

Ask HN: How to get a job/an internship in programming with EE background - shellmayr

Hi,<p>I&#x27;m currently doing a combined BSEE&#x2F;MSEE with a strong focus on software (mostly MATLAB, C and Python) and I was wondering how to get a job&#x2F;entry position in programming. In school, we do a lot of coding with multimedia (think audio, video compression, wavelets) and telecommunications (i.e. LTE, 802.11, SIP, RTP). I&#x27;m having a hard time finding openings for these skills. I&#x27;d like to start doing some work on the side and gain experience while I&#x27;m completing my degree and writing my thesis, but most companies only accept candidates who already graduated. Does it makes sense to apply to positions whose requirements I don&#x27;t fully fulfill and see if I can wager an internship from that? OR maybe complete my degree and hope that they don&#x27;t want any work experience? I&#x27;d be grateful for any ideas&#x2F;pointers!<p>Thanks!
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techdevman
I got my degree in EE and applied for software jobs and got one. I worked on
side programming projects and taught myself basic programming (C++ at the
time). When I interviewed I was able to 1) show that I understood concepts
like polymorphism and object-oriented development, and 2) cared enough to work
on software projects in my own time.

I did get burned on a few interviews where I _claimed_ to know C and then they
asked some difficult pointer questions that were out of my depth. Truth was I
had done C++ and a little bit of C in one class but not much. So you need to
be able to pass a verbal interview and a coding interview.

If I were you I would also suggest not trying to get a job in one of those
sub-fields right away, but instead look for any decent software job, get some
experience, then look to move into a niche area.

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shellmayr
Yeah that's a good approach, thanks for the reply!

