I would hire you. In a junior position. The software engineering job market is inefficient in ways that work in your favor and against it. Good luck.
Ask HN: Advice for finding an entry-level remote job?
21–30 of 212 posts
Re: Ask HN: Advice for finding an entry-level remote job?
#22Very interesting. How did you find projects to contribute to in GitHub for documentation editing? I've always wanted to do this kind of work but haven't been able to find opportunities in it.
For GitHub, I looked at projects that interested me, but not necessarily having the skills to contribute code. So I would pour through the docs and find errors, typos, mistakes. These kinds of things. Cleaning up. Sometimes added documentation that was missing.
As a HM if a candidate showed that on their github - it would be a yellow flag (nonsense changes for the sake of changes).
Just my $0.02.
Re: Ask HN: Advice for finding an entry-level remote job?
#23Remote support roles will probably be your best bet, perhaps for a startup where it’s focused more customer experience than tech skills. Do that while carrying on with courses and you’ll be in demand quickly! Regarding finding work, I’d go on remote-focused job boards and look for any junior support or QA roles. Email the hiring team directly saying hi along with your CV to try beat any filtering systems. If you can’…
It is generally easy to identify, find contact information for hiring teams?
So I was specifically talking about small companies, but ultimately I think so. I’d recommend sending it to an alias address if you can find one, but ultimately LinkedIn and firstname@domain will get you far.
Re: Ask HN: Advice for finding an entry-level remote job?
#24> I need to work remotely for family reasons. I have a special-needs sister and I look after my youngest brother. They are what's most important to me, which is why I don't want to relocate.
Have you considered they might benefit from moving to a new location as well? Better schools and services for instance.
Re: Ask HN: Advice for finding an entry-level remote job?
#25Remote support roles will probably be your best bet, perhaps for a startup where it’s focused more customer experience than tech skills. Do that while carrying on with courses and you’ll be in demand quickly! Regarding finding work, I’d go on remote-focused job boards and look for any junior support or QA roles. Email the hiring team directly saying hi along with your CV to try beat any filtering systems. If you can’…
It is generally easy to identify, find contact information for hiring teams?
The easier it is the harder this techique becomes.
Re: Ask HN: Advice for finding an entry-level remote job?
#26I'd highly encourage you to continue learning to code. You might also consider software QA. It is also easy to do remotely, pays well, and the learning curve is a bit lower. If you learned selenium, the ability to navigate a SQL database, postman to test REST APIs, and some testing terms and methods you'd be well on your way. The first job will be the hardest to get, but once you have that, remote jobs are readily av…
Just to give an alternate take, I think you can get pigeonholed as a QA person and if you want to be a developer it may be a better route to look for positions that are going to give you practice developing. That being said, the reality of job market these days might be that entry level positions are too competitive and this just isn't practical in which case getting your foot in the door with a QA role is still a mu…
QA is a VERY solid career, by any general standard. OP is looking for a job, not a creative outlet. Shouldn't apply an SF lens to this.
Re: Ask HN: Advice for finding an entry-level remote job?
#27I hire all my employees on upwork.com and Fiverr, but you will be competing against global wages.
Re: Ask HN: Advice for finding an entry-level remote job?
#28I'd highly encourage you to continue learning to code. You might also consider software QA. It is also easy to do remotely, pays well, and the learning curve is a bit lower. If you learned selenium, the ability to navigate a SQL database, postman to test REST APIs, and some testing terms and methods you'd be well on your way. The first job will be the hardest to get, but once you have that, remote jobs are readily av…
Just to give an alternate take, I think you can get pigeonholed as a QA person and if you want to be a developer it may be a better route to look for positions that are going to give you practice developing. That being said, the reality of job market these days might be that entry level positions are too competitive and this just isn't practical in which case getting your foot in the door with a QA role is still a mu…
As someone who came into software dev without a degree and started in QA, this is correct. Some shops are setup with QA as a separate function on separate teams. If development tickles your fancy, starting on one of those QA teams may limit you.
Sharing from my anecdotal experience, if you’d prefer an environment where you can grow beyond manual testing (QA Engineer) and automated testing (SDET), look for positive cues: “QA as a role” or cross-functional teams or embedded QA within development teams. Ask for stories (examples) about a team member who made a lateral move, how leadership looks for this potential and supports the transition.
Re: Ask HN: Advice for finding an entry-level remote job?
#29The crux is you have to have experience to get experience.
I took the first job I could get as a programmer in 2010 at the first place that would accept me... making 21k right after getting my 2 year degree. I now work for a major bank as a Senior Programmer with 10+ years of experience.
If you can afford getting paid under market (minimum wage job you're taking? sounds like thats a yes)? Getting that first job can be worth it in the long run.
Put out a hundred applications and expect 2 interviews. Success is consistency and expectations that you'll have to work that much harder to get that first job.
Re: Ask HN: Advice for finding an entry-level remote job?
#30As a self taught graduate in an unrelated major, in a rural area, I was fortunate to get an entry level job and then a fully remote job this past year. If you can do any contract work or part time work in the field to start with, that would help. Welfare helps. Then I would try to make sure not to target FAANG types of jobs or any markets where every job posting gets 300 bootcamp applicants. Some concrete advice below:
I learned javascript + basic web development stuff like everyone else, because that's where the most beginner resources are. But the job offers I actually got were due to my learning Java (with some Java enterprise edition mixed in) and having some book knowledge about it. There are vast swaths of industries that will help you enter the middle class, and then some, by working on their old Java or C# applications. A ton of career advice out there is targeted towards the 1% who are shooting for Silicon Valley. We don't need that.
Also try to get proficient at Leetcode and come off as intelligent. A lot of your competition is computer science majors.
Lastly, and this might involve some conscious or unconscious deception: Make it sound like you intend to move to wherever the job location is, post-COVID. This works better if you are already in that state. Once you land the first job, maybe they'll offer the remote option eventually; otherwise keep applying to a couple jobs per day; this job search will be slightly easier and you will actually have the leverage to ask for a remote option when it comes up.