How To Get A Software Developer Job (Roadmap)

Summary

In this video, the speaker advises aspiring software developers on how to start a career in tech today. They recommend beginning with freeCodeCamp to gain early wins and stay motivated. Next, research the local job market to align learning with in-demand skills. After that, create a learning roadmap, move beyond tutorials, build projects that solve real problems, and focus on one significant project showcasing your tech stack. Attend meetups to network and build relationships for mentorship. Apply to jobs, especially on company career pages, and personalize outreach to hiring managers. The speaker emphasizes patience, as most take over nine months to land a job, and stresses the importance of effectively describing projects to stand out.

Takeaways

• 🌐 Start with Codecademy to quickly begin coding with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
• 🎯 After basic coding, research the job market to identify the most employable tech stacks.
• 📈 Create a learning roadmap based on market needs and desired job roles.
• 🛠️ Move beyond tutorials and start building your own projects to solve real problems.
• 🚀 Focus on one significant project that encompasses your entire tech stack and showcases your abilities.
• 🤝 Attend meetups and network extensively to build relationships within the tech community.
• 🔍 Actively search for job opportunities on company career pages, not just job boards.
• 💌 When applying for jobs, personalize your outreach to hiring managers on LinkedIn.
• 📝 Be patient and give yourself time to learn and grow; most people take longer than 3 months to land a job.
• 📑 Clearly articulate the value and problem-solving aspects of your projects in your resume and LinkedIn profile.

Q & A

What is the first thing the speaker recommends doing when starting to learn code?

The speaker recommends starting at freeCodeCamp.org, which allows you to write your first line of code within 90 seconds.

Why does the speaker emphasize the importance of early wins in coding?

Early wins with visual results can be addictive and help maintain motivation and inspiration, which are crucial for sticking with learning in the long term.

What does the speaker suggest researching after getting a basic understanding of JavaScript?

The speaker suggests researching the market to identify which technology stacks are employable and what companies are hiring for.

Why is it important to match your learning with the job market according to the speaker?

Matching your learning with the job market ensures that you're learning skills that are in demand and increases your chances of getting hired.

What is the significance of creating a roadmap after understanding the market needs?

Creating a roadmap helps in planning which languages to learn and what projects to build, making the learning process more structured and goal-oriented.

Why does the speaker advise against relying solely on tutorials?

The speaker advises against relying solely on tutorials because they can become a crutch and hinder the development of problem-solving skills that are essential for a developer.

What is the importance of building projects that solve a problem according to the speaker?

Building projects that solve a problem is important because it demonstrates the ability to deliver solutions and provides material for discussing one's capabilities during interviews.

Why should a developer focus on one specific project that encompasses their entire tech stack?

Focusing on one specific project that encompasses the entire tech stack allows the developer to showcase their technical abilities and provides substantial material for interviews.

How does the speaker view the role of meetups and networking in a developer's career?

The speaker views meetups and networking as crucial for building relationships and finding mentorship, which can significantly impact a developer's career.

What is the speaker's advice regarding job applications and descriptions?

The speaker advises to personalize job applications, avoid copy-pasting messages, and to describe projects in a way that someone unfamiliar with the work can understand the value and achievements.

What is the speaker's perspective on the time it takes to land a job in tech after learning to code?

The speaker emphasizes that it typically takes longer than 3 months to land a job in tech and advises patience and persistence, as most people take 9 months to several years.

Outlines

00:00

🚀 Starting a Coding Journey

The speaker emphasizes the importance of acting quickly on the inspiration to learn coding, suggesting starting with Codecademy to write the first line of code within 90 seconds. They highlight the significance of early wins in coding to maintain motivation and curiosity. The speaker then advises researching the job market to identify the most employable tech stacks and to align learning with market demands. They stress the need to create a roadmap of technologies to learn and projects to build, moving away from relying solely on tutorials and instead focusing on building projects that solve real problems. The paragraph concludes with the speaker's personal strategy for learning to code and getting a job in tech.

05:01

🤝 Building Networks and Finding Mentorship

The speaker advocates for attending meetups and networking extensively to build real relationships within the tech community. They clarify that mentorship often comes from those who have seen one's growth over time rather than from cold outreach. The speaker also discusses the importance of being part of a community and actively seeking help, as people are more inclined to assist those who are visibly putting in effort. They mention the effectiveness of LinkedIn for professional networking and suggest looking beyond job boards by checking company career pages for job opportunities. Additionally, the speaker advises on how to approach hiring managers directly through LinkedIn and the importance of personalizing outreach messages.

10:02

📈 Patience and Effective Job Application Strategies

The speaker discusses the reality that finding a job in tech can take longer than expected, with most people taking more than 9 months to a few years. They encourage patience and continuous learning and improvement. The speaker also emphasizes the importance of the quality and quantity of projects when applying for jobs, suggesting that many people overestimate the impact of the time they've spent learning to code without producing substantial work. Lastly, they advise on how to effectively describe projects in resumes and LinkedIn profiles to convey the value and skills gained to potential employers, ensuring that the descriptions are clear and informative to someone unfamiliar with the project.

Keywords

💡FreeCodeCamp

FreeCodeCamp is an online community that offers an interactive learning web platform to learn coding. In the video, it is recommended as the first step for beginners to start coding because it allows them to write their first line of code within 90 seconds, which is crucial for maintaining motivation and inspiration in learning to code.

💡Front-end Development

Front-end development refers to the design and development of user interfaces for websites or web applications. The video suggests starting with front-end technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript because they offer visual wins early on, which can be highly motivating for beginners and help in maintaining interest in coding.

💡Tech Stack

A tech stack is a set of programming tools and frameworks used to build and deploy software applications. The video emphasizes the importance of researching the tech stack that is in demand in one's local job market to align learning goals with employability.

💡Job Market Research

Job market research involves understanding the skills and technologies that are in demand by employers. The script advises researching the market to identify gaps and align one's learning path with the skills that companies are hiring for, which is essential for increasing job prospects.

💡Roadmap

A learning roadmap is a plan that outlines the steps and skills one needs to learn to achieve a specific goal, such as getting a job in tech. The video mentions creating a roadmap after understanding market demands, which includes actionable items like languages to learn and projects to build.

💡Tutorials

Tutorials are instructional guides or lessons that teach a specific skill or concept. The video suggests reducing reliance on tutorials after building a foundational knowledge, as over-reliance can become a crutch and hinder independent learning and problem-solving.

💡Problem-solving

Problem-solving in the context of coding involves creating solutions to real-world issues using software. The video encourages building projects that solve problems to demonstrate practical coding skills and to have tangible examples to discuss in job interviews.

💡Portfolio Project

A portfolio project is a significant piece of work that showcases a developer's skills and abilities. The video highlights the importance of having a project that encompasses one's entire tech stack, which can be a centerpiece of a job interview and demonstrates technical proficiency.

💡Networking

Networking refers to building professional relationships with others in your industry. The video stresses the importance of attending meetups and networking to build relationships that can lead to job opportunities and mentorship.

💡Mentorship

Mentorship is a relationship in which a more experienced person (a mentor) guides and supports a less experienced person (a mentee). The video discusses the value of mentorship and suggests that it's often more effective when it comes from people who have seen your growth over time, rather than cold outreach.

💡Job Boards

Job boards are online platforms where job openings are posted and can be searched. The video points out that many companies do not post junior positions on job boards due to the high volume of applicants, and instead suggests checking company career pages and networking as more effective strategies.

💡LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a professional networking site that is used for job searching, professional networking, and company research. The video recommends using LinkedIn to network, find job opportunities, and connect with hiring managers, emphasizing its effectiveness over other platforms for professional connections.

💡Project Description

A project description is a summary or explanation of what a project entails, its goals, and what was accomplished. The video advises on the importance of effectively describing projects on resumes and LinkedIn to convey the problems solved and the value added, which helps potential employers understand one's capabilities.

Highlights

Start coding immediately to capitalize on motivation and inspiration.

Begin with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript for early visual wins.

Research the job market to identify in-demand tech stacks.

Create a learning roadmap based on market needs.

Move beyond tutorials to build a solid foundation.

Build projects that solve real problems to showcase problem-solving skills.

Develop a single project that encompasses your entire tech stack.

Attend meetups and network to build relationships in the tech community.

Utilize LinkedIn and other platforms for professional networking.

Apply directly to company career pages for job opportunities.

Reach out to hiring managers on LinkedIn for potential job openings.

Avoid copying and pasting generic messages when applying for jobs.

Give yourself permission to take time to learn and grow.

Understand that most developers take 9 months or longer to land a job.

Ensure your projects demonstrate a consistent effort over time.

Describe your projects in a way that conveys their value and your skills.

Transcripts

I've been asked more times than I can

start to count Danny as a software

developer with a lot of experience in

Tech if you had to start over today in

today's market especially what would you

do this is going to be the entire

breakdown a little bit longer video drop

a like book market so you can come back

to it but you're going to get a lot of

value out of this one video the very

first thing I would do if I'm learning a

code for the very first time I'm just

starting out the beginning first thing

I'm doing I'm going to freec Cod cam.org

I'm a big fan of the website talk about

it all the time but within 90 seconds

you're writing your first line of code

the reason why I say this is I genuinely

believe motivation and inspiration have

expiration dates they're going to expire

so the earlier you act on the

inspiration the higher likelihood you're

going to actually stick with this for

the long term not only that you're

starting with HTML CSS and JavaScript

and I'm not saying that I think

front-end development is the way the

truth etc etc I'm not saying that here

what I am saying is especially for a lot

of people in the beginning of learning

how to code you're really not starting

with a lot of background information

here those early wins with those visual

wins can get you very addicted and into

the process of building things and

creating things and solving problems so

that genuine curiosity starts to Peak

and you start to really get interested

in what you're doing the very next thing

that I'm doing after getting to

JavaScript I'm not saying you you

completed JavaScript or you really dug

deep but you're in the beginning stages

of JavaScript if my goal is to

eventually get a job in Tech especially

in the market that I'm within I'm going

to research my market to see what tech

Stacks are employable what are companies

hiring for for what are they saying that

they have problems with in these

languages and where's the Gap in the

market for me to fill that is the next

thing that I'm doing because I can't

even begin to tell you the number of

people that I run into on the regular

basis now that for example let's say

they learn the M Stack which is a great

stack in certain markets not all markets

and so you're in a market where M Stack

doesn't necessarily have opportunities

guess what I'm talking to people that

like I've been trying to get a job in

tech for 3 years four years 5 years and

I can't get a single opportunity

nobody's hiring but when you look at

their Tech stack they're in a market

where Java is king or let's say c.net is

King but here they are they're using M

and no one's hiring for it but there's

30 40,000 job opportunities open in

their market for someone with Java so

that's my next step I need to come up

with my entire road map of what to learn

stop listening to influencers including

myself that tell you learn this texto

learn that that's why I don't ever

recommend Technologies I always have the

same advice go research the market I can

tell you the most tweetable likable

rehar answer in the world but the

reality is every single Market is

different so don't take some influencers

advice that's telling you what you want

to hear for a like instead research what

companies are hiring for look at the job

descriptions look at what they're trying

to fill and try and match that as best

as possible you're never going to match

it 100% but at least get the core

competencies down so if they're saying

they need a Java developer that knows

spring that knows JavaScript boom those

are the things that you're going to

start hitting so you can get those

Junior opportunities now that I

understand understand what my market is

hiring for that's where step three comes

in I make my road map and I start

hitting actionable items of what

languages I'm going to learn in which

ways and what projects I'm going to

build step number four is I would stop

Reliance upon tutorials guiding me the

entirety of the way because that's where

a lot of y'all get hung up on it's good

to use a tutorial to build your

foundation but there's a point where

your foundation isn't going to carry you

the rest of the we and you need to start

building upon it right you can only do

so many educational items until this

becomes a crutch instead of the

assistant that it's supposed to be step

number five is actually building

projects that solve a problem and I know

a lot of people say like I don't know

what to build look I put out so many of

these threads already I've talked about

this for years you could build anything

you don't got to cure cancer with code

y'all no one's expecting you to do that

especially as a junior but what they are

expecting is for you to solve some kind

of problem deliver a solution and talk

about said solution when you don't do

that you're doing a disservice to

yourself the next thing I'm going to do

after I build projects that solve a

problem I'm going to really hone in and

focus on on one specific project that

uses and encompasses my entire Tech

stack that's great for the market and

that project in particular is going to

be one that there's not going to really

be a tutorial on it's going to be hell

it's going to make me want to flip a

table it's going to make me want to pull

out my hair you can see I've already

pulled out enough of that but yeah it's

going to be a nightmare right but at the

end of it that is going to be a project

that I'm going to love talking about in

an interview that an interviewer and

hiring manager is going to love to hear

about it's going to Showcase my

technical ability it's going to give me

stuff to talk about as far as problems

that I've solved and solutions that I

delivered that's what I'm looking for

the ammunition within the interview

process that really showcases my

abilities now the reality is no one is

really going to hire you based on a

project that you make especially at the

junior level right there's just so much

that you don't know but it's going to

give you more items to talk about

yourself and really showcase what you

bring to the conversation then the other

thing that I'd be doing and I'd be doing

this already at this point meetups I'm

so big on meetups y'all I don't think I

would be here in Tech if it wasn't for

amazing communities you need to be going

to as many meetups as humanly possible

Network as much as possible now when I

say Network I don't say com in with a

PowerPoint SL like here are three ways

that I'm going to save you 15% or more

that's not going to happen what you do

want to do is start building real

relationships with people over time

because guess what a lot of the people

that are going to be in your corner

advocating for you there are going to be

individuals that have seen you grow over

time now a lot of people I get hit up

for this 20 times a day at this point

can you Mentor me can you Mentor me I

wish I could Mentor everybody right and

I don't want to come up with some like

cheesy you know mentorship thing where

I'm you're paying you know $10,000 for 3

months or something I don't want to do

that stuff right reality is more often

than not over the years I have seen more

people get mentorship from people that

they have built a relationship with and

they've seen grow over time then I have

seen cold Outreach Of You just dming

someone who is a complete utter stranger

saying can you Mentor me it's not going

to work that way build real

relationships one quote in particular

comes to mind on this and I've I've

referenced this quote many times and

it's by Chris Rock and he basically said

anytime I ever ran out of gas on the

side of the highway and I just stood out

there with a gas can hoping somebody

would stop no one ever stopped but every

single time I was pushing the car on my

own someone would pull over they would

help me push it the rest of the way or

they would drive me to the gas station

and bring me back people want to help

people that are working towards

something and they see them actively

putting in that effort it almost

incentivizes them and entices them to do

that so by being part of a community

that's a great way for that to happen so

I'd be networking non-stop I'd be going

to all kinds of meetups I'd use LinkedIn

of course I'd be all over LinkedIn um

any social media platform but LinkedIn

the access to the Quality level of

connections that you get it's no other

platform in my opinion really comes that

close even though Twitter for example is

my largest following LinkedIn has

definitely been my most impactful

following now when it comes to job

boards and things like that right I'd be

applying to a lot of jobs I'd be

networking I'd be advocating for myself

in any any way shape or form but when it

comes to job boards and particular when

you go to a job board they pce to post

those jobs so a lot of people say no

one's ever hiring Junior I don't see the

ads the reality is there's no incentive

for most organizations I'm not going to

say all I'd say like 90 plus per.

there's no real incentive for them to

pay to post it on the Eds LinkedIn jobs

dice Etc it's not really there they know

once they advertise Juniors they're

going to get thousands of applications

without even trying so most companies

end up doing two things first they go to

their team saying hey we're going to add

a junior to the team your manager

probably going to be like do you know

anybody is there anybody that you would

recommend is there anybody that you know

that would be like a good fit that we

could have a conversation with

that those referrals really kick in

there the second thing that they do is

they post the jobs on their company

portal and career Pages that's why I

always tell people don't just check out

the LinkedIn and the Eds check out your

local company's career page that's where

they're posting it because it doesn't

cost them anything they're not paying

for that yeah sure they're going to get

less applicants overall but guess what

overall I guarantee you that if a

candidate is going to the career page

they probably have a lot more intuitive

knowledge to kind of check that out and

go out of their way to find it as

opposed to someone who's just hitting

LinkedIn easy apply on every single job

that comes their way so while the

overall gross of number of applicants

may be lower it's probably going to be

more quality candidates hitting them up

in that regard the other thing that I'd

be doing is if I saw that there was a

job that I was a great fit for and I I

really matched this up in a big way I

would just check out if the company

let's say Jimmy's insurance company

they're hiring for a junior developer I

would just check out Jimmy's insurance

company on LinkedIn and see if any of

the hiring managers have posted about it

and if they did I would hit them up

being like hey I saw that you posted XYZ

I think I'm a great candidate and a

great fit for this I'd love to have a

conversation here are a couple reasons

why I think you know I'm a great fit for

this particular role I I don't want to

do the copy and paste thing it people

can see that a mile away you don't want

to do that you want your especially

think about it your comment or your

message has the potential to shift your

career why are you cutting Corners

copying and pasting everything when

pretty much everybody can tell we can

tell when recruiters are doing it we see

all the memes online of people copying

pasting their answers and their messages

is it's very obvious to everybody if we

already know it's obvious why are you

doing that to yourself and sabotaging

your own success other thing that I

would say and this is to give you

realisticness I would give myself

permission to take my time a lot of

y'all don't do that and I get it it's

impatience etc etc hell most of yall

probably didn't watch to this part of

the video if I'm being real the other

thing that I would say here if I'm being

completely blunt and honest with you I

do a poll pretty much every single year

and the last year that we did this I

asked the same question for software

developers that landed a job in Tech how

long did it take you the first option is

3 months the second option is 9 months

or longer the third option is a year to

3 years and the fourth option is 4 years

plus right how long did it take you from

writing your first line of code only in

the last poll I think it was

6.2% of the total number of respondents

which was over 15,000 between LinkedIn

and Twitter 15,000 ended up saying I got

a job in Tech in 3 months that means

almost 94% of the time it took them 9

plus months or longer with a heavy

amount of the votes being one to three

years and what's Wild to me is the sheer

amount of comments that came from Junior

saying I can't believe how long it's

taken some people it's totally shifted

the way that I think and I think that's

really important here because so many

people are trying to rush this process

because they just think I'm supposed to

get a job in 3 months everybody talks

about 3 months everybody talks about 6

months the reality is it's going to take

you a little bit longer it took me

longer than 3 months it's took I I've

only met one person in real life that

landed a job from the first line of code

that they wrote to Landing an

opportunity in 3 months and that person

himself told me it's because I knew the

owner of the company so you need to give

yourself a little bit of credit and

slack here learn your stuff apply your

skills if you don't get in 3 months

that's okay if you don't get it in a

year that's okay too but just keep

learning and applying and growing and

building and just keep growing your

skill set the one problem that I see

with a lot of people is they'll talk

about how they've been learning how to

Cod for 3 years four years but when you

look at the quality of their projects or

the number of things that they've built

it's so small when you tell me 3 4 years

I'm expecting a very different level of

skill set than someone who's been

learning how to code for 3 months 6

months 9 months so if you're at the 3

four year mark you need to go ahead and

make sure you're really applying

yourself but if you've been off and on

and if you just build some one thing

here then you take off for 6 months

that's not the same three years last tip

I want to give you is when it comes to

your job applications your resumés your

LinkedIn your projects the biggest area

of value comes in in how you describe

your projects I was on a call last night

with a group of students in the cohort

that were doing here in Dallas and one

of the students has been they recently

graduated a degree they're trying to get

a job in Tech they can't get a single

call back and when we look at the resume

it became very obvious why but the big

issue is and a lot of Juniors don't

realize this and I didn't realize this

at the beginning too if I'm being honest

is it's really hard for someone who's

reading this paper to conceptualize the

problems that you solved or the

achievements that you had and so when

you just brought Rush past it they don't

have the background information that you

possess on said projects or onet

accomplishments onet Awards you need to

explain that so in the mindset of

someone who doesn't know who you are

doesn't know your background or anything

about you in that mindset can they walk

away from reading that piece of paper or

that LinkedIn profile really knowing

everything about you so try to audit

yourself and remove yourself saying I'm

not auditing not Danny but Jimmy's

LinkedIn profile Jimmy's resume Jimmy's

explanation of his project and I don't

know anything about Jimmy but by reading

this description I now know everything

that they did in this if you can walk

away film that way then you did a good

job if not reapply some effort here and

finesse and make that a little bit

better so that way people kind of

understand where you're coming from this

video was a

lot I get it you may have to watch this

a couple times that's cool too but

believe me when I say this you

absolutely got this