyC_772]

Suppose you hire someone for about $100/hr, and if it's a fairly straightforward job can be done in a few days without access to the actual hardware, you're looking at spending several thousand dollars for the code. You'll then upload it to your robot and find it doesn't work - not because the engineer you hired isn't competent, but because doing a job remotely, in a hurry and without access to the hardware platform it'll run on is a guaranteed way to make sure something doesn't work first time.

This is a very valuable lesson in its own right, and I applaud you for being willing to use so much of your own money to make sure it stays lodged prominently in your brain. It'll serve you well as a reminder throughout your career.

I can't say I entirely blame you for being pragmatic and trying to use whatever means are necessary to get the job done on time - but the extent to which you've missed the point of a science fair beggars belief. Even if it were a commercial project, I've had both customers and employers who think it's possible to "just" hire a professional engineer to make some nasty technical problem go away - but they're often disappointed.

We'll all happily offer advice and help you solve your technical problems, that's what we're here for - but if you're serious about wanting a career in engineering then it's time to cancel the holiday and put the kettle on.

[Philba]

Oh what d'hale...

Kid,
Next time you get on an Airplane, wonder if the pilot bought his flight test.
Next time some one you love is getting an operation, wonder if the doctor cheated on his boards.
Next time you are in a near accident in a car,wonder if the air bag designer had purchased his engineering school projects.

Then, think about what you are going to become and ask yourself if you would trust you?

[stevech]

Look ahead: To the day you stand in front of the science fair's judges and tell boldface lies about "your" science project.
If you can lie without guilt or conscience, go directly to your waiting jail cell. It is in your future. Eventually.

[Jason]

Oh my goodness everyone! I am just looking for help. I would do it myself, but I don't have enough time. I suppose I should look for someone more local so I can work with them and they can actually help me learn. Thanks for the help everyone!

[jremington]

I hope that the $50,000 scholarship goes to a student who is willing to sacrifice his/her spring break for a chance to learn something and possibly, the start of a lifelong, rewarding career in automation.

[Jason]

I hope that the $50,000 scholarship goes to a student who is willing to sacrifice his/her spring break for a chance to learn something and possibly, the start of a lifelong, rewarding career in automation.

I can't believe I'm hearing this. Lay off. I'm not going to blow off my family. Family is more important than work. What I said above was misunderstood and I probably shouldn't have posted on a internet forum. I really want to learn, but in order to get this done I need a professional to help me, guide me, teach me. I really shouldn't have titled the topic that. Programming is my weak spot and I am looking for help to improve that. All you guys are doing is insulting me when you don't even know me or the amount of time I've put into this. You are making sound like a person I am not, a cheater.