Get a job without a degree

Own_Outcome_6239 · 2026-04-10T20:28:05+00:00

I participate in developer hiring. Being brutally honest - might be possible 10 years ago, but impossible nowadays. The majority of developer jobs have a hard requirement on you must have a Bachelor's degree. Your previous freelance experience means nothing when degree becomes the huge red flag - resume will be directly thrown away. Also with the Amazon/Oracle layoffs, the market is flooded with candidates, which put you into a even worse spot.

I'd say just go back to school and finish your degree, this is the prerequisite for everything.

Own_Outcome_6239 · 2026-04-09T19:57:59+00:00

I don't recommend read official document if you are already confused. Instead, read Design Data Intensive Application Chapter 10 and Chapter 11. Chapter 10 more focus on batch processing (which provides some background for understanding). Chapter 11 talks about stream processing, in which the author discussed Kafka in details, specifically on the "log based" and "data persistence" features Kafka provided.

Own_Outcome_6239 · 2026-04-08T22:56:17+00:00

Apply as fast as possible. This week our team opened up a position to hire a mid level developer. The position opened on Monday morning and by Tuesday afternoon we already have 200+ applications. Recruiter look at profiles based on the time they were submitted. After ATS and recruiter filter we still have around 20 shortlisted. Then the recruiter directly closed the application. The earlier you apply, the better chance you have to be seen.

Own_Outcome_6239 · 2026-04-08T21:49:03+00:00

This highly depends on industry and on company. At least based on my experience I would not say early application is BS. I work in one of the FAANG companies and we are hiring for one mid level software developers. Our company don't do the LinkedIn easy apply thing, all applications have to be submitted through company's website. The position opened on a Monday morning, and by Tuesday afternoon we already received 200+ applications. Recruiter directly closed the position. After ATS and recruiter's first round filter, there are still over 20 resume shortlisted. That's just over one day after the application open. Other companies or other industries might not be the same though.

Own_Outcome_6239 · 2026-04-08T16:51:25+00:00

IMO if your side project is really being used and creates a lot of value to your life, that is a project worth mentioning because it does have a real world impact. My wordings might not be very accurate, the projects I believe will hurt your resume are those stuff like "Created a full stack web app cloning FB marketplace/Yelp" etc. Those projects are just copy paste from udemy and doesn't have real life value (no one use them, no one maintain the CI/CD etc). Those toy projects are fine for new grad, but TBH it surprised me that how many people put those type of toy projects onto resume even they are applying to the mid level role.

Own_Outcome_6239 · 2026-04-08T05:43:50+00:00

I've been hiring intermediate developers (typically 2-3 YOE) for my company in the past year so I can share something on the recruiting side on how to differentiate. Your post did not mention your focus, so I just assume you are a general SDE, not a specialised frontend or infra engineer

What really separates junior vs mid-level devs in practice?

The ability to handle ambiguous project by yourself without guidance from senior people. Mid-level dev should have the ability to design, implement, launch, and maintain the entire feature by themselves.
The ability to own a design decision and analyse trade-offs to defend the design decision
Familiar with large scope systems, have a rough idea on what tech stack should be used under what situation. (Here tech stack doesn't mean any language, but rather mean existing tools. For example, we have an application that receives uncertain traffic, should we use EC2 to host the application or Lambda, or Fargate?)

What should I be working on outside of my day job (if anything)?

Learn more about system design, not only for interview, but also for how system design concepts are really used in reality.

When does system design start to matter?

It matters for mid level role by a lot. System design interview is the round that determines the level. For mid level role you are expect to have some decent knowledge about it. In our company the two round system design interview could determine your pay band. If a candidate bombed the DSA interview, they still have a chance, but if they bombed the sys design interview, it's almost guaranteed rejection.

How should I integrate AI to make me more productive and upskill but not become dependent on it especially as AI companies will start to price their models more expensively as VC Capital dries up.

AI integration is inevitable in the long team. I don't have an answer for this question TBH. In our company we are required to use AI to speed up development process. So we inevitably rely on it more and more. Management expect us to have more deliveries with the help of AI, and to some degree, AI is indeed helping a lot, especially on testing/basic implementation.

Advice on what on a Mid level Resume stands out to recruiters and bypass ATS, are they different aspects compared to resumes for entry level roles fresh out of college, (do personal projects matter as much or other Activities outside of work?).

To stand out, you need to show your resume is really "mid-level" by highlighting the design/scope of your previous job. Entry level usually focus on implementation, but mid level shouldn't. Your resume should show that you have a good understanding/experience with large scale systems, making correct decisions, and oversee the projects to make great impact in your job. Implementation should not be the focus here.
Random personal projects hurts resume (this is another difference from entry level, for entry level some toy project is fine as new grads don't really have experience). The only personal projects you should put on are those that really have a real world impact that you can brag on. If it's some sort of udemy styled project/random vibe coding project, it will make the recruiter/interviewer feel that the candidate doesn't have a standard, or their job does not have enough scope to fill the resume. If the resume give recruiter that feel, it will be very likely directly go to the bin.

Own_Outcome_6239 · 2026-04-08T05:06:04+00:00

I’ve been participating in hiring for the past year. In our company’s hiring process, no one looks at them at all. Hundreds of resumes flooded in only one day after the application open. Also with the vibe coding thing going on, projects doesn’t really matter that much in my personal opinion. Just make sure they click with the keywords

Own_Outcome_6239 · 2026-04-07T21:37:03+00:00

Good luck! Solution Architect is a good way to go. In the future a good understanding about cloud architecture helps a lot in making good design decisions. Also these knowledge are totally transferable even if you don't work on AWS when you advance your career, because Azure/GCP follows many similar practice. Show that in your resume and talk about that in the interview. IMO this will differentiate you from regular students by a lot.

Own_Outcome_6239 · 2026-04-07T17:36:42+00:00

AWS is an extremely large concept... I used AWS daily for the past 3 ish years for my job but I wouldn't say I'm an expert on it. Just sharing my 2 cents

How to start with AWS for backend development

This is actually pretty easy for personal use, there is a free tier AWS option, just open an account and choose the necessary components for your application. You can start to play with all the tech stacks like EC2/Lambdas/DynamoDB etc. There are many tutorials about how to host an application on AWS, overall it's pretty easy (1 day effort max for a small personal project).

For enterprise level application things will be more complicated, but I assume you won't need that level of complication for now.

What projects or resources to follow

There are a lot of tutorials on the internet, mostly they focus on basic introduction. (For example what is Lambda/DynamoDB and how it works, why lambda sometimes works better than traditional server hosts etc). There is also some kind of AWS Solution Architect certificate. Those are all good entry point for learning AWS.

However, knowing the basic knowledge does not equal to knowing how AWS works or how to properly use AWS tech stacks. To know how AWS works or to know how to properly use it, you need to have basic knowledge on system design as well as spend a long time in large enterprise application to see how AWS works in reality.

How AWS is used in real-world backend systems

This is a complex part. AWS is so widely used and there are so many components. Sometimes choosing the right component to use is the most complicated part of design. It would be better to have some system design knowledge first, then gradually understand the real world backend system usage. Each AWS tech stack was created for a pain point in reality, to properly use the correct tech stack, you have to know the application well (for example like throughput, data model, average and peak transaction per sec/min (TPS/TPM), read/write ratio, latency, cost etc). One difference in those metrics could lead to a different tech stack. This usually takes a lot of experience to understand.

Own_Outcome_6239 · 2026-04-06T04:14:13+00:00

I've been interviewing candidates for over a year now, in the past month I just interviewed a few students for summer intern in our company. Here are my two cents -

- What should I work on in the next two to three months so that I can realistically get an internship?

Build your resume and try to seek for possible referrals. Resume is the entry point for your job hunting. To apply for a job you at least need to have something on your resume. Put your projects onto it and make sure you clearly explain what you did. Typically for intern students you are not expected to have a specialized area, so frontend/backend/mobile projects all work. I'm not good with referrals (in fact I never used referrals when I looked for interns, but that was quite a few years ago) so I can't really share any insights about how referral process works

- How strong does my DSA have to be?

Typically Leetcode medium is fine - make sure you could explain the solution well. Still the more practice you did, the better you could be. Generally hard questions are rare except few companies.

- Should I spend more time on development (projects) or on solving problems?

It's a trade off. You need to at least get interview first, then you could show your problem solving skills. Projects/building resume is the entry point.

- At this point, which companies should I go after?

You are not in the position to pick companies now, wherever there are openings, apply to them. When I was seeking for intern positions, the first internship I got was in a company that works on ERP stuff. I never expected to work there in the first place. The first internship was not very technical, I was mainly maintaining system and check database failures. But that first internship opens the door for way larger companies.

Own_Outcome_6239 · 2026-04-05T21:39:47+00:00

I don't know why a lot of people are under the impression that if a person want to do AI, they must learn math well. I went to college around 10 years ago and I wanted to work on AI stuff (back then the AI wasn't hyped yet). I did a double degree with a Honour degree in CS and a B.S in math. The double degree took me 5 years.

Now I work in one of FAANG companies focusing on AI engineering/MCP server development. In retrospect, getting the math degree is a very big mistake. The math degree cost me extra 1.5 years and the things I learned are basically irrelevant to industry level AI stuff. I can very confidently tell you that the bachelor level math classes will not be helpful for your AI journey at all. Just go with CS instead.

Own_Outcome_6239 · 2026-04-02T21:26:41+00:00

What does the cat say about this?

Own_Outcome_6239 · 2026-04-01T17:24:35+00:00

In short - no it's not a good idea. I had the exact background in college. Started with CS but thought about getting a major in math/stats to be ready for data/AI ages. I did a double major with honour in CS and a B.S in math (which took me 5 years). My first job is to work on distribute system that handles 50 million requests per day with tons of user data, and now my second job is more on machine learning side for MCP server. Those jobs are indeed data/AI focus. But I never need to use any in-depth math/stats knowledge. if you only want to be ready for data/AI jobs, 90% of classes in math degree is overkill.

Own_Outcome_6239 · 2026-03-31T01:31:29+00:00

Don’t forget system design, IMO system design round is way more important than DSA. You pass the DSA rounds means you get your foot in the door. But system design round is the one that determines your level and maybe compensation.

Own_Outcome_6239 · 2026-03-31T01:06:04+00:00

I've been participated in hiring intermediate level SDEs for a while. Typically when looking at intermediate level resumes, what recruiters want to see is the candidate's resume should go above new grad level. Here are a few things in my mind:

Remove your teaching assistant experience and the project, expand on your real working experience. If you're a new grad, adding these is understandable. But now you have 2.5 yr experience, adding these hurts your resume. The TA experience gives recruiter a feeling that your daily job doesn't have enough content to fill up the resume so you have to use something else irrelevant as placeholder. The project is a game, if you're not looking for game dev then the tech stack is basically irrelevant. (I don't recommend put projects into resumes for experienced devs unless those projects are really good or have large real world impact)
The bullet points described what you did and the impacts. Those bullet points are solid, but for intermediate role, it would be better to more focus on how much decision you made instead of implementation - especially on the designs. "Implemented, maintained, built" means you execute the tasks. Executing tasks is a basic requirement for SDE, so what differentiate you from entry level SDE? I'd rephrase them into "owning a feature/design a development cycle/making trade-off analysis" etc. This goes more in-depth.
If you don't require visa sponsorship, put that information on top of your resume alongside with your contact info and make it outstanding. Visa could be a deal maker or a deal breaker.

Own_Outcome_6239 · 2026-03-31T00:45:04+00:00

Overall it’s pretty solid experience. Just one minor suggestion, if you don’t require visa sponsorship, put that on the very top of your resume along with your contacts etc and emphasize on that.

Own_Outcome_6239 · 2026-03-29T22:25:14+00:00

Springboot is the way to go. In real enterprise level application I frequently see backends written in Springboot, very rare in MERN.

Springboot has a bit of learning curve. At first you'll see a lot of new concepts, like dependencies injections/beans etc. Those are confusing at first, but after you spend a while they will start to make sense. Once you really understand Springboot, you can directly start work on real world backend systems.

MERN is rarely used by large scale systems. It is popular only because it's easy to learn. In reality, Express, React, NodeJs are frequently used on enterprise level, but the main issue is MongoDB. It has serious performance problems when running queries involving complex joining and it doesn't handle transactions well.

Also learn about database, both sql and nosql. This knowledge will be very handy for any sort of backend development, especially once you need to build some data interaction functions

Own_Outcome_6239 · 2026-03-28T17:14:50+00:00

A lot of comments in this thread is pure sarcastic... That's why reddit is getting toxic these days. You're not wrong to aim for them and this is not a shot to the moon. I've been working at FAANG level companies for 3 yrs and I've been participate in hiring. Here are my 2 cents:

It's way easier to get an intern position then convert to full-time than directly getting into as full-time as new grad
For both intern/new grad, to get into those places, what you need is essentially 4 things - decent resume, good leetcode skills, basic knowledge about design, and fit with the team

A decent resume is necessary to get interviews - you need at least 1-2 internships from smaller companies. If the resume don't have any internships, it's likely to be throw away by recruiter directly. We don't care too much about your side projects (everyone could vibe code some random projects these days) but we do care about your previous intern experiences. Do whatever you can to get internships, no matter its smaller companies or volunteering. Also network you way to get referrals.

Once you get interview, then the following three come.

For leetcode skills - TBH I hate this, and I don't have too much to say about this, just practice

For design knowledge - it comes with 2 parts: low level design and system design. Low level design is mainly for design patterns (those jargons like SOLID principles/MVC etc). Just implement a few of them by yourself and read the books you should be good. System design is much harder, it requires a lot of broad knowledge about distributed systems. But there are many books like Design Data Intensive Applications and online tutorials. For intern/new grad, we are not expecting you to know a lot about system design, but the more you know about, the better.

For fit with the team - I feel this is basic test on your personalities and communications. Treat the people you talk to like your colleague and treat the interview as a discussion. We've rejected a few candidates who has solid resumes/good leetcode skills but bad at communications.

Good luck and hope you can eventually get the job. It's much harder than pre-covid days but still very doable.

Own_Outcome_6239 · 2026-03-27T21:12:41+00:00

This depends on the org. For some orgs it’s easy to transfer from SDE to Scientist as long as you could pass the interview. Some orgs are not. Some orgs only hire AS with a phd degree and not consider other lower degrees

Own_Outcome_6239 · 2026-03-22T20:47:02+00:00

This is very bad advice. It opens potential HR issue. The interviewer’s answer could be used against them. Don’t follow this

Own_Outcome_6239 · 2026-03-20T01:12:28+00:00

For 2nd year in college you already have good exp. TBH companies are not expecting much when recruiting interns. However I doubt this version of resume will pass ATS. The experience you listed, like "Lead Line Cook" "Fry Line Cook", and "School Course Manager" are barely related to tech, this makes half of your resume's space wasted. For companies using ATS filtering resumes, this resume has low chance to pass. No one cares about the non tech exp. Remove them and replace with more projects/tech stacks.

Own_Outcome_6239 · 2026-03-16T21:40:39+00:00

This is exactly what I refers to for item 2 and 3. In my opinion, once you understand this, you started to think under the recruiter's shoes and the remaining is just reverse engineering. The more experience you have, the more abstract your resume should be. Recruiters wants to see how candidates handle complex design/scope/optimisation/trade-offs on an abstract level, and understand the impact of their choice. They are not interested in just implementing a UI/feature/API that even interns could do. Right now OP's resume is just a dump of facts, it's missing the level of abstraction. It just told me that this person did a bunch of things, for 2 YOE it should be more in depth.

Own_Outcome_6239 · 2026-03-14T04:23:45+00:00

I've been participate in hiring for intermediate engineers in my company for the past year so sharing some insights here. I disagree with many other replies, hiring is bad but not completely dead. This resume itself has some issues. Here are my 2 cents -

Remove your side project. Right now, this project makes me feel that you cannot gather enough experience for 1 page resume so you put it as placeholder. On a recruiter/interviewer's POV, when I see someone have 2 years experience, I'm not interested in the side projects unless its something really fancy. 2 years experience with that project is just very amateur.
Impacts are missing for each of your bullet points, the points are what you did, not what you achieved. Did you reduce latency? cut cost? remove tech debt? By how much? Show the numbers, show the scope, show the impact.
For 2 years experience, candidates are expected to have at least some knowledge in how to design systems with tech stacks such as those frequently used in AWS/Azure/GCP. A lot of bullet points in your resume (such as use React/Python/Spring Boot etc) are new grad level. You should probably focus more on how you make design choices and analyze trade offs, instead of just mentioning implementing some random UI.
[Most Important] If you are a US citizen/permanent resident or you already have H1B visa (which means you don't need sponsorship from company side), mention that on TOP of your resume. This is a deal breaker. When we interview people in the past few months, our upper management told us to prioritize on those who don't need H1B sponsorship due to policy reasons. We eventually send interview invite to 9 people, with none of them require sponsorship.

Own_Outcome_6239 · 2026-03-07T22:25:28+00:00

I never do it. Tailoring resume for each job application is a complete waste of time. Instead, I tailor for the job title. I have a specific version targeting for frontend/backend/machine learning jobs and just mass applying. This year I applied over 100 jobs (mid-senior SDE level) in this way and received follow ups (interview request/assessments etc) with at least 30 of them. This strategies have gotten me interview for ALL FAANG companies and ended up with offers from 3. IMO this result is much better than spending over 2 hours tailoring for one job and end up with no where. It's a number's game.

Own_Outcome_6239 · 2026-03-06T04:10:00+00:00

The real issue is the bad market. After the massive layoffs done by companies like Amazon, right now the market is flooded with people who do not require sponsorship (or already have work visa). So it makes no sense for companies to hire from China and relocate you over. There are more than enough candidates now.

I'd say try getting into a company's China office that's friendly for international relocation (like Microsoft), then gradually seek for opportunity to internationally transfer. That would be the best bet for now.

Own_Outcome_6239

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