General advice: - Writing code that works is only the first step. - Writing code that works and is written in such a way that other people can understand it a

General advice: - Writing code that works is only the first step. - Writing code that works and is written in such a way that other people can understand it and maintain it takes a lot longer. - Treat "yourself in 6 months" as another person because you WILL NOT remember why you wrote it the way you did. This goes way beyond just writing good comments and documentation. - Coding for your self is how you get hooked. Coding for other people is how you get booked (paid). These are NOT mutually exclusive and there is a delicate balance. On the subject of getting hired: - Writing code that works is the bare minimum. It will make you hire-able but it won't get you hired. At least 50% of the other people applying for the job can probably code better than you. - There is ALWAYS somebody better than you and that's okay :) - I'd much rather have someone whose code isn't as good but is better in a team. Again, there is a balance. - Good interviewers will look for people who can work in a team. Frankly, this only comes from experience working with other people. Contributing to OSS is a great way to show you can work with others' code.