I did it by being excited to do jobs others didn’t want. At the time, it was build/release engineering.
Ask HN: How does a hobby programmer get hired?
101–110 of 259 posts
Re: Ask HN: How does a hobby programmer get hired?
#102The main thing with college degrees is simply to get your foot in the door, as one responder said, if you've got something from a community college that'll be good enough to get you into the queue in most places.
Next up, is being able to describe situations where you worked on a team doing software development, and how you handled things like unclear specifications, irascible colleagues or constantly changing priorities. Software development is a team game, we need to see how you fit into that team.
Lastly then is your technical abilities, and this might be assessed at more of a system level than a coding level. If you've got this, but miss the other areas then you'll find it harder to progress to an offer. Just my two cents from sitting in on plenty of interviews over the years.
Re: Ask HN: How does a hobby programmer get hired?
#103Ship stuff.
Build something, anything, and put it in the wild. Make it open source. Repeat.
Startups will hire you.
Re: Ask HN: How does a hobby programmer get hired?
#104Friend did boot camp, couple community college programs.
100 resumes out, 2 interviews, no callbacks.
Dont' let anybody tell you its all roses out there.
Re: Ask HN: How does a hobby programmer get hired?
#105Late 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.
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Re: Ask HN: How does a hobby programmer get hired?
#106The solution is "make a job appear on your resume" (not faking it). Some ideas: do some freelance work (underpaid, but still paid) you would need to find somebody willing to engage business with you. Alternatively, non-profit or you can even work at your own saas/software: it doesn't need to be successful, but it still counts as work (it can make zero money and you could just say it's failed startup)
Re: Ask HN: How does a hobby programmer get hired?
#107Earlier quoted context omitted.
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 whatev…
That still doesn’t make bootcamps a red flag. Also, there are many self-taught programmers who complete a bootcamp just to gain confidence, make connections, etc.
Re: Ask HN: How does a hobby programmer get hired?
#108Earlier quoted context omitted.
> 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…
I think three in 45 mins is a bit hyperbole. Interviewing at Google I got 45 mins for each. At Amazon I got an hour for each. (Both mediums)
Not hyperbole. Direct quote and confirmation from FAANG recruiter. Maybe even after confirmation they were misinformed. Or maybe that was the suggested practice goal rather than what would actually happen in the interview.
Re: Ask HN: How does a hobby programmer get hired?
#109> because I was told that I shouldn't spend my life in front of a computer
What a shame. I hope whoever told you that keeps their advise to themselves.
Re: Ask HN: How does a hobby programmer get hired?
#110If you can pass employer coding challenges as easily as you say, the rest is low hanging fruit. It’s hard for me to imagine what the problem is on your end. I have the complete inverse problem. Here’s what I would do: Make up a name for your own personal company and get a matching domain. Make a basic website with your domain. Under the resume/CV entry for this make-believe-company write that you perform contract wor…
> It’s hard for me to imagine what the problem is on your end.
I imagine there are plenty candidates who can also pass the screens, but have a more substantial resume, among other things.