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Ask HN: I'm lost in my journey to become a developer

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Re: Ask HN: I'm lost in my journey to become a developer

#21

Post by toexitthedonut »

soneca wrote: post #18

I am in a similar position (career transition at 37yo to software development), mostly self-taught through the internet (freeCodeCamp and building my own stuff following documentation and tutorials online). I still haven't got a job, so I can't say I have a good answer for you. I am just speculating from a similar position. I don't think I would even apply to fancy, well-known companies that lots of developers coming…

>This leaves out agencies where software is seen as just an operational department and developers just have to endless do 'transform Photoshop in css+html' stuff.

I worked at a web agency before so I know how that is. If software is just a means to an end, what are they exactly selling if not software? Websites as a service, perhaps, but that still doesn't support the business model that focuses on hourly billing, that puts a perverse incentive for developers to produce less satisfactory results.

Re: Ask HN: I'm lost in my journey to become a developer

#23

Post by ShGao1123 »

dhruvkar wrote: post #20
goorley wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nothing wrong with it - actually I wanted to eventually combine the two. I thought that due to the drop in oil price, now would be the right time to leave and gain the skills that would help me build tools for the oil industry in the future.

Don't know where you're located or if you're open to relocation, but check out osisoft.com They make software to handle real time data (since the 80s), and a majority of their clients are oil companies. I worked in IT department for a couple years. On their client support side, they hire a lot of chemical engineers, and I'm sure petroleum engineers fall in the same category for them. If you have a resume, I can forwa…

The company looks exciting, because I want to get into IIoT industry to build data pipelines / analytic platforms.

I come from a mechanical engineering background.

Is it ok I send my resume to you? Thanks.

Re: Ask HN: I'm lost in my journey to become a developer

#24

Post by telebone_man »

I would suggest you look at some of the LinkedIN profiles of software developers at the kinds of businesses you want to work in. And observe the kinds of roles and businesses they started out in. You could even try reaching out to them and asking directly.

Good luck!

Re: Ask HN: I'm lost in my journey to become a developer

#25

Post by dhruvkar »

ShGao1123 wrote: post #23
dhruvkar wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't know where you're located or if you're open to relocation, but check out osisoft.com They make software to handle real time data (since the 80s), and a majority of their clients are oil companies. I worked in IT department for a couple years. On their client support side, they hire a lot of chemical engineers, and I'm sure petroleum engineers fall in the same category for them. If you have a resume, I can forwa…

The company looks exciting, because I want to get into IIoT industry to build data pipelines / analytic platforms. I come from a mechanical engineering background. Is it ok I send my resume to you? Thanks.

Sure.

Re: Ask HN: I'm lost in my journey to become a developer

#26

Post by goorley »

stevenwu wrote: post #17

You only mentioned Foursquare as one of the companies you've applied to, so without more info from you I'm going to take a shot in the dark here: are you only applying for those types of companies that are very well known? It's pretty rare for your first job out of education (whether it's a degree, or a bootcamp) to be "SWE at ". There's a whole world of companies out there that aren't as sexy but can be amazing step…

I only used Foursquare as an example because they are a "dream job" company. I've been trying for all kinds of companies, smaller start-ups included. I think I'd be great for a start-up due to my past work experience, but I've not had luck there.

Re: Ask HN: I'm lost in my journey to become a developer

#27

Post by goorley »

soneca wrote: post #18

I am in a similar position (career transition at 37yo to software development), mostly self-taught through the internet (freeCodeCamp and building my own stuff following documentation and tutorials online). I still haven't got a job, so I can't say I have a good answer for you. I am just speculating from a similar position. I don't think I would even apply to fancy, well-known companies that lots of developers coming…

Good luck with your search! Hopefully you find something soon. I know from my search that React is a good way to go.

Re: Ask HN: I'm lost in my journey to become a developer

#28

Post by goorley »

ayb wrote: post #19

Have you worked with any recruiting agencies? I'm a big fan of Mondo - the folks there are great and have been incredibly helpful and responsive. Feel free to drop me a line if you want an intro. (I mainly work in Rails but I'm sure they can help you find something in Python.) (There are a lot of great technical recruiters, but I've personally only used Mondo. I'm sure others have some they love as well.)

Yes, I've worked with some. They have gotten me some of my interviews with companies where I have been a finalist. I will check out Mondo, thanks for the tip!

Re: Ask HN: I'm lost in my journey to become a developer

#30

Post by konradb »

The company I work for took on some people from a bootcamp recently so I can perhaps offer perspective from the other side. The final decision came down to personalities and life stage: we knew that hiring people with relatively shallow experience (not a criticism, just true relative to others in the company) was going to be, initially, a large time sink and investment in development of these individuals. So the decision boiled down to: once this person is productive, how long do we think they will stick around? If that time is shorter, do. they have the increased energy and great attitude to make up for it? Are we a momentary stepping stone for this person or do they want to learn what they can from us and jump off to bigger and better things quickly? The main decision was around this. Whether our investment in the person would yield a payoff.

Also a big consideration but not as much: What are their strategies for learning, and will those strategies withstand the forthcoming onslaught? What are their instincts when something doesn't work?

Hope that helps.

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