What not to do to find a job
Dedicated to people who grew up on the bad advice of Grigory Oster.
Let me introduce myself – Lee, 22 years old, this year I am receiving a bachelor's degree in software engineering. And I have no commercial development experience.
You're probably not very interested in how I ended up in this situation, but I'll tell you anyway.
So, what not to do if you want to build a successful career in the IT field and are getting a higher education.
(well, a little about how not to study at university and why)
Thinking that they will teach you everything
The exams have been passed, the scores have been received, you have entered where you wanted. Your institute is one of the best in the country, your students are highly regarded, and there are a lot of rave reviews. You can relax and receive pleasure knowledge. Here they will definitely give you everything you need for work and you can easily get a job anywhere and become a top developer.
Thinking that there will still be an opportunity to learn the material
It doesn't matter if something is unclear. There will still be a lot of time for graphs, algorithms and matrices. They can’t just end in a year and never appear in the program again.
“It’s now or never” is a great slogan to describe studying anything at university.
Thinking that employers are waiting everywhere with open arms
All doors are open to young programmers, this direction is developing every year, and there is a shortage of personnel in the market. You will be handed over for any internship; vacancies at hh are a dime a dozen.
Expect that the acquired skills will not go away
You can't drink away experience! – I managed to forget the basics of Java even without the help of alcohol. You worked so hard to write that program and solve your calculus homework that this knowledge is burned into your brain. And the useful advice from a practical teacher is so unusual that it will definitely not be forgotten. And honestly, it’s not the last century to write notes for you.
Putting your career on hold
Don't rush to go to work. After all, the IT industry is developing every year, and the shortage of personnel will not disappear from the market. At any time on hh you will find a suitable vacancy for a person with no experience. Leave work until your senior year – there will still be nothing to do there.
Thinking that programmers don't need math
Mathematics? This is something from the past. Now Matesh is used as much as possible in the machine, so why do you need all these distributions, rows and gradient descents. Statistics and probability theory are also relics of the past, which are not even clear where to apply them.
Forget about algorithms and data structures
All this is on the Internet and written 100 years ago. You can find an algorithm at any time and apply it for its intended purpose. What ChatGPT was created for, after all, will write.
Choose and develop one direction
Determine for yourself what you want to do and don’t waste your attention on everything else. After all, there is nothing more reliable than decisions made while getting acquainted with the directions. If you want to design websites, don’t bother studying databases and SQL queries. If you want to go mobile, forget about non-core languages.
Don't focus on your portfolio
Finished works only take up time. When applying for a job, you will have the opportunity to demonstrate your skills by solving a test task and undergoing an interview with specialists. And no one will ask for a portfolio.
Don't waste your time on the humanities
Life is hard and you only need hard in it. Develop knowledge of your chosen language, development principles and libraries. Leave communication and management to colleagues from related fields.
Don't participate in the professional community
Follow the main principle of programmers – loneliness. No social contacts or cries for help. Every man for himself.
Conclusion
Here I tried to reflect on the topic of my expectations and the reality that I encountered during my studies. In short, all points can be summarized by the saying “don’t be lazy.” But I wanted to take a closer look at obvious things and choke, let’s be honest.
Who knows, maybe one will recognize himself in my article at the beginning of his journey, and the other will receive a warning from an imperceptible mistake in thinking. In any case, I want to wish everyone success.
