What to study to become Software Developer

[Other Pineapple Smurf]

I found this to be an interesting read:
What-kind-of-jobs-do-software-engineers-who-earn-500k-per-year-do

The big takeaway here is that language really isn't much of a factor at all, but rather what you actually do.

Exactly.

If all you do is code in a single language then you are a junior developer earning a junior salary. As you move up to intermediate you get paid more for the quality of code you write along with a few other things you bring to the table.

Then you become a senior developer where you get rewarded not for the code you write, but your ability to make decisions especially on what actually needs to be done.

 

[Zoopy]

Yes and no. Experience will always be prefered above a degree, but often a degree is just better suited.

As a recent graduate who has been on the job hunt for a while now, I both agree and disagree. Whenever I interviewed directly with a company (ie, not referred via a recruiter) they looked at experience. The recruiters all looked for degrees and hammered on them. I don't think a lot of candidates make it past the recruiters if they don't have degrees. Can you imagine dear Chantalle from MyBB forwarding a candidate who has a couple years of experience and no degree?

 

[Other Pineapple Smurf]

As a recent graduate who has been on the job hunt for a while now, I both agree and disagree. Whenever I interviewed directly with a company (ie, not referred via a recruiter) they looked at experience. The recruiters all looked for degrees and hammered on them. I don't think a lot of candidates make it past the recruiters if they don't have degrees. Can you imagine dear Chantalle from MyBB forwarding a candidate who has a couple years of experience and no degree?

Well it depends on what you are applying for. In general:

If you apply for a graduate program then a degree is a requirement and you will be interviewed as a graduate. You will be rated on your general theory and your approach to problem solving. Any experience you have will improve your chances of being accepted.

But if you apply for non-graduate positions then experience is important. The interviewers will be more critical of your experience with your ability (not just approach) to solve problems. You will be tested on specific theory that is relevant to the position. Your degree is still very relevant, you are just not aware of that.


These seem like subtle differences but they are huge for me as an interviewer.

As for recruiters, most do not know enough about the industry and rely on filters when selecting CV's to improve the probability of a candidate hire and commission. Thats why OfferZen disrupted the market as they know the difference between C, C++ and C#

 

[Cam]

Well it depends on what you are applying for. In general:

If you apply for a graduate program then a degree is a requirement and you will be interviewed as a graduate. You will be rated on your general theory and your approach to problem solving. Any experience you have will improve your chances of being accepted.

But if you apply for non-graduate positions then experience is important. The interviewers will be more critical of your experience with your ability (not just approach) to solve problems. You will be tested on specific theory that is relevant to the position. Your degree is still very relevant, you are just not aware of that.


These seem like subtle differences but they are huge for me as an interviewer.

As for recruiters, most do not know enough about the industry and rely on filters when selecting CV's to improve the probability of a candidate hire and commission. Thats why OfferZen disrupted the market as they know the difference between C, C++ and C#

I agree with most of what you said in this thread. Your opinion about HTML/CSS is debatable. There are exceptions where pure frontend devs can make a lot of coin, granted they are somewhat rockstars and in a niche market but ultimately yeah, fullstack is much better.

We do occasionally interview graduates fresh out of university for fullstack webdev positions. A degree will definitely help to get your foot in the door. My preference as an interviewer though is to talk about you, your personal projects, tough bugs you resolved and how.

What I've noticed is a complete lack of interview skills in graduates. Sure they're nervous, sure they won't know half of the questions but clear/good communication is vital. If you don't know an answer to a question then explain how you might approach it. If you really have no clue, ask the interviewer for some direction to the solution. Ask questions. Ultimately it is okay to say you don't know. We're more keen to listen to your thought process when approaching a problem.

Lastly, please have some thoughtful questions when the interviewer asks you if you have any. Too many times we get a "no not really". Even something as simple as "what is your favourite part working for xxxx".

In conclusion, certificates and degress help a lot but you can manage without it. Just some good networking, self learning, experimenting etc. I'm still waiting patiently for a junior interviewee to show me his/her fullstack portfolio/personal project on his/her phone during an interview.

 

[DUDE!@##$%%]

Books and self study to learn programming
Degree/certifications to get a job.