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Ask HN: How does a hobby programmer get hired?

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Re: Ask HN: How does a hobby programmer get hired?

#91

Post by jokethrowaway »

tejohnso wrote: post #35
phphphphp wrote: post #11

Job experience is a cheap proxy for the ability to get things done : if you've had multiple programming jobs, then you've probably been able to get things done and so hiring you is a safe choice. The absence of programming job experience doesn't mean you can't get things done, it just means you need to demonstrate to employers that you can get things done in other ways. You don't need to do a bootcamp (and I'd argue…

> Passing a coding challenge is easy Something must be wrong with me then because I've been programming for decades in multiple areas productively, but successfully completing three leetcode medium/hard within 45 minutes while also talking through my thought process is not something I'd call easy. > so don't focus on them at all I'd suggest most people aren't going to get past the first level if they follow this advi…

There is a difference between leetcode in fang and normal code challenges in normal companies

Leetcode has zero correlation to your practical working life, code challenges are what you would do in a normal day at work.

I never prepared for code challenges; if I had to prepare for leetcode I'd need a few months to have any hope.

Re: Ask HN: How does a hobby programmer get hired?

#92

Post by tinco »

warent wrote: post #88
rubberband wrote: post #86

Late to the party, but maybe I can help. I've helped in the hiring of many developers. (grain of salt, just my opinion, etc...) * Don't do bootcamps. It's a red flag for me. This can be said for any 100% online college. (again, I'm just being honest). Community colleges are fine. * You having a Github that you've committed stuff to often-ish will most interest me. I don't give a crud if you contribute to open source.…

I've been a hiring manager for a couple of years now, and have nearly 10 yrs professional dev experience in the industry. Bootcamps are a red flag for you? What? Do you have any rationale for that? Makes zero sense to me. If someone has done a bootcamp, that's a big plus. Online college is neutral. The rest I agree with.

I've hired from bootcamps multiple times, it's a great source of junior developers. It is however a show of the absolute minimum amount of skill a person could possibly have before you take them on as a developer.

If this person says that they've been coding for years, then that puts them at a way higher level than a recent bootcamp grad.

Instead of doing a bootcamp, spend a week or two building simple apps in whatever category you want to work in. If you want to be a web dev, a little node.js backend with a react frontend perhaps, or similar with Django or Rails.

Plonk it on your github, make sure you put on your resume that you're a junior that's been coding for years but never put anything in production, and you'll definitely be ahead of the bootcamp grads in my book.

Re: Ask HN: How does a hobby programmer get hired?

#93

Post by 88913527 »

rubberband wrote: post #86

Late to the party, but maybe I can help. I've helped in the hiring of many developers. (grain of salt, just my opinion, etc...) * Don't do bootcamps. It's a red flag for me. This can be said for any 100% online college. (again, I'm just being honest). Community colleges are fine. * You having a Github that you've committed stuff to often-ish will most interest me. I don't give a crud if you contribute to open source.…

Contributing to open source can be a valuable sign. It shows the candidate could navigate a large repository, communicate with the maintainers, and successfully merge something-- the ancillary soft skills needed when developing software in a team environment.

Re: Ask HN: How does a hobby programmer get hired?

#95

Post by jokethrowaway »

roland35 wrote: post #49
phphphphp wrote: post #11

Job experience is a cheap proxy for the ability to get things done : if you've had multiple programming jobs, then you've probably been able to get things done and so hiring you is a safe choice. The absence of programming job experience doesn't mean you can't get things done, it just means you need to demonstrate to employers that you can get things done in other ways. You don't need to do a bootcamp (and I'd argue…

We may think coding challenges are easy - but after interviewing many "senior" engineers I've found that it's very helpful to have _some_ sort of coding as part of the interview. Algorithm and Data Structures based questions are not really popular, but they are at least a known quantity and can be studied for as a candidate. I prefer more realistic scenario type coding interviews (ie implement a new feature, fix a bu…

I don't see how expecting candidates to know algorithms by heart or solving complex algorithms is useful.

Whenever I encounter that at work I research the topic extensively and learn or re-learn whatever it is I need.

I completely agree on testing on real tasks, given some candidates who perform terribly on those manage to squeeze by (even thanks to them passing leetcode bs interview without having real world experience).

Re: Ask HN: How does a hobby programmer get hired?

#96

Post by jokethrowaway »

intelVISA wrote: post #72
pryelluw wrote: post #7

This was me years ago. The short answer is: contract work. Consulting or freelance. This is the way to get experience without having to struggle with finding a salaried position. How do you find opportunities? Go to LinkedIn, search for staffing companies, and message their recruiters letting them know you are available. They will ask for a resume. However, a contractors/consultant resume is different than a salaried…

Genuine question: how is he expected to contract/consult/freelance as a hobbyist with 0 YOE? Outside of race to the bottom Fiver gigs that you probably don't want a lot of good contract work is more "getting shit done" than salary roles; which usually requires selling yourself with a track record/network. Personally I'd just ship some crapware on the app store of your choice and spin it as a 'venture'. As others have…

I started doing exactly this ~20 years ago, namely getafreelancer.com, fighting with developers at 20$ an hour.

Over time I kept some good contacts from there and supplanted the low paid jobs with better clients.

Re: Ask HN: How does a hobby programmer get hired?

#98

Post by phillypham »

Aim for big tech companies. They regularly hire engineers that can pass coding challenges but otherwise have no experience or CS degree. I was hired at Google this way and many of my colleagues have similar backgrounds. It's a bit harder in this environment with hiring freezes, admittedly.

If you're more interested in startups that seem to require more practical experience, you'll probably need to do some personal projects or contribute to open source.

Re: Ask HN: How does a hobby programmer get hired?

#100

Post by greggarious »

masukomi wrote: post #28

> Without any programming jobs on my CV, what is a good way to penetrate into the market? freelance work. Sign up on Upwork.com (or similar). Do a bunch of contracts. Put them on your resume. I did freelance work for years before deciding i was sick of constantly hustling for clients. Then I applied for jobs and said "here's all the things I've done" and they were like "cool. interview. yup. you're hired" Also, pro-t…

Did you have issues getting paid on upwork?
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