Forget Coding Projects: This is How You Get Hired

Summary

This video discusses the challenges junior engineers face in the current job market, especially with many entry-level positions requiring years of experience. The speaker, a retired software engineering manager from Meta, explains why working on coding projects may not be the best approach for landing a job. Instead, they recommend alternatives such as internships, volunteering, open-source contributions, and even building apps. Internships are considered the gold standard for gaining real-world experience, while projects, though helpful for learning, aren't as valued by hiring managers when evaluating candidates.

Takeaways

• 💼 The job market for junior engineers and students is currently tough, with entry-level roles often requiring multiple years of experience.
• ❌ Focusing on coding projects as a way to get hired is considered a waste of time by the speaker, who emphasizes that hiring managers don’t prioritize these projects.
• 🧠 Projects are good for learning but don't compare to real-life experience when seeking a job, much like medical simulations don't equate to real surgeries.
• 📂 Hiring managers rarely review GitHub projects or portfolios, as 99% of the time the code doesn’t even run properly.
• 🧑‍💻 The best way to gain relevant experience is through internships, which the speaker compares to medical residencies in importance for junior engineers.
• 📉 Many junior engineers think projects give an unfair advantage, but the speaker debunks this idea, pointing to internships as a more valuable option.
• 🖥️ Building iOS or Android apps can offer some impact, but both come with time investment challenges, and monetization is typically low unless the app is heavily developed.
• 🤝 Volunteering for businesses or nonprofits can offer hands-on experience and improve communication skills but generally comes with no earnings potential.
• 🔓 Contributing to open-source projects is a more meaningful way to gain experience, especially if the contributions are accepted by the community.
• 💡 Internships are the highest-impact strategy, offering real-world exposure, and companies are more likely to trust candidates who have worked with production code under real conditions.

Q & A

Why does the speaker argue that projects are not the best way for junior engineers to get hired?

The speaker argues that while projects are useful for learning and skill development, they don't carry much weight with hiring managers because they don't demonstrate experience working with real-life production code or dealing with real users and stakes.

What is the main reason hiring managers don't look at GitHub projects according to the speaker?

Hiring managers often don't look at GitHub projects because, in the speaker's experience, most of the time the code doesn't run correctly. Variables are hardcoded, functions may be missing, and there are other issues that make the projects unrepresentative of real-world production environments.

How does the speaker compare coding projects to medical training?

The speaker compares coding projects to a medical student practicing brain surgery simulations. Just as simulations aren’t enough for a doctor to perform real surgery, coding projects don't provide the real-world experience hiring managers look for, unlike internships which are akin to a medical residency.

Why does the speaker emphasize internships as the most valuable experience for junior engineers?

Internships are emphasized as the most valuable because they offer real-world exposure, allow junior engineers to work on production code with real users, and are the most validating for hiring managers. Internships are compared to medical residencies, providing hands-on experience that projects cannot.

What are some of the alternatives to projects that the speaker suggests for gaining experience?

The speaker suggests alternatives such as building iOS or Android apps, developing websites or Chrome extensions, volunteering for businesses or non-profits, contributing to open-source projects, and internships, with internships being the most highly recommended.

Why does the speaker rank internships higher than other alternatives?

Internships are ranked higher because they provide real-world experience, often come with competitive pay, and offer significant validation to hiring managers. They are seen as the tech equivalent of a medical residency, offering supervised, hands-on experience in real environments.

What are some of the challenges with focusing solely on projects for junior engineers?

Focusing solely on projects can be time-consuming, often doesn't provide the real-world impact that hiring managers look for, and may lead to frustration as many projects may not run correctly or fail to demonstrate relevant experience working with actual production code.

How does the speaker evaluate the time investment and earnings potential of building an iOS or Android app?

The time investment for building an iOS or Android app is rated as high due to the effort needed to meet platform standards, especially for iOS, which has stricter guidelines. Earnings potential is generally considered low unless the developer is really trying to monetize their app.

What does the speaker suggest is a key challenge in volunteering as a way to gain experience?

A key challenge in volunteering is accessibility. Finding a business or nonprofit that is open to volunteer help can be difficult, and while the experience may be valuable, there is no direct financial compensation.

What does the speaker suggest for those interested in machine learning roles who don't have a formal job?

The speaker mentions that there will be a separate video covering specific strategies for people interested in AI engineering or machine learning roles, as these roles might have different paths to gaining experience.