Hints for finding a first dev job in the UK

Lorna — Tue, 15 Sep 2020 19:20:37 +0000

This is very much a guide to how I negotiated the British job scene. Although some of it may be useful to others around the world, it's very UK-centric and others would be better placed to advise on the USA or other places.

I'm 39 and I thought a career in anything had passed me by. I'd recently spent 8 years recovering from my second mental breakdown which had left me with serious depression. I'd been very fortunate that the part-time voluntary work I'd been doing for several years finally led organically to a job in social care helping people with tenancy issues, often due (in part) to mental health issues. I coded very casually in my spare time. Generally butting heads with JavaScript and giving up in fits of frustration. I'd spent 3 months in the care job when at Christmas 2019 I plucked up the courage to do dedicate myself to becoming a developer professionally. I would be offered a full time junior software engineer job in late August. I won't bore you with the whole story but I'll leave you with the takeaways:

FreeCodeCamp was instrumental in my learning. If it got beyond me, I liked to use Colt Steele's bootcamp courses on Udemy to explain it to me in a different way. There's plenty of videos on all manner of topics on Youtube. Just find your own small set of resources and get to work. Anything is valid if it gets you coding.
Build a portfolio page as soon as you know enough HTML and CSS. You can add to it and change it as your skills grow. It's great practice in itself, even before you add in personal projects.
Once you've got the basics, you have the basis to start applying for basic jobs. In the UK, as well as 'junior' jobs, search Indeed and LinkedIn as well as Google for level 3 or 4 apprenticeships. If you're in Scotland, search for degree apprenticeships where you can work while earning a whole degree for free. Companies that offer apprenticeships include Vodaphone, BBC, BGL Group, Sky, Legal and General, Deloitte and FedEx. They'll consider anyone above school leaving age with a love of coding so great if you've had a career break (like me) or discovered programming later in life (also like me). Academic requirements vary by employer. Sign up for their Twitter feeds and/or career newsletters.
Other trainee positions do exist. They might be occasional, but it's worth doing a daily search online.
Harder is the ability to be location flexible. If you don't have family ties, or you're willing to move, then you'll find opportunities easier to come by. I found jobs were generally in the Midlands and London/South East. Living in Scotland, this has meant I'm having to uproot myself. Which isn't easy as a single person, let alone if you had a family.
Use Twitter or dev.to to build up a network of fellow beginners. You'll find their stories inspirational and when you get your own wins, they'll cheer you on, too.
Tailor every application specifically to the advert. Employers can sniff out a generic covering letter a mile away.
Make your CV look good. Use Canva or a similar editor to make yours look sharp.
Get your CV checked by at least one impartial individual. Ask your contacts on Twitter, or try Reddit.
Don't give up when you get ghosted or rejected. Keep reflecting on how to make your application match the next job more closely and keep trying. You'll find your niche eventually.

My First Project: What I learned

Lorna — Tue, 03 Mar 2020 20:56:13 +0000

There's that awkward time just after you set out learning web development when you go from the exciting 'what will come' of dreaming about a future career of problem solving, up-to-date technology and a decent pay packet to having to put your money where your mouth is and having to do some actual coding.

Common advice online steers new, self-taught coders towards creating a portfolio of personal projects that can be used to showcase your knowledge and skills to future employers. 4-6 seems to be the sweet spot. With that in mind, I set out to create my own first personal project.

I had the initial idea while learning about loops. I thought about how I could try and apply them to a simple concept and, for some reason, I thought about Tamagochi's- the children's digital pets- as an example. The idea of repeated sequences for certain time durations. That's how I came to decide on making my own virtual pet. Taking my pet dog for inspiration, I named him, Benny.

Naming it was the easy part. Next, I had to think about the features I wanted to include. I knew I wanted it to eat, play and get ill. I also wanted him to die if neglected. For the player, I wanted them to be able to add to his life if they interacted with it via toys or food. I decided I'd give him a life comprised of health, happiness and hunger, each with a level of 4 that would eventually run down to 0 if left unattended.

This countdown was achieved by having a function that generated a random number from 1-3 that decided which of the three life areas would have a level deducted every second. To be honest, the actual implication of the timer would prove to be the most difficult part of the build. The timer would variously not stop, or at one point I had 2 timers which were double counting. In the end, it would be a developer across the world from New Zealand who contacted me via Twitter who would unpick my tangled code and let me finish.

On the part of the player, onclick functions allow them to increase the levels of each of the life areas. These are accompanied by sounds. The actual sprites I used of Benny and his accessories were purchased for around $10. I'd made a start to try and make my own but I feel it was worth the investment for a more professional look. Especially if I want to use it later in my portfolio.

I didn't achieve everything I set out to do. I wanted him to sleep after being left idle for so long but the speed of the game was providing enough challenge that he couldn't be left for very long without dying anyhow. There's also issues with the CSS- I'd have liked the submit button to move up when the death message appears but that was beyond my understanding of how to achieve it for now. I may rework the CSS in Bootstrap prior to applying to any real jobs in the future.

The project took a month of free time to finish, although I certainly wasn't spending all my non-work time on it as I was doing freeCodeCamp, attending a meetup and going on holiday around it.

I've learned a few things aside from the technical aspects I used to make Benny. I've learned to search better for information and ask clearer questions. This is made easier as your coding vocabulary increases as you're exposed to more and more concepts. I've also learned that Twitter is a great source of both help and also of encouragement. If you're not already using it as a coder, join up to #100DaysOfCode immediately. You won't regret it.

I don't know what project 2 will be yet. I'm moving on to freeCodeCamp's Front End Libraries certification next so it all depends on the possibilities of Bootstrap and React. But I'm enthusiastic because it feels like making a personal project is where the knowledge from any courses meets me- my interests and personality. What a simple purple blob says about me though, is anyone's guess...

DEV Community: Lorna

Hints for finding a first dev job in the UK

My First Project: What I learned