DEV Community

Discussion on: Would you hire a foreign developer without CS degree?

Collapse
 
dennissmolek profile image
Dennis Smolek

I stumbled onto this while searching the other way, but you wouldn't have much of a problem here in the US with smaller companies for your first jobs.

Larger places like Google, Amazon, Etc. will be harder as a ton of CS grads will be flooding them. What I would do is build up your online rep with open source, articles, etc. Then find a job with a creative or advertising firm or more "Tech adjacent" jobs. Web development, mini-sites, etc. This would give you the stateside footprint and the chance to build up your network.

What I've learned the most career wise is how useful a good network is. Going to tech events, volunteering, speaking, etc. will get you in lunches or committees with people that run departments at places that your resume may not make it past reception.

The other option is the startup community, which is awesome but a lot less reliable and may not look as good on your resume if your goal is bigger shops (IMO) as your experiences there may be less than a year. BUT Startups do give you a much higher Title/responsibility bump that can sometimes make a huge difference when looking at another place.

The way I would think of it is, lets say 5 years from now you apply at say.. I dunno Twitch..

If you have 2/3 companies of work history, membership in a local organization, maybe a certification (AWS) and a higher title, vs someone who has that CS degree and spent that same 5 years at one or two places you're much closer to each other.

In fact, I googled it and Twitch's job postings don't even list a degree as a requirement: jobs.lever.co/twitch/931021a4-8d79...