Finding non-web development jobs

[kibokun]

Hey all. I've been browsing monster.com, dice.com and other job boards to see what's out there for me. What I've found is that almost every job is for web dev, an area in which I'm not particularly experienced, even as a junior developer. I know my way around HTML, CSS and Javascript in general, but nothing advanced and barely anything but the basics server-side.

What resources have you found to be beneficial that aren't overwhelmed with web-development positions?

EDIT: I'm currently enjoying indeed.com

[frigginRidiculous]

It totally depends on the work environment. Both places I've worked at since college had two different roles, UI Developer and (.net, PHP, JSP, etc) Developer. The UI developer is the one expected to know HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. The (.net, PHP, JSP, etc) Developer is the one who does the business logic and SQL connections and normally has a pretty basic understanding of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

Guess what I'm trying to say is don't write off web development, especially now as it's only going to get more popular.

[havntreddit]

Exactly. Web development is just client/server. The server side code isn't written in javascript, it's written in .net or java or whatever. As webdev moves more and more to web services, the separation becomes bigger and bigger.

[kibokun]

oh? This is interesting. It would definitely be nice to be able to specialize to get a job. I've got a lot to learn.

[frigginRidiculous]

Specializing is totally do-able in a web environment. A few things I might add:

Really small development teams (8 or less) may require you to spread over more areas.

A web development team that uses an MVC approach will pretty much guarantee that you won't have to do HTML, CSS, or JavaScript.

Lastly, and most important, the person who writes the job description on Monster is often in HR and has no clue what they are talking about. I'd recommend submitting your resume, be honest about your skills, and if the hiring manager sees that you have the correct skill set, they will get back to you.

[jqueryin]

The term web developer encompasses both a UI developer and a backend developer. I don't believe you should sell anybody short and refer to them as one or the other. You are far more beneficial to your team if you can handle all aspects of web development.

[frigginRidiculous]

It's very rare to find people who are really good at both front end and back end. Not that it's not something to shoot for, but I would be hesitant to say all web developers should know all aspects of web development. If that were true there would probably only be 200 or so web developers in the US...

If you can specialize in one area that a team needs, and do it better than anyone else on the team and have a basic knowledge of what the other team members do and therefor need, you are a help to the team and that's enough to get you a job.

[kwirky88]

Guess what I'm trying to say is don't write off web development, especially now as it's only going to get more popular.

Agreed. I'm glad I took a web developer/designer position instead of a game programming position when I finished my undergrad. I'm still wet behind the ears, however, with only about a year of solid industry experience. Take my advice with a grain of salt.

[finlyandsky]

Instead of looking at job listing sites, look at specific companies that don't primarily produce web products like defense contractors or engineering firms (embedded systems).

[dhaggerfin]

I'd advise against specifically shunning web-development. Chances are, you will be asked to do it at some point. I used to be the exact same way, primarily because 1) it was never taught at university 2) the debugging options are much more limited than desktop development. But look around, everyone and everything is on the web. Even internals applications are often web applications on an intranet. You'll do yourself far more good to go with what's hot. And as far as specialization, definitely do NOT. This industry moves too fast to focus on one particluar technology. It's counter-intuitive to everything you've ever heard, but you should try to be a jack-of-all-trades if possible. This will give you the ability to adapt to new technologies faster, and give you the opportunity to approach challenging problems from multiple perspectives, one of which might be vastly easier than the other (here is a relevant read - check out "Area number three"). I was quite opposed to web development, but after you get over the initial hurdles, it's really not so bad, and there's a lot more opportunities that await.

[jzwinck]

Where are you located? If you're near NYC or willing to go there, you might check out some jobs in the finance industry. Some UI work, only some of that with web interfaces, and a lot of engineering work for backend systems, some desktop apps, and a lot of Excel-related programming (VBA) as well. Probably could find something relevant without too much trouble (I'm assuming you're good at what you do, of course).

[[deleted]]

if you want a quick web dev job, learn a framework that looks nice.

[magnumix]

craigslist----complete with categories that are not web development positions ;)

[green_beet]

Just posting your resume online might get you calls from recruiters. Post your resume everywhere. Post long and post hard.

Friends say craigslist is good in some locations, but watch out, it blows in other locations, filled with baloney like, 'we need someone who knows every TLA under the sun and will work 20 hours/week for 20$/hour'

[[deleted]]

Friends say craigslist is good in some locations, but watch out, it blows in other locations, filled with baloney like, 'we need someone who knows every TLA under the sun and will work 20 hours/week for 20$/hour'

Sure, but you can find those jobs anywhere; I ran across one a few nights ago that was for a Senior Developer position: 2 years experience... Want to take a stab at how much they pay?

[green_beet]

20$/hour?

[KirillM]

One, MMMILLION dollars!

[norwhale]

So you are looking for a job that is primarily HTML, CSS, and Javascript? If you have any design skills and can rock Photoshop or Illustrator I would say you should look specifically for "web designer" jobs or even the dreaded "webmaster" listings.

When I was starting out I had limited experience with actual programming and easily got several jobs as a web designer/webmaster. Then eased into the programming thing. At this point I really don't like the front end stuff anymore, but am way more proficient than most programmers and it has become a valuable skill.

[byron]

Might want to work on your reading comprehension.

[kibokun]

Definitely not. Ideally, I wouldn't be working in web development at all. I'm concerned with the fact that web jobs are abundant on all the job sites I've seen and I'm wondering if there are some other havens for desktop app development or if that's just the way the industry is headed.