CareerAdvice #JobSearch #Coding #TechJobs
Hey tech community! 👋 Have you ever felt like you’re not qualified enough to apply for certain jobs in the industry? I sure have, and it can be daunting, to say the least.
I’m about to graduate with a CS degree, but my resume feels lackluster, and I haven’t had any internships under my belt. Sound familiar? Here are a few thoughts swirling in my mind:
- My projects aren’t strong enough.
- I’ve been focusing on leetcode challenges to brush up on DSA.
- Job postings seem to require years of experience that I don’t have.
So, what’s the next step? Here are a couple of suggestions:
- Gain more experience: Consider volunteering for projects, contributing to open-source, or even taking on freelance gigs to build up your portfolio.
- Apply anyway: Don’t let fear hold you back. You never know what could come from sending out those applications.
- Specialize: If you feel overwhelmed by the vast number of job postings, pick a niche (like Java Spring, for example) and focus on mastering it. Becoming an expert in a specific area can make you stand out to potential employers.
What do you think? Any other advice for someone in my shoes? Let’s help each other out! 🚀 #TechCareer #CareerGrowth #StayMotivated
I feel the same way after multiple C’s and tech degrees and 11 years of working. Feels like it is impossible to know enough to be useful.
What area do you want to go into? I imagine coming out of college you only know a spattering of c++, some python, c, and a bunch of algorithms and data structures.
Stop leetcode and build a website right now using the MERN stack. Learn NODE, JS, Typescript, HTML, CSS, Postgres, MongoDB, React. Build and learn about APIs.
Plenty of free resources on youtube. Even if you do not go into web dev can build out a portfolio website that serves as your resume, and this will expose you to a plethora of areas.
If data is your thing buy some raspberry pis and build a little cluster running apache spark, using hadoop, build a web scraper using python, learn how to use Jupiter notebook.
Once youve done a few projects then go back to leetcode.
Either way, leetcode will help with the interview, but these projects will get you the interview, and help you figure out WHAT you want to do.
Just my opinion.
You’ll never feel qualified. Just start interviewing and after failing miserably a few times, you’ll learn and adapt to what needs to be done.
> only issue is they seem to want 5+ years experience for a majority of those roles.
?
That doesn’t sound like a junior role.
> Should I just spam applications everywhere
Unfortunately for you, people like me are applying to roles like that, and I’m sure millions like me are too. (8YOE, Java, C++, js/ts, devops, etc etc)
First, that’s just the way that it is as a new grad. You are below average and unqualified but you get hired because they can’t find anybody who is better who is willing to take the job. Someday, you will be qualified and say “no thanks” to those jobs.
Second, choosing a skill to focus on can be dicey. It depends on what location, role, the competition and 20 other considerations. Only somebody with experience really knows and you’ve got no experience. So, you fumble around and hopefully figure it out.
I know that Java Spring has lots of jobs in Silicon Valley BUT also has even more competition so the YOE demands are too high for new grads. Lots of skills have trivia like that so it is easy to choose something that won’t help your job search.