Software engineering job ads fall into two types: the corporate and the quirky. The corporate ones are for jobs with titles like "Software Engineer III" or "Junior Salesforce Developer, Full Time." They're straightforward lists of skills and attributes, usually accompanied by a section indicating the perks of the company. Perks are usually fun things like 401k matching. There's nothing wrong with a corporate job ad, just like there's nothing wrong with the job it advertises. Many of them are a lot of fun and a potentially great opportunity. A corporate job ad usually just indicates the presence of an HR department. Then there are the quirky ads. These are meant to be fun and to convey the idea that this is great group of people who are great to work with, often in smaller companies. Usually they're forward looking, with consumer or cloud based offerings. According to the quirky ads, software engineers are either pirates or ninjas. The emphasis is less on skills and technologies and more on general all-around awesomeness. If you're interested in working hard but with a lot less definition, these are the jobs to consider. For example, you may spend the morning debugging the database and the afternoon pushing CSS around the screen. Perks include things like breadth of learning experiences and "a chance to change the world," but probably don't include 401k matching. Neither type of job is better than the other. Some people like the corporate jobs, and some prefer the quirkier opportunities. Which one is your cup of tea? Tell us in the comments below.