How I Became a Developer after a Hiatus?

So you think re-entering work force after a gap is a huge problem? Or may be you are stuck in testing or support projects but wanted to be a developer instead? Or may be you think it is too difficult to be a developer and hence coding is not for you. If you have such doubts, then you are at the right place to help get your doubts cleared.

A brief introduction to self

Let me start by telling you briefly about myself. I am Parul, currently working as a Backend Developer since almost a year. I have an approx 5.5 years of experience of working as a QA/QA-II engineer followed by a career gap of 3.5 years. I re-entered IT as a Developer in full swing, last year and trust me when I say it has been quite fun of a ride so far!

I saw a lot of women switching from a completely non technical background to a technical job outside of India. However, still in India I see a lot of people not willing to take the risk or facing a lot of challenges when they attempt something like this. So Ithought of taking the first step and putting my story out so that it reaches all the women who need help re-entering the developer market.

Is it tough being a developer?

Yes and No. Well, it depends honestly. If you haven’t written a single line of code ever even then you can generate a lot of interest in coding if the language you have chosen just clicks. I started with C++ a long time ago, never developed an interest in it so decided to quit coding. This time I started with javascript and oh man! I fell in love with the entire coding thing.

Pro Tip

Spend some time on twitter, follow a bunch of interesting people form the tech industry, pick a language of your interest to get started with. Can be — Javascript, Python, HTML or even CSS. Spend a lot of time writing code and building stuff. Then take a decision whether you enjoy doing it or not.

How to get started as a Developer?

Whatever you are currently doing try and manage 2–3 hours a day and devote to coding. I joined an online bootcamp to brush up my HTML/CSS/Javascript skills followed by tons of projects in ReactJS and NodeJS. I was working as a QA-II engineer during the day and attended a bootcamp from 6am-8:30 am Monday-Friday followed by lots of home assignments to be finished for the next day and weekends. The daily assignments helped me build stuff and learn the right way.

Pro Tip

Join a bootcamp or learn from Freecodecamp’s website and youtube tutorials. Get stuck coding, learn how to search the right way on google/youtube, get solutions and understand why something works the way it does.

How to prepare for Interviews?

Be confident. One thing I was asked every time was why do you want to switch careers so late, why is there a career gap. What I did to answer them was to just say the honest answers out loud. Yeah! No one really cares about your career gap or switch if you are good at programming. So there is no need to complicate the answers. Just be honest. There is no perfect answer for it.

Next is the actual preparation for the interview. I spent 2 months only building projects using ReactJS and NodeJS. Full stack projects hosted somewhere with code and a proper readme on github helps a lot. I was pretty active on twitter as well and I used to share every new thing that I build on a daily basis which helped me to gain a lot of attention from the tech industry as well. that helped me reach out to the CTO’s of a few startups directly and I could forward my resume and work with them to get an interview invite.

Most companies want to have an online pair programming session these days where they expect you to code something live or may be add a feature to your existing projects. Practising such problems on hackerearth and other similar platforms can prepare you for the live rounds well.

Pro Tip

Build at least 5 projects. Put the code on github. Be active on Twitter. Share projects you build and codepen links. Show the world you are ready to face the interview. Be open to ask for work/interview opportunities. Be a part of the tech community.

What about Data Structures and Algorithms?

Most interviewers still expect you to answer a few problems in DS & Algo. Devote a good month to prepare for the most commonly asked questions. You can practice on HackerEarth for timed problems. I got started with interviewcake.com for learning the approach to be taken to solve ds algo problems.

Pro Tip

Don’t leave DS Algo for the end as it takes a few tries to understand the approach that works for you. In most organizations, they just want to check if you can solve a few typical ds also questions to get an understanding of your technical skills.

How to write a resume?

I used the https://rx-resume.web.app/ to write my resume. I made sure I write a max of 2 pages. Summarised my past experiences, my reason to switch field and listed my projects that I had built using ReactJS and NodeJS. Resumes should be short and concise. No fluff to be included.

When do you think you are interview ready?

You can never be fully ready in a real sense. When you feel you are good enough and confident enough to start learning through this interview process, you should start. I started with a simple goal to learn from them not to clear them right away. I knew it would take me a few failures to actually see success so I followed the easy way around — appearing to learn the different questions that are asked, the format of the interviews, how to confidently answer a problem within the time limits etc. It helped me a lot because initially after 5–6 rejections, I started getting acceptance in almost every company I applied to.

How to get interview invites?

Create a beautiful profile on github. List down all your projects there with a detailed README. Use that link to share on twitter and collect feedback from people. I posted on twitter that I was job-ready and looking for opportunities. A lot of people then started tagging me at relevant opportunities posts. I DM-ed CTO’s of startups I was interested in directly on Twitter in a single message stating the skills I can offer, my GitHub profile link, and a brief introduction to self. Most people were intrigued by my introduction and initiated the conversation.

How much to ask for?

Be very clear of what money goal you have and don’t shy away from saying that. Never undersell yourself just because you are coming back from a break or switching profiles. I took a good hike on my last CTC even though I was switching into a completely new profile. The only reason was I cleared the interview and showed them that I was ready for the role hence the negotiation worked. Also, just say no to organizations that want to hire you for a really really low CTC because they think you are new to the industry hence can’t offer a good CTC. They are probably doubting your skills so better not to go ahead with them and keep appearing for other better organizations with a better culture.

Does your past experience count?

Yes it does. You are a seasoned professional even if you have worked for 2 years or so. You are professional. You know the industry standards. You are much much better than a fresher who would require lots of grooming. So yes your past experience does matter even though you are re-entering after a break or switching into a slightly different role.

There are a lot of other things that I would like to share with you guys. However, keeping this article to the point so as to help people who are thinking of re-entering the job market only, for now. I will write more detailed articles on each of these processes or on Javascript. Stay tuned for more information and you can write to me at parulm.business@gmail.com with your doubts or queries.