I really want a job as computer programmer

[Cromulent]

So my dream job is a computer programmer. I have been programming for some years and can program in the following languages:

C
Python
C++ (I'd say I was intermediate in this language rather than advanced)
JavaScript (also intermediate)

I could easily also teach myself similar languages like Java and C#.

I'm mainly a Unix developer having done most of my work on Mac OS X, Linux, FreeBSD and OpenBSD although I'd quite like to get better at Windows programming. I've done quite a lot of backend website work working with the PostgreSQL database system and some frontend stuff although I'm not a designer. I've also done network programming using BSD sockets using both TCP and UDP networking protocols.

Furthermore I am experienced in Linux server administration and have done it for about 6 years having used it both on servers and on the desktop at various times.

What I'd really like to know is what I can do to improve my chances of getting a programming job. I've had a few telephone interviews and one face to face interview but I also have some medical issues which to cut a long story short would mean that working from home would be preferable but I could cope with working in an office. I live near London in Surrey.

Any help on what I should learn next or what I should do would be really appreciated .

 

[opethdisciple]

Well you could start applying for jobs your interested in on the relevant job boards.

Eventually your get calls from recruiters etc... trying to see if you are a good fit.

That's when you tell them your criteria and they will start matching you to the jobs they have, if you are not suitable for the job you applied for.

Slowly slowly, interview by interview you will land a role that is perfectly happy to work round your requirements.

 

[AHarvey]

You don't say what your current job is so not sure how much of this will be relevant.

I'd be looking at freelancer websites, getting some commercial experience, maybe some opensource projects and start building a portfolio of things you've worked on, including any home projects. Get them online and on the CV.

Also do as above, start hitting up jobs that you like the sound of, see if there are any requirements you are missing and learn those.

LinkedIn is a good place for sharing experience and projects, they can track you down, read what you've been doing and go from there.

 

[Cromulent]

You don't say what your current job is so not sure how much of this will be relevant.

I've been running a couple of Limited companies but neither have worked out unfortunately hence the desire for a job. In those roles I've done everything from accounting to legal requirements to programming to advertising and marketing. Basically everything to do with running a business really. They have both been me on my own.

Thanks for the replies guys. I'll check out some job boards and see how I get on. I'll also update my LinkedIn profile.

I was thinking of using the MIT open courseware found here:

https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/

to do a computer science degree (even though I won't actually get a qualification) just so I can improve my skills.

I'm really only looking for a junior position.

 

[AHarvey]

I've just had this via email https://medium.freecodecamp.com/ivy-league-free-online-courses-a0d7ae675869#.dufs3wci6

And if you look around you can get free courses such as the MITx 6.00.1x Introduction to Computer Science and Programming Using Python where you take the course and pay a small amount to be certified on it

 

[JonJ678]

You can code & you're willing to code for money? Should be viable!

I've found a few roles by going to programming meetup groups in the evening. Lots of those in London. Go and talk to some other developers, they're probably all hiring.

p.s. I have no programming / computer science qualifications. Doesn't appear to matter.

 

[Brumboy]

You can code & you're willing to code for money? Should be viable!

I've found a few roles by going to programming meetup groups in the evening. Lots of those in London. Go and talk to some other developers, they're probably all hiring.

p.s. I have no programming / computer science qualifications. Doesn't appear to matter.

So you're self taught? Mind giving a bit more information on how you started out and how you managed to get to the point where people would hire you? especially if you don't have any programming/CS qualifications (like me).

I'm learning Java at the moment and I'm trying to get a better idea of how to become employable in the future (for entry/junior roles).

 

[Gambisk]

There are literally 100s of jobs for Java and C# developers in my city alone, as there is something of a developer shortage right now. I think its the same around most of the UK, if you have a good understanding of C then picking up either of these should be fairly trivial. Some big companies won't look at you unless you have degree in computer science, but most good places know that you learn more in 6 months of the real thing than a 3 year course, so don't be put off.

I'd have thought that by going to a few recruitment agencies and telling them your background they should be able to get you into the door for an interview and from there its just a matter of convincing the interview panel that you can meet their requirements. Some places will make you do a technical test but are normally quite high level to see how you think rather than how you can code under pressure, other places might set you a project and ask you to present your code at the interview.

Be careful with the companies suggested by the recruiters, they will try to get you to fill any vacancy not necessarily the best one for you. There are websites like glassdoor that will let you get an idea for what a company is like before you go for interview, I'd recommend digging into a company before going for interview so that you don't end up trying to move company in 6 months time.

Good luck

 

[JonJ678]

So you're self taught? Mind giving a bit more information on how you started out and how you managed to get to the point where people would hire you? especially if you don't have any programming/CS qualifications (like me).

I'm learning Java at the moment and I'm trying to get a better idea of how to become employable in the future (for entry/junior roles).

Sure. Nothing especially surprising though, I wrote code for fun for a few years then managed to get a brief contracting gig from one of the coders for hire websites. Basically a lucky break. Badly paid, overran, happy client. That was enough to get a second contract, two successful contracts were enough to land a permanent role. That's about it

 

[radderfire]

I would say the first thing you need to do is pick your area to specialise in. Decide what you are. To do this, the factors are what you enjoy, what you are good at and what is in demand. I think if you want to get employed, it's quite important to build up a demonstrable specialism.

There is a lot of demand for Linux admin, and a lot of demand for JavaScript developers. There are also remote working opportunities in these areas, so take a look at remote tech job sites and you are likely to find something of interest.

 

[Cromulent]

Thank you all for your replies . It was really helpful. I'll try and pick something that I want to specialise it. I might try and find an open source project and start contributing to it and see where that leads me. If I have something concrete to put on my CV that would be good. All my previous projects haven't really been written with outside eyes in mind which in hindsight was a mistake.

I'll also check out the job boards as well. Thank you for the link to the remote workers stuff that is really helpful.

 

[dowie]

Did you not get feedback from the failed interviews?

There is almost always work to be found for good developers. Working on open source projects is probably a good idea. Linking to your GitHub on your CV/LinkedIn account is worthwhile.

 

[Cromulent]

Did you not get feedback from the failed interviews?

There is almost always work to be found for good developers. Working on open source projects is probably a good idea. Linking to your GitHub on your CV/LinkedIn account is worthwhile.

Yeah I got some feedback. They were really impressed with what I had managed to teach myself but I wasn't quite good enough and I cocked up because the code that I sent them had a bug in it which wasn't great. But they seemed pretty happy. My nurse told me to tell them about my medical condition which they said was a bit weird so that was another mistake. It was with the Financial Times so it was a serious job not with some small fry company.

Overall I think my knowledge is at a good place. I just need to have a portfolio with some working code and some experience of working in a group using things like Git or Mercurial which I haven't got because I do everything on my own.

I think my main problem is confidence. Because I am self taught I have no idea how I stack up to people who have done a 3 year comp sci degree or a maths degree. I know there are some major areas that my knowledge is lacking mainly around maths so I'm concentrating hard on that at the moment. I also need to revise data structures and algorithms.

One area I'd love to specialise in would be artificial intelligence so things like genetic algorithms and neural networks and stuff. I might start trying to concentrate on the maths for that side of things as well.

 

[dowie]

Well in terms of maths, as far as AI/ML is concerned, you ought to be familiar with linear algebra and optimisation:

for linear algebra see Strang's course at MIT:

https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/mathematics/18-06-linear-algebra-spring-2010/

for optimisation see Boyd's courses at the bottom of this page:

https://see.stanford.edu/Course

 

[Cromulent]

Well in terms of maths, as far as AI/ML is concerned, you ought to be familiar with linear algebra and optimisation:

for linear algebra see Strang's course at MIT:

https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/mathematics/18-06-linear-algebra-spring-2010/

for optimisation see Boyd's courses at the bottom of this page:

https://see.stanford.edu/Course

Cool. Thanks. I'll check those out.

 

[radderfire]

I think my main problem is confidence. Because I am self taught I have no idea how I stack up to people who have done a 3 year comp sci degree or a maths degree. I know there are some major areas that my knowledge is lacking mainly around maths so I'm concentrating hard on that at the moment. I also need to revise data structures and algorithms.

I wouldn't worry about this too much. There will always be people better than you at something. The thing is, there are many levels of coding ability, and different jobs require different levels. Some developer roles have quite basic requirements whereas others you do need to be a real whizz. Don't let confidence hold you back, just lock in on your focus and get as good as you can be.

Two good blogs to read are Jeff Atwood of Coding Horror and Joel Spolsky on Joel on Software.

If you are interested in AI then this Twitter list might be of interest.

 

[a66as]

Do you really need to learn all that maths to get a job as a software developer? i thought it was only for game development

 

[dowie]

The links I posted? They were specifically in relation to him mentioning machine learning. There are plenty of other programmers out there who suck at maths. However if you want to do more than treat ML libraries as black boxes then some knowledge of Linear Algebra and Optimisation is a good starting point before you start studying statistics/machine learning properly.

 

[OspreyO]

Do you really need to learn all that maths to get a job as a software developer? i thought it was only for game development

You'll need it to pass the interview. After that you will use it rarely. IMO.

 

[Cromulent]

Do you really need to learn all that maths to get a job as a software developer? i thought it was only for game development

For some programming jobs you certainly need maths. Machine learning is what I want to get into and you'll need it for that. You also need it if you are interested in operating system development and network stack development. So yeah I certainly need to improve my maths skills.

If you are just making websites though it is unlikely you'll need any maths. So like with anything it really depends on what you want to do hence my interest in improving my maths skills .