
Ask HN: Junior Full Stack Dev from PhD? - thorowwwwwaway
I am planning on defending my thesis in a STEM field at the University of Michigan this year (advisor is very flexible with timing) and trying to figure out what comes next. I am considering doing a full stack boot camp (such as app academy). I have some programming experience from the PhD work (python, matlab, and some C), but no full stack experience. I would also like to stay in Michigan for at least a few years while my wife finishes her professional degree.<p>Questions:<p>- Will the PhD be a detriment for looking for a junior dev job?<p>- How hard are junior dev roles to come by? A lot of the local job openings want a few years experience.
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jki275
If you have a Ph.D in STEM, why would you not be applying for senior scientist
roles?

You're far overqualified, and at the same time nearly unqualified, for a
junior developer role. That doesn't mean you can't get hired, but it's going
to be harder than applying to something your academics highly qualify you for.
Find a role where you can advise junior developers -- I work with multiple
scientists with advanced degrees, they code some but their real role is to
make sure we know what we're coding up and why.

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davismwfl
The PhD shouldn't be a cause any issues, just show it is recent. The fact it
isn't in engineering/comp sci won't help you get in the door but it shows you
can complete a difficult task. I'd highlight on your cover letter how you feel
your experience with your PhD work is relevant in terms of software to where
you are applying.

It will probably be harder for you than some others, but I don't think if you
are decent skillset wise where you'll have major issues. I'd look for jobs
where you are sending your resume not to HR but to the hiring manager directly
ideally. HR is a filter, and it is hard for them to know what is valuable or
not and so they use things like the lack of a degree or relevant work
experience as the first filter, understandably. Hence getting directly to a
hiring manager will be better.

Also, you might ask some of your professors that may have contacts within the
field or maybe they can refer you to a CS dept prof that can help you. Getting
a warm intro to a company wouldn't hurt you. A little networking could go a
long way here.

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jppope
I agree with jki275, you should be able to find gigs that pay better which
leverage your existing experience AND will give you time to up your
engineering skills

