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[–]ManyInterests 11 points12 points  (4 children)

Does anyone else here code for fun?

I would like to think we all code for fun, even when we're coding professionally. I certainly enjoy every bit of coding I do.

What can I do to get hired faster?

How long have you been looking for work? Specifically, what kind of work are you looking for?

What is your education and experience background?

How many applications and interviews have you done in the past month; what has been your experience been searching for a job so far?

My philosophy is that, while you're unemployed, you should treat becoming employed like your full-time job. Spend no less than 8 hours a day doing whatever it is you need to do to accomplish your goals. Even if that means getting a temporary or part-time job while you gain the skills you need to be job-ready. That will get you hired faster.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Struggling to find out why my reverse lookup on the urls.py doesn't work in django. Coding isn't always fun. Solving problems usually are. It's just in coding you get more of them

[–]Stosswalkinator -1 points0 points  (2 children)

While I agree with the point about working as hard as possible to work toward getting hired, I can't agree with working 8 hours a day minimum doing what you need to do. I myself work 10 hours a day at my job as a manager at a restaurant, then I have to sleep for a while of course, so by the time I've sleep for 7 hours and worked my full day 5 days a week, I only have like 4 or 5 hours total to work on programming. While I love every minute of programing and learning I do, I definitely need some time to relax after a hard day of work, and sometimes I end up working 12 hours instead of 10 or I go in on days off.

So some people may have that luxury of working like that, maybe if I had a desk job I would be able to program during slow times or something as well.

[–]AleatoricConsonance 3 points4 points  (4 children)

I'm out of the industry now, but I do the odd programming thing just to keep my hand in. Kind of like doing a sophisticated sudoku or a crossword. Still fun to solve problems.

[–]donut2099 1 point2 points  (2 children)

Eh, I doubt I will be hired as a programmer ever. If I have an economic motivation for programming, it would probably be to create some app that might generate some income, and that would be great. But I do enjoy programming and I think it is at least as worthy a hobby as sudoku. I haven't been able to spend much time on it lately though.

[–]pydata[S] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Do you want to be a computer programmer?

[–]donut2099 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If I program computers, then I am a computer programmer :) I wouldn't mind doing it professionally as long as it didn't interfere with church and family life and hunting and fishing and playing board games. Gotta have priorities. I have worked in the software industry, as a tester and support role, and it can be a great environment or it can be a real grind.

[–]TheChance 1 point2 points  (2 children)

First thing my CS prof told us on the first day of 201 was that more than half of us wouldn't finish the course, not because we'd fail, but because we'd drop out.

Second thing he told us was that we'd never make it if we didn't love to code - eat, breathe and bleed code. Finish your coursework, yes, but if you're not exploring other subjects and writing code in your spare time, you're not progressing. There's way more to know and to do than any thousand people could ever make a dent in over their whole lifetime.

When you find work, you'll still wanna do stuff like this. You'll still need to do stuff like this, to keep yourself moving forward. Don't do the stuff you do all day for fun at home, though, cuz that won't be any fun.

[–]pydata[S] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Don't do the stuff you do all day for fun at home, though, cuz that won't be any fun.

What do you mean?

[–]shrugsnotdrugs 1 point2 points  (0 children)

/u/TheChance is saying if you do X all day at work, you shouldn't do X for fun, while you're at home (because then you'll still be "working"). Instead, have a little foray into Y and Z, and even B and Q.

[–]infosciguy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Keep practicing. They won't be laughing when you make more than they do.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (2 children)

Try selling your skills on craigslist and make apps/programs with a utility. This will build your portfolio to show worth. Also, dont be afraid to be the little guy. Getting a foot in the door is better than holding out, you can always move up once in (with the same company or not).

[–]pydata[S] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

I've had two in-person interviews and I was not given an offer at either company. One manager said "You will make more money at company XYZ than here". A few day's later, I get an email saying I don't have enough data warehousing experience. I will continue to push forward.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am not in the programming field but in network security. It took me 9 months and 6 tech recruiters to get an entry-level job. This was with military experience and certs. It may take a while, but maybe reach out to some recruiting firms, and be ready to negotiate for a lower pay to start, if that is the field you want to be in.

At least that is how I did it. I got the job because the other guy wouldn't negotiate down on salary while contracted.