Have you ever wondered how you can make money as a developer, and still live that dream of having enough time for yourself? This article will give you a solid plan to get you started in getting you your first remote developer job!
The world of work has gone flexible- people now want to work from home, people want to have enough time for their friends and family, people don't want to spend long hours in traffic anymore. In recent observation, it's been recorded that it's a lot more easier to get remote jobs now than on-premise jobs.
With that being said, being a remote developer requires many skills, and there are two major factors in developing a skill: your ability to learn new things quickly and support from senior developers. You need to maximize both of these to help you become the best developer you can be.
Remote work is now a commonly accepted part of many industries, particularly tech, where most companies allow employees to work from home sometimes, or for extended periods, while traveling. Developers are particularly well-suited to becoming digital nomads. All they need to do their jobs is a laptop and an internet connection. A few recent changes to the way developers work has made remote work easier than ever before:
-Chat tools like Slack and video conferencing tools like Zoom have finally met their full potential, providing slick and reliable communication options.
-Developers are increasingly working in cloud native environments.
-Slack integrations like Screen Hero allow two remote developers to work together like they’re at the same desk.
-Laptops are more compact and powerful than ever before, allowing developers to work effectively on laptops small and light enough to fit inside a daypack.
-Free and fast internet is almost available everywhere, from cafes to libraries to co-working spaces, in cities all across the world. Some cities even have free WiFi throughout city limits.
Steps required in getting a remote developer job
Now, there are a lot of things you need to consider before applying for a remote job:
- Good Resume- yes, your CV should speak for itself. You need to be able to effectively communicate your skills and abilities in your CV. Remember, your first encounter with a recruiter is through your CV and so, you need your CV to stand out among your peers.
- Job Search- It's one thing to be skilled and another thing to drive value off your skill. In recent years, there have been a major increase in the number of software developers in the world and of course, there's a remarkable increase in the number of software developer jobs available online. To make sure that your CV gets into the hands of as many recruiters as possible, you need to apply to jobs on sites like DevAlert (devalert allows you to get remote developer jobs easily with no stress)
- Good communication skills- it's important to note that as a remote developer, you need to learn how to communicate effectively through writing and of course, oral speech too. Part of your work on a daily basis as a remote developer is your ability to convey information effectively via communication channels like Slack, Trello, etc
- Collaboration- This is a lot more tricky in the sense that you can have a very good communication skills and at the same time, have poor collaborative skills too. Your ability to collaborate with teams spread across different locations in building a particular solution makes you a good fit for the remote job. Companies greatly consider candidates that exhibits the right culture of distributed workforce which involves great collaboration/teamwork.
- Good knowledge of Version control- Version control is a system where you save files so you can look back over time and see what you changed at what point. It’ll probably be used at every software company you ever work at, and knowing the basics is really important. Since most of your work will be done remotely, it is expected that you know how to use git and github to collaborate with other team members in working on projects.
In Summary
If you’re a software developer, there’s no better time to consider working remotely. Whether you’re excited by the prospect of sampling the best of Europe’s nightlife or living and working at Robben Island— Island located in table bay, Western cape, South Africa— becoming a remote developer can place your unique dreams within reach.
Thank you to all of you who made it this far! I hope that you found this helpful in your job search!
Top comments (1)
This is very Uchechukwu, thank you for the insight.