The latest articles on DEV Community by Alex Cevicelow (@alex_cevi_). https://dev.to/alex_cevi_ https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F275561%2F6ad1abf0-49a8-40a4-b4df-d1ffd6497507.jpg https://dev.to/alex_cevi_ en Alex Cevicelow Wed, 20 Nov 2019 04:13:41 +0000 https://dev.to/alex_cevi_/how-i-got-a-dev-job-5-months-out-of-high-school-1j7m https://dev.to/alex_cevi_/how-i-got-a-dev-job-5-months-out-of-high-school-1j7m <p>I have one word that sums up the journey to getting a job and that would be persistence. I am not writing this article to brag but I am writing to inspire. </p> <p>I started coding freshman year of high school when I made the decision to take the path of vocational education. Vocational education for anyone that isn’t aware is where you learn a career skill or trade alongside your traditional high school education. At the vocational school I attended I learned all the basics of HTML, CSS and Javascript. I didn’t get taught how to build APIs or use Javascript frameworks so I set out to teach myself.</p> <p>At the start of 2019 I decided that I was going to dedicate every spare moment I had to learning and getting better. This meant that I woke up at 5am everyday to code before school this also meant that anytime that wasn’t spent with friends, family or work I was ultra focused on coding. </p> <p>By May 2019 I started to pull together my portfolio of a few projects that I made in angular and start to build my resume. I also did some mentoring sessions with a senior developer that really helped me define the path that I would need to take in order to get to where I wanted to be. So from June until September I applied to every single job that I could find on linkedIn that fit my ability (363 to be exact).</p> <p>I had my first ever technical interview in september 2019, 4 months after graduating high school. I studied for an entire week reviewing JS fundamentals and whiteboarding. Long story short I didn’t get that exact job but I stayed persistent and continued to apply for jobs everyday. </p> <p>I applied for a job that I wasn’t qualified for just hoping that someone would see my resume and I could tell my story and show my work. Next thing I know I am talking with the head of development for the company and having another technical interview. This interview goes very well and I fly down to check out the office and meet the team.</p> <p>That brings us to where I am now. I am currently working for a company in Louisville kentucky where I am developing products for the home healthcare field. </p> career beginners javascript typescript