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How to actually get a remote job as an intermediate developer?

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Re: How to actually get a remote job as an intermediate developer?

#31
post #23

I don't know a generic solution, I just can say what I did: 1. I quit my office job. Worked there for about 7 years. I saved some money and got unemployment benefits (60% of my previous salary) so I had 1 year to do nothing. 2. I did some OSS stuff OSS teams are almost all remote and they love contributors. So it's not hard to find some and ... well contribute? It's an easy way to get into a remote team. I didn't do…

Unrelated, but in Germany you get unemployment benefits after you quit a job? Wow.

There are two (mutually exclusive) kinds of unemployment benefits:

Alg: Calculated based on your previous salary and paid for up to two years (based on how long you worked and your age). If you quit voluntarily, the first three months nothing is paid out to you. They will (try to) offer you employment opportunities. This is an actual (mandatory) insurance and costs 3% of your income (up to a limit).

Alg II: Based on the bare minimum you need to live. Without any limits but you need to actively work on getting a job. This is financed through general taxes.

Re: How to actually get a remote job as an intermediate developer?

#32
Not sure if it works everywere but working on site for company and then discussing, after a few months, if that would work remotely, seems to work for friends of mine. I never had an on site job in my life (I am 42) and I try to be good at things that are hard to find. As PHP webdev, most companies I know would hire you if you reliably get shit done. Reliably churn out results 6.5 hours per day for 5 days/week. Not many people can do that; actually I meet very little who can. A colleague of mine makes business dashboards in PHP: he creates and maintains enormous heaps of the most boring stuff. But he does it, day after day, year after year and that is worth a lot. Adhd coders that want to code in some new thing are more common, as are stuck coders who have the productivity of a snail and need a lot of handholding. Just sit and do it is worth a lot but you need to get your name out and that happens when you work onsite first or are able to market yourself online for that role.

Re: How to actually get a remote job as an intermediate developer?

#34
post #23

I don't know a generic solution, I just can say what I did: 1. I quit my office job. Worked there for about 7 years. I saved some money and got unemployment benefits (60% of my previous salary) so I had 1 year to do nothing. 2. I did some OSS stuff OSS teams are almost all remote and they love contributors. So it's not hard to find some and ... well contribute? It's an easy way to get into a remote team. I didn't do…

> I saved some money and got unemployment benefits (60% of my previous salary) so I had 1 year to do nothing.

Well thanks, I'm out. In most of the world after quitting job one has literally nothing but savings, and even registering as an unemployed (to get the mere public health insurance) is not trivial.

Re: How to actually get a remote job as an intermediate developer?

#35

I see a lot of devs trying to convert to remote positions who get frustrated that they haven't landed a job after days/weeks/months. Going remote isn't as easy as what many devs are probably accustomed to, especially if you're new to the game (as the tech hiring market has been :fire:). If you're going to go remote, you need to realize a few things: - You're competing against waaay more candidates. You need to stand…

Right. That network cable goes all the way to Bangladesh. Average programmer hourly wage in Bangladesh: https://www.google.com/search?q=average+programmer+hourly+wa... I clicked on the second link: http://www.salaryexplorer.com/hourly-wage.php?loc=18&loctype... Maximum: 698 BDT / hr Average: 326 BDT / hr Median: 279 BDT / hr Minimum: 58 BDT / hr In dollars that is: Maximum: $8.6 / hr Average: $4.0 / hr Median: $3.4 /…

> But when they go remote, aren't you competing with them?

Not really. There aren't many companies who are considering both American and Indian remote developers for the same positions.

Well paying remote jobs tend to have time zone constraints, and require better English communication skills than the average Indian developer has (there definitely are Indian developers with excellent communications skills, but they aren't average).

People think that because they are out of the office that politics doesn't affect them and they don't need soft skills. But communicating effectively is even more important in remote work because of the inherently lower communications bandwidth.

Re: How to actually get a remote job as an intermediate developer?

#37

I see a lot of devs trying to convert to remote positions who get frustrated that they haven't landed a job after days/weeks/months. Going remote isn't as easy as what many devs are probably accustomed to, especially if you're new to the game (as the tech hiring market has been :fire:). If you're going to go remote, you need to realize a few things: - You're competing against waaay more candidates. You need to stand…

Right. That network cable goes all the way to Bangladesh. Average programmer hourly wage in Bangladesh: https://www.google.com/search?q=average+programmer+hourly+wa... I clicked on the second link: http://www.salaryexplorer.com/hourly-wage.php?loc=18&loctype... Maximum: 698 BDT / hr Average: 326 BDT / hr Median: 279 BDT / hr Minimum: 58 BDT / hr In dollars that is: Maximum: $8.6 / hr Average: $4.0 / hr Median: $3.4 /…

You need to NOT be competing on price, add some other differential (in my case I tried competing on very good English and being on the same time zone as most of the U.S.).

Competing on price or selling yourself to the lowest bidder is a losing proposition.

That said, most of the best Indian devs aren't making that money remotely, they're making a lot more (or at least, I've seen them getting paid a lot more).

I got contacted and worked remotely through Hacker News and, although it didn't pan out (I wasn't a good fit) it was a great experience and I met really good people from around the world.

Re: How to actually get a remote job as an intermediate developer?

#38
post #23

I don't know a generic solution, I just can say what I did: 1. I quit my office job. Worked there for about 7 years. I saved some money and got unemployment benefits (60% of my previous salary) so I had 1 year to do nothing. 2. I did some OSS stuff OSS teams are almost all remote and they love contributors. So it's not hard to find some and ... well contribute? It's an easy way to get into a remote team. I didn't do…

Unrelated, but in Germany you get unemployment benefits after you quit a job? Wow.

This is one of the most important social networks that exists today and nations all over the world should copy & paste this idea.

It is incredible to see how underdeveloped social networks are especially in the US.

It starts by reconquering the words of the language we speak.

Re: How to actually get a remote job as an intermediate developer?

#39
post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right. That network cable goes all the way to Bangladesh. Average programmer hourly wage in Bangladesh: https://www.google.com/search?q=average+programmer+hourly+wa... I clicked on the second link: http://www.salaryexplorer.com/hourly-wage.php?loc=18&loctype... Maximum: 698 BDT / hr Average: 326 BDT / hr Median: 279 BDT / hr Minimum: 58 BDT / hr In dollars that is: Maximum: $8.6 / hr Average: $4.0 / hr Median: $3.4 /…

> But when they go remote, aren't you competing with them? Not really. There aren't many companies who are considering both American and Indian remote developers for the same positions. Well paying remote jobs tend to have time zone constraints, and require better English communication skills than the average Indian developer has (there definitely are Indian developers with excellent communications skills, but they a…

fair enough.

Re: How to actually get a remote job as an intermediate developer?

#40
post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right. That network cable goes all the way to Bangladesh. Average programmer hourly wage in Bangladesh: https://www.google.com/search?q=average+programmer+hourly+wa... I clicked on the second link: http://www.salaryexplorer.com/hourly-wage.php?loc=18&loctype... Maximum: 698 BDT / hr Average: 326 BDT / hr Median: 279 BDT / hr Minimum: 58 BDT / hr In dollars that is: Maximum: $8.6 / hr Average: $4.0 / hr Median: $3.4 /…

> But when they go remote, aren't you competing with them? Not really. There aren't many companies who are considering both American and Indian remote developers for the same positions. Well paying remote jobs tend to have time zone constraints, and require better English communication skills than the average Indian developer has (there definitely are Indian developers with excellent communications skills, but they a…

Assuming an Indian coder is a good English communicator, would working the night shift be such a big barrier ,compared to the salary potential ?
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