Getting a job in Software Development today
Day 196 / 366
The job market in software took a nosedive at the beginning of 2023 and has never recovered since. Even for people with 2–3 years of experience, things are really bad because of the reduced funding and the increased demand caused by the layoffs. But for the freshers, the situation is even worse.
I have lots of people coming to me asking for tips on how to start their career in software, and I thought I could compile some of the advise that I have given to them in a blog post.
Start building projects
No amount of books, courses, or tutorials would add anything significant to your resume. But a few projects, be it some freelance projects or just hobby projects would make your resume stand out as a fresher. This tells the recruiter that you have hands-on experience with the tech as well, not just theoretical knowledge.
There are lots of easy projects you can start with. Streamlit in Python is a good framework to build some simple projects quickly. Make sure to create a GitHub profile, add your projects to it, and add a link to the GitHub profile on your resume.
Solve coding questions daily
I am totally against the use of Data Structure and Algorithm questions in the interview process for coders, but the sad reality is that it is the industry standard. And in this tough job market, if you want to get a job you would have to clear a few technical rounds.
So make an account on Hackerrank or Leetcode and start solving 5 questions daily. The important thing is to practice how to write code from scratch without relying on Google, since in most rounds you won’t be able to google things.
Ignore the AI Doomsayers
I have seen many freshers afraid that there is no point in pursuing a career in software since AI is going to take all of those jobs soon. Even if that might happen sometime in the future, it’s not going to happen anytime soon. People said in January last year that all the coding jobs would be gone in 8 months. Yet, 20 months later, AI has not even created a noticeable dent in the software job scene.
AI will definitely change how code is written. While experienced devs like me might have a hard time changing our ways and adapting to it, you as freshers have the advantage of starting learning from scratch. So embrace AI, don’t be afraid of it.