Super Scared Into Full Time Work

[ThisGuyIsThisGuy]

First of all, congratulations on your degree and graduation with honors. With a GPA like yours, have you thought about looking at Federal Government jobs? You would qualify for both Schedule A (preferential treatment for people with disabilities) and Superior Academic Achievement (special treatment for people with a GPA above 3.50.) If you are interested, see if you can get VocRehab with Tennessee. The councilors will be able to guide you through the process of obtaining Schedule A employment.

You and TheFreeCat just gave me excellent advice on how to move forward. Thank you!

 

[Graphin]

There is an uncountable amount of open source projects that are useful and widely used, even if unknowingly

 

[Theta.G]

Hi, there! I know this is out of the blue, but I want to ask this because I'm feeling very down about myself and I desperately need some input for those that are out on the field.

I'm a 30 year old male living in Tennessee. I got my degree on December 31, 2017 with a GPA of 3.94. I was so proud of myself. I felt like that degree was my ticket to independence, proof that I had "made it" and ready to face the world.

Then... I went through many entry-level positions... All have turned me down. I tried going for internship, but I already graduated and it was too late. Then, I decided to look for other jobs. I got a security guard job in Nashville, but the drive to Nashville and back took an hour, and the job consisted of sitting still and looking at a camera, not getting up without permission. I felt so overwhelmed by the 10 hour shift and 2 hours of driving that I quit, and quit crying my eyes out.

At the end of the year, I have a part-time job delivering food. It's not glamorous, but it's helping me get used to working. I'm still wondering how I'm going to get to a computer or software development position with no experience but food delivery under my belt, though. I'm so scared, and I can't commit too much into a job or I lose my SSI or MedicAid. I don't know what to do. I do like being productive, but I also want my me time to decompress and make video games on my spare time... I don't know what to do and it's making me cry so much...

Please, please tell me. What was your first step into a job like? How did you transition to it? Am I going to be ok? What should I do?

Have any impressive games, demo's or software that you can add to your resume? Even if it's unfinished you can make a trailer of the finished parts and add it to the resume. That counts as experience. Often. This industry favors prospects that demonstrate their abilities outside of the degree. Furthermore, when it comes to interviews... Time and time again we see that the socially adept with minimum requirements can win out over the socially inept who highly are qualified. The interviewer is still human and many of them aren't quite aware of their own processes. Which leads many to base hiring decisions on how they feel about you and not necessarily who is objectively better for the position. Some choose who they would rather be spending their work days with.

I've witnessed many friends and acquaintances get hired with absolutely no experience or education for $35.00 -$50.00/hr starting positions. Positions that supposedly require 1-3 years of experience yet the interviewer shrugs that off and says "Oh, we'll train you anyway. here's a quick way to get some certifications" and blah blah blah. Those same people proceeded to rise through the ranks, past those who have a ton of experience and knowledge in the field. In many ways it's a popularity contest lol you gotta be liked by the superiors. Not just in performance but personally. "Oh you're a jets fan! No way i am too!" and so on.

Then it becomes a numbers game. The law of averages. Game and tech companies are so spaced out across the country it makes this part difficult. It would probably require that you move... unless you start digging into some things off the beaten path. That still require your skill set. Working for a game company could be awesome but... what about a printer company. or scanner company. Maybe a phone company or popular website that requires people to program their software.

Another option is you can keep doing what you're doing and instead of working on your own game in spare time you can team up and form agreements and sign contracts with indie developers that have promising titles, a proven track record of success and properly skilled co-workers. Many of them need programmers. If the title is successful your name gets out there and more people would be interested in working on your game.

Developer is such a key role in the gaming industry... There's a ton of developers... too many chiefs not enough indians. Everyone is looking for others to help them with their game. You may have to compromise and take on the role of a programmer for someone elses game.

 

[Mr Allen]

Have any impressive games, demo's or software that you can add to your resume? Even if it's unfinished you can make a trailer of the finished parts and add it to the resume. That counts as experience. Often. This industry favors prospects that demonstrate their abilities outside of the degree. Furthermore, when it comes to interviews... Time and time again we see that the socially adept with minimum requirements can win out over the socially inept who highly are qualified. The interviewer is still human and many of them aren't quite aware of their own processes. Which leads many to base hiring decisions on how they feel about you and not necessarily who is objectively better for the position. Some choose who they would rather be spending their work days with.




I've witnessed many friends and acquaintances get hired with absolutely no experience or education for $35.00 -$50.00/hr starting positions. Positions that supposedly require 1-3 years of experience yet the interviewer shrugs that off and says "Oh, we'll train you anyway. here's a quick way to get some certifications" and blah blah blah. Those same people proceeded to rise through the ranks, past those who have a ton of experience and knowledge in the field. In many ways it's a popularity contest lol you gotta be liked by the superiors. Not just in performance but personally. "Oh you're a jets fan! No way i am too!" and so on.

Then it becomes a numbers game. The law of averages. Game and tech companies are so spaced out across the country it makes this part difficult. It would probably require that you move... unless you start digging into some things off the beaten path. That still require your skill set. Working for a game company could be awesome but... what about a printer company. or scanner company. Maybe a phone company or popular website that requires people to program their software.

Another option is you can keep doing what you're doing and instead of working on your own game in spare time you can team up and form agreements and sign contracts with indie developers that have promising titles, a proven track record of success and properly skilled co-workers. Many of them need programmers. If the title is successful your name gets out there and more people would be interested in working on your game.

Developer is such a key role in the gaming industry... There's a ton of developers... too many chiefs not enough indians. Everyone is looking for others to help them with their game. You may have to compromise and take on the role of a programmer for someone elses game.

Yeah, I have 1001 ideas for games but I lack the programming skills to realise them.

There's lots of people like that.

 

[BraidedPony]

https://i.chzbgr.com/full/3455122176/h9D21C5A9/
No, it isn’t helpful, but I couldn’t help myself....
Edit: I don’t even know how to post a pic, just the stupid link....geeze.

 

[Decameron]

Hi there,

I'm pushing 50 and I've been a professional software engineer for more than 25 years now. I've also guided many interns into the workplace over the years and I've worked with beginning engineers in any environment from startups to large university based research projects. My advice to beginning software engineers has always been the same:

1) If you have people skills you will find a job and will make it last. That doesn't mean you have to be able to get along with other people. It means that you show up, you participate in meetings and are open to criticism. That last part is the most important people skill you can ever obtain. Software engineers specifically tend to have a sense of how things should be done. If you can listen to other people and take in their advice and feedback you will do very well.

2) The daily job of a software engineer is 75% writing what we call bookkeeping code and 25% algorithms. It's only the algorithm part that matters, the rest is easy. The bookkeeping part is basically having your code keep track of things so that you can refer to them when you need them. Algorithms is magic. When you interview at Google literally the only thing they will ask you questions about is algorithms. If you can prove that you are good at thinking in algorithms you can literally walk in anywhere. But make sure it's true AND make sure you tell everyone.

3) Have a good reputation and fabricate one if you have to. That's what always cracked me up about software engineering. Most people get the job because they look good on paper and can convince other people they have the chops. Then you get the job and figure out what's really needed and then you learn that. So creating a LinkedIn profile and setting up a personal website are a must. Showcase stuff you've done, fabricate if you have to.

I'm going to elaborate a bit more on item 3. Here's an important conversation I once had with a friend:

Friend: do you know how you become a consultant?
Me: no idea
Friend: you tell people you are

I agree with the other commenters that participating on open source projects is a really good way to create a good reputation. It's also a nice way to build a solid resume. Speaking of resumes, that's where a lot of software engineers mess up. They have the skills and the knowledge but they can't represent it to other people. I can't remember the amount of time I've rewritten and reworked someone's resume. The irony with software engineers is that they understate what they can do and have done, while everyone else overstates.

Hope that helps, let me know if you need more specifics.

 

[ThisGuyIsThisGuy]

Hi there,

I'm pushing 50 and I've been a professional software engineer for more than 25 years now. I've also guided many interns into the workplace over the years and I've worked with beginning engineers in any environment from startups to large university based research projects. My advice to beginning software engineers has always been the same:

1) If you have people skills you will find a job and will make it last. That doesn't mean you have to be able to get along with other people. It means that you show up, you participate in meetings and are open to criticism. That last part is the most important people skill you can ever obtain. Software engineers specifically tend to have a sense of how things should be done. If you can listen to other people and take in their advice and feedback you will do very well.

2) The daily job of a software engineer is 75% writing what we call bookkeeping code and 25% algorithms. It's only the algorithm part that matters, the rest is easy. The bookkeeping part is basically having your code keep track of things so that you can refer to them when you need them. Algorithms is magic. When you interview at Google literally the only thing they will ask you questions about is algorithms. If you can prove that you are good at thinking in algorithms you can literally walk in anywhere. But make sure it's true AND make sure you tell everyone.

3) Have a good reputation and fabricate one if you have to. That's what always cracked me up about software engineering. Most people get the job because they look good on paper and can convince other people they have the chops. Then you get the job and figure out what's really needed and then you learn that. So creating a LinkedIn profile and setting up a personal website are a must. Showcase stuff you've done, fabricate if you have to.

I'm going to elaborate a bit more on item 3. Here's an important conversation I once had with a friend:

Friend: do you know how you become a consultant?
Me: no idea
Friend: you tell people you are

I agree with the other commenters that participating on open source projects is a really good way to create a good reputation. It's also a nice way to build a solid resume. Speaking of resumes, that's where a lot of software engineers mess up. They have the skills and the knowledge but they can't represent it to other people. I can't remember the amount of time I've rewritten and reworked someone's resume. The irony with software engineers is that they understate what they can do and have done, while everyone else overstates.

Hope that helps, let me know if you need more specifics.

Any chance you can take a look at my resume? Also, is it too late to get an internship at the ripe old age of 30 after I had already graduated?

 

[tducey]

Could you possibly get work somewhere under a wage subsidy? I've gotten work through them before and they provide experience. Def something I'd check out.

 

[Decameron]

Any chance you can take a look at my resume? Also, is it too late to get an internship at the ripe old age of 30 after I had already graduated?

Sure, send me a pm here with your email and we'll get it going. Getting an internship after you have the degree is tricky. It's very much a student position. Given your background and knowledge you should be qualified for a number of full-time jobs though. Sometimes it helps to break into an organization as a temp job, especially government places and universities. They typically have rules that if they have hired you as a temp for more than 6 months they have to make a decision and often take on someone full time.

 

[Aeolienne]

@ThisGuyIsThisGuy , are you on Dice?

 

[paloftoon]

Pretty much the only way to get off of SSI is to have a full time job, but you do have valid concerns of losing SSI if the full time job doesn't work out. That is a risk you have to be willing to take in the US, or stick with what you have. The open source idea or self employment ideas like ride sharing, pet sitting, or food delivery are things you can consider too.

 

[Aeolienne]

When you interview at Google literally the only thing they will ask you questions about is algorithms.

Here is a firsthand account of Google's interview process.
I passed the Google technical interviews: you can too