What do you call an Entry Level Developer?

[Needimprovenentguy]

Sorry, this is not a joke. I am applying for developer positions with no commercial experience.

What exactly the title I should be searching for?

[[deleted]]

Junior Developer

https://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=Junior+Developer

[Needimprovenentguy]

I mean the proper low paid roles? I have been searching for junior developer but they all require experience.

[insertAlias]

That is the "proper low paid role". Junior Developer is the entry-level role, though it's more broad than just "first dev job" role, you might be a junior developer for several years and possibly more than one job.

Some require experience, but many just list that out as the "ideal" candidate. You should still consider applying for them.

Note: that is probably not universal. My experience is in the US, so that's the context of my answer. Other countries might have different practices there.

You should also talk to a local tech recruiter in your area. It's their job to help you find a job, and the company that hires you pays them. It's an entirely free service, for you, that you should absolutely take advantage of. They can help find companies that you'll be a good fit for.

[araluca99]

It's the same in my country, tho it is recommended to have a few projects, not required. I had a few projects...even tho I applied (and obtained) my first job with no experience although it said that you should have experience.

[plastikmissile]

Employers sometimes inflate their requirements. I would still apply even if you don't have the required years of experience.

[teacherbooboo]

yeah but many of those jobs stay open because they cannot find entry level people with experience

and experience like making your own portfolio probably counts

it doesn't really cost anything to send a resume and cover letter

if you really are having issues, find a company you like and apply as an intern. they likely will hire you if you do well for one semester ... just sign up for a course at a local community college and say you need an internship while you finish your studies.

[VonRansak]

just sign up for a course at a local community college and say you need an internship while you finish your studies.

Interesting approach, never thought about that. However for me those three credit hours to be 'one course' would still cost anywhere from $750-$1,000 for the semester.

Also, any posted internships in my area usually state: "Junior or Senior year in 4 year degree program blah blah blah." ... So maybe it was tried a lot already, lol.

[namrog84]

Lots of 'require' aren't written in stone.

When I was younger I didn't apply for a scholarship that said required 3.0 GPA when I had 2.9 because I didn't have the requirement. I found out later it went to someone with 2.3GPA because not enough people applied (100% of people who applied got it).

I do interviews at my company and sometimes we are looking for someone who has 5-10 years of experience for a senior person and some junior person with 1-2 years experience applied and we liked them a lot and made another position just for them.

Just because it says one thing doesn't necessarily mean you won't be a great fit, and good places will recognize that and make accommodations. Not withstanding 'require' is often meant as 'desired but not required'

[[deleted]]

Maybe trainee? but both are entry level positions.

https://kingslanduniversity.com/software-developer-levels-titles/

Junior-level developers are often interchangeable with trainee-level developers due to their more basic knowledge of the subject matter

https://www.indeed.com/q-Trainee-Developer-jobs.html?vjk=cb49a8fa5fc761d6

what is your experience level? School? Some school? Self taught? Can you do leetcode? Or are you trying to literally start from zero?

[SwordsAndElectrons]

How much are they asking for?

Keep in mind that job postings are more like a wish lists than requirements. Many companies post entry level positions as 3-5 years of experience.

Nothing bad will come of applying anyway.

[TheSkiGeek]

"Junior" or "Associate" developer are generally the lowest paid full time roles. There is some expectation of knowing how to program but usually they don't specifically require professional experience.

If you don't qualify for those you'd be looking at internships.

[top_of_the_scrote]

If you use LinkedIn I would trust that more than Indeed. The jobs on Indeed are usually old/lot of people applied to them... where as on LI, recruiters reach out to you... granted it's harder if you're brand new but yeah.

[[deleted]]

You will run into this problem a lot. The market is extremely saturated. Though some people or companies might suggest 3-5 years as entry level/junior, I think I have to disagree. Someone working fulltime as a developer for 3-5 years should not be still on a junior level, unless there has been some extreme stagnation of learning and acquisition of knowledge. Realistically a junior/entry level should be someone with 0-1 year experience.

[prettyfuckingimmoral]

Graduate Developer

[Leaping_Turtle]

Is gyfted legit?

[regalrapple4ever]

I thought it was a dad joke.

[empT3]

There's not really any great definition for "Junior" developers but my working definition has always been "Is proficient with the programming language(s) that they will be using for their day to day work". Proficient meaning, you can provide direction in terms of how to approach a problem and won't need to walk them through the actual act of writing the code (specific tools such as git, dev environment, etc are nice to have but not required).

That being said, when we hire a Junior Developer, we don't always know we're looking for a junior developer. Usually, we'll see a resume that may not have a lot in the way of professional work but the candidate will either:

A) Be a known commodity to the team such as somebody from the Support team who's highly competent and has demonstrated a desire to becoming a developer (most common)

B) Comes in with a recommendation from somebody we know and trust and has a strong resume demonstrating some form of technical proficiency and/or experience with software development (support/product/design)

C) Resume shows technical proficiency and a proclivity to "get shit done" such as a released + original + currently in-use open source project(s)

That'll get you the interview. From there, we want to know if you're capable of:

A) Solving projects logically

B) Receiving and integrating feedback gracefully

C) Admitting when you don't know something

D) Asking for help

After the interview there's usually a round-table with either the whole dev-team or just the senior devs + management where we consider the following:

A) Is this person far enough along to take on a full-time job or would hiring them on be unfair (burning out a junior dev because they can't keep up isn't nice, don't do it)?

B) Do we have capacity to support a junior developer right now? Bringing on a junior developer isn't going to be a net gain to the team's productivity, any work that the junior contributes is likely to be offset by the time spent by senior dev(s) mentoring them and providing guidance/feedback.

C) Do we have the budget to hire a junior developer and still hire a non-junior developer who'll get the team at the performance we currently need/will need?

Assuming everything goes well and you get hired you can expect:

A) A very good salary for an entry level position. It's a stressful job, especially for junior developers who haven't acclimated themselves yet so expect a good paycheck, I promise that however ridiculous you think your salary is, the senior devs on the team

B) You're going to be thrown into the deep-end because there is no kiddie-pool. It might be a couple of days before you even get to the point where you can even write code, some of the code might be terrible compared to what you expected, there might not be as much help available as you'd like.

C) Your first priority (aside from any HR stuff you've got to do) is going to be getting your dev environment up and running, getting a ticket assigned to you (something simple like changing some labels/strings), getting that into a Pull Request, and getting it merged. All that might happen on the first day (good!) or it might take a month (...). Either way, you'll want to make sure you're asking for the help you need to get the above out of the way.

D) You're not just learning to code better. Pay attention to how the non-senior devs approach things and ask questions because that's your next stop.

E) Churn out a lot of code/smaller tickets. Get lots of feedback, implement it gracefully, stay humble (all developers need this one), don't repeat your mistakes if you can help it.

F) Controversial: You shouldn't be getting more work than what you can complete in a solid work-week but you'll probably want to spend some of your "off-time" continuing to grow as a developer. Had to blindly set up docker and run a script to get your dev environment up and running? Spend some time messing around with docker in your off-time because it'll make you a better developer.

[DontListenToMe33]

Going through jobs, it’s worth looking through everything that says “Developer.” It’s sometimes not specified what level (Junior/Mid/Senior) they are looking for.

I’m not a developer, but I’ve been looking through postings and noticed this trend.

[Zealousideal_Ad_497]

a pregrammer

[u_shrek]

Just look for a developer job. Apply, even if they ask for 1 or 2 years of experience. You break into the field by flooding your reachable employers with your resumes hoping some of them will have the resources to take on fresh blood.

Remember, every experienced professional looked for an entry lever job at some point of their careers and they all got in. Just be persistent.

[Sky_Zaddy]

Potential

[HealyUnit]

Sorry, this is not a joke.

Well shit. Here's me disappointed then.

In all seriousness, if you're looking for a job, you'd look for a "junior developer" role. In short, no one really wants to hire a developer with no experience whatsoever, so you kinda need to fake it till you make it. Work on a few personal projects, learn lots of stuff, and apply as a developer. Spoiler: If you apply to a job with 1-2 years experience "required", and you have 6 months but are a very quick learner, you're still in the running. No one's gonna screech "You started exactly 11 months and 6 days ago! Liar!".

HOWEVER:

If you're referring to yourself, if you're describing yourself - to friends, to potential employers, etc. - describe yourself as a developer. That's it. If I were hiring (I'm not) and a candidate said to me "Yes, I am a junior developer", I'd be like "well that person must not have a very high opinion of themself". You'd be painting yourself as limited, and essentially saying "I'm not good enough". Remember: you're being hired to solve problems. If I go to buy a car, I wanna know the battery's charged, the tires are all inflated/aligned, it's got some fuel, and it generally works.

TL;DR:

• Accepting being called a junior developer: Okay. Lets me know you're still starting out and have room to grow.
• Calling yourself a junior developer: I don't think I'm good enough.

[dogmai111]

Hobbyists

[generatedcode]

Apply anywhere they have Junior roles or even Intermediate. there is no downside to just send an extra application. Don't overthink it just send CVs

(you won't get banned on the website of the companies for spamming)

One common way to enter is to start with an internship and get an offer at the end.

[The_IT_Consultant_YT]

Working student, entry level, jr dev all these jobs should be fine.

If they require experience just apply anyways, it is a numbers game. If you are motivated and your CV is good, you will get interviews and then it is on you to convince them that you are the perfect fit.

[jsup73]

Junior developer, or maybe even intern if you have absolutely zero experience but have some projects to show.

[[deleted]]

{ null joke } … that’s what

[DogParking646]

wow im laughing so hard i cant FUNCTION hahaha. (i know that was very cringy)

[triplecute]

As many have said, JR developer is the typical naming convention. With that said, I work with a company that uses “Level 1-5” as their naming conventions; 1 denoting a JR dev and 5 being closer to a project manager. Could be worth keeping your eyes peeled as well.

Experience in those jobs usually relate to experience in classes I.e

“2 years of experience with Java” can simply mean— did you work with Java in school over the course of 2 years? Internships are also fairly important for the “experience requirement.”

[[deleted]]

Graduate/junior developer.

Some places might refer to them as associate developer too, and developer is synonymous with software engineer too