

Ask HN:  How to get hired as an inexperienced developer?  - mpg33

Is it possible?  I have course-level knowledge of programming(Java, VB.NET) but no actual industry experience.  My only industry experience is that of software testing.<p>What should i do to prove to employers to hire me as a developer?
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darklighter3
I'll second the advice of building something that displays your skills.
Another option would be to use your testing experience and look for a position
building an automated test suite. Once you've proven yourself and gained some
experience you'll probably get an opportunity to take on other projects. Are
you looking to get hired in a startup or anywhere? There are employers that
hire less experienced programmers regularly - usually larger companies. With a
year or two of experience there you should then be in a position to get a job
wherever else you like.

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mpg33
It seems that a lot of companies want at least a year or two experience...i
have seen some junior developer positions require 5 years.

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ido
Seek an internship.

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nhamann
Unfortunately, the overwhelming majority of internships seem to be for current
students, which means this advice is of limited utility for those who have
already graduated.

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mmilkin
Work on Open Source projects.

Usually employers will take a chance on some one who is inexperienced if they
can prove they are a passionates programmer, show that that you have some
initiative. Work on your own projects, or at least join discussion groups in
your desired field such as meetups.

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ookblah
I would say a combination of luck and your own projects. You have to make up
for your lack of industry experience with your own personal projects and show
that you have the skills or the initiative to pick up new things quickly.

My short story:

I graduated college w/ a degree in EE and after working for a defense company
for about a year, realized I hated it. Web dev/design was my hobby and I had
hacked together a lot of random projects, but never had any "official industry
experience". On my resume I had listed a lot of side projects I had. I applied
to a few places and a few called me in for an interview and also a short test
of what I knew. This is where you will get a chance to try and prove yourself.
I was nervous as heck, but thankfully, they gave me a chance and the rest was
history.

I don't think I would have been given the chance had I not been doing those
things on the side. The other nice side effect was that because I actively
worked on projects, I actually knew what I was doing and for some reason that
surprised a lot of employers(?).

I think the one thing I took away from that was that if you're passionate
about learning and improving, you'll be better off than the majority of people
just there looking for a job. "3+ years" exp. or whatever had a different
meaning for me after that.

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mtogo
As everyone else here has said, actually do something. Start or contribute to
an open source project. Write a web app and get people do use it, just _make
something_ that shows off your skills.

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megamark16
Build something that they can see, or contribute to an open source project, or
both! If I were looking to hire you I'd want to see some of your work, maybe
even just your personal website, and I'd love to see some of your projects on
Github (or at least a github account that has forked some other projects, show
me what you're interested in).

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amorphid
There is no barrier to entry to start your own consulting business. If you
have to learn to sell yourself, you may want to start with small jobs. Sites
like Elance are probably good, too. Take on any work you can find, and then
work on becoming more discriminating as you move up the foodchain.

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CyberFonic
Generally companies hire on the basis of current experience and less so on
potential. So why not get hired as a tester and then seek out avenues to
increase the amount of development work? You could discuss your goal of such a
career progression at interviews.

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jparicka
How to get hired as an experienced developer?

