how many jobs have you applied for?
how long have you been applying for jobs?
have you attended meetups or other networking events with a view to seeking out work?
do you live in an area with opportunities for junior devs?
have you run your resume (and linkedin profile) past people with experience to ensure it’s hitting the right kind of talking points?
do you have a polished portfolio demonstrating skills expected of junior devs?
have you sought feedback from unsuccessful interviews as to what areas you could improve upon?
- 35
- 4 months
- I have attended networking meetups, but not enough
- Area w/ opportunities for jr. devs: I don’t really know. Seattle. I’ve spoken with someone that got a job right out of college for a software engineer role. He’s been there three years and is now a level IV engineer.
- I’ve run my résumé by several people. They all say it’s well-formatted, includes all the right bits, and it even passes through the automated system that some larger places use. Several agree on one point: I need at least one app with more robust features.
- I have not had any interviews yet.
So I’ve been working on adding features to make my MERN app more robust. They’re features I wanted to add from the beginning, too, so it’s something I’m interested in doing. However, when I try to implement something that seems simple in my head, but I can’t figure it out despite Google, docs, videos, it gets to be really discouraging. Not having a soundboard like I would at a place of employment is really tough, because sometimes I just need a rubber-duck that talks back.
I have found myself someone that’s offered to mentor, and he’s agreed to meet up today (second meeting), but he’s also super busy, so it won’t be a regular thing. Someone else offered as well (I didn’t ask), but they’ve been unresponsive, for the most part.
One person says to hit HackerRank hard and just land interviews until I score a position somewhere so that I can learn more on the job. But I don’t want to be that guy that drags their team down and gets fired. I have a history of learning on-the-job and rising to senior positions within only a couple of years, but I feel this is very different.
Others say to build out that app, go to meetups, etc.
Right now – and maybe it’s only right now – I feel pulled in so many directions. Go to meetups, work on building out those features, practice interview materials. And that’s not including spending time with my partner and kiddo. I’ve been at this two years and I’m feeling like a failure of a parent and partner, and a failure as a developer. I have a job, and it’s awesome, but it doesn’t pay much, and it on top of this is just a lot to keep doing.
I can only be gung-ho for so long, you know?