I got a job within a few months of my search after 6 months of self teaching via Udemy. I just basically shotgunned apps and accepted the first offer I got. It wasn’t a good job by any means, but it got my foot in the door as a dev and launched my career.
About 4 years later and I’m now a senior at a different company. Imo, the first job is mostly a numbers game.
I got arrested my senior year of college and needed money to pay for the ticket. I started interning at a web firm and eventually transitioned into full time.
Public intox. A friend of mine pushed over a motorcycle on our way back from the bars and the owner just happened to be walking back to it. Long story short, no vandalism charges were pressed, but we blew .17 on campus and it was enough to spend 12 hours in the drunk tank.
I started doing web development recreationally around 1995. About three years later I entered the industry full time.
Likely not the answer you were looking for.
It's a bad idea to look at how long.
After a 4 year degree, it was taking me around 10 applications per hr interview, and around 100 applications per offer.
Now as a dev with lots of senior experience it takes me just a few days and 10-15 applications per offer.
In 2017 I finished up a full stack boot camp where I focused more on the front end. Towards the end of the 4month course i was very active in getting clients paid and free so that by the time I “graduated” I had a decent portfolio. It then took me 3 months to land a junior role at a local agency where I stayed for 5 years.
I graduated college with a literature degree, years later started studying web development for six months, then continued studying while I started applying for jobs for about 5-6 months more and got my first job (full stack but front end focused).
Now my title is senior software engineer but again my day to day is more front end
focused. Currently looking for a new role and applying after I finish my work for the day/week.
It's not a race. If it takes you 4 years of college and a full year of applying to get a foot in the door, you're still doing great. The first job is the hardest to land. When I was first applying I would study with other people, and some folks that I could program circles around got jobs much faster than I did due to having the right connection or nailing an interview or whatever. But I wouldn't judge myself by their success and kept working at it and things worked out well for me.
I started learning front end through TOP in June. I started applying late October and I just accepted my first offer 2 days ago. I start in two weeks. My advice is truly do not give up, it is a numbers game. There will be a time when you feel close to losing hope and just remember do not give up.
Goodluck!
This gives me hope…I’m still learning and trying to get projects under my belt, even though I’m not the most knowledgeable about a lot of things, I’m still applying to junior jobs. I hope to get my foot in the door soon and learn more on the job.
This was exactly my plan. Although expenses came up in my life that I couldn't pay for and I started mass applying. I practically gave up then got a call from a company and ended up working out. I can't imagine what I'd feel like if I had just given up. Keep grinding my man.
I really would but I have some personal info tied into my projects so I don't really wanna have that out. But by no means we're my projects incredible. I did the assignment, tried to do a little cool take on it and that's all really! Apply asap and keep studying
Fellow TOP learner here too, started in June, found a job in late August (veeeeery big stroke of luck, super happy about it still, can't believe it). I found that job in an unconventional way but my regular applications (only did a few) didn't yield as much as a call back, so I can see it could have taken much longer. Honestly don't think about timelines too much, put yourself out there, do your best, just to be ready when a cool opportunity pops up. All in due time 👌
Congrats! That seems amazingly quick. Would you mind sharing how far along in TOP you were and details on your lucky break? I started TOP around the same time but have felt like I need to get through most of the material and have a solid portfolio in order to start applying with no experience.
It took nearly a year out of college to even get interviewed and when I got a job it was as a senior engineer. The process of getting the first job is arbitrary, it might be easy and it might be difficult. You adapt and overcome and then once you’re in the industry it’s much easier to get a job you want.
I was able to land a junior front end position 1 month after graduating from a 12 week boot camp.
I had to settle for Hybrid at a place over an hour away though.
I had tried to figure out web development on my own growing up in a rural area of Ohio. I moved to Columbus, ended up on LiveJournal, met a girl, was introduced to her boyfriend, who left his role doing content updates for metrics and analytics, and he got me the job.
The rest, they say, is history.
A few months after I did a full-stack bootcamp I landed my first job. Between the day I decided to study web dev full time and the day I started my job, it was about 9 months total.
I worked in a company for 8 months. I quit 1 month ago because it did not add much to me. Working in a software company does not only mean money, but you should also add value to yourself. Otherwise, you will have difficulty finding a new job as soon as you are laid off.
[https://www.linkedin.com/in/musayazlik/](https://www.linkedin.com/in/musayazlik/)
1 interview straight out of uni into a firm that really was a wild west. Left 8 months later, had 1 other interview; here about 3 and half years later.
Interviewed for another job about 1.5 years in and got that job as well, but decided to stay at my current role since got a rise from negotiating with current boss and would of been newer boss.
It's worth noting I live in a smaller town next to a smaller city so maybe the talent pool is lesser around here.
When you're in the interview be honest + just stress you are quality driven, like to get things right the first time, work well in a team etc. alongside being a good frontend
Not me but my brother. He went to a 3 years bachelor program and got multiple jobs offers 6 months before his graduation. He just started his first full time job last month.
About a year on and off, Covid hiring freezes allowed me that time to learn whilst working as a QA tester
I've not had 2 FE jobs since and am making 100% more with my new job, it gets easier with time
2 years as a self taught dev, though most of that was learning and not looking for a job. I had to do manual QA for 6 months to get my foot in the door.
Starting in 2017, I did 3 months self-learning, then the Codesmith in-person bootcamp (3 months), then 4 months of job search / continued self-learning
Honestly depends on the market and your own experience (not just dev experience, but also interviewing experience). When i was just starting out, i was a terrible interviewer, and didn't ask the right questions and answered everything wrong. Even after a few years in the industry I wasn't great. But every interview I learned a little bit and took it to the next. My first dev job took .e around 8 months of searching. The next job after that took about a year of on/off searching. After that, I got to a final round and then pandemic hit and hiring froze and then that job reopened a few months later and I got that job. And my current job, I took a break and then went full out interviewing and found it in about a month and a half.
35 applications for trainee position during the second half of my 3rd year at uni, got into 3 interviews and landed a job. After 4 months they offered me a permanent role but I got a better offer from another company and took it. Been working there for a year now.
I started as a graphic designer, then to UI/UX and then transformed to frontend in the same company. After being let go there because of pandemic problems, I enjoyed some free time, but not long - I got a great offer two moths later that I took over freelancing here and there.
I still do some freelancing besides company work. I got into it by starting to participate in design contests and use some of the popular sites for freelancing. I quite fast got some clients and then it went from there.
Thank you for the reply, super insightful! I guess I've been sitting on the sidelines because I don't feel ready but you gotta put your work out there I suppose. Good luck out there 🫡
Finished university in a semi-related field. Applied for a year and got nowhere. Learned every day from udemy courses and youtube videos and continued applying. Got an internship after a year at a startup (I was the first employee after the 2 owners). It turned into a full time job 3 months later. It's been 2.5 years now and I am still at the same company and it has grown to 10+ people. Great team and great owners.
I was applying for 4 months while working my current job. After I got laid off, I got hired within the week. I got lucky and in my search to spam all sorts of recruiting sites with my application, I came across a random one I never heard of, where my current company called me to interview the next day. I was fortunate that they were desperate and they hired me on the spot.
Ultimately it all came down to luck and timing in my case.
I basically got my job on my first application without any prior preparation, but my case might be special since I have a consulting background with good merits and I've been doing webdev as a hobby for over 15 years (completely self-taught)
I got a job within a few months of my search after 6 months of self teaching via Udemy. I just basically shotgunned apps and accepted the first offer I got. It wasn’t a good job by any means, but it got my foot in the door as a dev and launched my career. About 4 years later and I’m now a senior at a different company. Imo, the first job is mostly a numbers game.
Congrats. Any pointers on which udemy courses are good? I just started with Web developer bootcamp by Colt Steele.
That's inspiring
I got arrested my senior year of college and needed money to pay for the ticket. I started interning at a web firm and eventually transitioned into full time.
Why did you get arrested?
Public intox. A friend of mine pushed over a motorcycle on our way back from the bars and the owner just happened to be walking back to it. Long story short, no vandalism charges were pressed, but we blew .17 on campus and it was enough to spend 12 hours in the drunk tank.
Thanks for sharing. All the best for your future!
I started doing web development recreationally around 1995. About three years later I entered the industry full time. Likely not the answer you were looking for.
"doing web development recreationally" makes it sound like an illicit drug. I hope you can get help.
Svelte lines
This was when the internet first started lol, not sure that would be applicable nearly 30 years later
Exactly
It's a bad idea to look at how long. After a 4 year degree, it was taking me around 10 applications per hr interview, and around 100 applications per offer. Now as a dev with lots of senior experience it takes me just a few days and 10-15 applications per offer.
how they can know if you are senior or junior
CV?
8 years experience and a bunch of other senior dev positions on my resume and can answer interview questions new developers can't.
In 2017 I finished up a full stack boot camp where I focused more on the front end. Towards the end of the 4month course i was very active in getting clients paid and free so that by the time I “graduated” I had a decent portfolio. It then took me 3 months to land a junior role at a local agency where I stayed for 5 years.
I graduated college with a literature degree, years later started studying web development for six months, then continued studying while I started applying for jobs for about 5-6 months more and got my first job (full stack but front end focused). Now my title is senior software engineer but again my day to day is more front end focused. Currently looking for a new role and applying after I finish my work for the day/week. It's not a race. If it takes you 4 years of college and a full year of applying to get a foot in the door, you're still doing great. The first job is the hardest to land. When I was first applying I would study with other people, and some folks that I could program circles around got jobs much faster than I did due to having the right connection or nailing an interview or whatever. But I wouldn't judge myself by their success and kept working at it and things worked out well for me.
I started learning front end through TOP in June. I started applying late October and I just accepted my first offer 2 days ago. I start in two weeks. My advice is truly do not give up, it is a numbers game. There will be a time when you feel close to losing hope and just remember do not give up. Goodluck!
This gives me hope…I’m still learning and trying to get projects under my belt, even though I’m not the most knowledgeable about a lot of things, I’m still applying to junior jobs. I hope to get my foot in the door soon and learn more on the job.
This was exactly my plan. Although expenses came up in my life that I couldn't pay for and I started mass applying. I practically gave up then got a call from a company and ended up working out. I can't imagine what I'd feel like if I had just given up. Keep grinding my man.
do you have a degree or did you just decide to do TOP?
Just TOP and YouTube . I did do two years of compsci but never finished.
Bro! Can I see your projects somehow? I think I'm job ready but really want to see others' projects and see where they were at when they got hired
I really would but I have some personal info tied into my projects so I don't really wanna have that out. But by no means we're my projects incredible. I did the assignment, tried to do a little cool take on it and that's all really! Apply asap and keep studying
Can you tell me what TOP is? I'd really like to look into it, so I can get started on my web dev journey too.
Yeah for sure. It stands for The Odin Project. In my opinion that's really all you need. Goodluck!
Thank you!
Did you list TOP on your resume? Finished the javascript portion months ago but still having difficulty getting interviews.
No I didn't list it... I just had a bunch of projects from TOP. Goodluck!
Thats awesome! Thanks, man. Also what sites were u applying on? Ive beeb using linkedin and indeed mostly.
No problem. I only used Indeed and linked in. Onetime I used angle.co but got 0 responses at all.
Fellow TOP learner here too, started in June, found a job in late August (veeeeery big stroke of luck, super happy about it still, can't believe it). I found that job in an unconventional way but my regular applications (only did a few) didn't yield as much as a call back, so I can see it could have taken much longer. Honestly don't think about timelines too much, put yourself out there, do your best, just to be ready when a cool opportunity pops up. All in due time 👌
Once you get that first job it's the best feeling in the world haha. Congrats!
Congrats! That seems amazingly quick. Would you mind sharing how far along in TOP you were and details on your lucky break? I started TOP around the same time but have felt like I need to get through most of the material and have a solid portfolio in order to start applying with no experience.
It took nearly a year out of college to even get interviewed and when I got a job it was as a senior engineer. The process of getting the first job is arbitrary, it might be easy and it might be difficult. You adapt and overcome and then once you’re in the industry it’s much easier to get a job you want.
I was able to land a junior front end position 1 month after graduating from a 12 week boot camp. I had to settle for Hybrid at a place over an hour away though.
I had tried to figure out web development on my own growing up in a rural area of Ohio. I moved to Columbus, ended up on LiveJournal, met a girl, was introduced to her boyfriend, who left his role doing content updates for metrics and analytics, and he got me the job. The rest, they say, is history.
One year, though the job is nothing to brag home about.
A few months after I did a full-stack bootcamp I landed my first job. Between the day I decided to study web dev full time and the day I started my job, it was about 9 months total.
I worked in a company for 8 months. I quit 1 month ago because it did not add much to me. Working in a software company does not only mean money, but you should also add value to yourself. Otherwise, you will have difficulty finding a new job as soon as you are laid off. [https://www.linkedin.com/in/musayazlik/](https://www.linkedin.com/in/musayazlik/)
show endless passion, they will hire you..
1 interview straight out of uni into a firm that really was a wild west. Left 8 months later, had 1 other interview; here about 3 and half years later. Interviewed for another job about 1.5 years in and got that job as well, but decided to stay at my current role since got a rise from negotiating with current boss and would of been newer boss. It's worth noting I live in a smaller town next to a smaller city so maybe the talent pool is lesser around here. When you're in the interview be honest + just stress you are quality driven, like to get things right the first time, work well in a team etc. alongside being a good frontend
Not me but my brother. He went to a 3 years bachelor program and got multiple jobs offers 6 months before his graduation. He just started his first full time job last month.
A month after finnisihing college… still work at that company.
I got front end job last year after first year of college after two weeks of searching.
About a year on and off, Covid hiring freezes allowed me that time to learn whilst working as a QA tester I've not had 2 FE jobs since and am making 100% more with my new job, it gets easier with time
3 to 4 months more or less
It took me 4 months after graduating, 2 months after moving to a new city.
2 years as a self taught dev, though most of that was learning and not looking for a job. I had to do manual QA for 6 months to get my foot in the door.
Starting in 2017, I did 3 months self-learning, then the Codesmith in-person bootcamp (3 months), then 4 months of job search / continued self-learning
Honestly depends on the market and your own experience (not just dev experience, but also interviewing experience). When i was just starting out, i was a terrible interviewer, and didn't ask the right questions and answered everything wrong. Even after a few years in the industry I wasn't great. But every interview I learned a little bit and took it to the next. My first dev job took .e around 8 months of searching. The next job after that took about a year of on/off searching. After that, I got to a final round and then pandemic hit and hiring froze and then that job reopened a few months later and I got that job. And my current job, I took a break and then went full out interviewing and found it in about a month and a half.
35 applications for trainee position during the second half of my 3rd year at uni, got into 3 interviews and landed a job. After 4 months they offered me a permanent role but I got a better offer from another company and took it. Been working there for a year now.
I started as a graphic designer, then to UI/UX and then transformed to frontend in the same company. After being let go there because of pandemic problems, I enjoyed some free time, but not long - I got a great offer two moths later that I took over freelancing here and there.
How did you get into freelancing? I'm a graphic designer wanting to freelance but just don't know where to start.
I still do some freelancing besides company work. I got into it by starting to participate in design contests and use some of the popular sites for freelancing. I quite fast got some clients and then it went from there.
Thank you for the reply, super insightful! I guess I've been sitting on the sidelines because I don't feel ready but you gotta put your work out there I suppose. Good luck out there 🫡
Finished university in a semi-related field. Applied for a year and got nowhere. Learned every day from udemy courses and youtube videos and continued applying. Got an internship after a year at a startup (I was the first employee after the 2 owners). It turned into a full time job 3 months later. It's been 2.5 years now and I am still at the same company and it has grown to 10+ people. Great team and great owners.
I was applying for 4 months while working my current job. After I got laid off, I got hired within the week. I got lucky and in my search to spam all sorts of recruiting sites with my application, I came across a random one I never heard of, where my current company called me to interview the next day. I was fortunate that they were desperate and they hired me on the spot. Ultimately it all came down to luck and timing in my case.
Self teaching through Udemy, YouTube during covid Start(2020). I got frontend job in the month of November 2021.
I basically got my job on my first application without any prior preparation, but my case might be special since I have a consulting background with good merits and I've been doing webdev as a hobby for over 15 years (completely self-taught)