Software Development and Programming Careers (Official Discussion Thread)

[IrateMastermind]

Its almost strange getting paid for something I have enjoyed doing for free the past couple of months. This fact alone makes me feel like this was the right career change for me. I had bounced all over the place from finance, to moving to Costa Rica to open a restaurant, but I finally feel like I have found something I am passionate about as well as something that will support me financially.

I am 100% into showing people how they could follow the same path I did, its not that hard and the benefits are amazing.

I been trying to put a few people on, but none have really bitten. I just think you have to have a certain kind of personality to really get into it. Most people don't like sitting in front of a computer all day and then on top of that you actually have to really focus. I'm all for helping the hungry.

I enjoy back end development over front end development, but I think I'll stick around in the front-end for a little while in order to improve my site visual skills. I really like the direction Angular 2 is taking things.

I'm learning javascript through codecademy while reading Eloquent Javascript. I also started Python but Javascript has taken the bulk of my time. I was scheduled to start at codingdojo on Monday but I figured I'd try the self-taught route before I drop all that cash. I believe starting projects and getting them into github is the best way to land interviews, correct? How did you prepare for interviews and how did you strengthen your algorithm knowledge?

Also, you guys landed jobs. I know it's tacky to ask about salary but salary is important when switching careers. I don't need specifics but can you p.m. me a ballpark starting salary I should expect when I land a job with no real experience?

 

[root_eruditorium_org]

I'm learning javascript through codecademy while reading Eloquent Javascript. I also started Python but Javascript has taken the bulk of my time. I was scheduled to start at codingdojo on Monday but I figured I'd try the self-taught route before I drop all that cash. I believe starting projects and getting them into github is the best way to land interviews, correct? How did you prepare for interviews and how did you strengthen your algorithm knowledge?

Also, you guys landed jobs. I know it's tacky to ask about salary but salary is important when switching careers. I don't need specifics but can you p.m. me a ballpark starting salary I should expect when I land a job with no real experience?

Depends on how good you are. If you just started out, don't have a lot in your portfolio and its a small company I personally wouldn't accept anything less than 50K .50K is pretty terrible honestly but if you gain experience quickly and job hop you should be able to hit 6 figures pretty fast. Ask some of the cats who have done this (I can't @ them because I forgot their handles) but it's definitely possible to ball out of control even though you started with no experience and low salary. I'm trying to job hop right now - I'm giving myself 4-5 months before I move on to the next sucka who's gonna have to pay top dollar for my labour.

If you are great, have acquired some notoriety around the interwebs and you know your CS fundamentals then either one of the tech giants (Microsoft, Amazon, Google) can pick you up out the gate with 6 figures. But that's also assuming that you have a CS or Engineering degree, if not its' going to be tough trying to get the attention of the big 3 or 4 tech companies

Go to glassdoor.com for more info. Salaries in tech are a pretty open book. You should know the value of your labour so that you can negotiate for a fair wage. Right now I feel like I'm being underpaid severely considering my background and skills.

 

[Renkz]

Depends on how good you are. If you just started out, don't have a lot in your portfolio and its a small company I personally wouldn't accept anything less than 50K .50K is pretty terrible honestly but if you gain experience quickly and job hop you should be able to hit 6 figures pretty fast. Ask some of the cats who have done this (I can't @ them because I forgot their handles) but it's definitely possible to ball out of control even though you started with no experience and low salary. I'm trying to job hop right now - I'm giving myself 4-5 months before I move on to the next sucka who's gonna have to pay top dollar for my labour.

If you are great, have acquired some notoriety around the interwebs and you know your CS fundamentals then either one of the tech giants (Microsoft, Amazon, Google) can pick you up out the gate with 6 figures. But that's also assuming that you have a CS or Engineering degree, if not its' going to be tough trying to get the attention of the big 3 or 4 tech companies

Go to glassdoor.com for more info. Salaries in tech are a pretty open book. You should know the value of your labour so that you can negotiate for a fair wage. Right now I feel like I'm being underpaid severely considering my background and skills.

Do you mind elaborating

 

[IrateMastermind]

Depends on how good you are. If you just started out, don't have a lot in your portfolio and its a small company I personally wouldn't accept anything less than 50K .50K is pretty terrible honestly but if you gain experience quickly and job hop you should be able to hit 6 figures pretty fast. Ask some of the cats who have done this (I can't @ them because I forgot their handles) but it's definitely possible to ball out of control even though you started with no experience and low salary. I'm trying to job hop right now - I'm giving myself 4-5 months before I move on to the next sucka who's gonna have to pay top dollar for my labour.

If you are great, have acquired some notoriety around the interwebs and you know your CS fundamentals then either one of the tech giants (Microsoft, Amazon, Google) can pick you up out the gate with 6 figures. But that's also assuming that you have a CS or Engineering degree, if not its' going to be tough trying to get the attention of the big 3 or 4 tech companies

Go to glassdoor.com for more info. Salaries in tech are a pretty open book. You should know the value of your labour so that you can negotiate for a fair wage. Right now I feel like I'm being underpaid severely considering my background and skills.

Thanks for the help. I've been to the bls.gov and looked at glassdoor and other sites but the job titles are all over the place. Jr developer, software developer, software engineer, SR software engineer. Coding dojo says most students start as software engineers after 3 months of school. I find it hard to believe that I'd graduate and make 70 to 100 out the gate.

 

[root_eruditorium_org]

Thanks for the help. I've been to the bls.gov and looked at glassdoor and other sites but the job titles are all over the place. Jr developer, software developer, software engineer, SR software engineer. Coding dojo says most students start as software engineers after 3 months of school. I find it hard to believe that I'd graduate and make 70 to 100 out the gate.

Improbable but not impossible. But keep in mind, like I said earlier, even if the starting salary is kind of low you can get incremental increases fast that will get you to a more comfortable number.

Glassdoor is just good to check with if a company is about to interview you, and somebody has aired out their culture and salary structure online. It gives you an edge during negotiations.

 

[Data-Hawk]

Looking through this thread and Looking back on interviews Ive had for dev.

Realized programming aint for me right. I get syntax and everything but you ask me to explain why behind it and its

Do a project you really enjoy .Then you can explain it.

 

[root_eruditorium_org]

Do a project you really enjoy .Then you can explain it.

Whatever happened to the Arduino experiments you were doing a while back? Did that ever pan out?

I'm getting a raspberry pi 3 soon-ish and I just want to use it as a backup server (for code). Ideally I'd like to turn it into a NAS but I hear that pi 3 isn't the most suitable device. For a NAS I probably need to get a more powerful device.

Anyways im looking for some cool (useful and non-gimmicky) things to do with the pi 3 im about to get.

 

[kevm3]

Thanks for the help. I've been to the bls.gov and looked at glassdoor and other sites but the job titles are all over the place. Jr developer, software developer, software engineer, SR software engineer. Coding dojo says most students start as software engineers after 3 months of school. I find it hard to believe that I'd graduate and make 70 to 100 out the gate.

Depends on who you get on with, but just look at 50k and up. The key with your first job isn't to get some salary that is balling out of control. It's basically there so you can say you have professional experience for one, and for two, it's for learning, especially how to operate in a professional environment. A lot of those 70k starting and up must be in California. The key is to have a very substantial github/deployed sites.

 

[kevm3]

I'm learning javascript through codecademy while reading Eloquent Javascript. I also started Python but Javascript has taken the bulk of my time. I was scheduled to start at codingdojo on Monday but I figured I'd try the self-taught route before I drop all that cash. I believe starting projects and getting them into github is the best way to land interviews, correct? How did you prepare for interviews and how did you strengthen your algorithm knowledge?

Also, you guys landed jobs. I know it's tacky to ask about salary but salary is important when switching careers. I don't need specifics but can you p.m. me a ballpark starting salary I should expect when I land a job with no real experience?

Best way to 'prepare for interviews' is to not focus on preparing, but to know JS inside out. Put up several sites and work your way through several books and you'll have the answers to the questions they'll ask you. Have a strong fundamental knowledge of HTML/CSS and JS syntax. Know what event listeners are, what call backs are, when to use them, etc. Also, pick up a framework. If you don't need a job immediately, I'd recommend either React or Angular 2 since they are the 'newer' frameworks and you won't need to have a ton of experience in them to get a job since they haven't been around all that long.

 

[IrateMastermind]

Best way to 'prepare for interviews' is to not focus on preparing, but to know JS inside out. Put up several sites and work your way through several books and you'll have the answers to the questions they'll ask you. Have a strong fundamental knowledge of HTML/CSS and JS syntax. Know what event listeners are, what call backs are, when to use them, etc. Also, pick up a framework. If you don't need a job immediately, I'd recommend either React or Angular 2 since they are the 'newer' frameworks and you won't need to have a ton of experience in them to get a job since they haven't been around all that long.

All good advice. I appreciate any advice you're willing to give.

 

[kevm3]

All good advice. I appreciate any advice you're willing to give.

Honestly, if I were you and you have a couple of sites up, apply to any and everything and have a pen and paper on hand. If you get a phone interview, write down all the questions they ask you. You might not get the job from the first interview, but you'll have an idea of what to expect. You'll have to apply to tons of companies, but that just goes with the territory.

 

[kevm3]

Now the question of whether you should go to coding school? Me personally, I didn't see it as worth it and I just chose to learn myself... but hten again, I'm a self-learner. The prices of those coding schools are ridiculous. 3 months or slightly more for 10 to 20,000 bucks? That's ridiculous to me... but then again not everyone is a 'self-learner' like me. Code school can get your foot in the door, but so can putting up a on of projects that you've completed from courses on Udemy or from books.

For those who want more git/github knowledge:
GitHub Ultimate: Master Git and GitHub - Beginner to Expert

 

[TrebleMan]

It sounds like I'm being real jumpy right now, but I'm really interested in learning golang as a server-side language. What do language/framework do you guys think goes along with it best? I was planning to just stick with javascript.

 

[root_eruditorium_org]

It sounds like I'm being real jumpy right now, but I'm really interested in learning golang as a server-side language. What do language/framework do you guys think goes along with it best? I was planning to just stick with javascript.

I don't know too much about golang but it seems pretty niche to me. I understand following your interests but if you are anything like me you don't have a lot of time to be wasting on stuff that's not gonna pay off in the future. so just keep that in mind ...

 

[FLATOP]

Im a freshman CS major with no prior coding experience before college, and I went to sleep last night thinking I havent been doing nearly enough this past year to really be professionally successful.
Lo and behold, this morning, I stumble upon this thread randomly. God is Good

I plan to shake things up in my life and focus on my career.