How to get a job?

Publish Date: Jun 24 '18

33 7

I'm looking for a work right now. I'm a student, so I don't have a degree if it matters. I don't have a lot of projects, mostly I contribute to the IDE I use. I don't think I'd count myself as a senior, nor I'm a junior, because I know much more than writing code. Should I consider remote work if I haven't ever worked before? Is it a good idea to look for a job in my local area first? Unfortunately, the salary in my local area is not what I expect for a mid/senior software engineer/web developer, but since this is going to be my first job anyway, maybe I should not worry that much about my salary and just get some experience?
Thanks in advice :)

(P.S.: if you're an employer looking for a person who knows Go, Ruby, Python, JS (TypeScript and frameworks: Vue, React), I'd be happy to send my resume to you)

Comments 7 total

Luis MiguelJun 24, 2018

Make a portfolio, make your work speak for you and contribute to open source if you have the time.
Victor BordoJun 24, 2018

If you have no experience as a professional software engineer then you're a junior dev and those are the positions you should be looking at :)

I wouldn't worry too much about not having many projects, especially because you're a student right now. If you have something you're proud of then don't hesitate to put it up on Github. Having something (personal or school project) you can speak at a deep technical level about will help you in the interview process.

Remote work is fantastic. As a new professional in the field though, I'd urge you to consider finding a job where you can work as closely as possible with seasoned developers. Being mentored by a knowledgeable team will make all the difference in your career. You have to be selective about which remote opportunities you pursue. There are companies with globally distributed teams that provide a great support system for their developers.

Be aware that taking this route may slow your growth as a dev. It creates logistic problems with communication and may hinder your ability to connect with your co-workers and learn from them effectively. There's no substitute for being co-located and hashing out ideas together. Conversely, it'll give you access to talent that may not be as readily available where you live.

You should certainly be concerned about your salary as well. These aren't mutually exclusive ideas. It's possible to get good experience while being paid a fair market wage for your skills. Both are important!

Good luck and feel free to reach out if you have any more questions.
- Sergey KislyakovJun 24, 2018
  
  If you have no experience as a professional software engineer then you're a junior dev and those are the positions you should be looking at :)
  
  What kind of experience professional software engineers have?
  - Saurabh SharmaJun 25, 2018
    
    experience of working on real projects.
    - Sergey KislyakovJun 25, 2018
      
      I've been contributing to an IDE for 3 years. Does it count?
      - Victor BordoJun 26, 2018
        
        That definitely counts. It's even better if there's a public repo you can point potential employers to.
Georgina GreyAug 3, 2018

Remember the junior/mid/senior titles are most related to responsibility rather than knowledge, for example if you're thinking about going remote, your employer would expect that you're able to: work under little or no supervision, find solutions without borrowing a lot of time from your co-workers, posses good time management, assertive communication skills, among other soft skills. Basically they expect you to deliver results without micro-managing.

If you're not on Linked In I suggest you do it. Tidy your profile and add work examples, is a great window.

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Sergey Kislyakov @defman

How to get a job?

Comments 7 total