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Build a side project using modern tech. You’ll learn a bunch and then you can put those skills on your CV. I’m happy to look over your CV and guide you on stuff

Build a side project using modern tech. You’ll learn a bunch and then you can put those skills on your CV. I’m happy to look over your CV and guide you on stuff I would look out for. There are also programmes for people that have been out of the industry for a while.

thehaze 5y ago
+1 on this. Code some project on a pro bono basis using the latest tech, then use that as your ticket.
- batguano 5y ago
  One problem with this is that when you learn a new technology on your own, you’re likely to use patterns and idioms of the language/tech you know best, and not the appropriate ones that an experienced developer would use. When the prospective employer looks at the code, it will often seem completely naive. As an example, when I was trying to make the transition from C and Python to C++, I wrote a moderately sized interactive, real time, visual programming language. I didn’t ever show it to anyone, but I went back and looked at it a year later: I totally facepalmed because it was filled with glaring indications that I totally wasn’t a C++ programmer. For example, I often accessed an object’s members with “this->bar” (like in Python, where you use “self.bar”). I certainly learned a lot, so it wasn’t a waste of time (and it was a fun project for me anyway). If I had a really good friend or mentor who would have been willing to invest the time to do an extensive code review first, then it might have been a useful demo. But at the time, I had no idea just how little I knew!
navyad 5y ago
+1 learn, build and show.
therealdavesky 5y ago
here are two side projects, please let me know what you think: huedoku.com (and the app on itunes) oogiecam (on itunes) thanks!
- sokoloff 5y ago
  The first two Download on App Store buttons aren’t links to the App Store. (The third Same Same Or is, but is missing a game screen shot on the web. All Safari on iOS.) Huedoko is fun for the first few plays anyway. I love the clever name. Being 4 years old and never updated may not “read” the greatest evidence that you’re actively developing. The core gameplay is alright. It’s not going to be a game that I’ll find addictive, but the core gameplay was interesting and different in a generally good way. What was missing was some of the challenge/fun elements of modern puzzle games. A timer, a target number of moves, maybe locking in the squares that were already correct. (Why would it move them anyway once I knew they were correct?) It was also missing some polish. On an XS Max, it didn’t fill the screen. Every so often, I would end up with a solid red screen that I had to click on to proceed. In your shoes, I’d consider using that app as the basis to rewrite it in React Native. That will give you a game where you know the core dynamics and gameplay, a modern platform that’s highly relevant and well-understood by recruiters. For oogieCam, I got nothing at all useful until I realized I had to turn off the hardware mute button on my phone (which generally lives engaged but if you can find in software the fact that it’s set, you could give the user a hint). This one’s much more on me than you/the app, but a recruiter or hiring manager is going to be making a 5 minute judgment, so maximize your chances. Best of luck!

thehaze 5y ago

+1 on this. Code some project on a pro bono basis using the latest tech, then use that as your ticket.

batguano 5y ago
One problem with this is that when you learn a new technology on your own, you’re likely to use patterns and idioms of the language/tech you know best, and not the appropriate ones that an experienced developer would use. When the prospective employer looks at the code, it will often seem completely naive. As an example, when I was trying to make the transition from C and Python to C++, I wrote a moderately sized interactive, real time, visual programming language. I didn’t ever show it to anyone, but I went back and looked at it a year later: I totally facepalmed because it was filled with glaring indications that I totally wasn’t a C++ programmer. For example, I often accessed an object’s members with “this->bar” (like in Python, where you use “self.bar”). I certainly learned a lot, so it wasn’t a waste of time (and it was a fun project for me anyway). If I had a really good friend or mentor who would have been willing to invest the time to do an extensive code review first, then it might have been a useful demo. But at the time, I had no idea just how little I knew!

navyad 5y ago

+1 learn, build and show.

therealdavesky 5y ago

here are two side projects, please let me know what you think: huedoku.com (and the app on itunes) oogiecam (on itunes) thanks!

sokoloff 5y ago
The first two Download on App Store buttons aren’t links to the App Store. (The third Same Same Or is, but is missing a game screen shot on the web. All Safari on iOS.) Huedoko is fun for the first few plays anyway. I love the clever name. Being 4 years old and never updated may not “read” the greatest evidence that you’re actively developing. The core gameplay is alright. It’s not going to be a game that I’ll find addictive, but the core gameplay was interesting and different in a generally good way. What was missing was some of the challenge/fun elements of modern puzzle games. A timer, a target number of moves, maybe locking in the squares that were already correct. (Why would it move them anyway once I knew they were correct?) It was also missing some polish. On an XS Max, it didn’t fill the screen. Every so often, I would end up with a solid red screen that I had to click on to proceed. In your shoes, I’d consider using that app as the basis to rewrite it in React Native. That will give you a game where you know the core dynamics and gameplay, a modern platform that’s highly relevant and well-understood by recruiters. For oogieCam, I got nothing at all useful until I realized I had to turn off the hardware mute button on my phone (which generally lives engaged but if you can find in software the fact that it’s set, you could give the user a hint). This one’s much more on me than you/the app, but a recruiter or hiring manager is going to be making a 5 minute judgment, so maximize your chances. Best of luck!