How Does a Self-Taught Computer Geek Get Hired? 523
An anonymous reader writes "I'm essentially a self-taught computer geek who started learning BASIC at age 12, but decided NOT to do the traditional computer-nerd thing (comp sci or physics, computer degree, etc.). I've essentially kept up with computers as a hobby, teaching myself web-design, Linux/LAMP, Javascript, and now Drupal. I've worked for a short time at a web dev shop but mostly have just done freelance projects and here-and-there stuff for websites or projects, many of which have gone under or are no longer accessible. I'm creative, have Photoshop/GIMP skills, I'm personable and self-motivated...and I'd like to get a 'real' job now but I don't really look like much on paper — how can I (specifically with Drupal) make myself look good on a CV and/or establish solid credentials that will make people more willing to take a chance and hire me? Will Drupalcon 2012 help me make inroads? Are there other ways to 'prove' myself to be a capable web admin/developer?"
If you want a Drupal job, get known around Drupal. (Score:4, Interesting)
First hand advice (Score:5, Interesting)
I am a self-taught geek, similar to you. I was a construction worker, and I wanted to change careers. I don't have a college degree. I built my skills by taking a few night classes at a local community college and by spending a couple of hours a night (or more), every night, working in my home lab, doing networking/IT kinds of things, and writing code. Next, I got a job doing some IT work for a construction company, on a project where a lot of construction knowledge was needed.
After I got to the point where I felt comfortable with my skills, I put together a resume and got an interview with a small IT consulting company. I offered the company the following deal: Pay me whatever you want for 90 days. If at the end of that time I have demonstrated sufficient ability I want a raise to market rates. If not, I will move on, no hard feelings. Within 45 days, I got the raise. Within 3-4 years, I was making 100k a year.
Re:Why do you want to be hired? (Score:5, Interesting)
Being self-employed or running a business isn't all that hard
You obviously have never run a business before.
As a coder who has done exactly that for the past 10 years, I can say, it can be a real slog.
Agreed I am now earning more than I could employed, but the first 5 years are make it or break it.
Not knowing where your next mouthful is coming from requires certain nerves. You will under sell yourself.
If you are doing it alone (like I have done) it is even worse, you can lose touch with peers to be able to pulse local market direction.
IMHO it requires an immense amount of discipline, a stable mind, good communication skills (which many coders lack) and a little luck.
I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I started.
Though maybe that was a good thing. I do have no regrets.
Re:Examples (Score:5, Interesting)
Show examples. Show your hobby projects. Show sites that you've built and that currently are in use. Show contributions you've made to open source projects.
Also local volunteer work. Sounds like the OP is Mr Webmaster at heart
teaching myself web-design, Linux/LAMP, Javascript, and now Drupal.
You set up the local homeless shelter promotional/donation seeking/contact page website, assuming they somehow don't have one, for free. Actually it costs you a little to register the domain, whatever. Schmooze at the organizational meetings with the group's volunteer accountant, who hires you to fancy up her self promotional website for a very nominal fee (probably not enough to buy dinner, barely enough to break even after paying for the homeless shelter domain registration out of your pocket). The accountant is best friends with a local bank manager, who needs to hire an IT worker with excellent references... This was more or less how a friend of mine started out. Next thing you know, she's working at the bank, in a paradise of AS/400s and token ring (yeah, this was awhile ago).
You can also go the "work at a startup" route. They might not pay you, or might not pay you much, but its something to do, and looks interesting on a resume.
Re:Why do you want to be hired? (Score:5, Interesting)
Like the OP, I am self-taught, and am of the same mind as CmdrPony, having done it myself. If you need to start working right away...
Start your own shop, but count on the website/SEO/marketing side of things to start slow and develop (no pun intended) over time - likely several years. The market for "website developers" is fairly well saturated, albeit with far too many that are no more than Dreamweaver/FrontPage/MSWord-using ex-construction worker/secretary types who are 95% clueless yet able to put up a $200 site in a few days by advertising on Craigslist. Yes, your site may be far better, but money talks, and many clients don't understand the finer points of what makes a really good, nice-looking, fast rendering, cross platform website, or what SEO is and the kind of time it can eat.
Until you have a solid core of client sites showing your skill and capability and helping you sell at a price point that makes it worthwhile, your working capital and day-to-day income can be supplanted by the other computer skills you have: repair, networking, etc... Be willing to make on-site visits (even to homes - at least until you get too busy), and have a fast response time. Come up with good ways to describe common computer problems and your fixes for them in normal human-speak - people do like to understand a bit about what you are doing, and teaching them a little helps them become better users and clients.
Find a small, cheap location where you can set up half a dozen systems while you work on them, get some biz cards made, and put out your shingle. If you do a good job, word of mouth will start putting feet in your doorway in a matter of months, enough traffic to live off of so you can begin to grow and thrive and start getting website work, likely from many of the same clients whose system you maintain, once they realize that their super-cheap website really is for the dogs. Being their trusted and proven IT guy helps you sell yourself in this area - they understand that you know what you are talking about, and will be more willing to pay you a fair price to help them market themselves better online. Good luck!
similarity (Score:2, Interesting)
your resumée sounds like mine. you just chose drupal over django, a choice i never would have made. php is over, really. it was only popular as long ASP and JSP were feared to become mainstream, now we have serious tools in the web, php is just the cheap aftertaste of the 90s.
also, with php you are basicly locked into the web business.
it does not matter how you are educated and which papers you have, getting a job is
1. look who needs you and what is to do
2. know what you want to do
3. pick.
unfortunately, it depends on your country how you answer these question, it does not garantuee good salary to do what you love to, and lastly: sometimes it takes time. long time. life is up and down. so in the meantime, look that you can survive, and use your free time to conceive your own projects.
ah, last advice: people always advice. while you should take out compliments and critics of advices to consider, you should never think, anybody else than you can know whats best for your life. i think this is the best advice i ever got, just takes a bit to get it.
Re:Why do you want to be hired? (Score:2, Interesting)
I believe the technical term for such people is "assholes".
This is not my own opinion. I know several programmers, and have heard many variations on, "You know that guy Chad? The assistant team leader who's always in a suit, with the buzzwords and the powerpoint? Yeah, you know, the asshole."
Also known as the guy that makes twice as much as you.
point to free software / open source contributions (Score:2, Interesting)
My advice:
contribute to free software / open source projects, and in doing so grow thicker skin while interacting with them, as needed.
Point to those contributions as you look for a job in a smaller company, hopefully closer to FOSS, and with a less formal hiring attitude.
Be ready to move.
Re:Why do you want to be hired? (Score:5, Interesting)
I agree with you wholeheartedly. WordPress is keeping the wolf away from the door here, and no one could be more surprised than I am. I came at it from a slightly different angle--I quit ten years ago after 20 years in IT in order to pursue my interests as an artist. While I always had a few Web clients, sudden widowhood and some acute financial worries made me take a closer look. A little attention to my "product" has paid off. My suggestions would be:
1) Run your business like the big guys do. Learn how to prepare a proposal and a statement of work, and use them properly.
2) Engineers and project managers are two different species. When you run your own business, you have to be both. Watch your time and billable hours. Beware of "scope creep," which can be your worst enemy.
3) Develop a website for yourself as your first reference account. Lavish all the time, love and care on it that you possibly can. While it would be nice to use it to generate online leads, don't hold your breath for that. Use it instead as your online business card and portfolio--something prospective clients can review. It is the developer's equivalent of the artist's online portfolio.
4) Consider doing at least one "pro bono" site for a local organization or charity you care about. Local is key so they can become a reference.
5) See if you can find a niche. I fell into one related to my artwork, and it's a comfortable spot.
6) Consider eventually offering hosting services. I found that a berth on a cloud site was not all that expensive. I house my clients there and provide them with backups, maintenance, security, and upgrades. They pay a monthly fee for the hosting and pay separately as needed for maintenance and upgrades. Small businesses appreciate not being abandoned to the wolves, and they like having a Web droid available by telephone.
I'm not trying to build the next Apple. I'm just making a living, and it seems to be working quite well.
Good contacts are your strongest asset (Score:3, Interesting)
I don't have a degree.
I started programming at age 15, worked in a computer shop as a technician through high-school and got my first programming job during the high-tech bubble of 2000. I was 19 and had a bit of self-acquired java programming experience.
Then the market crashed. it was arguably MUCH worse then today's climate. I was a junior dev with 6 months "official" experience and no degree.
But i could talk, i could program and i was persistent. It took me 3 months to get a new job at lower pay but still a lot for my age.
Now, ten years later i lead a development team, i have written 3 major products from scratch and worked for several companies.
What i found was that my choice not to get a degree harmed my chances mostly with the larger firms. Smaller companies and especially start-ups care mostly about your skills and your experience and much less about your degree. I quit my last job during the crash of 2008 when companies were firing people left and right. i looked for a job for a total of 2 days. My current position and the one before that i got through contacts i made through the years.
It's that first job that is hardest to get. be prepared, be confident. Apply for a position you are slightly overqualified for.
Linked-in is your friend. Your business contacts and anyone you worked with and appreciates your skills can open doors that would be closed otherwise.
There's nothing more valuable then a personal recommendation from a respected contact. Ask your friends to help you. Even those who aren't in this field may know people that can help and their word can be just as valuable.
I'm a self-taught programmer (Score:5, Interesting)
I'm a self-taught programmer as well. I started in Basic when I was 11, and moved to C in high school.
How did I get a job? I went to college, like most other self-taught programmers! There's a big difference in the kind of skills and practice you need to win a high school programming competition versus building an industrial strength web application to handle millions of users.
When I was in college, the best students were those like us, self-taught in Basic. Had I NOT gone to college, I would have wasted a lot of time, and not been able to write the programs that I want to write.