(This is a snapshot of my old weblog. New posts and selected republished essays can be found at raganwald.com.)
Friday, July 16, 2004
How to get your first job developing software
HumbleCoder asked:
In my experience, good developers love to write code. In fact, the very best developers don't know how to "not write code". When they were in high school, they wrote MUDs in Basic (well, that's what they did in the 80s). When they were in college, they developed Perl and Tcl scripts that scanned Usenet for updates to threads of interest. Even if they hold a "lowly" summer job working in a computer store, they have a Linux system at home running Apache and mod_perl or PHP.
Even after they get paying jobs working 70 hours a week, good developers can't stop coding. For example, Phil Greenspun started Ars Digita, yet he wrote lots of free tools on his home server (I use two of them on my own weblog). Paul Graham ran Franz and Viaweb (now Yahoo! Stores), yet he is busy developing a new language, Arc. In my own case, I was busy as a consultant in the early nineties but couldn't help writing a PDA application and a dynamic web service "on the side".
When I am asked how an inexperienced person can get their foot in the door, I give two pieces of advice:
First, I tell them to just start writing code. If they don't know what to write, I don't suggest anything specific, I just tell them that they should pick stuff they enjoy, using tools they like. It isn't important to use the latest "industry standard" tools or work on something "commercial".
Second, I tell them to think in terms of a "portfolio" instead of a "résumé". Even if they don't take a physical portfolio to job interviews, their résumé or cover letter should include an appendix with samples of their work. If an inexperienced person wants to stand out from the crowd, screen shots, links, and code snippets will appeal to a technical hiring manager.
Is any of this guaranteed? No. Some companies hire HR people that are not qualified to tell the difference between a talented candidate who compiles and builds their own development environment at home and a mediocre college graduate that didn't expand their own horizons.
I personally wouldn't want to work for a company that gives significant authority over its intellectual property to such an HR person, but not everyone is as picky as I am :-)
HumbleCoder asked:
I've seen a number of people recommend doing programming work for free in order to gain experience. This can involve either volunteer work for a local charity or school, or working as an intern for a for-profit corporation. I'm not sure if this actually works or not, so I am wondering if anyone out there can comment on this strategy for getting experience. Email me if you have used this technique to help you land a first job.I have been hiring developers for almost a decade, and one of the things I look for is a habit of writing free or nearly free software.
In my experience, good developers love to write code. In fact, the very best developers don't know how to "not write code". When they were in high school, they wrote MUDs in Basic (well, that's what they did in the 80s). When they were in college, they developed Perl and Tcl scripts that scanned Usenet for updates to threads of interest. Even if they hold a "lowly" summer job working in a computer store, they have a Linux system at home running Apache and mod_perl or PHP.
Even after they get paying jobs working 70 hours a week, good developers can't stop coding. For example, Phil Greenspun started Ars Digita, yet he wrote lots of free tools on his home server (I use two of them on my own weblog). Paul Graham ran Franz and Viaweb (now Yahoo! Stores), yet he is busy developing a new language, Arc. In my own case, I was busy as a consultant in the early nineties but couldn't help writing a PDA application and a dynamic web service "on the side".
When I am asked how an inexperienced person can get their foot in the door, I give two pieces of advice:
First, I tell them to just start writing code. If they don't know what to write, I don't suggest anything specific, I just tell them that they should pick stuff they enjoy, using tools they like. It isn't important to use the latest "industry standard" tools or work on something "commercial".
Second, I tell them to think in terms of a "portfolio" instead of a "résumé". Even if they don't take a physical portfolio to job interviews, their résumé or cover letter should include an appendix with samples of their work. If an inexperienced person wants to stand out from the crowd, screen shots, links, and code snippets will appeal to a technical hiring manager.
Is any of this guaranteed? No. Some companies hire HR people that are not qualified to tell the difference between a talented candidate who compiles and builds their own development environment at home and a mediocre college graduate that didn't expand their own horizons.
I personally wouldn't want to work for a company that gives significant authority over its intellectual property to such an HR person, but not everyone is as picky as I am :-)
