Getting that first job as a software developer.

FeFiDoh

FeFiDoh

FeFiDoh

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Joined
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Swindon
Hi all,
I have been studying with the Open Uni for a few years now, I have 2 months left before I move into my final year (well 2 as its part time). Am studying for a BSc in Computing and IT and doing software development. To date I have done well in all of my modules and score well in every assignment and done fine in my exams. However, when I take the time to look at what jobs are about to get an idea I feel like I am never going to be ready to apply to any of them. Feels like as soon as I start work I will be found out as a fraud, maybe even at the interview stage, "you say you studied this?" And never getting any where.

Has anyone else had this feeling? Having no experience working in this field what so ever, I feel that even getting an interview could be difficult. I am not sure at what point I will feel "ready" to step up and try. I assume this is common for people coming out of uni so hoping others here have gone through it.
 
Look into junior / gradulate developer roles. They're catered for newer developers and everyone knows what the score is in terms of your ability. Once you've got a year or two's experience then your degree is practically worthless anyway - annoyingly I got my first job before I got my final results, so in practise it wasn't useful at all :p.

Have you thought about getting involved in open source projects? If I was interviewing a new developer then I'd find that a huge benefit. It shows that you can develop and work in a team.. which is pretty much what any company wants.
 
As Pho suggests, maybe get involved in some open source projects. Or set yourself some projects to develop, so you have something that you can talk about in interviews.

Start looking at junior developer roles, get your CV dressed up and on some of the job sites or send it off to some recruiters and see if they have any jobs that they can put you forward for.
 
FeFiDoh said:
Has anyone else had this feeling? Having no experience working in this field what so ever, I feel that even getting an interview could be difficult. I am not sure at what point I will feel "ready" to step up and try. I assume this is common for people coming out of uni so hoping others here have gone through it.
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I think looking at job requirements can always look daunting. In reality, the jobs are easier than the requirements make them look. Whatever you do, change your attitude to one where you are ready to attempt things and whilst I don't advocate over-confidence, have some self-assurance and believe in yourself.

Also, going to some local software developer meet ups will help you meet people already in jobs and help you.
 
Everyone in the industry knows what a fresh grad has done and can do. Look for junior roles, there's work out there.

As already mentioned, having contributions to an open source project on your CV is gold, especially if you provide links so people can have a look at your commits.
 
I have started working on some small projects of my own and a few ideas for others I want to do. As soon as I have this exam out of the way I am going to put a lot more time into it. I am aware that is really beneficial have a portfolio of work.

radderfire, I think that is the scariest thing. When I look at the adverts for junior roles it's incredibly daunting.

I did take some time the other week to sort my CV out as it had been neglected for quite a while. I also emailed a place with a job advert asking for any advice they could give me. They said the same thing about having projects to work on and take on stuff for friends/family to learn. Even offered to look over any work I did if I wanted. Still, I have this feeling like I am faking it and all this time studying will be wasted.
 
Employers will prefer a junior dev who understands they still have a lot to learn over some know-it-all who thinks they're a pro with no actual commercial experience. If you're honest about the level you're at and target appropriate roles, then you won't have unrealistic expectations or pressure placed upon you.

Along with the good suggestions above r.e. open source, get yourself down to a local user group for your chosen language and meet people. Permanent devs are in strong demand across most of the UK so if you can show you're willing to learn and can hold a normal conversation then you'll most likely hear about roles before they hit the job sites.

I get most of my work through LinkedIn these days either via word of mouth or recruiters doing searches, so get a profile up as soon as possible.
 
I should also mention that many people get occasional bouts of "impostor syndrome" even years into a successful career, so it's not something you should be worried about. Doing a degree is mainly about developing self-learning skills, you're not meant to be the finished article straight out of uni.
 
LazyManc said:
I should also mention that many people get occasional bouts of "impostor syndrome" even years into a successful career, so it's not something you should be worried about. Doing a degree is mainly about developing self-learning skills, you're not meant to be the finished article straight out of uni.
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Hah yeah everyone gets it from time to time :)

One thing you will learn pretty quickly is that your technical ability as a programmer is not as important as your ability to collaborate effectively and work within a team environment, with designers, testers, analysts, users, PMs etc.

I don't consider myself a particularly technically excellent coder, definitely a jack of many languages, master of none in my case, but ability to first work in, then lead teams has served me extremely well.

Most of the code you end up working with will make you recoil in horror :P
 
mid_gen said:
One thing you will learn pretty quickly is that your technical ability as a programmer is not as important as your ability to collaborate effectively and work within a team environment, with designers, testers, analysts, users, PMs etc.
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This one hundred percent. Being able to explain your thinking precisely and without ambiguity is a vastly underrated skill.

As others have said, just make things! Any project you can think of, make it for yourself and see how things go. I would highly encourage working from scratch, or at least getting a good understanding of what's happening 'under the hood'.

I'm still amazed at the number of junior web dev applicants we get that don't understand basic CSS rules, or whose entire portfolio consists of 'download free template => add some jQuery plugins'.

Choose a project, plan it out, understand how it works. Then choose a slightly bigger project then repeat. If you're struggling, try breaking a project down into smaller parts.
 
FeFiDoh said:
Feels like as soon as I start work I will be found out as a fraud, maybe even at the interview stage, "you say you studied this?" And never getting any where.
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I'm kinda in a similiar position, just about to graduate with a BSc in Computing, 90% of my modules were programming related and when I look at some job adverts for junior positions it does sometimes look scary. You have to just go for it though, you never know who'll take a chance on you :D and thats what we all need.
 
Degrees aren't meant to be vocational, they are actually meant to be academic. Their main value in industry is the secondary skills you learn such as self-learning, ability to master complex material, self-study, written and oral communication, comprehension of complex topics, time management, presentation, problem solving, statistics and underlying theory that can help you understand things to a deeper level.
 
Thanks for all the replies people, made me feel some what better about it.

niroe what modules did you do, any of these TU100, M250, M256, MU123, MT264, TT284? The last 2 are what I am currently doing.
 
Van Hellseek said:
I assume that was over a decade ago though (based on your forum join date...). Things have changed a lot since then you realise?
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I graduated in 2008 :). I don't mean my degree was worthless, far from it - I mean I didn't have to use my degree result to help stand out from others to get a job, and now that I'm in (the industry) my experience is worth far more than my degree.

How have things changed nowadays? Genuine question.
 
I can only really echo the statements above, look for graduate and junior level roles. Any company that has these schemes knows the score and will not be expecting the world, the good ones will mentor and train you helping you to progress quickly as its beneficial to them and you. I can honestly say I learnt more in my first 6 months as a graduate developer than I did at 3 years of Uni.
 
FeFiDoh said:
Thanks for all the replies people, made me feel some what better about it.

niroe what modules did you do, any of these TU100, M250, M256, MU123, MT264, TT284? The last 2 are what I am currently doing.
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Ah sorry, its not Open University I'm doing. When I said similar situation I meant being worried about appying for first job after university. :)
 
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