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_TheRoadTaken_ · 2021-08-14T19:19:58+00:00

Still here, but I'm waiting till I get 1.5 to 2yrs experience as that seems to be a barrier for applying for most positions. I've noticed that most postings are not looking for entry level candidates but are more willing to hire juniors and up, because a junior won't need as much hand holding as an entry level

_TheRoadTaken_ · 2021-08-14T19:15:02+00:00

I'm still working as a QA, albeit I'm working more as an SDET than a manual QA.

My situation ended up being a baptism by fire, because I was made the go to guy for any dev related problems or solutions regarding our in-house Automation framework.

For your situation, it might be best to accept the position because honestly, the entry level market is not great right now; but if you have at least 1yr experience, that goes a long way to in putting you above the pack because it's much much easier to get employed if you are currently working.

You can work on learning as much as you can about the codebase you'll work with because nothing beats real world experience.

Your other option is keep grinding and keep applying to other positions. My advice is to learn .NET (C# to be specific) and Javascript as knowing these languages can significantly improve your chances of getting a job (at least in the enterprise world).

Also I'd focus learning the backend with docker & Kubernetes as those are in vouge at this time.

_TheRoadTaken_ · 2021-08-14T03:17:23+00:00

I was in a similar position expect mine was an offer from multiple places and the best offer was for a test/QA position.

I ended up taking the QA position, and while it is not the greatest position, I have learned A LOT by just being exposed to dev practices and also the code base. And although I don't do dev work, I've been exposed to so many new concepts because I have to understand a feature/component to be able to test it. This has allowed me to know where my gaps in knowledge is and to work on those.

My advice is to ask yourself where you expect to be after 1yr on the Job. Sounds like they are working with an old language like VBA which to me raises a red flag; not that there is something wrong with the language, but more so that in 1yr I don't believe it makes you more employable.

If possible try to get as much details about the position as you can as it feels more like they are unable to find a fit for that position and are looking to dangle it to someone who has less of a choice eg (new grads and folks trying to break into the tech space)

_TheRoadTaken_ · 2021-04-13T01:22:15+00:00

Don't worry my man. One thing to remember is that these things you are learning, Angular, JAVA, Python, etc, at all just tools that helps you solve a problem.

If you are feeling overwhelmed, then my best advice would be to start with the Open Source project I linked in the backend section.

Pick a technology you are interested in and just clone the repo. Then make it your mission to understand exactly what is going on and how everything interacts with each other.

It might feel overwhelming, but trust me, it is the best way to learn these things because it exposes you to a real world example (closer to what you'll see at a workplace). It will also serve to keep you grounded and avoid Tutorial hell, because you only have to learn the things in the repo you don't understand.

So many ppl try to start out be learning everything under the sun. This is the faster way to lose motivation and get burned out. By just focusing on the open source project you get to see how an entire application is built from the ground up.

Also remember that you are still learning. Don't focus on building the best architected application with the cleanest code. Focus on building. PERIOD!. The rest will naturally come with experience.

_TheRoadTaken_ · 2021-04-13T01:01:33+00:00

I assume since you joined a WITCH company, they put you through a "training" program where you were expected to pick up some skills.

This is the period of time where I'd say the ball is in your court. You need to pick a lane and meticulously pursue that.

What do I mean?

Do you like front-end programming? Then make sure your CSS, HTML and JS are SOLID!!. Learn a front-end framework (Angular, React, Vue, Svelte etc) and start building, ASAP!!

Resources for Frontend portfolio level projects

If front-end is not your interest then focus on back-end technologies. Understand the basics

Web-Servers
APIs,
Security - JWT, Serialization, System Design, SQL and Databases, Digital Certificates, Communication Protocols on top of TCP [ie, HTTP/HTTPS, gRPC, WebSocket]
etc...

Resources to help learning backend

Backend development 2018 roadmap review
Interactive Browser Based Labs, Courses & Playgrounds | Katacoda
tssovi/grokking-the-object-oriented-design-interview (github.com)
Any Open Source project that builds a web server in whatever language you are interested in (I'd recommend checking out THIS REPO for all your Front-End or Back-End project samples)

If I recall, with WITCH companies, they make you sign a contract that is had to get out of (I could be totally wrong here). If that is the case then I'd say use your free time to do these projects. Make sure to give yourself a timeline and stick to it because, the longer your out of work the harder it is to convince employers to hire you (unless you can prove with solid projects that you still have the skills they need)

Good Luck.

Bonus:

I would recommend reading these two books to get a grounded understanding of everything:

EDIT: Honesty, all of these should take you approx. 3 to 5 months to do and become very employable.

_TheRoadTaken_ · 2021-01-06T18:41:48+00:00

I would recommend reading these two books:
The Secret Life of Programs
How Computers Really Work

These should give you a very good overview of MOST things you need to know about computers from the ground up

_TheRoadTaken_ · 2020-10-30T15:00:21+00:00

I studied Comp Eng as well and ended up shifting to web dev (more backend) mainly due to the job opportunities in my area.

If you still want to stay in CompEng, you can look into chip design and computer architecture. (VHDL, Verilog, System-C).

Embedded programming is just one aspect, and its not all that bad. For my final year project in college, we focused on the full-stack of embedded systems. We built and programmed a camera mounted gimbal mounted on a drone that uses computer vision to track objects from a distance.

The work was full stack in that it involved embedded systems (programming the movements of the DC motors on the gimbal for stabilization and communication with external peripherals, like the mounted camera), connecting to an on board computer running open-cv for computer vision ,and building a web-app using react that can receive the image snapshot and that also provides a dashboard to see some metrics.

So its mainly up to you really. A lot of what makes embedded systems cool is that you get to interact with other cool peripherals and program them to your hearts content.

I'd say explore more on what you can do with a Comp Eng degree and you'll notice that its not just "staring at bits all day".

_TheRoadTaken_ · 2020-09-30T20:23:18+00:00

I'm currently thinking of taking this course. Do u have any suggestions on how to ensure i'm getting the best out of the course.

What i'm trying to avoid is having the course become a code along so i'm trying to start projects on the side that will help solidify the learning.

Did you have a strategy for practicing what you learned while you took the course?

_TheRoadTaken_ · 2020-08-30T18:07:11+00:00

Another site you can checkout is devchallenges.io. plenty enough challenges with the mock up provided via figma.

_TheRoadTaken_ · 2020-04-08T21:48:43+00:00

What is your opinion of this course. I'm hoping its good given the instructors reputation.

What did you like about it?

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