The REAL Reason Why It's Hard To Find A Software Job

The frustration of not being able to find a software job is real, and the truth is that looking for a software engineering job can be lonely and discouraging. In this video, I share the the experience that I went through during my first software engineering job search so that anybody who's currently struggling to find a software development job will find encouragement in the fact that we all go through a similar experience.

[@_nom_]

I've been programming for 18 years, and I had my first fulltime programming job this year. It turns out I'm more experienced than my entire team. Hr does hiring, that's half the problem.

[@T1Oracle]

I started programming as a kid. When I finally had the courage to apply for jobs and figured out how to write a resume, I ended up taking the senior dev's job in less than a year. I thought everything was going to take off from there. Nope. I had to fight for every raise, for every job offer, none of it came easy no matter how many compliments people laid upon me after I was hired.

[@SXsoft99]

I'd call it 75% of the problem

[@macobuzi]

dude, what did you do to feed youself for 18 years?

[@picklerix6162]

The issue is not really HR. These big Silicon Valley companies like to hire the top 10% developers. Most of these companies like to hire Computer Science geeks who have no life, have memorized every algorithm known to man, and can code with a dozen people looking over their shoulder.

[@jamesclark2663]

@@T1Oracle Huh, that gives me a little hope then. Been doing it as a hobby just for fun for nearly as long now. I always assumed I'd never make the grade but this last year was the final straw for me. It's getting harder for me to keep up with the physical demands of my normal job anymore and I've been looking at getting into a desk job while I'm still reasonably young enough to enjoy a functional spine.

[@MikeCatrone]

This is great resume advice, thanks for sharing your story!

[@paulreal7632]

Thanks boss. We appreciate these kind of posts.

[@brian-cache]

Thanks for watching!

[@JesseNerio]

I have been applying since September and am at about 400 apps out. I only got 1 interview. Yea its pretty wild for me at least.

[@brian-cache]

You’re applying for junior level?

[@namechange4137]

Wow! 400 applications? Do you have a degree?

[@nanonkay5669]

I've been at it for 6 months, with a degree and worked for 2 companies a year each. Not even an interview. But I think it's largely because of my location

[@namechange4137]

@@nanonkay5669 without saying your location. How's your location affecting your search. A big city with too much competition or are you out in the sticks with less opportunities?

[@nanonkay5669]

@@namechange4137 Africa is the region I'm in so that'll give you some perspective

[@user-gm3lg8gp3m]

Thanks a lot. This is very helpful

[@BRANDEV22]

I graduated with a Marketing degree as well and realized quick that most of the jobs are strictly sales and cold calling which isn't for me. I went into a coding bootcamp (which isn't worth the price) and the tech market has shown to be the same. It's been difficult.

[@brian-cache]

I feel like I got swindled by getting a marketing degree lol you can get a sales job without a degree at all. Tech isn’t super easy right now but jobs are definitely still out there. It’s mainly tougher for web dev since that’s what a lot of the free resources focus on.

[@AliColak]

bro im on almost the same boat! I did marketing and product management but it's been tough out here

[@BusinessWolf1]

I taught myself for free and got 2 shitty jobs at small companies with horrible leadership. Trying to get into corporate right now even if I have to work IT helpdesk at first. I've got 5 months of experience from both combined, because I quit the first after a month (hadn't even signed anything yet) and the 2nd after 4 months. It's super rough out here man, but you can do it if you just stick with it long enough.

[@TheFootballPlaya]

very insightful, tbh im in the entry stage rn. I know it takes a lot of work, its already taken a lot of work, and its been years of programming and building projects. But im at that stage where I need something, so im gonna take my cs degree elsewhere and see what else i can get. I will still chip away at this, but this market is hard rn, and people have needs. so im gonna take care myself first, get something, then keep the goals in the back of my head and work hard to see if i can find something better in the future.

[@brian-cache]

The market is definitely not like during Covid but it's showing signs of improvement. I think your plan is a good one but I wouldn't give up on it if getting into software is what you want to do.

[@TheFootballPlaya]

@@brian-cache yeah i'm not giving up on software. i recently got a retail gig that's helping me pay the bills and pass the time, pretty stoked. hopefully there will be a turn around soon

[@camels_are_sober]

holy shit ! someone actually doing something other than React web dev and realizing IT is way vast when talking about getting into industry on KZbin !!

[@brian-cache]

😂😂

[@roguerecursion]

I graduated from school in 2021. I've been looking for a web dev job since than take little breaks from it. It's honestly exhausting

[@luyandasopazi4383]

Thank you man

[@brian-cache]

Any time!

[@Juzzyjuzzy]

Hello Brian. Thanks for this video. Our stories sound similar. I studied hard to get a marketing degree - but realized in 2020 during the pandemic that my real calling was software development. I decided on Jan 1 2021 that I was going to learn web development on Udemy. Thanks to Colt Steele - I learned a lot of content - was inspired to build projects - learned backend, built further projects - it took me almost 18 months to get my first full time job as a software developer last August (2022).

[@brian-cache]

Oh wow. Congrats on making it happen

[@shaggyfeng9110]

Wow, this is an amazing achievement.

[@hexagonmagnetics569]

I currently work as a network egineer for a large hospital network in New York, but in the future I would love to get into softwear engineering for job security. I decided to start with C++ so I would have a more comprehensive understanding of programming in general. My end game is Typescript with Angular, and C# .NET developement due to the growing demand for interprise level solutions. What's cool about my situation is that I wouldn't have to change employers when I'm ready to switch roles.

[@brian-cache]

Oh you’re in a golden situation! Nice

[@hexagonmagnetics569]

@@brian-cache I'm lucky to be where I'm at, Northwell is an excellent place to work!

[@boxdenfresh]

@@hexagonmagnetics569 oh yea they are!

[@SonnyWest87]

The irony. Network engineer wanting to be a software engineer for job security. Jobs will terminate you fast if you aren’t up to the task.

[@hexagonmagnetics569]

@@SonnyWest87 What’s next, water is wet? Thanks for the update captain obvious!!! 😂 Let me give one too, gravity makes things fall!! 😂

[@johno8760]

I've been pretty meticulous and careful about my applications, often taking time tk read requirements and tailoring my resume. I'm almost 100 apps in and nothing yet. The only good sign is that I'm progressively getting less and less rejections within a few days. It's still tough

[@collinhansen3607]

Please do something for me. Create a completely phony resume. Change your name, write that you have completed several projects that are monumental and seemingly impossible for a single person at your skill level, put that you have a master's degree, have 3 years experience in the associated tech stack, you have literally everything and more. Put whatever you have to put to be the most perfect possible candidate for the job. Start applying to companies twice, once as yourself and once as this fake dream candidate which you have fabricated (or even copy pasted from linkedin), and realize that most of these job postings are completely fake..

[@omghi2u]

Very helpful - I think we underestimate the "human element" aspect of our field and how important that is.

[@brian-cache]

It’s way more important than people realize

[@cjsport1254]

I have a slightly different perspective I think employers nowadays want a developer to be able to do everything they don’t want to train you up. Technically, you have to hit the ground running.

[@lowwastehighmelanin]

Hm i don't agree. I have friends who recently got their jobs and are being given time and mentorship to train on new things or codebases they don't already know.

[@Omegeddon]

​@@lowwastehighmelaninThey're lucky

[@Gerz970]

They want you to hit the ground running which would be fine if that meant impressive projects under your belt but the reality is that hit the ground running means a minimum of 3 years professional experience for entry level jobs.

[@diegoignacioalvarezespinoz3965]

good insight

[@halfstream1461]

At 5:45 is exactly what KZbin has blocked. There is so many niche IT jobs like service now or salesforce(what I work on) and the salaries at least for Salesforce are 80k after a couple years of experience and certs. Like the amount of niches in enterprise IT is so much more than what KZbin will have you believe.

[@brian-cache]

So many people don’t even know the potential out there. Too focused on only React lol

[@PopcornRecap]

What’s salesforce

[@Indi_DevJames]

This makes me sick. I'm in college doing everything I can to turn my assignments in on time (albeit with a 4.0). While I'm worrying about this my car is broken, I just had to bring my dog to the vet cuz she ate plastic, my rent is due, and I need to cut my lawn. However, my jumper cables are in my broken car away from home...lmfao....Now I need to find the time to fight for a job. Forgive me for the pessimism. I should have figured enough with how chaotic everything else is in life.

[@brian-cache]

Sorry you're going through a rough time. I hope things start to improve soon

[@Submersed24]

You should see how tech is completely gatekeeped right now by indian hiring people only hiring indians.

[@DesignerDeveloper]

Don't get frustrated. Just know this will be a very difficult journey. Easy things are not worth a damn. Use AI to help you. Create something difficult that works to stand out. MARKET YOURSELF.

[@brian-cache]

100% true! Can’t give up if you commit to it

[@ParrotMan01276]

Thank you. I'm not at this point yet. I decided to go the WGU route with Computer Science. I expect to run into all of this later.

[@brian-cache]

In some kind of way we all run into it but just can't give up.

[@charcoalanderson8010]

Best of luck to you in your career. Hopefully things will be better by the time you are ready to hit the market.

[@ibrahimzende6968]

I’m at wgu too , I’m in software engineering major

[@mar-17905]

@@charcoalanderson8010 Me too. But I’m in the WGU Data Analytics degree.

[@NEMOBANDZBEATS]

I would recommend you guys work on projects and def do internships if possible while in school. I went to WGU for comp sci and the job process was BRUTAL for me

[@isaac80745]

Lol i went way deep into learning that i got into mobile development (ios and android) and data science. I dont have much left to learn. I want to do SWE meanwhile and move around different teams after task gets fulfilled.

[@deefeeeeefeeeeeeeeee]

I have stopped at "out of bootcamp". You weren't out of a major computing university or whatever so yes it was hard. For me I was hired even before I got my diploma as the same period. Same experience for most of my class

[@BusinessWolf1]

Brodie, don't think your education means anything. If the world got its shit together it would realize degrees in tech are worthless. I've got 3 friends in university, 2 of them in 3rd year and one has finished it, I taught myself web dev for 2 years (for free), I know a shit load more than them and am just straight up a better programmer. Don't hate on self taught people.

[@elvirosukuzu6519]

Anybody can automate the process. I did some automation. It took me from 6 hours to find, read titles, apply to 30 minutes. I automated the scraping, auto response, location of resumes etc.

[@IffyEdem]

Im looking to do military so I can get experience and into gov stuff and then overseas jobs easier

[@optimusmaximus56]

Great Content thank you Sir. I'm in the same position like you have been in the past job application processes.

[@brian-cache]

Thanks for watching! It’s definitely been a bit tougher lately

[@optimusmaximus56]

@@brian-cache i will give it a try see what happens.

[@ibrahimzende6968]

I’ve applied in 300 companies already, I have 2 tech cert , the meta front end developer and the google it support. I’m currently pursuing a bs degree in software engineering, im learning python now. I hope learn more on the backend and create some full stack projects and reapply for the full stack position because the frontend is like saturated

[@lonewolfnergiganos4000]

How's it going for you buddy?

[@ibrahimzende6968]

@@lonewolfnergiganos4000 bad bro. I’m still working on it , I tried to change my portofolio website many times and create many resume , but it’s still not working… I hope everything Will be fine

[@SD-wj9bv]

What region do u live at?

[@lonewolfnergiganos4000]

@@ibrahimzende6968 oh no, I'm sorry to hear that. Hopefully you'll find a way soon

[@herono-4292]

Did you succeed on leetcode, or have an equivalent certifications ?

[@AliColak]

I graduated with a Marketing & Product Management degree but literally all the marketing roles have been not marketing related. My friends that had internships found roles in the realms of product marketing associate. I did general assembly's software engineering immersive bootcamp but I'm not the biggest fan of coding/web dev, what areas would you suggest would be cool to focus on? I've been looking into data / business analyst roles & taking a linkedin learning class

[@brian-cache]

If you’re not the biggest fan of coding you can look at business analyst, project manager, product owner or some kind of system admin. Those are good options imo

[@jonasbaine3538]

SW Testing/QA is going good.

[@WolvenUA]

I started applying for my first job around august of 2021 and found a position at a nearby defense contractor within a couple months. After working their for almost 2 years I'm beyond burnt out and am desperately looking for a new job. I know that I have a solid grasp of communication and teamwork but struggle to find myself even able to get contacted to showcase these skills to recruiters, instead facing countless auto rejections and ghostings. Things have been on an upturn somewhat recently with some 3rd party recruiters contacting me but how do I get myself the chance to even show that I have skills down for the positions I'm applying to?

[@brian-cache]

If you’re getting auto rejections there has to be a problem with your resume. They don’t really read resumes one by one in the first steps. So if you get quick rejections, no response, it’s because your resume is not matching whatever criteria they have. Make sure you have a good amount of key words in your resume that they have in the job description.

[@x6Blade9x]

3:45 bro - companies do not hire entry level developers - they want you to have 5 years minimum.

[@picklerix6162]

When they say 5 years minimum, you better have 10 years experience.

[@casualgamer9075]

I’ve been a Software Engineer professionally for over 5 years and have been applying to move on to another company for over a year. Probably not over 100 applicants and got multiple interviews and 1 offer but it is still insane. If you don’t check every single box, you’re nothing to most companies.

[@mohibquadri4053]

Superb ! Brian actually after a gap of 4 yrs from job employment due to family reasons now next month i will be out there in a new city for job hunt so it is making me anxious to prove myself & overthink about worst case scenario or being under prepared as i am not very sure what tasks would be up ahead for me to overcome so what should be done to believe in myself in uncertainty & tackle adversity head on ? Any best books suggestions? How can i prevent failures of any kind in my path ahead by acting strategically or something like that that would help me with mindset & also handling adversity in the best way possible to reach my desired outcome that is getting selected for the well paying job as hvac design engineer in Aec construction industry..

[@brian-cache]

Honestly, I know how you feel and books won't really help you. The only thing that will help you is taking action because action beats fear. When I was first trying to get in the field I was terrified that I didn't know enough and that I was an imposter. But I kept going forward and I noticed over time my confidence kept growing and growing. Although you can't prevent failures you can definitely prevent yourself from giving up so I would take some action ASAP towards your goal to not overthink everything.

[@mohibquadri4053]

@@brian-cache Yes you're so right but since i have some time i thought i can read some books on such mindset hacks and taking action especially in the uncertainty of path. It would be very helpful if you make a video about it with some more insights or speak more about the whole subject as you've a lot to share with wisdom & experience.. 😊

[@boxdenfresh]

@@mohibquadri4053 I’ll definitely keep that in mind for a future video! “The magic of thinking big” is good one

[@catharsis222]

If you’re not getting any replies or traction with the honest way, lie about the gap after.

[@mohibquadri4053]

@@catharsis222 Yes but how exactly ? Could you elaborate a little with example so that the lie doesn't seem fake ??

[@butchdean]

I'll tell you what the problem is why developers cannot find jobs: Saturation of web development candidates! The market is absolutely full of people who, for one reason or other, didn't follow the proper route to becoming a software engineer and took these "bootcamps" that specialize in web development and promise high salaries from that. I'm a senior systems software engineer, so I get down to the nitty-gritty of how computer systems work and how to make them do things from a low-level perspective. How many here who can't find work even know where to begin to be able to do that? Exactly. The market is certainly there for developers, just not web devs because there are too many.

[@danny.golcman6846]

I agree, there are way too many web devs nowadays and it is getting oversaturated since most bootcamps and coding certs are just about web development. I wish bootcamps would teach more of actual software engineering languages like python, java, and c++.

[@butchdean]

@@danny.golcman6846 - Exactly, but the problem is that that will increase dropout rates as it does for computer science courses, and all the boot camp organizers really want is money, so they keep things fairly simple to retain students.

[@halfstream1461]

@@butchdeanxactly the amount of automation that’s needs done in operation departments in this county is insane. All the videos I watch for have less than 1k views while these web dev videos all have millions. Just goes to shows where the real money is.

[@brian-cache]

I’m hoping I can help people see there are way more opportunities out there outside of the web dev jobs.

[@butchdean]

@@brian-cache That would be very helpful to your subscribers I think. A lot of people who don’t know the industry think it doesn’t matter what you learn and others are profiting one way or other from that naivety.

[@goldendiploma9865]

At least its not as bad as the life science industry .. where 70% of applicants have masters degrees but 50% of them are still Under-employed( working mc-jobs)-- and the ones that do have jobs in their field of study are making

[@brian-cache]

Those are some good points. It can always be worse

[@TacTicMint]

Life science is definitely more saturated than software development. I've worked in both. A bachelor's in life sciences will get you a grunt work job in a lab. I had a job where I could use my brain in software dev before I had a degree. I don't think software people get masters degrees unless they want to get into management.

[@trowawayacc]

Getting my first job was 4 hours of waiting for the interviewer outside in the heat, he shifted the meeting place twice good thing my mom had lend me her car that day.

[@brian-cache]

That's terrible smh. I'm surprised that happened

[@Submersed24]

I hate that the software industry was allowed to tell people it was a super needed job and “growing” beyond replacement yet it’s 90% outsourced to India and has basically no new jobs. Please bring more attention to just how common outsourcing is. For every 1 onshore dev there are 9 offshore then they bring them into the country and pay them a regular wage.

[@internetmaryann]

It takes 5 months of active applying (~300 applications) for senior role, because there’s nobody to actually check your experience properly in an open discussion. And because senior (often) seen maaaany weird corporate things, they reject you due to „cultural fit”. Which basically means: „we want an experienced, but underpaid drone which won’t ask difficult questions”.

[@brian-cache]

That’s pretty accurate. The higher you move up the trickier it gets

[@joelamoako6778]

can you show us a link to your resume, so we can learn from it?

[@Gerz970]

I don't think it is the people with experience that are having the trouble, It is the people looking for entry level jobs. The reality is that the base level of skill you need to get an entry level job is much higher than it was even just a few years ago. It is hard for freshies to get an entry level job when 90% of the "entry level" jobs are looking for 3 years of professional experience minimum.

[@roodyg5352]

Struggling as a computer engineer to get these positions.

[@brian-cache]

Just keep pushing! If you’re building good projects and have a good resume with keywords you should be fine. As long as you’re not focus just on web dev. It’s pretty saturated right now

[@IffyEdem]

Going overseas for jobs

[@justiceessiel6123]

Like how you described it phone screen 😂.

[@touchypuss]

look, it's 2023. if you're wanting those sexy 150k+ software jobs, and you've no experience anywhere near the field, you'd best find a comp sci degree from an ABET accredited engineering college. end of story. the market is quite saturated and people aren't interested in recent "boot camp" grads. they want the CS degree. and not from WGU. an actual in-person, 4 year institution. the industry matured and jobs where developers have real accountability for the livelihood of their customers want these folks to have rigorous training, regardless of the apparent, direct applicability of a lot of the curriculum. i would expect many jobs in the next 10 - 15 years to require new hires to have passed an FE exam for software engineering, or something of the sort.

[@KILLCHRISU]

Thanks for the insight. Subbing

[@brian-cache]

Thanks for the support!

[@TheJacrespo]

The sw dev market is massively oversaturated with top talented devs ready to be hired for peanuts. Forget the field at least for.the next 5 years.

[@witchedwiz]

Lolno.. You don't hire talent for peanuts... You pay peanuts for low and medium grade SW eng.. top tier SW eng will always get their money worth.. The only problem was that in the craze that was 2020-2021, a lot of people worth peanuts were under the impressione they were worth more.. as simple as that :)

[@TheJacrespo]

Yes, indeed, there is now an oversupply of top talent. Tens of thousands were laid off from big IT companies during 2022 and 2023, and this trend continues

[@witchedwiz]

@@TheJacrespo and if they were worth their salary, they would have been hired pronto.. let me reiterate.. is there an oversupply? sure, but if you're a swe worth your payroll you'll find another opportunity in no time..

[@TheJacrespo]

Most of these ex-Googlers still struggle to find a job, even at the junior level. The IT market is in a hiring freeze mode, with a majority of companies cutting their financial resources due to unprofitable businesses and dropping client numbers. Thus, there is a massive oversupply of software developers and a significant contraction in hiring from the companies' side. The result is necessarily an increase in unemployment and a drastic cut in salaries.

[@GodFearingPookie]

AI willl take peanuts

[@GodFearingPookie]

13 months now. None. Hiring freeze, AI ready to take peanuts

[@brian-cache]

It’s definitely a rough time

[@redrum4486]

Damn i use service now and get assigned tickets everyday >_< Cool platform tho!

[@brian-cache]

One of the top sleeper software jobs imo

[@Inferno539]

Independent consultant is the way to go

[@brian-cache]

It definitely can be a money maker

[@JonathanTheZombie]

Anyone in the comments who can’t find a job: do any of you have a CS degree? Genuinely curious.

[@jaylalakiya]

I am from non CS and I run a company where I tried to hire people WITH a cs degree but still they s**ks at software. Not having a cs degree is better than having it and then knowing nothing.

[@will201084]

U don't know enough inside people is the answer

[@lepidoptera9337]

The reason you can't find a job is because you talk too much. ;-)

[@KILLCHRISU]

7:58 LMAO that video reference

[@brian-cache]

😂😂 “I read fast”