Ask HN: What's my best option to get into the IT field with my BA degree?

4 points by subless 7 years ago | 9 comments

I was considered a non-traditional college student when I started for my BA in Computer Information Systems when I was 25 years old. I graduated this past December (2018) at the age of 30.

Since then I have been actively applying for jobs in the IT field such as "Software Developer, IT Help Desk, Desktop Support, Programmer" etc. Some of them are mostly the same thing just different titles.

As of right now (May 2019) I have applied to at minimum 50 different jobs in the surrounding cities near me. The two largest cities near me are an hour away in opposite directions. I live in a relatively small town with no computing industry at all so the other two larger cities are my best bet.

Unfortunately, just about all of the 50 applications have been rejected due to lack of professional experience. No one seems to care about my personal experience even though I have it listed on my resume. I'm becoming frustrated because I have to start paying my student loan back in a couple months.

I'm married with kids, my wife has a good career in the next county over, and we own our home so I cannot relocate. I don't have a lot of free time to due to my part-time job to pay some small bills while my wife covers the rest.

We don't have a lot of free money so after looking at the cost of study materials and exam fees for certifications I have decided I'll have to wait to find a better job to save up some money.

As a side note one thing I've noticed is that not a lot of companies are posting "Entry-Level" positions for people like me to apply to. Most of the positions assume you already have some professional experience.

This all being said (sorry it's so long), what advice do you have to help me figure out how to get started?

algaeontoast 7 years ago |

I would steer clear of "IT", you need to get some projects on a blog or fill in your GitHub with things that aren't necessarily over the top complex but somewhat novel and creative.

Employers see you as a risk because they aren't sure how much effort it's going to take to get you to a point where you can not only write code but understand how to work as an engineer in a larger org and be extensible.

rossdavidh 7 years ago |

One possibility is that, because there are a lot of people with various certifications and degrees that cannot, in fact, actually program, they are suspicious of your lack of experience. They may have been burned before by people who supposedly had training, but cannot program.

So, make a software project, that you can show. Best if it is something you can actually use somehow, like a database-backed website for your personal collection of something, or your hobby, or what-have-you. Something real, so that you encounter real-life tradeoffs and design decisions, that you can talk about when it comes up in an interview. But, not so big that you can't actually finish it in your available time.

As a side benefit, this will keep your skills from eroding with the passing of time since Dec 2018, which is also good, both in an of itself, and also to help you answer interview questions.

subless 7 years ago | |

Thank you for your feedback. I agree I should work on some side projects.

gscott 7 years ago |

Contribute to open source.

Create a project and post it to github to show your skills.

Get certifications in particular technologies https://www.pluralsight.com/blog/software-development/best-d...

Do jobs on upwork to build a resume and examples

Apply on sites like Trilobyte that give you tests

subless 7 years ago | |

Could you provide a URL for Trilobyte? I tried searching but only got results for a gaming company.

rahimnathwani 7 years ago | | |

Triplebyte

DoreenMichele 7 years ago |

List of remote work platforms:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1JfNAbUX_lN9K3MCNHO15...

auslegung 7 years ago |

You’ll find my email address on my profile, reach out to me. I’ve mentored 4 people in your same position into jobs (and I was in your position a few years ago). Totally free, just paying it forward.

subless 7 years ago | |

Noted. Thank you very much.