​Dear Aspiring Devs,
 
The Company is not your family.  The Company wants you to feel like it is family because the Company knows that you would fight to the ends of the earth for your family.  Co-opting that drive benefits the Company, so the Company will offer you more money, recreation like video games, nice bean bag chairs that make you comfortable in the office.  It’s a very enticing thing to see these distractions at the office, but these distractions are like Pleasure Island in Pinocchio.  If you spend too much time working, whether it’s at the office or a working from home situation – tell me you haven’t worked more than 40 hours a week since the pandemic – you’ll find that you’ve become a jackass.  Your family won’t recognize you, and you’ll need a lot of help fixing that.
 
Do your best work for the Company, but don’t overwork.  The Company is not your family.

Of the five ways I've landed an interview, every one of them required effort on my part.  Never discount dumb luck as a path to success but realize that it is the least dependable.  The effort it requires is also not small.  Of the five, I would say it requires the most effort because to make the most of it, you must be prepared for many different possibilities over which you have no control.

If you want to take some control of your chances, there are at least four other things you can do.  User Groups are people who use a particular technology.  They gather to discuss the newest developments for that technology.  Most importantly, these are the people you would be working with every day, and I guarantee they have been asked at least twice a year if they know someone.  If they know you, then you are already inside the city walls.

Another option is the third-party recruiter.  It's particularly important to remember that these people are paid when their candidate gets hired and maintains employment for a specified period.  They will usually screen you with tests but remember they're not the employer.  Passing the tests does not mean you have a job.  It means they'll submit you.  There is also the possibility that they are not going to test you.  This is usually a recruiter that will take you to lunch a few times to ask questions and get to know you.  It is possible that they consider themselves a good judge of character.  Regardless of the type of recruiter, they can get you through the gatekeepers.

Former coworkers are not as likely to get you a programming job unless they figured out how to get one themselves.  Usually this is reserved for people in the industry that you have worked with before.  They can be crucial to getting a second or third job.  My point here is, don't burn bridges.  It is unprofessional and eliminates another way to get a foot in the door.

A friend in the industry is an odd one.  You never know who you will meet and get to know.  For me, it was a former roommate from college.  I did not get a job at the company he worked for, he and I had not worked together, and he had not worked for the company I had applied to.  It was a network of connections that got my name to the right person.  Share your search with your friends.  You and they do not know who you know, but it could catapult you inside the castle.

​Early Career Devs,

I made a big mistake.

There are many avenues to success and every journey is unique. When I set my sights on becoming a software engineer, I was single-mindedly obsessed with becoming the best programmer I could be. Then, I made a mistake. I gave no thought to career progression. Whether you're a programmer, developer, software engineer, or any of the other permutations of that title, it is important to realize it is the first rung on that ladder.

For the first five years of my career, I didn't even think about it. I was a software engineer. That's what I wanted to be. I made it. I was successful. The harsh reality is that innovative technology is always coming, and one day, you will not be as fast at learning it as someone half your age with twice the ambition.

Because I had not considered a career progression, I did not have a clear target. This tended to derail every performance review. "What do you want to do next?" I wouldn't say I languished, and there are plenty of people that are genuinely happy as software developers. It's important to respect those that are happy as is.

But don't ignore the career progression that is available to you when you begin this journey at your first job.