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Ask HN: How do you pivot your career when jobs want years of exp in a stack

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Re: Ask HN: How do you pivot your career when jobs want years of exp in a stack

#21

Post by milofeynman »

JustSomeNobody wrote: post #19
acangiano wrote: post #10

Four suggestions: 1. Don't obsess over the specifics on an ad. See if the role is in line with what you have to offer, but don't worry if you don't have the exact number of years of experience they request or one of the many skills they added to what it's essentially their wishlist. 2. Provided you have a solid foundation with some standard skills like JavaScript, Python or Ruby, etc, specialize in a relatively new s…

Re: #4. I currently live in a city that has virtually no tech scene. I work remote and my office is a thousand miles away. What are some ways to get a similar experience, but online? I don't particularly like social networking online (in person, sure!), so I've never tried looking into tech related social scenes.

I found my last job via a meetup but am currently in the same position as you, which is what makes this a little bit harder.

Re: Ask HN: How do you pivot your career when jobs want years of exp in a stack

#22

Post by jimjimjim »

"Number of years required" are pointless meaningless values.

prove that you have experience with a topic rather than years.

build a portfolio of working stuff.

or

skunkworks something at a current job and if it is successful use that as a selling point in your resume.

and don't use the word pivot. ever.

Re: Ask HN: How do you pivot your career when jobs want years of exp in a stack

#23

Post by scarface74 »

Vendan wrote: post #2

I treat the "we want people who know stack X" kind of thing as a "Here's what stack we are using" and nothing more. I don't lie and say that I know the stack, but I don't want to work for a company that doesn't understand that a good programmer can switch to a new stack in a very short time frame. On the other hand, you need the ability to pick up a new stack easily.

I hire contractors. I don't have time for people to ramp up on the job. I need them to come in knowing the stack we are working in.

If I were hiring full time devs, I would take a chance but I would expect them to meet deadlines as if they were fluent in the stack - meaning if they have to work weekends or more than 40 hours a week to be just as efficient as someone who knows the stack, they should do it.

I put myself to the sane standards when I'm an FTE. If the company advertised they wanted a proficient React developer for instance and I was honest with them about my lack of experience and I convinced them that I was willing to learn, I would make sure I produced 35-40 hours worth of productive work even if it took me 60 hours to do it.

I'm not putting in extra hours necessarily for the company, I'm doing it to further my own career.

Re: Ask HN: How do you pivot your career when jobs want years of exp in a stack

#24

Post by acangiano »

JustSomeNobody wrote: post #19
acangiano wrote: post #10

Four suggestions: 1. Don't obsess over the specifics on an ad. See if the role is in line with what you have to offer, but don't worry if you don't have the exact number of years of experience they request or one of the many skills they added to what it's essentially their wishlist. 2. Provided you have a solid foundation with some standard skills like JavaScript, Python or Ruby, etc, specialize in a relatively new s…

Re: #4. I currently live in a city that has virtually no tech scene. I work remote and my office is a thousand miles away. What are some ways to get a similar experience, but online? I don't particularly like social networking online (in person, sure!), so I've never tried looking into tech related social scenes.

Start your own tech meetup in said city.

Re: Ask HN: How do you pivot your career when jobs want years of exp in a stack

#25

Post by WalterSear »

jimjimjim wrote: post #22

"Number of years required" are pointless meaningless values. prove that you have experience with a topic rather than years. build a portfolio of working stuff. or skunkworks something at a current job and if it is successful use that as a selling point in your resume. and don't use the word pivot. ever.

IME, everyone advises portfolios, but nobody looks at them.

Re: Ask HN: How do you pivot your career when jobs want years of exp in a stack

#26

Post by WalterSear »

nate_martin wrote: post #13

It's a little annoying when companies put framework names in their job titles. Asking for a "react engineer" or a "boost programmer" will likely turn away a lot of people who would actually be a good fit for the role. My suggestion is to just be open with the company and tell them what you do know and how quickly you can get up to speed. Something like: "I haven't used React on a paid project before, but I have a lot…

Chances are that the gatekeeper won't know enough to be interested.

Re: Ask HN: How do you pivot your career when jobs want years of exp in a stack

#27

Post by johndalton »

JustSomeNobody wrote: post #19
acangiano wrote: post #10

Four suggestions: 1. Don't obsess over the specifics on an ad. See if the role is in line with what you have to offer, but don't worry if you don't have the exact number of years of experience they request or one of the many skills they added to what it's essentially their wishlist. 2. Provided you have a solid foundation with some standard skills like JavaScript, Python or Ruby, etc, specialize in a relatively new s…

Re: #4. I currently live in a city that has virtually no tech scene. I work remote and my office is a thousand miles away. What are some ways to get a similar experience, but online? I don't particularly like social networking online (in person, sure!), so I've never tried looking into tech related social scenes.

I've been working remotely for ten years, in a city with a very small but friendly tech scene. A lack of local meetups doesn't always indicate that there's no tech scene, either - when I first started working remotely I was the only person I knew who was doing it, but just by being vocal about it I quickly found others. If there are no meetups in your field then starting one is a brilliant way to tick a bunch of boxes here:

- You will bring people out of the woodwork who are in similar positions, but haven't taken the initiative to start such a group themselves.

- You'll gain contacts in your scene, both locally and in other cities.

- You'll gain experience and profile that will help you in a search for remote work, as you can point to community engagement activities that say a lot more about your dedication than a couple of udemy courses in some particular stack.

If you really don't want to start a local group (or if there's no nearby community large enough to support this) then look for user groups with active online communities (mailing lists definitely count) and try to make some occasional trips to other cities for meetups and conferences.

Re: Ask HN: How do you pivot your career when jobs want years of exp in a stack

#28

Post by simonhughes22 »

At dice.com we just released a free career path tool that shows you possible transitions from your current role based on our years of profile data in the tech sector. It will also show you what skills are typically required in each role. Hopefully this can help you explore some options while you decide how you want pivot - url https://www.dice.com/career-paths

Re: Ask HN: How do you pivot your career when jobs want years of exp in a stack

#29

Post by christophilus »

The number of years thing is bogus. Just ignore it and apply. I remember seeing posts asking for more Rails experience than DHH himself has. Something like 8 years of Rails experience when Rails was only 6 years old. Those requirements are almost always written by some of the least competent people in the company.

Re: Ask HN: How do you pivot your career when jobs want years of exp in a stack

#30

Post by jimjimjim »

WalterSear wrote: post #25
jimjimjim wrote: post #22

"Number of years required" are pointless meaningless values. prove that you have experience with a topic rather than years. build a portfolio of working stuff. or skunkworks something at a current job and if it is successful use that as a selling point in your resume. and don't use the word pivot. ever.

IME, everyone advises portfolios, but nobody looks at them.

i do.
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