Fewer and fewer people see value in a university education nowadays for some careers. It’s very expensive, and whether it gets you any further along in your career is a contentious point.
So, today, many new developers in the market are self-taught. And this isn’t a new thing. They’ve always been there. Let’s face it, that’s how an industry really begins. There are the trail blazers. The ones that inspire the rest of us to join the party.
If the self-taught developers are the original trail blazers, then why do new developers of this variety struggle securing employment? Well, things change, and once the market starts to flood and the masses arrive, employers find comfort and security in that piece of paper as some measure — or even a guarantee — of quality.
Those who would have been considered daring and a little bit maverick are now thought to have skipped a step. Cheats! But is this true? Are they missing something? Does a resume for a college graduate with a computer science background really have a better grounding?
Personally, I believe there is little difference. At least, it’s not the time in university that dictates the level of skills. It’s the time at the keyboard!
The only thing that matters at this stage is passion and how you present it. In some ways, I think the self-taught developer is at an advantage over the one with a computer science degree. But, I guess, a bold statement like that requires some explanation!
Watch the video I recorded below, or scroll down past it to read the article:
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Pique the Recruiter’s Interest
A CV or resume is simply a means of getting an interview, like a stepping stone. Therefore, the purpose of writing a great developer resume and optimizing your LinkedIn profile is to pique the interest of the reader (hiring managers, tech recruiters, engineering leads, etc.).
I don’t believe you need the best profile out there. It just needs to convince someone that this profile warrants more attention, preferably via an interview.
When you are new to programming (or any field, for that matter), you are at a disadvantage in that you cannot rely on your experience to do all the work for you. You have NO experience. You’re on your own.
So think differently. Don’t think about what you don’t have. Think about what you DO have, where you have leverage.
So, what do you have?
Read More: How to Become a Software Engineer
Time
The first thing is time. You have time to create things. If you’re not currently employed and able to support yourself, then you have all the hours of the day.
Even if you are employed, you can have your whole evening to dedicate to it. In a previous article, we gave some tips for busy developers to continue learning. In a related way, you can use those active and passive approaches to add some time to a jam-packed calendar.
You have a busy social schedule. No worries. I get it. But that’s a decision for you to make. If you want this to happen, it’s going to take a LOT of effort.
And this amount of effort is your leverage.
Read More: 5 Great Ways to Get Your Profile Noticed as a Software Engineer
Show You’re Passionate & Proactive
Passion and proactivity are what seal the deal. And I don’t just mean for self-taught developers. Passion trumps everything, always.
An experienced developer relies on their expertise, and a college-trained developer relies on their qualifications. The self-taught developer, just as with first-time or entry-level developers, has to rely on passion and proactivity. More to the point, you have to prove it!
While we are on the subject, experienced and graduate developers should take note here, too. Experience and qualifications will only get you so far. They are entrance tickets to the party, and it’s a big party.
Getting noticed remains a problem to be solved. This is where the self-taught developer knows they do not have these to fall back on, and so they should be far more prepared with what is MOST valuable — evidence.
We all have this as an option, it’s just those that have the experience or qualification have the luxury of being lazy. But this luxury can be a false sense of security. The market is becoming ever more evidence-based, and getting your strategy right early is going to pay dividends.
So, how can you demonstrate passion and proactivity?
You’re not going to like it …. but “side project?”
Side Projects
Side projects take time, effort, and drive. Everyone starts a side project, but very few will finish. Just ask around, tell me I’m lying!
Most new developers will have lots of repositories. I call them “shallow repos” for side projects or tutorials. These shallow repositories have only a few commits before abandonment. So, for the person looking at this profile, they either see someone who’s in tutorial hell or someone who doesn’t finish things.
Think about it.
The difference between a new developer and a mid-level developer is that they have worked on larger projects and have also worked alongside other team members. New developers work on repositories alone as individual contributors. A few commits here and there to learn the newest feature of a language or framework. No packages require updating and no challenges from team members on code quality.
The trick now is to show you have worked on larger projects. Even better if you’ve worked alongside other developers, or better still yet if you’ve been a leader. This is why open source contributions are so valuable. It’s not the lines of code. It’s coding to a public standard on large codebases.
But, even if you aren’t yet ready for open-source, working on one larger side project — something that grows with you — is good experience.
Read More: 31 Questions to Ask at an Interview for Software Development Jobs
Document Your Journey
Now to seal the deal!
Working on these projects is great, but we’re expecting recruiters and employers to find your CV or LinkedIn profile, be enticed to delve deeper, and then click through to your GitHub, find the project, and investigate.
This rarely happens, believe me. You need to drag them there. Put the evidence under their noses.
If you blog, can you repost on LinkedIn. Where others rely on experience and qualifications, the self-taught developer must rely on Activity. I placed a capital letter there for a reason. I mean the Activity section on your LinkedIn profile. Recruiters and employers need to see evidence of your skills and knowledge.
Writing LinkedIn Posts, adding screenshots and code snippets — it all goes towards painting a picture that you live and breathe this. You’re not waiting for an opportunity, you are going to make it happen. That’s an inspiring story, and the good people of this world will want to support that!
This project should grow, and, I’d argue, should never be finished. It is an ongoing documentary about your journey as a developer. It should include the ups and the downs, the successes and the tragedies.
And, if your side project is good enough, nobody really cares about your CV.
It’s HOW You Apply for Jobs
The last thing I would recommend to do as a developer is consider how you apply to jobs. Remember the power of proactivity. Research the companies you want to work for. Research the people who inspire you or, perhaps, someone who is working in a role or company you can see yourself working in and apply directly.
Find someone on Twitter talking about their journey as a self-taught developer, and locate their profile on LinkedIn. Where did they start their journey? It would stand to reason that this company likes self-taught developers and is willing to take a chance and make that investment.
Read More: How to Negotiate Your Salary as a Remote Developer (Pre-Hire & Raise)
Ready to Stand Out as a Self-Taught Dev?
It’s easy to assume that a self-taught programmer is at a disadvantage. The reason most people think this way is that the yardstick by which they make this comparison is dismissive of the qualities a self-taught developer possesses.
Play to your strengths. A self-taught developer is already displaying passion and proactivity. The key is to display them in the right manner and place.
A side project, personal website, or portfolio is your secret weapon. Put all your efforts here. Build something bigger than a simple website. Showcase your development skills. Use it as a tool to document your journey and publicize that journey. Take people with you.
The goal is to have a public record of your progress, not just a finished product. A qualification is the alternative, but it’s becoming harder and harder to ignore the irrefutable evidence that is code … with an accompanying journal, of course!
I hope you found this article useful, whether you taught yourself to code or earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science.
As always, if you have any questions or further tips to share for self-taught software developers and engineers, let us know in the comments below. And, if you haven’t yet, join Arc as a developer now to search all remote developer jobs in one place, get access to great career advice, and network with remote devs around the world.
You can also explore HireAI to skip the line and:
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⚡️ Identify top applicants from our network of 250,000+ devs with no manual screening
⚡️ Hire 4x faster with vetted candidates (qualified and interview-ready)
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Read More: Ready to Take On a Senior Role or Leadership Position as a Developer?
