How To Get a Job as a Self Taught Programmer
Despite what you hear on YouTube getting a job as a self taught programmer isn’t easy. But that doesn’t mean it is impossible. If it were easy it wouldn’t pay well and it wouldn’t be intrinsically rewarding. Because we live in a world of immediate gratification most people don’t know how to set and achieve long term goals. The psychological benefits of persistent effort and delayed gratification have been largely forgotten in our culture.
To become a professional software engineer you need to consistently practice software engineering. It’s as simple as being able to put in the hours day in and day out. A lot of people say that they want to learn how to code but then prioritize Instagram, porn, YouTube and Netflix instead.
Putting in sheer hours isn’t enough. Rhe work you do needs to be of a high quality and the best way to produce high quality work is by being focused. Reading Deep Work by Cal Newport taught me how to be more productive simply by eliminating distractions from my life. Consistently entering a flow state will only make you a better programmer and you’ll probably be better than all of those nerds with CS degrees.
Having the discipline to tell yourself no when faced with distraction will give you the freedom to work at your full cognitive capacity. This means that over time you’ll be able to solve more complex and difficult problems, which is more fun but also pays a lot more too.
It took me nearly a year of doing Web Development on my own before I got a job. Before you start applying to jobs you need to make sure that you have a collection of projects that you can show off, ideally this should not include the To-do app tutorials you followed on YouTube. Coming up with ideas for apps can be hard, but just ask your friends a lot of them will have some very good ideas that you’d never have thought of. Freelancing is a great way of picking up some cash doing what you love and building up your portfolio.
After you’ve gotten your portfolio in good shape you need to have a kick ass resume. Nearly every company I interviewed with complimented me on how great my resume was. On your resume emphasize that you are self taught, this shows potential employers that your driven and intelligent. Not many people have the ability to teach themselves how to program. Include hobbies and any other interesting personal achievements in your resume as well. For example on my resume I noted that I used to play Rugby, do Brazilian Ju Jitsu, have a podcast and teach meditation. Having an interesting background is just another way to catch someones eye.
All in all you want to show that you have technical expertise. One of the best ways of doing this is by starting a blog and a YouTube channel on programming. Not only will this help you show off your skills but you’ll also be able to help other people by teaching them as well. Teaching others will also give you a greater understanding because you’ll have to break down and explain complex subjects in a clear and nuanced manner. Senior developers are often tasked with mentoring Jr. devs, as far as I’m concerned if you’re teaching people how to code on YouTube you’re already a senior developer.
Even with my stellar resume and portfolio applying to jobs was discouraging. I’d get a ton of great feedback and then basically get told that I didn’t have enough experience, which I honestly just didn’t think was true. The companies that told me this were probably just to by the book and I was better off having not worked for them.
What got me my first job was having a connection. I told one of my old coaches that I was a developer and he said his company was looking for a web developer and the rest is history. Even programmers need to have connections!
Corey’s Corner Podcast: https://anchor.fm/coreys-corner
Gardner App Development: https://gardnerappdev.com
Get Yoked 🍳 https://thoughtsandfitness.com
Learn To Code: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfd8A1xfzqk7veapUhe8hLQ
