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Ask HN: Best "entry tech" jobs to learn coding?

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Ask HN: Best "entry tech" jobs to learn coding?

#1

Post by Wazflame »

Hi all,

I'm curious as to which jobs (if any) someone would recommend if I'm learning how to code on the evenings and on weekends. At the moment I'm just doing it for fun, but it'd be nice if there was a potential route, long-term to get a job if I still enjoy it down the line. My current job is working as a Paralegal in a non-technical role.

I've been applying for other positions in a variety of industries (currently have an offer for a remote SDR role selling a SaaS product, but debating whether I should take it because it's just for the money and feel it could get quite time-intensive if I have to hit targets consistently).

Obviously I can't get "paid to learn" how to code but are there any entry-level jobs where I'd get general exposure that could aid/speed up my learning? (in any programming language) I guess working at a company with software developers could help (like the SDR has), but they might be remote/in other departments.

I've seen people recommend tech support at a small-mid startup or Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) - on the other hand I've seen others say that since you wouldn't actually be coding and as those jobs require a completely different mindset to a programmer, it wouldn't help.

So, I was wondering if anyone would agree with this/had other suggestions, or is a bootcamp more "practical" if I wanted eventually to turn it into a career (in the long-term, one day) or should I just continue self-teaching on my own, in the evenings/weekends.

I'm UK-based for what it's worth.

Re: Ask HN: Best "entry tech" jobs to learn coding?

#2

Post by dudus »

Why don't you try to write scripts or code to automate your day to day activities as a paralegal? Working on something close to an area of expertise of yours can be a great way to learn and still use your background somehow.

Either create something new or try to use/collaborate something open source. As you get more experience you'll get to learn more about different options such as frontend vs backend.

Once you are done with your second or third personal project I promise you'll have the confidence to apply to an IT job and you'll have a better idea exactly where and doing what.

Re: Ask HN: Best "entry tech" jobs to learn coding?

#3

Post by LZ_Khan »

Frontend dev seems like a low complexity environment to start in, you'll also get exposure to backend devs and their code.

You could also try some freelance gig work on one of those platforms all over the internet.

It's not easy b/c usually companies don't pay you to learn, you should already know at least a subset of what you're hired to do. But I agree getting paid to learn is nice :)

Oh, also maybe focus on Leetcode. Company's these days don't really test you on your ability to code but rather to solve algorithmic brain teasers. Passing the interview != knowing how to code.

Re: Ask HN: Best "entry tech" jobs to learn coding?

#5

Post by aussieguy1234 »

Contribute to open source. Alot of projects have a "Good First Issue" tag. This will give you actual work you can show. I have known people who were hired on the basis of their GitHub contributions alone, where the employer said not to worry about sending in a Resume.

Re: Ask HN: Best "entry tech" jobs to learn coding?

#6

Post by sjwhevvvvvsj »

In all honesty, at the rate LLM coding ability is increasing I am not sure how many entry level roles will be left for people who don’t have a solid grounding in computer science.

Generally speaking, I believe this is a bad thing as coding careers have historically been open to anybody with the aptitude.

I’m not sure anybody can provide solid advice beyond “don’t give money to a boot camp”.

Re: Ask HN: Best "entry tech" jobs to learn coding?

#8

Post by legitster »

I've personally witnessed several people do the coding boot camp -> consulting agency -> coding job pipeline. (Think Accenture, Slolam, or any hundred of smaller agencies).

However this was pre-covid when having a novice coder that could attend client meetings in person took a premium over a more experienced coder far away.

Re: Ask HN: Best "entry tech" jobs to learn coding?

#9

Post by cglee »

I've spent a lot of time thinking about this topic and I've come to the conclusion that the best generic advice for folks in your situation is to be under-employed, ie a job where you're not maxed out mentally/emotionally/physically, and save your resources to learn on your own.

Entry-level technical jobs are some of the worst jobs to help you ramp up as a programmer. It's chaotic, demanding, emotionally taxing, and a lot of blind leading the blind. And most importantly, employers expect you to perform "just in time" learning, which is detrimental long-term if you don't yet have strong foundations.

Here's an article I wrote a few years ago about Learning at Work: https://medium.com/launch-school/learning-at-work-c81b6866b0...

Of course, map these thoughts to your specific situation.

Re: Ask HN: Best "entry tech" jobs to learn coding?

#10

Post by franze »

I would ask ChatGPT on how to automate your job using python. (like whenever you need to do anything more than once) and write scripts for you and then let it explain the script for you. and learn from there. Otherwise I currently do not know a job that teaches you how to code from the start. Was a thing years ago, but this has sadly changed.
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