How to get a job as a python developer
The economy is in the toilet, blah blah blah. Luckily for the few people who are smart and willing to work on themselves for free,Its not that bad.
One of the things I like about this field, is that its very merit based : you write good code, you’re in. There’s a large amount of programming jobs with good pay available without a degree. Also, you can start on your own , from the laptop or pc you already own, at no extra cost. The main barrier is yourself (as always).
Tutorials
go through the djangobook tutorials (http://www.djangobook.com/en/2.0/index.html),
the djangodocs tuturials (https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/1.5/intro/tutorial01/) ,
and then http://www.learpythonthehardway.com
The order doesn’t particularly matter, but if you don’t know how to use the windows command line , and windows powershell, (or terminal for linux/osx), start with the command line crash course (http://cli.learncodethehardway.org/book/)
after you’ve done these three, then branch off into whatever subset of python you are interested in.
Stackoverflow.com is invaluable for finding answers to tricky coding issues, All the developers I know use this site, it is a godsend. Make an account, ask questions, and help others with theirs , the latter part will come in handy, I explain further down
Portfolio
get a portfolio together, work on improving it gradually, either by improving your initial apps in your portfolio , or by making new apps
create a bitbucket or github account, and learn how to use git version control or mercurial version control (find out what these are if you dont know, very important)
Job Listings
Scour though job listings for python developers, and look at what the recruiters want. There’s ancillary things that will crop up often in terms of job requirements, identify them and add them to your skill set.
Stackoverflow.com has a careers section (http://careers.stackoverflow.com/), which at the time of writing this, is invite only, the way to get an invite is to assiste people with their queries on the main site..so all the people with access to the careers section has evidence of knowing what theyre talking about, the more the better. Mention your account on there and your contributions on your CV.
e.g Things like database knowledge (postgresql, mysql) & front end knowledge (html, css, django)
When you’ll get a job you’ll be a junior python developer, but don’t just look at junior dev job listings, look at mid-level to senior dev job listings to get an idea of other things that might be useful
Interviews
After a solid 30 days of python practice (or however long, up to you), start applying to jobs. The usual stuff about sorting out your cv applies here. Don’t not apply for a junior dev listing because you think you’re not good enough yet, let the recruiter worry about rejecting you, put your bid in regardless.
When you go on interviews view them as fact finding missions the pressure is off, if you get offered a job, great, if you get rejected, find out what is lacking, and use this info to streamline your efforts. I did an initial round of applications, got rejected from all of them, and used the info about where I was falling short to my advantage
After a while when you’ve improved your skills and are more confident, do another round of applications, rinse and repeat
Another note about interviews, sometimes you’ll get recruiters who clearly know absolutely nothing about programming, and are reading off a checklist of things a programmer should know.
This is ok in theory, but in reality you’ll get questions like “what developer tools do you use to do your job?” , which is retarded, they should be asking “what can you do, what have you done”…you wouldn’t ask a carpenter “what brand of hammer do you use?” , but there you go, people are stupid.
I pointed this out to one particular recruitment person, they nodded (It was over the phone but you get what I mean) and after I finished the explanation they simply repeated the question. Didn’t care whether I got that job or not after that interview if I’m honest.
The above is a condensed version of what I did, I got a job after my second round of job applications , and the length of time from starting to learn python, to getting a job as a python developer was 8 months ..It’s doable faster if you spend more time programming, I averaged about an hour a day. The time period felt like ages, but trust me, its worth it. I’m currently sitting on the toilet in my new place writing this up , on my new macbook pro. And I’ve just realized I’ve run out of toilet paper.
![[Image: GT6PuQ9.png]](http://i.imgur.com/GT6PuQ9.png)
Not many people have the inclination to code, or the patience, if you do , you’re set. I’ve already got a bit of passive income coming in from leasing out an improved version of one of the apps I made during the period before I got my current job. It’s not much, but a start is a start.
Good luck
The economy is in the toilet, blah blah blah. Luckily for the few people who are smart and willing to work on themselves for free,Its not that bad.
One of the things I like about this field, is that its very merit based : you write good code, you’re in. There’s a large amount of programming jobs with good pay available without a degree. Also, you can start on your own , from the laptop or pc you already own, at no extra cost. The main barrier is yourself (as always).
Tutorials
go through the djangobook tutorials (http://www.djangobook.com/en/2.0/index.html),
the djangodocs tuturials (https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/1.5/intro/tutorial01/) ,
and then http://www.learpythonthehardway.com
The order doesn’t particularly matter, but if you don’t know how to use the windows command line , and windows powershell, (or terminal for linux/osx), start with the command line crash course (http://cli.learncodethehardway.org/book/)
after you’ve done these three, then branch off into whatever subset of python you are interested in.
Stackoverflow.com is invaluable for finding answers to tricky coding issues, All the developers I know use this site, it is a godsend. Make an account, ask questions, and help others with theirs , the latter part will come in handy, I explain further down
Portfolio
get a portfolio together, work on improving it gradually, either by improving your initial apps in your portfolio , or by making new apps
create a bitbucket or github account, and learn how to use git version control or mercurial version control (find out what these are if you dont know, very important)
Job Listings
Scour though job listings for python developers, and look at what the recruiters want. There’s ancillary things that will crop up often in terms of job requirements, identify them and add them to your skill set.
Stackoverflow.com has a careers section (http://careers.stackoverflow.com/), which at the time of writing this, is invite only, the way to get an invite is to assiste people with their queries on the main site..so all the people with access to the careers section has evidence of knowing what theyre talking about, the more the better. Mention your account on there and your contributions on your CV.
e.g Things like database knowledge (postgresql, mysql) & front end knowledge (html, css, django)
When you’ll get a job you’ll be a junior python developer, but don’t just look at junior dev job listings, look at mid-level to senior dev job listings to get an idea of other things that might be useful
Interviews
After a solid 30 days of python practice (or however long, up to you), start applying to jobs. The usual stuff about sorting out your cv applies here. Don’t not apply for a junior dev listing because you think you’re not good enough yet, let the recruiter worry about rejecting you, put your bid in regardless.
When you go on interviews view them as fact finding missions the pressure is off, if you get offered a job, great, if you get rejected, find out what is lacking, and use this info to streamline your efforts. I did an initial round of applications, got rejected from all of them, and used the info about where I was falling short to my advantage
After a while when you’ve improved your skills and are more confident, do another round of applications, rinse and repeat
Another note about interviews, sometimes you’ll get recruiters who clearly know absolutely nothing about programming, and are reading off a checklist of things a programmer should know.
This is ok in theory, but in reality you’ll get questions like “what developer tools do you use to do your job?” , which is retarded, they should be asking “what can you do, what have you done”…you wouldn’t ask a carpenter “what brand of hammer do you use?” , but there you go, people are stupid.
I pointed this out to one particular recruitment person, they nodded (It was over the phone but you get what I mean) and after I finished the explanation they simply repeated the question. Didn’t care whether I got that job or not after that interview if I’m honest.
The above is a condensed version of what I did, I got a job after my second round of job applications , and the length of time from starting to learn python, to getting a job as a python developer was 8 months ..It’s doable faster if you spend more time programming, I averaged about an hour a day. The time period felt like ages, but trust me, its worth it. I’m currently sitting on the toilet in my new place writing this up , on my new macbook pro. And I’ve just realized I’ve run out of toilet paper.
Not many people have the inclination to code, or the patience, if you do , you’re set. I’ve already got a bit of passive income coming in from leasing out an improved version of one of the apps I made during the period before I got my current job. It’s not much, but a start is a start.
Good luck
![[Image: programmer_hierarchy%5B7%5D.gif]](http://blogs.msdn.com/blogfiles/steverowe/WindowsLiveWriter/ProgrammingLanguageHierarchy_1489F/programmer_hierarchy%5B7%5D.gif)
