How To Find Entry Level Software Developer Jobs
Having worked in development for well over 10 years now, it’s been fascinating to watch the space develop from a ‘hot’ job market into something utterly ridiculous.
I don’t anticipate the market slowing down.
10 years ago, when I started developing React wasn’t a thing, nobody knew about Bitcoin and Amazon were famous not for infrastructure but rather for the delivery of books…Amazon hadn’t yet even purchased Love Film (remember them anyone!?)
It’s not uncommon to see software development jobs paying £80K or more in my hometown of Manchester where living expenses are vastly less than those in London.
I’m seeing rates of over £100K/yr for senior developers more and more on LinkedIn.
Ok, so the job market for developers is pretty good and you’re interested in becoming one.
You’ve read my part 1 and part 2 of my guide becoming a developer. You’ve even set up a LinkedIn profile to find development jobs. Great!
What is the average salary for an entry-level software developer?
I covered this in part 1 of my software development guide but basically you should be looking for around £25K/yr depending on who you’re working for, where the job is and the type of client you’re working for.
- An investment bank will probably pay more.
- A client in London will probably pay more.
- A Java developer can usually ask for more than a PHP developer.
Regardless, there probably isn’t that much variety on the bottom rung of the job market so don’t get too picky. The point here is just to get something from where you can start building out a portfolio, a reputation and a bit of a name for yourself.
You can find more information on Glassdoor if you really want.
How can you get an entry level software development job with no experience?
More often than not, the simple answer is that you can’t. There are very few companies that are going to be delighted by the prospect of training up someone with absolutely no experience so don’t expect to go from English graduate or shelf-stacker to software developer overnight.
The good news is, unlike almost any other profession I can think of, you just need a laptop and an internet connection to start learning how to do development work.
Name me another industry where that is a the case!
You don’t even need an expensive machine to start on your journey. Obviously, it’s nice to work on a shiny M1 Macbook but truth be told you can cover a lot of ground using a dusty old machine from years ago if you install Linux on it.
You don’t need to pay for any expensive members-only programs or work your way through the entire back catalogue of Udemy JavaScript courses either.
Get online and start figuring out how to build stuff. The beauty of software development is that there is a huge community online waiting to help you (hello StackOverflow!).
Build up your experience on your own time and you’ll find it much easier to get your first development job.
How can I get a software development job without a degree
A degree really isn’t a prerequisite to finding development work. You might find that a graduate scheme asks for a degree simply as a means of filtering out what they perceive to be the ‘riff raff’.
It’s a bit of a shame really…but let’s not lose sleep about a system that is stacked against you.
As above, you’re much better off buying a cheap laptop and teaching yourself than spending 3 years and a tonne of money to program in Pascal or something.
Honestly, the degree (or lack thereof) won’t hold you back half as much as being inexperienced.
Get yourself online and start building something of value to you or someone you know.
Can I get a fully remote, entry-level, software development job?
This isn’t as rare as you might think. Now, there might be some expectations if you go down this route e.g. being online during certain times so don’t expect to get your £25K/yr job and relocate to Bali.
That being said, the combination of employers climbing over each other to compete for talent and everyone working remotely during COVID has led to a great number of tech jobs being made remote.
Employes have realised that it’s cheaper for them too if they don’t have to rent office space.
As such, there’s probably not a boat load of junior, fully remote, positions and you might find it a bit lonely or difficult to progress but you’ll probably find a large number of flexible or hybrid positions.
You can find fully remote jobs listed on https://remoteok.com/ but very often what you’ll see on LinkedIn (if you follow my guide to find development work on LinkedIn) is that many of the jobs are listed as remote or hybrid anyway
Should I take a graduate software development job?
There’s absolutely no harm in this. Graduate software development jobs — if you can get them — will offer a fairly structured route into mid-level and senior development.
You’ll likely be working for a larger organisation. Rates should be pretty solid (with the exception of the likes of FDM) and you’ll be opening yourself up to a number of opportunities for promotion if you stay put or rapid increases to your salary if you leave after a couple of years to go elsewhere.
You can do it on your own but if you have a graduate job offer on the table…my suggestion would be that you take it.
Where is the best place to find entry-level development work?
The best place to find any development work is LinkedIn. I’ve written about how you can market yourself on the platform in 10–20 minutes/day here.
