6 ms·

When I graduated with my CS degree in 2002 the job search was brutal. I hang out in cscareerquestions on Reddit and a common theme seems to be getting that firs

by city41 5y ago

When I graduated with my CS degree in 2002 the job search was brutal. I hang out in cscareerquestions on Reddit and a common theme seems to be getting that first junior dev job is really hard. Is this just an unfair reality all junior devs face?

powerslacker 5y ago
Getting that first job is almost always the hardest. I went through nearly 100 interviews (I have no degree) before I got hired. I wouldn't call it unfair though. I've been on the other side of the interview table since then and I can tell you that the vast majority of applicants to a junior role are so far from employable that its barely worth it to hire a junior. No one wants to wait years for an employee to become productive. The fact is that most schools are not preparing graduates to work in the industry. I know several CS graduates who were almost totally unfamiliar with SQL databases. Considering that the vast majority of SE work these days is on the web, it is shocking that there isn't more focus on fundamental web technology.
ratww 5y ago
It definitely seems so. Whenever I post an internship or junior position on Indeed or LinkedIn I get hundreds of resumes. Whenever I need someone more experienced, it’s either hired by recommendation, or we need a headhunter. Salary is never the issue, it’s just that senior devs complain about getting swamped with offers, so they don’t even have to look anymore. It’s almost like a game theory problem: people have to apply to hundreds of companies to have a shot because everyone is also doing the same. That, and some companies seem to be shifting towards preferring having a low number of experienced developers rather than a larger number of entry-level: I know of a few companies that paused junior and mid-level hirings after getting big investments.
- throwaway2037 5y ago
  Joel Spolsky has written about this problem extensively. The best devs are not available and are not looking. I have seen many, many LinkedIn profiles for people who are insanely technical (much more than me) who literally write: "Headhunters: Go away!" LOL.
edgyquant 5y ago
I think there's just a lot of competition. I never was able to land a junior dev position and gave up (was self taught, though.) I just decided to go freelance and work on personal projects until I had a portfolio and was able to get hired as a mid-level engineer.

by city41 5y ago

powerslacker 5y ago

Getting that first job is almost always the hardest. I went through nearly 100 interviews (I have no degree) before I got hired. I wouldn't call it unfair though. I've been on the other side of the interview table since then and I can tell you that the vast majority of applicants to a junior role are so far from employable that its barely worth it to hire a junior. No one wants to wait years for an employee to become productive. The fact is that most schools are not preparing graduates to work in the industry. I know several CS graduates who were almost totally unfamiliar with SQL databases. Considering that the vast majority of SE work these days is on the web, it is shocking that there isn't more focus on fundamental web technology.

ratww 5y ago

It definitely seems so. Whenever I post an internship or junior position on Indeed or LinkedIn I get hundreds of resumes. Whenever I need someone more experienced, it’s either hired by recommendation, or we need a headhunter. Salary is never the issue, it’s just that senior devs complain about getting swamped with offers, so they don’t even have to look anymore. It’s almost like a game theory problem: people have to apply to hundreds of companies to have a shot because everyone is also doing the same. That, and some companies seem to be shifting towards preferring having a low number of experienced developers rather than a larger number of entry-level: I know of a few companies that paused junior and mid-level hirings after getting big investments.

throwaway2037 5y ago
Joel Spolsky has written about this problem extensively. The best devs are not available and are not looking. I have seen many, many LinkedIn profiles for people who are insanely technical (much more than me) who literally write: "Headhunters: Go away!" LOL.

edgyquant 5y ago

I think there's just a lot of competition. I never was able to land a junior dev position and gave up (was self taught, though.) I just decided to go freelance and work on personal projects until I had a portfolio and was able to get hired as a mid-level engineer.