Jobs in web development/development in general

fez

fez

fez

Caporegime
Joined
22 Aug 2008
Posts
26,587
Location
Tunbridge Wells
Looking for a bit of advice from people who are either part of the recruitment process at a company or those that have recently found jobs in this sector.

Basically I have been a web developer for the best part of 8 years now since I left university. Mainly php, mysql, javascript, html and css but I am fine with most aspects of server management etc. I am self employed at the moment but I think that in order to improve and work on better projects I need to work for a company that pushes me and actively tries to improve their staff.

Whenever I look at jobs in this sector I am amazed at what the job descriptions want. They appear to suggest that they want someone good at all of the skills above, all to a very high standard. I don't know if my version of expert is different to others but in my view there are very few people who are genuinely great at backend and front-end. Most of them require you to have a "flair for design" and know illustrator and photoshop. Again, I can use photoshop fine, Illustrator I can just about use ok. Design eye wise I can tweak and modify designs but don't ask me to design something from scratch without something to direct me massively.

Is this just recruiters being clueless idiots and using a default "web developer" job description they have written at some point or are actual firms writing this stuff themselves. I worry that I would go for an interview and they laugh at me for not being a world beater in all these areas or all the other candidates will have these skills and I won't get a look in.

What tips would you give to me when looking for jobs in this area and where is the best place to look for them? I live in south east london but I am happy to commute into the centre.

Any help or thoughts would be appreciated.
 
Far away hills aren't greener. Many IT/Web companies think you should spend all your free time up-skiling so they can get you to fill four jobs but pay you one salary.

I think what you really want it to get a progressive smaller company that has an outstanding portfolio of work.
 
You don't need to be good at everything. You just need to fulfil a commercial requirement for a company, i.e. you can do a few specific things to a high standard.

When you say you have mainly php, mysql, javascript, html, css, server management etc. That is good, but I would say really you need to to pick some of these to be really good in. E.g. you are a back end php/mysql programmer, or you are a front end guy with strong HTML/CSS/Javascript and design skills.

If your design skills aren't your strong point, then php/mysql is the way to go.

Either way, start looking at sites like Indeed and reading a lot of job adverts. You soon get an idea of the things being asked for. Keep in mind though that you just need good skills in a few specific areas to be commercially viable, you don't have to be good at everything, just good at a certain subset of things.
 
This is where I am confused though, which skills do they actually want you to be highly skilled at. I am highly skilled in PHP/MySQL and I would say that I am pretty highly skilled at HTML, CSS and Javascript. My other skills are decent but not industry level (things like server management etc).

A lot of the adverts don't specify what exactly they wish you to do. They just list 20 skills in very different areas. This is where I am struggling. The job adverts are asking for something that I very much doubt exists. Either my idea of an expert is very wrong or their job requirements are very fanciful.
 
If you filter your result to move agencies you will remove a lot of the generic job specs they use. Non agency jobs tend to be very much more specific.
 
I don't know where you are looking, but put it this way, if you have:

Just PHP/MySQL - To a decent standard, these skills alone are enough to get you a job. I've seen quite a few jobs just asking for a PHP/MySQL specialist. So, in this role, you just do all the coding work, you don't touch any design stuff (apart from perhaps know how the design guys will make your web application look good). You just specialise in coding, so you are very good at doing all the database stuff, and you perhaps know object orientation, probably a PHP framework like Laravel. So, if you like programming, and are reasonably fast at getting code done, specialise in this. I've seen loads of roles available for this. Many medium sized web agencies have a requirement for this role, or go contracting.

HTML, CSS and Javascript - Again, these skills alone are enough to get you a job. If you can translate designs into HTML/CSS, this role exists. You love creating websites, you keep up with design techniques, and you are a "front end" guy. If you have Photoshop skills that is a natural fit too, then you can do full design and HTML/CSS coding, but HTML/CSS alone is still enough for roles. Again, pure front end roles are widely available. Lots of web agencies want this, and there is lots of contracting work.

If you have:

PHP/MySQL/HTML, CSS and Javascript - Then you are a bit of an all rounder. This is particularly helpful if you want to start your own company or work for a very small company, as you can literally do everything. However, these days it's quite hard to be a high standard at everything, so for working for other people it's easier to take one of the first two roles and be either a specialist programmer or specialist web designer.

Maybe in your area there is a lack of roles, but searching on indeed.co.uk or reed.co.uk usually finds me plenty of examples.
 
So... no experience in web development specifically.

But, in regular development, most recruiters just write a long wish list. Sometimes they ask for 5 years of experience in products that haven't been on the market for 5 years. Mostly the lists are just nonsense.

Also, companies that actively push their staff are few and far between. Certainly some take the mentality that they upskill you, you might leave for more money somewhere else.
 
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