Getting a Dev Job in 2025

[@t3dotgg]

If your takeaway from this video is "Theo said you should boost his engagement in order to get a job" - I am confident there is no advice that will fix your inability to get a job

[@AneesA-zy5ei]

yeah you can tell who in the comments is out there failing the soft skills check

[@connorsteele1917]

Spot on lmao

[@EvanMildenberger]

People focused too much on the phrase "my channel": I do believe that Theo's comment about "watching videos on *my* channel" serves two purposes: 1) it exemplifies the point that people who are truly passionate about tech will voluntarily learn, experiment and search out similar people whereas many professional-only devs do the minimum effort for money only; 2) it promotes his own channel which is the complaint of many in the comments. But let's agree that it's not unfair for him to promote his channel and personal business like most KZbinrs do. He never mentioned watching *only* his channel so the logical points he's making are not invalidated

[@proosee]

You are exactly right: all the people who gave you negative feedback have "inability to get a job", LOL.

[@connorsteele1917]

@@proosee The "feedback" comes from a place of completely missing the point of the video

[@master-debater]

TLDR: nepotism and networking

[@hemiphillips786]

It’s like before the internet

[@patricknelson]

Frankly, it’s always been that way. Even when getting hired was far easier, those avenues were still being used. But now it seems that has become even more essential.

[@hikemalliday6007]

ya kinda true, i got my first job recently through a dude ive known since age 10, but also i grinded my face off during the internship to prove myself. But, I have a suspicion that he opened up a second internship slot just for me, idk.

[@proosee]

@@hemiphillips786 no it wasn't, I literally got my first developer job just by walking through the doors and talking to complete strangers.

[@JoeDev12]

Honestly such a reductive take. If you're in the position of hiring, your hires reflect strongly on your own competency. You need to be able to explain to your boss why the person you want to give an offer to will deliver more value than what they cost. If you can trust that the person is going to be competent, show up, and work hard at their job, that's a huge weight off of your shoulders. Its such a higher expected value on your hiring from the perspective of the hiring manager, which will put you at the front of the line.

[@ZsoltAnikóKacsándi]

> if you're just here for the money Well, as someone who is truly interested in software development and has been doing it since he was 12, I have to say: - if you are not doing it for the money, companies will take advantage of you and your enthusiasm - you will burn yourself out Hanging out in tech communities, learning new things in your free time, writing blog posts can be fun and all in your 20s, but it will take a toll on you, and once you have a family you will have more important things to do in your life, and yes, your job will become something that you are doing "for the money". I agree that this hiring problem is real, but I don't think that this is the solution for it. This is just another form of competition, sacrificing your lifetime.

[@CalvinB_]

I agree. I am in my twenty's and love tech started with LTT and hardware, eventually found my footing in software and now looking for a jr job after collage. I love learning about tech and programming, but hearing people like Theo talk I start to wounder if I'm cut out for this industry. Loving tech is not going to put food in my belly and a roof over my head

[@proosee]

but... but... Theo wants me to help him do research in ttv chat for his sponsored videos for free, how can I decline? 😅

[@david-rd2qc]

bold of you to assume i want a family 😂😂😂 HELL NO

[@keffbarn]

Amen brother 🙏 I’ve been i the industry for 25 years, and I feel this is pretty much spot on

[@IsrCyberWolf]

I was thinking of writing something similar. But you hit the nail spot on the head. A. I'm 38. B. I'm already burned out and going through therapy. C. with our family soon hopefully expanding, me being "fired" because of financial issues of my clients. Yes I find it hard to use my free time to be on forums blogs and communitites when I have other responsibilities and priorities. I know that he means well with this video, but this is still a "young" person mentality, that some of us cannot sadly afford to have anymore.

[@AQMPolyface]

As an autistic and really introverted person, I'm just fucked. I have no clue how to connect with people

[@mikecurry6847]

That's what things like the blog are for. If you can find a way to express yourself, sometimes that can get the point across for you in a way that a conversation can't. You aren't the only person who has this issue and you will run into sympathetic people. Sometimes the hard part is getting them to read your blog or actually look through your github or explore your portfolio site though

[@orionh5535]

My solution was just sufer through underpaid work untill I got expierenced enough that i could charge a fair amount, regardless of how weird clients found me. But ive only ever worked freelance.

[@snafu5563]

Many of us in this industry are introverted or on the spectrum. What's holding you back though is that defeatist attitude

[@fearfx1]

Correct you are.

[@igoralmeida9136]

the point of getting a higher education in CS or a related field was that you would not need to have "connections" and be "extroverted", now it's just too much competition so companies can filter out people based on personality traits or on "connections"

[@raepheles]

This is like telling a chef who can't find a job, to start cooking in his free time, invite people over for dinner, showcase his food online etc. just so that when one of those people he/she has interacted with opens a restaurant or knows someone who did, they can recommend him/her for the job. Not that I'm saying it's a bad advice, everything you've said would help people find a job, but there is something fundamentally wrong if people start feeling compelled to spend their free time on their profession to get a job that already takes more than half of their awake time. Most people watching videos like this probably already do that to an extend, however if it's expected to be the norm, there is a problem there.

[@bourgeoisiewhacker2405]

It sucks but if you were looking to find a contractor to fix X in your house would you want to hire a contractor with or without proof of their experience? This practice is the norm in a lot of other fields. It’s now just affecting tech more heavily.

[@fairbanj]

Spending some of your free time to hone you skills or learn new tech is unfortunately what it takes to succeed it tech. The way not to resent it is to love it. Now granted I've raised 3 kids now and life does make it more difficult to find time, but it really doesn't take much and people have much more free time than they are willing to admit. Someone once said "you find time for what is important to you" and over the 32 years of my career I can vouch for it. Even 1 hour per week on Udemy would make a huge difference.

[@KevinVandyTech]

Most chefs do cook for themselves in their free time...

[@hamm8934]

Most high paying careers are closer to crafts than jobs. I'm in biotech and have many friends that are doctors. You think doctors get off at 5 and don't keep up with their craft? I'm not trying to defend a bad job market, but the idea that you can work 9-5 only and be high paying is out of the ordinary - just as the 2010s job market was. Many software engineers didn't realize at the time, and still fail to realize, that the 2010s was a bubble. Life tip: whenever an industry is letting you get 6 figures with no formal education, and just 6-18 months of side project experience - it's a bubble waiting to burst. High pay is guarded behind a barrier to entry. If there is no barrier to entry, and there is still high pay, it's a bubble.

[@spkim0921]

It's pretty natural to do this in many jobs. An artist will make art in their free time to improve their skills and also potentially sell it. A software developer should develop software to improve their skills and showcase them in their portfolio. We have it easier than chefs because we can publish our work online by either deploying or making our repo public instead of inviting guests to taste a dish.

[@world-9644]

I’ve been saying this since this issue started. You CANNOT replace Jr roles in any industry without completely destroying the industry itself. You need to train Jrs to eventually replace the Srs and grow the industry. The only other way is to automate the Srs and Jrs, but ai tech just isn’t there yet.

[@ricardomartinhodacruz]

I feel there's a lot of juniors desguised as seniors. I'm 4 years of experience and I've seen people say pathetic things. Being a sr just because of years of experience seems to be quite stupid. There are seniors who don't know the basics. The so called CTO of the last company where I worked was driving mustangs and on a high end wage saying he coded since he was 14 (he was actually 40) and he didn't know git. GIT!!! he didn't know github, tests, gitlab, pipelines, he only knew php inside wordpress servers and wp modules. Do yall even believe this? I was shocked.

[@mati124]

there always will be jobs for Juniors but just not for all of them

[@sujayshanbhag2055]

Good Sir, that is one of the greatest things I've heard on the AI debate.Thankyou for writing this!!!

[@ThisIsntmyrealnameGoogle]

Lmao except no one is replacing jr roles, it's going to Europe, Mexico and India. Wake up. You do not have any leverage, there's no dream scenario where the industry "regrets it", there are plenty of people who will go into CS if they need to hire more juniors but for now they are good for the next 10 years.

[@comradekenobi8146]

To be fair, I've been coding as a hobbyist for 10 years, and I only recently learned Github (in order to collaborate on the final project for my Project Management course), I definitely don't know git's CLI application, I've never had the need for tests (tests make more sense with large enterprise applications; the stuff I've worked on is small enough that I tend to just focus on quick iterations so I can test new features for bugs on the fly), and I don't know off the top of my head what you mean by "pipelines." The point is, I've been doing this because I enjoy it, not because I was looking for a job, so I'm not familiar with a lot of industry standard tools.

[@rogimx]

Yeah, I get it. But I would rather spend my time out of work reading books I care about, watching movies, and having nice and funny conversations with my wife. Does this make me a bad "engineer"? So be it; I don't mind. I am 100% focused on my job for the period you are paying me, but that's it. God forbid, but I would prefer to be unemployed than to spend all my time with people who only care about "tech" (this is so sad; I don't even have words to describe it), just for the sake of "networking." I'm so much more than that, man. I've seen many people on Twitter proudly stating that they don't waste time answering "profiles" with less than a thousand followers or so. I mean... never mind.

[@aualexstanfield]

If you are actually doing well at your job and building a decent reputation for getting things done…. You are networking. Most of the recommendations are for people with no experience to fall back on.

[@nikolatasev4948]

I feel the same way. I go to my job, do the best I am capable of, then go home and not look at code. I had several home projects, but after work I am too tired for them. If I work on them during the weekend/holidays, I am too tired so when I go back to my job it doesn't go well. I relax using games, books, movies, spending time with non-coders. I'm so happy I got my job when hiring was easy, I don't think I could launch my career in a time like this. But I am good at my job, so people I used to work with are liable to recommend me. Perhaps the same can be said about uni or boot camp - just putting in the effort and making a good impression helps. If you impress the teachers, they can recommend you to businesses. If any of the fellow students get a job - they may recommend you in their new team. So it's not hopeless, you don't have to put your life on hold and hustle in social media. But in the end, most work is in a team. You don't have to like the others, and drink beers after work. You have to get along with them during work hours, and push the project forward.

[@rogimx]

​@@aualexstanfield yeah. i am in this game for almost 10 years now. i have no problem getting interviews. last time i was "laid off" i got a new job in less than a month, but it was not due to my network at all. I think i suck at this "networking" stuff. anyway, good luck to everybody out there getting in the business. just remember that getting a job sometimes is the easy part

[@rogimx]

@nikolatasev4948 Absolutely. If you are present and doing your best, people will notice. If you are a team member who helps the team finish what it is supposed to finish before 5 p.m., you will be seen. Learning other stuff, be it photography, sports, or whatever will make you a more interesting person. I think it is a mistake to focus 100% on one thing and forget the rest. Life is more than that.

[@Talk378]

It doesn’t mean you are bad, but you will likely never be great if you literally won’t put in any effort in to your own career off the clock. You aren’t learning to enrich your employer, you’re learning to enrich yourself!

[@anasouardini]

I still remember a day where Influencers go like: "oh! don't worry, it'll pass, you'll definitely find a job after 6 month of recession"

[@__Brandon__]

To be fair I don't think the average person realized how much Biden was going to mess up the economy

[@jordanchristley1306]

I mean that was a reasonable take. I thought i would too. Now its been over a year. :(

[@voyager575]

I'm a diligent software engineer with 10 years of experience, but I haven't been able to land a job for the past year. I'm feeling discouraged, but I hope the rest of you have better luck.

[@imad-jm9df]

10 years of experience for real ?

[@voyager575]

​@@imad-jm9dfYes and I guess it's not unusual in 2024

[@michaeldundrea1473]

How do you feel about Elon’s claim he needs to hire H1B1 ?

[@osamabinsaucin929]

@@michaeldundrea1473 Talk about adding salt to the wound

[@hotchaddi]

After a year and over 700 applications, I finally got my first a remote full-stack job! Im soooooooooo relieved now 😃

[@RamaGuptaOfficial]

Wow😮 Awesome Man, Could you please provide your Linkedin, I want yo connect!

[@dgdev69]

So you keep counting?

[@idahosanosa]

Congratulations

[@mariomills]

SAVE YOUR MONEY, you prob get lay off this year

[@luizfcavalcanti]

08:10 There's an angle of this issue you're not mentioning... this whole thing with people using AI to apply for jobs happened because recruiters were using AI to filter candidates and doing a sloppy job at it, setting bad filters, not doing due diligence on the results to check if good candidates were left out, etc.

[@Eva-km5ng]

Everyone recognizes that gen AI mostly produces slop except for when it's their turn to inflict it on someone else. Then it's a magical time saving tool

[@workerworking-d1t]

@@Eva-km5ng It's both, there's an arm race of automation on both sides, it's too late to be "honest" that will just make your life impossible, either because your CV/CL and application won't pass the automated filters and much less stand out or by having to manually go through hundreds if not thousands of AI slop CV/CLs. A race to the bottom

[@almostevil665]

imagine telling a plummer the only way to find new jobs is to keep working 24h and talking to other plummers it's about time tech companies stop playing the victmim on hiring and work out those 1000s resumes they get

[@thevedicway5261]

[@dc6953]

FACTS. All of the money they make off of their current coders, but like this KZbinr, they want to shirk their responsibility of DOING THEIR JOB onto the consumers? Classic American things right there. Like what? You’d rather talk to an AI than TRAIN A HUMAN BECAUSE YOURE LAZY?! Dude’s logic is mindblowingly minimizing

[@southerncyan4098]

@@dc6953 Yeah, I didn't quite understand his reasoning except that he was pointing to the value of his own productivity. In that sense, Theo is correct. However I believe he is ignoring the fact that once the senior roles move on, without consistent mentorship and training, the "newer gen" of a company cannot be as competent. I believe the solution that Theo was getting at the end was that these junior devs "soon to be jobless b/c of AI" will need to become "nerds" and create their own companies "independent value". Essentially we are about to enter with AI an era of even faster paced hyper capitalism with every man for himself, and it directly shows in Theo's attitude. I could reading too deep into this, but I find it concerning.

[@dc6953]

@@southerncyan4098 Yea, it seems as much. I mean I understand as I could just develop a ton of apps and go solo. But that’s not what humanity is above. Gotta help each other out, even though we may not be perfect or agree, and some of us need real mental and physical help. Still, without unity anything created will fall. If such does happen, I’d venture to build and/or invest in companies with the opposite sentiments myself. Being arrogant is easy to do once you’ve lifted and gotten the muscle. It’s not as easy when you remember the long road you took to get there and compare that to what your younger counterparts are going through. For some, the above sentiments do not form either by way of their conscious or by way of empathy. Either way, they should not be supported… I feel the same way about this channel.

[@workerworking-d1t]

You want companies to just create jobs out of nowhere? there's too much demand for a small offering of jobs, there's no way around it.

[@wire_surfer]

"The ones that aren't spending their spare time watching videos on my channel, they are absolutely f***ed" - Theo, 2024

[@pablo-vk8yt]

that made me laugh xD. Good punch at the end

[@rixis2940]

I don't agree that you need to be living and breathing tech 24/7 to not be fucked in this space anymore. That's not a healthy way to approach it at all. Networking is the most powerful tool in your arsenal, unfortunately most SWE are not good at that.

[@christianferrario]

When you don’t have a job, your job is to find one. You’re not spending your “free time”, but your working time. And even if you already have one and you WANT a better one, you’re not spending your free time, your investing your time in more work for more results.

[@IndellableHatesHandles]

I'm probably not gonna be doing CS anymore. I'm glad that I never had to pay tuition, but also angry that the hobby that I've had since I was 12 has become such a nightmare.

[@saidagadiri5262]

If you're passionnate, you shouldn't give up on it. The market is tough, but there will always be opportunities for those who are skilled and that know how to market themselves

[@aquilafasciata5781]

@@saidagadiri5262 Nerds aren’t known for their social skills are we?

[@danhorus]

Don't lose hope. You can always specialize in some niche technology and become a consultant making good money

[@awesomedavid2012]

​@@aquilafasciata5781that sounds like good news to me. So what you're saying is, in order to stand out from the rest, I just need basic social skills? Lol good luck y'all

[@HolyMacaroni-i8e]

@@saidagadiri5262 That's such a generic advice. It may be true, but it also may not. And there's so many passionate people so that it is nothing special.

[@ireallyamayuube]

One of my colleagues is a gret developer who also happens to spend all of his free time building apps and games. I admire him a lot, but at the same time would rather have a life outside of dev. He never travels, never hikes, has almost no friends. He's a great guy but his whole life is spent in his basement coding away at stuff. I think he's happy doing that, but I'd honestly unlive myself if that was my life.

[@starling-]

He is happy, this is only thing that matters.

[@TheMoviesfable]

@@starling- sure I was there too, yet in 3-5 years it won't bo so much fun anymore, and the will turn out to have no friends, memories nor accompany

[@FengLengshun]

​@@TheMoviesfable there is a time for everything. I used to be that guy, just staying in my room every weekend. Now I go out every weekend. There will be a time to plant, and a time to uproot.

[@bobdud3176]

I see the only way here is to turn your self to the path of the MACHINE and become one. Dystopian thoughts? Of course! I don't see any bright outcome in near future for human civilization as it is, having the overall situation with AI and TECH industry in general...

[@ymi_yugy3133]

Uff, so I need to hang out in a bunch of discord severs, spend hours networking on social media and contribute to unpaid labor to projects. I'm splitting my time between working and doing a masters. I don't think I have the time for it. It also sounds unimaginably dreadful. My job isn't great, but looks like switching isn't an option right now.

[@devagr]

Then it’s a good thing that networking on social media doesn’t have to take hours

[@pablo-vk8yt]

If you're interested in software stuff, talking about it should feel fun (and even relaxing) and not dreadful. But I agree with you that in your situation you are set with just working and doing a masters

[@AlexCrocker]

​@@pablo-vk8ytagree, OP sounds like a terrible person and shouldn't enter tech.

[@maimee1]

One thing about having the perspective of an interviewer, or a hiring manager, is you skipped one whole interface the candidates go through, and that is ATS, HRs, or recruiters. As a recent job applicant, I say getting to the first interview is the hardest, and the rest is easy. Anything that helps you get through that first door is a tremendous help. In my country, that is having a LinkedIn. Almost always it's about connections and online-ish presence. Idk how it is wherever you are.

[@smathlax]

For sure, if I can get to the interview stage I can quite reliably demonstrate my ability to learn fast, think outside the box, etc. Etc. It's the getting to the interview that's the problem.

[@mikebarnacle1469]

Well the companies are all working really hard to set it up so that the engineer's time isn't wasted and filter out candidates before that, so it's not an accident. If you got past the first filters then you check the boxes they set up.

[@omerkaya8243]

Back when I was in Uni we use to make fun of "art" students about how they going to end up unemployed. They use to say if you have a nice portfolio you still can find job. I think karma hit me hard because a good portfolio cant even save me from this market. And answer of the question is it worth it to get IT job in 2025 is what I told them years ago only if you are extremely ambitious about codding(willing to work for free and unable to live a life without codding)

[@watsonwrote]

I actually got a great IT job out of college with a creative writing art degree a couple years ago. I worked IT at the colleges I attended the entire time I was ins school, so workstudy was kind of like an internship. Attitude and experience you can spin properly goes a long way. So does strong communication. Potential employers don't know how qualified and skilled you are if you can't quickly get the picture across. They also often value things like a good attitude, good teamwork and articulation, and trustworthiness. If you can prove that to an employer, that's often more valuable than skills that you can easily learn. You can't usually teach someone to be charming and trustworthy. Impress employers and you'll find success.

[@petarp3938]

​@@watsonwroteI'm tired of these word salads everywhere... How do you show to someone you just met anything about teamwork and trustworthiness??? Trust is built over time. He can't see your teamwork in a 1on1 conversation.

[@gregorio5543]

> if you're just here for the money, you wont make it I always had a problem with this. You see it a lot in the dev space and honestly find it toxic advice. You should contribute but should also unplug. Read books, watch movies, touch grass. You'll go back to coding with a clear head. I have a bad habit of burning myself out because I want to be the best I can be at what I do but doing it constantly can burn you out. Genuine interest is important but always doing the same thing can really hurt you in the long run

[@broadestsmiler]

You can love computer science and software development without burning yourself out. Moderate how much you contribute and diversify your day with other hobbies. I like to read works of philosophy, politics, and history in my free time. I have also taken time to pick up Spanish, which I have been learning for over four years now.

[@DatFarrix]

> if you're just here for the money, you won't make it > You should contribute but should also unplug These two statements are not at all mutually exclusive, especially for a dev is who unemployed.

[@gregorio5543]

@@DatFarrixyou totally can do both. You work your day job. Do what you can during working hours and set a time to clock off. Burning out and do it 12 hours+ a day is only going to burn you out. I’m doing roughly 9-10 hours a day and it’s burnt me out. It isn’t good advice to just code all the time. It’s bad advice to spend all your time doing anything really

[@gregorio5543]

@@broadestsmilerI agree. But people seem to think I’m wrong and it’s all you should do. If you don’t read, especially the philosophy, you are living a black and white life

[@TheSuperBoyProject]

He says this because he owns his own business and that's what he hires. I've known people that do nothing but code away all the time they're awake, but that's not a life I want and I guess most people in tech do either, who believe it or not aren't social outcasts like they are often portrayed.

[@mickaiba71]

Fight the loneliness… I though we are talking about dev work, why do you hit me with the feels.

[@jonopens]

I've been a dev for 7 years and the last three years have gotten progressively harder every year. It's brutal and is completely demoralizing. I'm exhausted and out of energy.

[@romantaylor]

What Theo is trying to say: focus on relationships. That's the key to getting a job in this competitive market. How it comes off (based on the comments): watch my stream and interact with my content to get a job. Bottom line is: focus on meaningful relationships and do not feel obligated to interact with Theo (though there is nothing wrong with that should you enjoy it). You can go to local meet ups, interfact with software bloggers, stay in touch with college buddies etc. Figure out what works for you.

[@MyriadColorsCM]

Focusing on brownnosing. Gotcha.

[@fairbanj]

100% in every industry. Everything comes down to relationships.

[@fluxtheory3136]

Hilarious how it was AI that triggered the exodus back to human networking.

[@rubberducky5990]

Monke together - strong

[@scally9341]

Read Dune lol

[@gabrielbear5268]

I mean it hasn't networking was always a think and has always been big.

[@Willifordwav]

- No jobs - Industry is completely oversaturated - Companies are hiring overseas for a fraction of a cost Looks like the career is dead, atleast in the US. Just like the people working in the automotive industry in Detroit. Unless you are already a top 5%, it’s probably smart to go ahead and start learning something else.

[@omargallo9636]

What else 😂

[@ninjacortadordecebola1215]

I'm oversea :D

[@Belly_dunlapd_ophermuhgenes]

If software dev is dead, turn your computer phone, tv, car, wtf ever else has a damn display or code in it OFF and then start making your cuttin boards and roof making, oil drilling, electrician made in America career moves. And I hope to all thinking about them reallll infrastructure jobs - you all with them soft hands lol.. understand working in the elements ain’t easy for the 100k them fellas make. Ohhh and they are gone all the effin time. Ohh and they get laid off all the time.. ohh and they have mandatory overtime. Ohh and they will bust your balls and make fun of you for being soft real quick. Ohh and you’ll get realllllll dirty and sweaty.. All this talk almost make me miss them games dealing with you softies. But hell maybe you or someone needs it. Hard work makes hard men and women. Software has likely made you soft and you need to see how real money is made, the real hard way. Be careful once them soft hands go away you’ll never be the same haha.

[@Fran-kc2gu]

@@Belly_dunlapd_ophermuhgenes who hurt you that bad to start crying on the internet about your problems?

[@theseventhdman]

@@Belly_dunlapd_ophermuhgenes nice schizo rant

[@michaelcdarby]

I was a developer for almost 5 years. Lost my job and now I can’t even get an interview… I’m so close to giving up

[@imad-jm9df]

this is crazy...

[@s4mm1ch324]

Same boat, 5yrs of exp in fullstack and devops, over the last year I have only secured a few side freelance gigs for next to nothing... feel like I'm drowning.

[@michaelcdarby]

@@s4mm1ch324 I feel like programming is so oversaturated now

[@crimson9428]

This makes me not want to even try to get my first job in dev...

[@michaelcdarby]

@ I would still say to try. what sucks for me is for a lot of the entry level roles im told I have “too much experience” but then for the mid level roles im told I have the years of experience but not in the right tools

[@MZZenyl]

Reminder: - The community around Theo is not unique. There are thousands of online communities that you can be part of, which can help you find employment or become more employable. - Being friendly and willing to learn/adapt is by far the most trait when you're new in the field. If a company is hiring a junior, they know they'll have to mold/upskill you, and while having existing knowledge is definitely a plus, making a good first impression and showing a willingness to learn is nearly always more important. As Theo said, juniors are hired for their potential to grow, so show them that you've got that potential. - "The job market" doesn't exist. There are tens of thousands of job markets all over the world, and what is important in one place can be irrelevant in another. Silicon valley jobs have very different values from what you'll find in a medium-sized town in central Europe. If you want a job in your local area, the values of the FAANG companies are likely completely irrelevant to you.

[@rubberducky5990]

Discord is another "fun Friday". If you don't participate, you don't get a promotion. So, in a way, an employee should "self-slave" after office.

[@ahuman-i7m]

I’m very passionate about programming but I honestly deeply regret ever getting into it.

[@TheAncientPeriod]

why do you say so

[@Satish-st5le]

​@@TheAncientPeriod Because you have dance according to fingertips of Hiring managers.

[@ahuman-i7m]

@@TheAncientPeriod Insanely brutal job market. I’m not looking to make lots of money, just want to have a stable job, but even that seems to far fetched.

[@Victor-ye9zh]

@@ahuman-i7m I dont know the reality of your country, but in my case, what we are seeing happen to tech jobs, was already going on in any other industry, and that was a huge factor for me to invest in tech, now it seems as if there is nowhere else to go, just accept this reality and face it

[@filthyfrankblack4067]

I feel you. Its like a treadmill that keeps speeding up every time you get used to the pace. Tech youtubers are famous for pointing this out (networkchuck) that every video is.. You go to learn Python, Rust, Go, Leetcode, Hacking, networking, etc on and on which each shiny partially functional toy that get spat out to the internet. It's enough to make you sick.

[@ShewWoW]

I made an app that to this day gets 1,000 daily active users, and i can’t even get an interview, even with my networking that landed me one interview they wanted more experience for an intro position…

[@dumbfailurekms]

what app man

[@AD-wg8ik]

Where are you located? Do you have a CS Degree?

[@wilproK]

Monetize the app and then you won't need a job..

[@ShewWoW]

@@dumbfailurekms a QoL extension app for card gamers

[@ShewWoW]

@@AD-wg8ik LA, and i have a minor in cs

[@edwardduda4222]

I graduate in May. This news makes me very excited and doesn’t give me anxiety at all.

[@m6io]

I was with you until 9:33 then things got a bit delulu. This advice is really only useful for folks who want to work in the influencer dev orbit, which is not at all representative of the industry as a whole. Most recruiters are hiring from LinkedIn, Job sites, or company career portals, not Twitter. Networking is a good force multiplier, but it does not need to be in a streamers chat or on Twitter. In the US at least, if you dont know someone within a company to refer you, it really does come down to luck of the draw.

[@dc6953]

Nah the dude is literally delusional. He is shirking the responsibilities of employers onto employees. It’s a wild thing.

[@programad]

I was affected by the layoffs on August 2023. I was working for a NY company (I am from Brazil) and they had to layoff like 60 people. Then, I decided to take some time out of the market to take care of my daughter because she was about to get a spinal surgery on December 2023. After her recovery, I decided to find a new job while burning my savings. Unfortunately I had to burnt it all. Now I am back on the search for a new job and it is still hard for the exact reasons you mentioned. Another thing that is ruining hiring is ATS. So, fake candidates send fake resumes and cover letters, while fake hirers pretend to care about the fake resumes they receive. We reached a deadlock in hiring. How do we get out of this problem? How we make the job market for engineers healthy again? I miss the times when people just called me and said "hey, come over here, let's talk" and then I had the chance to sell myself to them.

[@valentinkrajzelman4649]

out of all the branches of the economy, id say that being socially active and outgoing is kind of a cruel requierment for a CS job

[@ronbarrantes]

Thanks Theo! I definitely needed to hear this. I have been out of a job for 3 months now and I honestly have no clue how I’m going to get my next role. I’m kind of scared to talk to people, coupled that with this weird thing I have where I don’t wanna take up space and not be seen, it’s probably the worst combination. Even writing this post kind of freaks me out. But I guess I’m writing it because I do feel inspired to be seen and to interact with people and as an acknowledgment that “I hear you” and I kinda know what I need to change in me. Thanks once again

[@t3dotgg]

Make the change. It won't be easy. But it will be one of the best things you've ever done for yourself. Trust me. I was not always like this.

[@altie122]

hs junior (17 year old) here, my programming teacher (who I'm helping build his classes) and some of my more tech savvy classmates in my 2 programming classes (web dev and ap csp) often use ChatGPT and other ai's to do all of their programs, I'm one of few that actually code. ChatGPT has taken over so much that in the first computer sci class the teacher has a unit completely for using ChatGPT, and in web dev we write school news articles using ChatGPT, we don't get them from journalism, its all ai. I'm one of few that use ChatGPT as a tool not a programmer. (I learned js/ts because even to generate a simple unix timestamp GPT couldn't, at least not well. This channel also helped push me to learning code as much as I have.)

[@potato9832]

I really can't relate to people using AI to do the work for them. I enjoy the learning process. Using AI robs a person of that enjoyment.

[@iioxyz]

A massive gap is forming. Those reliant on AI will be a crutch

[@altie122]

@ damn, then again there are only two people other then me in my web dev class that actually do work and care about doing it, not just for an easy “A”. Crazy to see the effects of ai effecting everyone at this massive of a scale.

[@jimcain349]

I'm in my 50s and have been a professional developer for 26 years. I've been looking for a job for 15 months and I'm wondering if I'd be better off six feet under.

[@kotk05]

=( big bro, no.

[@PaulSolt]

Keep it up. I was searching for 9 months and I have 10+ years in software development. The competition is fierce through traditional applications on LinkedIn. I do think there is agism, so that will make it harder to stand out. Traditional code challenges are so hard, it really requires tons of practice to be good. I failed so many as a senior iOS engineer because I’m not fast enough. I think the real value is your previous work experience network. I just got hired from one of my previous students who reached out before the job was posted. Look back on your previous jobs and reach out to former coworkers and see if they have upcoming roles. Let them know you’re on the market. Keep those conversations warm.

[@PaulSolt]

@jimcain349 Keep it up. I was searching for 9 months and I have 10+ years in software development. The competition is fierce through traditional applications on LinkedIn. I do think there is agism, so that will make it harder to stand out. Traditional code challenges are so hard, it really requires tons of practice to be good. I failed so many as a senior iOS engineer because I’m not fast enough. I think the real value is your previous work experience network. I just got hired from one of my previous students who reached out before the job was posted. Look back on your previous jobs and reach out to former coworkers and see if they have upcoming roles. Let them know you’re on the market. Keep those conversations warm.

[@0beepbopbopbeep0]

This feels like a big "join my discord" but yes definitely great to see someone talk about this, I have 4 years of exp with fullstack and was just getting ignored straight up with all roles I've been applying to. Guess I need to make friends.

[@nipungrover7058]

I agree, it was kinda annoying but he's actually not wrong with any of the things about making ourselves more sociable. The reason is bc i know people who i would refer 100% if i had a job and i hope some will do the same for me bc they think I'm good. It's all trust based, it's a trust based society and it's definitely showing more and more in tech jobs

[@Hhong_1120]

Just need more discussion

[@ameerashhab6721]

There's more to life than just coding and "keeping up to date" with communities and such. Truth is, i love this field, i'm a Hybrid of Engineering & Design. I have indeed been convinced years ago that you do need to stay up to date with latest tech and check what's going on in the industry, and I find this activity fun and nice, but I do like to disconnect from time to time, as it's also mentally draining.

[@awesomedavid2012]

7:00 disagree. That's a really dumb way of looking at it. If you teach a junior how to do it, they retain it. And you don't need to teach them how to do it again NEXT time. With any AI, you'll have to teach them again and again the exact same thing every single time.

[@CBIRL]

Not really it just depends. AI has memory now and builds context from your previous conversations. For smaller, specific tasks, I could imagine it being a lot faster. It is a weird reality though

[@LadyEmilyNyx]

So basically, it's hopeless and I should give up.

[@igoralmeida9136]

pretty much, 7 years ago software developent had very little competition, now it's the opposite, there is a ton of competition and it's just not worth the efford anymore

[@Masq_RRade]

Yeah. I’m out. Going into the trades instead, this shit is not worth it

[@HolyMacaroni-i8e]

@@igoralmeida9136 yeah well these companies worked hard on promoting it. "It's the future" etc.

[@watsonwrote]

If that's your attitude, then yes, you do lose to everyone trying harder than you. People who try, put themselves out there, and show initiative are the ones that get noticed by employers. They don't want to hire someone who has resigned to failure. You need to change your attitude and outlook if you want to succeed. Confidence and determination go a long way in making your goals happen.

[@rasibn]

Get good or get out

[@keifer7813]

I gave up after 2 years of trying. No more take home assignments, I'm done. I hate coding now lol. Gonna try to land whatever to pay the bills

[@tekforge]

Great advice for beginners! But I'm afraid I'm a counterexample. As a senior full-stack dev with 18 years under my belt, a Google Developer Expert in Angular, a Udemy video courses instructor with 35K+ students, a KZbinr (4K+ subs), and an article-writing machine (220+ Medium posts), I feel like I'm living proof and I've done all the 'right' things... However, job hunting can still be a wild ride 😅 I've been on the hunt for a new gig since March 2024-sending out CVs. I rejected some offers because the salary/hourly rate was too low, but now, I'm lowering my rate expectations, and even considering roles that don’t need 10+ years of experience (despite having almost two decades)! It's been an unexpected experience, and honestly, a bit funny 😄

[@TarasBasiuk]

How many your videos must I watch to get a job, daddy?

[@DFOwl]

I've given up on finding internships while studying. I cannot junggle 8-12 hours (internships do not have defined hours, go figure) of work with university in a single day. Additionally, companies want to see your dedication, which I just can't give as a student. So for this winter, I decided to get a job at McDonald's. So far, I've learned quite a bit about teamwork - mostly because university group projects are all-round horrible. At the same time, I'm getting paid the full wage even during training, which is such an amazing experience compared to the free internships I've been to. We will have a mandatory internship during the summer at a company partnering with my university, so I'll just wait till then. The last semester has kinda killed my passion to code, so I'm just chilling. Maybe I'll finally work on that game I wanted to. And I know, people are going to say "it's a competitive market, you need to compete and show that you're passionate!" Do we require doctors to operate on themselves at home? Do we require mechanical engineers to spend half their free time designing machinery at home? Do we require naval engineers to build boats in their free time?

[@JakeHaugen]

Since the main point is contribute to communities to build trust, I wanted to share some other tech communities on youtube (besides Theo's) that I like in no particular order. Maybe you'll resonate with some of their stuff General CS: - www.youtube.com/@freecodecamp - www.youtube.com/@typecraft_dev - www.youtube.com/@Fireship - www.youtube.com/@TwoMinutePapers - www.youtube.com/@coderized Web Dev - kzbin.info - www.youtube.com/@DavidOndrej - www.youtube.com/@mattpocockuk - www.youtube.com/@awesome-coding - www.youtube.com/@Steve8708 - www.youtube.com/@WebDevCody Hacking: - www.youtube.com/@NetworkChuck Cool CS Projects: - www.youtube.com/@joshuabird333 Startups: - www.youtube.com/@ycombinator - www.youtube.com/@TheBrowserCompany - www.youtube.com/@convex-dev - www.youtube.com/@Supabase AI: - www.youtube.com/@code4AI - www.youtube.com/@aiexplained-official - www.youtube.com/@OpenAI - www.youtube.com/@ColeMedin - www.youtube.com/@LangChain - www.youtube.com/@matthew_berman - www.youtube.com/@AIJasonZ

[@Edgars82]

"People you have worked with" - what people if you are looking for junior role and just graduated college?

[@ccdee89]

Your internships

[@ahmadgazzz]

@@ccdee89what internships 😭

[@omargallo9636]

​@@ccdee89funny thing . Internships be like 5 opportunity for 100K students

[@MattDog_222]

What really grinds my gears are those that don't care. When I was in school a few years ago, the amount of CS students who didn't care, didn't show up to class, tried cheating (which is now even worse from GPT models), disgusted me. Fortunately, for those that were the complete opposite, the nerds always asking and answering questions in class and going above and beyond on assignments gave me a handful of trustworthy CS friends

[@tacokoneko]

multiple people consistently placed higher than me and passed more assignments in engineering classes because they cheated and I didn't. now it appears that people who use LLMs to fabricate resumes and CVs will get jobs that I don't because I never lie on my resume.

[@whitallee7885]

I’ve got a fiancée, and a small family, and that’s a commitment and part of my life that I’m not willing to sacrifice any part of, and it feels like the bar to break into this industry keeps getting pushed higher and further away, and I spend my free time researching different languages, and building projects, be size I really do love doing it, but sometimes it feels like I need to be spending 30+ hours/week to make any real headway, which isn’t feasible for maintaining a healthy balance Meanwhile I’m doing school part time to get my degree, and working full time to pay bills Usually, I just end up feeling like Sisyphus AND the mountain somehow keeps getting taller

[@scally9341]

unfortunately the idea of continuous, endless improvement was always a mirage. History is not linear and there are eras for everything. The era of cush easy office jobs and work from home flexible schedules for tech workers is ending-for the masses anyways. I think it was always going to decline eventually it just sucks that it’s now. Lucky for me I’m young and so I can front that a little better than people like you, but I can even see it in my recently graduated peers: they are not committed to the demands of this industry and won’t weather the storm well, because they can’t accept that it’s not like a regular office job at this point, and should not be treated as such. I wish you the best tho. God help us all lol

[@whitallee7885]

@ lol, what’s funny is I’m not old, I’m 24, so hearing you say that young people can front this kind of stuff better than people like me threw me for one haha. I just happened to have found someone to be committed to, and that always comes first when you choose that. But I definitely could see how not having those commitments in your life would make keeping up with this industry feel more feasible, which was part of my original point For sure, I agree that the cush easy office job isn’t in tech anymore, I do believe once you’re in though, the financial stability would help But I swear, 24 is not NOT young lol

[@Fran-kc2gu]

play the game or lose it, that's the way it is

[@furuthebat]

I just love programming, webdev at day and doing gamejams at night, throw in some music and creative hobbies and you are golden.

[@petarp3938]

Do you cook? Do you do physical activities? Do you leave the house?

[@shawnfromportland]

your thumbnail with the cardboard sign is literally where im at rn with 20 years of experience

[@flockofcats]

😰😰😨

[@developerjas]

Guys, my friend made 20k last month by making fancy tables out of wood… Enough of this software dev bs, it will only get harder

[@akimiosbrk]

Time to pick the welding machine. At least they don't ask for a degree to work in welding.

[@developerjas]

@@akimiosbrk Pressure washing, Woodwork, car bodywork, Plumbing, Roofing etc They make a ton more, do not get outsourced, and do not advertise their salaries like devs.

[@almostrandomnickname]

@@developerjas lol

[@AdamCodeDeveloper]

I got in legitimate fights with my uncle over this in October. To the point where he didn't even notice me over the holidays. Like, he's from the mid 60s and thinks if you went to school for computers, you can do any job requiring computers. My niche in the market was software quality assurance. He doesn't understand that and sends me jobs for SQL developers, front end, back end, just like, anything with "computer" in the name, blindly thinking I can transfer QA experience to any other position. I'm digging the bottom of the barrel applying to desktop support and call centers, local grocery store stocking, like, anything. I'm 34 and repeating the 2008 great recession, this time With Skills™. Like, I'm in this weird valley right now where I'm not good enough to get a job that can hold me over and let me just pay my rent, and I'm not good enough to compete in my industry anymore. Nor do I have time or money to go run back to school and get a trade. I'm under-employed right now as of June and still can't really pay my rent. I expect to file bankruptcy in 2025. My layoff ruined my life.

[@igoralmeida9136]

same here, my parents keep sending me any job posting that has "programmer" or "software" in the title

[@jamesdenmark1396]

Its been tough for 2 years now, most money is going investing in new small companies, and these companies is hiring devs from outside US and EU. I even tried to apply in Finland, they told me they have enough devs in Finland, in Norway I had no luck to be invited to any meetings, so I'm back to apply in the country I live in, each company is getting around 150 applications as minimum.

[@m-ok-6379]

Thank you for telling the truth unlike many other devs that are trying to sell another react course to help newbies make $100k

[@acoville]

The hardest part of a dev career is starting one. After about 100 applications with a professionally drafted resume and CV, bombing 2 white-board interviews, and finally giving up and taking non-dev IT work for a while, a recruiter I connected with early called me back about a year later and put me in front of a couple of devs at a local startup. I had kept up some of my side projects and walked them through some of the challenges I was working with. I had an offer that week. 3 years later I am a senior dev. So if I can offer advice to job hunters, it is 1 - time box how much job-board hunting you do. Most of those are low quality or downright fake listings, and a poor use of your time. 2 - the recruiter connections can and will pay off over time. 3 - take side work if necessary because this industry goes through cycles and we are at the low end of the sine wave right now. 4 - keep learning and pushing yourself with challenging projects. Do these and time becomes your ally.

[@christianwooldridge406]

This is one of the realest videos out there. One addition is don’t engage for the sake of engaging, e.g. don’t engage cuz Theo said it will help u get a job but rather because u have that type of drive and love for CS/building as if u don’t this might not be the right field for you.

[@hanqnero]

Two friends of mine managed to get a Middle+ jobs as second year bachelor students (not even CS degree) by lying in their CVs about their age, work experience but successfully getting through all tech interviews. If this is possible, there's something wrong with the hiring experience. Even a Junior position requires over a year of experience, I don't see how it is possible to get any position after college without lying to pass the very first filters.

[@playchiseltip4454]

Ultimately, i think it's time to find a new industry boys.

[@gyanaranjan6526]

I am a senior Developer Without a degree and done a lot of good work and build a lot of hard core POC. last month I got laid of despite being the top contributor, Now facing ghosted after technical and HR rounds. The time is pretty bad for me while in the job I was getting a lot of recruter calls but now bairly someone calling me.

[@PaulSolt]

You need o reach out to your previous network. I have been searching for 9 months and finally just got hired. The job came to me from a former colleague before they posted the role. Make a list of everyone you have worked with and reach out to them explaining your situation and what you’re looking for in your next role.

[@dennisriddle]

I can't even imagine the struggle as a junior, seeing as I spent a year and a half unemployed with 30 years of broad experience. Hundreds of applications to get three first interviews in all that time.

[@docmars]

It's wild. I also think DEI's been a huge contributor to this, because applicants are being prioritized for their immutable traits rather than experience. Companies receiving grants or tax cuts for checking those boxes is a better financial incentive than hiring top talent.

[@gFamWeb]

@@docmars I feel like it's weird to call out DEI here, tbh.

[@docmars]

@@gFamWeb Uncomfortable reality, or...?

[@Fe22234]

​@@docmarsBetter to blame others for your own failure. Must protect that Ego.

[@schtormm]

@@docmars "muh woke companies dont gib me job"

[@jimwell.a]

How do you deal with the fact that Sr Engineers will, at some point, retire or leave? Even with the seeming infinite number of Sr Engineers available, companies will eventually want to have Jrs who actually have knowledge of the codebase who they can promote or train a bit more.

[@naughtiousmaximus7853]

They dont care. Quarterly profits are all that matters.

[@blazer511]

They hire offshore devs, Elon and Vivek has said that's their goal, screwing you over

[@igoralmeida9136]

their hope is to replace the sr devs with AI

[@WelsyCZ]

@@naughtiousmaximus7853 Literally this. Ive seen this throughout my job search and in the companies Ive been to. They seem to be completely ignorant towards the possibility of their seniors leaving.

[@awesomedavid2012]

​@@igoralmeida9136well they're in for a rude awakening then

[@markojovanovski3372]

Fyi this is mostly only in USA.

[@guled669]

In Europe as well Germany and Sweden

[@javier.alvarez764]

Around the world bro, before and during the pandemic, everyone keeps on calling me for available jobs lol. Now I'm lucky to have 2 to 3 calls per month.

[@PruthviRaj-z2g]

sadly seeing this India as well..

[@presidentofrepublicofmoai5951]

this is absolutely everywhere

[@Hennix_729]

Really appreciate the insight given in this video. I've always been more of a lurker when doing anything online but I will begin to speak out more starting with this comment. Part of it is fear as I often feel unknowledgeable and always want to avoid spreading misinformation or avoid getting judged for making mistakes. I've always told myself I would start being more active once I finish my degree or land my first job but this made me realize that strategy is no longer viable.

[@t3dotgg]

Ask questions! Good questions stand out even more than insightful comments

[@ObviousRises]

Its not easy because they are replacing all the jobs with hb-1s

[@mark-onthedl3890]

Theo is spot on with the importance of trust (getting involved) and value of networking, which is like compound interest -- increases in value over time. Every hire represents a risk for a company. Think about how you can minimize that risk. My advice (as a currently-employed FAANG dev) is to split your time between applying and building. Build apps that solve problems for you and your friends. You'll learn and gain valuable experience. Who knows? It may just take off and you will have created your own FT role. Then apply by showcasing that experience in your CVs, profiles, and portfolios. Good luck!

[@FinlayDaG33k]

I was looking for work for nearly 4 years but instead decided to save whatever sanity was left and go do something else. Final exams are coming up and probably within 2 weeks, I'll be annoying people on the road in a lorry.

[@amiraslam7758]

😂😂

[@denissorn]

Most of this makes sense, but is also specific to the region and the web, maybe even only frontend jobs and startups and some bigtech departments. There's plenty of companies and departments where they prefer people who do the job just for the sake of the job then do photography, watch movies etc, because they work on and rely on bunch of legacy systems, and they don't want 'enthusiasts' who are not going to be happy/satisfied with the job and will leave the first chance they get. This is especially inconvenient because of the 'slowing down' part. They give you the opportunity and the education only so you would leave to work with the newest hyped tech, library, framework or whatever.

[@williamikennanwosu]

It's unrealistic to expect a junior to perform like a senior especially in an industry where no training is given to anybody. Everything is self-service. Asking questions is not always encouraged and met with inconsistency at best. I think the main problem is seniors forget what it was like to be junior. Some empathy would go a long way. AI is great and will level the industry. It's good for job seekers to be empowered.

[@pauliusurmonas7665]

Hey Theo, can you make a video about how you became a guy, who was pulled into the lagging behind projects to save them with the examples/stories how you managed to turn those projects around? That would be very interesting video for me.

[@aquilafasciata5781]

Bump

[@Vintagestep]

Lmao, half of it felt non genuine "You're not watching my channel, that's not going to make the cut".

[@markmcdonnell]

One of the key things on my resume is testimonials. Every testimonial I have is from a real conversation. Not a "hey say something nice about me so I can put it on my site". Every testimonial was someone I worked with publicly saying something nice about me in Slack. Every time that happened I kept it on my site (where my resume is hosted). It's incredibly powerful reading it back (which I do often as someone suffering from 'imposter syndrome ') to realise I do provide value and am valued as a colleague in the office. The comments in this video about trust and "association" is spot on. In my current job I've been moved from one team to another because a manager would say "yeah, get Mark involved, he gets shit done". That's a great feeling to know that you are depended on by others and your value is known so much that others above you are pulling you into those conversations.

[@coldlyanalytical1351]

I had a long and successful career in tech whilst NOT being very social .. more of a pushy loner. However I could ship reliable systems, on-time, every time. I didn't network - BUT - I appeared on executive search / headhunters radar from the age of around 25, so I never needed to respond to job adverts. Once inside a firm I would be promoted rapidly - and even could manage staff, albeit in a cold, technical way. My final tech role was in the CEO's 12-person team of a large high tech. The takeaway : maybe networking etc is not so vital if you are capable and productive, as long as you get noticed by headhunters and senior managers.

[@FengLengshun]

13:23 100% true. I applied to dozens of companies. The ones I got calls from? The ones where I got recommended by friends and acquaintances I met. I finally got myself a new, more stable job, before my previous company could laid me off for a second time (first time was cancelled because turns out they still needed me - I accepted but immediately went looking around).

[@ricdizio]

I don’t usually agree with everything that Theo says, but this video, he nailed it!

[@pauldudley1273]

I think this might be the best video you've done, or maybe just the best message when i needed to hear it.

[@CodingWithCompassion]

19:03 I love this so much. I made a great connection with a whole community of devs from India just by following a video, and I love those guys. I also only made a few real connections at my last job because these were not things I thought about, and I didn't really leverage my connections to gain access to communities. Everyone is a potential key to a network of engineers and employers, and the best part is that you can really get that benefit just by not being a dick and thinking about these connections. Like, just be a pleasant person to work with and do your job well. Which is why I will say, one thing you didn't reinforce enough here was that when you DO get a job, be thinking about your next one constructively and *make connections with your team*, because you never know when your next opportunity will strike, or when the next round of changes make you unable or unwilling to keep working there. As many of them as you can, all the time. Keep doing that every day. It pays off many, many times over.

[@mr.rafael89]

Happy new year! That's amazing advice! I basically have seen a lot of blog posts, newsletters (like the Hacker Newsletter), etc. All saying it's a numbers game and that you should not give up. Ok that's cool motivation, but your advice to networks instead of just relaying on cold job applications, it's great. Well done for that and it's a plus that you also shared the other side, how hiring is looking like, that makes it easier to understand things.

[@ChannelSho]

This is also personal anecdotal evidence, but participating in the community can help open opportunities. I used to be really active in a forum for a tech publication and when they had an open invitation for freelance writers, I put down that I was interested. The chief editor contacted me directly and was basically given an offer on the spot just from my forum posts. Granted there's timing and luck involved, but yeah, don't discount community participation if you're really passionate about this stuff.

[@garlicnator]

Thank you for this video Theo. I would like to mention i was in this situation as a programmer with years of experience. It not only affects junior developers but senior devs as well. The problem I had is when companies that did the interviews used ai to auto generated these ridiculously hard coding tests. Then gave a time limit and would only interview the people that got all the questions right. This field is definitely more competitive then it used to be. I even knew someone that dreamed of becoming a junior programmer and had so much ambition to giving up. The best piece of advice I can give for anyone looking for a job as a developer, no matter if junior or senior is to keep applying and never give up. Even as a developer with 12+ years I went through at most 200 interviews before getting several offers. I recommend also applying for the jobs that have you go the office. The wfh jobs are wayyyy to competitive and pretty much impossible go get.

[@hanes2]

Melkey missed opportunity to be todays's sponsor with his Resume AI thing xD

[@sethderrick688]

"the thing that will kill your career is letting the loneliness get to you" I needed to hear this today more than I could have imagined. I knew I was having trouble emotionally wrt the past 18 mos of looking for a full-time gig but these simple, honest words hit harder than anything you've ever said (which is a pretty high frikkin' bar). Thank you Theo, for seeming to live your message, for being human first.

[@sethwright2518]

I've been a developer for 10+ years. I cannot state enough how much networking is key. Every job I have had has been made possible by someone I knew or met along the way. Of course I also did a lot of hunting and interviewing as well, but ultimately knowing someone was always a deciding factor.

[@mgs...]

Lots of good points in this video, let me throw in my POV as dev. If you're looking for job, having contacts goes a long way. But if you have really no other option, try to be original (within limits), and make sure your application doesn't blend with others. If you want to keep/promotion in a job, you have to show some progress, either by knowing what's going on with the trends (no need to go deep, just general concept), or by getting a deep dive into some problem you're solving. Basically this field evolves rapidly, you have to either keep up (at least in general parts), or become an expert (in at least one part). Also, a lot of people stick with one set of languages/frameworks/tools, instead of concepts, and this really reduces your chances. You don't need to be proficient with multiple ones, but just willing to switch to something different is enough to get you further.

[@AlexanderLurie]

My main consern lately that the hiring process was brought into tech by the humanities. They took all the theory on human open and extroverted interaction and brought it to most "sociopathic" people and most "alone" industry. Then the HR interviewer asks questions about "team dynamics" expecting coherent answers from guys who are introverted by nature and hyper-interested in tech. IMHO that is just counterproductive. Most of us just hack at the workbench until we hit the solution and are dismissed as "your skills are great, but we are advancing with more suitable candidates"

[@AlexanderLurie]

"The hiring process in the tech industry appears to be heavily influenced by frameworks rooted in the humanities, particularly those emphasizing extroverted interaction and social dynamics. This often creates a mismatch, as HR professionals may prioritize attributes such as verbal articulation of 'team dynamics' over technical expertise. Many tech professionals, who are naturally introverted and thrive through independent problem-solving, find this approach misaligned with their strengths. Despite demonstrating exceptional skills, they frequently encounter responses like, 'Your abilities are impressive, but we’ve decided to proceed with other candidates,' which suggests a systemic undervaluation of the diverse ways individuals contribute within the tech sector."

[@watsonwrote]

Have you worked in a major software company? The devs, QA staff, and UX engineers are constantly communicating to each other, working in teams, and using those soft, collaborative skills to forward projects. At least that's been my experience. It didn't matter if someone was really technically competent if they couldn't work with others, problem solve in coordination with others, or maintain trustworthy relationships with colleagues. People who were bad to work with rarely stayed. People who couldn't accept direction, compromise, or lead when necessary never stayed. I'm not saying it's not possible for introverted devs to be good at their job -- I know many who are! But they still posses enough collaborative and communicative skills to meet the challenges their teams and their apps face. They are still pleasant people to work with and their perspective isn't difficult to respect or adjust to. Some work environments are going to be more collaboration intensive than others and successful (and larger) employers know from experience what candidates work at their company. Training is a big investment. The sharing of company knowledge and data is a big risk. They have to minimize hiring people who fail to thrive in a strongly collaborative environment if that's how they work. If someone needs to be independent, they need to find an employer who is okay with that, do self-employment/solo dev work, or try something else.

[@theodiscusgaming3909]

@@watsonwrote "introverted" doesn't mean you can't communicate about anything at all (communicating about a specific subject/task is usually not hard), it means that someone has difficulties trying to meet, communicate and find common ground with complete strangers.

[@ccdee89]

@@AlexanderLurieIf you can’t comfortably communicate with non-technical members of your team then you’re going to struggle.

[@haxorjim]

I can't believe your solution for half a million tech workers to get a new job is to "add value" to a tech influencers circle or project. I don't think this is what you were trying to say, but that's how it comes off. What needs to be fixed is the interviewing process, you said it yourself. Don't put more work on the people companies already laid off. The workers didn't fail to perform, the companies did. It's ignorant to look at this any other way.

[@devagr]

And what happens to the people looking for jobs in the meantime? It’s not like every company can just “fix” their process overnight. What’s your advice to job seekers? Stay unemployed until companies get around to fixing their process so that they can be recognized?

[@haxorjim]

​@@devagrthis interviewing problem isn't unique to tech. VCs might not be interested in it, but I'd think there's plenty of amazing unemployed talent that could revolutionize the space. There's been zero innovation in hiring since LinkedIn. Solve it and make more than you would for anyone too lazy to read your resume.

[@ChesterTorvald]

Can we stop turning around the bush? I know it is politically incorrect to say it, but at this point someone have to say it. Honestly, the industry have made too much effort to bring people to tech. Consequences ? Now passionate foxes have to fight with the rest. Supply and demand baby, there is too many of us now, and we have to fight extra hard to get noticed. You can say "it is not okay to gatekeep" or "everyone should have a chance into becoming a programmer", that's fine. Just don't act surprised when everyone have to fight for the same job.

[@robertluong3024]

Yeah I hated those days, then we had to read about a bunch of people who didn't give a crap about the industry tell us how to earn lots of money quickly. No, some of us actually care. Thanks dude.

[@9ntonio]

THANK YOU!!! I needed to hear this because there were missing things I didn't get until you broke it down. Thanks.

[@kevinkelley2737]

Another thing I’ll add as someone who went through a coding bootcamp and have now been in my role in the field for 2 years. Utilize your prior non-coding related experience. If you have a customer service background mention that and that you know how to communicate. If you worked in a restaurant then say you know how to handle stressful situations and can work in a fast paced environment. Don’t let a lack of experience in coding make it look like you just lack experience. You got this!

[@sieve5]

If I don't find a job at the end of this month I'm either going to learn how to weld or become an auto mechanic 4 YOE in Fullstack JavaScript. I've seen more jobs for .NET and Java because everyone is a JS dev.

[@abhishekkharwar]

Thank you for this video, I was too scared to try and connect with people. But now I understood you have to be a naive optimist since others were like this, even the incompetent once, the only thing that worked out well for them is showing up and not doubting themselves.

[@JohnSmith-gu9gl]

In IT, the simple tasks are either automated or handled by AI. Today, you need to know how to design systems, manage complexity, and combine different systems to solve problems. It’s also essential to understand how AI works, as it’s a key tool for the future. AI solves problems that can’t be addressed with traditional rule-based programming. Just knowing abstract languages that are far from hardware isn’t enough anymore. Many people get too comfortable and avoid learning or building their theoretical knowledge in their free time. For them, the future will be tough.

[@sodapopjam]

The thing is some of us actuslly want to have a life outside of this? Like, I love coding but I also want to tale a break and not think about coding while I sleep or poop? Expecting you to live a life of only coding/keeping up to date with the industry is toxic.

[@JohnSmith-gu9gl]

@@sodapopjam I see Coding and Tech like an instrument. Have you ever heard a musician complaining about playing the guitar and the piano all the time? Do not force something that you do not like. If you want to do a lot of money, there are better options.

[@sodapopjam]

@@JohnSmith-gu9gl It's really not a good comparison because practicing an instrument is not the same as having to learn a different instrument every other week. That is the current state of programming. You don't just get good at JAVA and practice JAVA everyday. You can do that, but then if another language gets adopted and becomes THE new hot language, that would be the equivalent of a violin getting replaced and you having to pick up another instrument so you can keep your job.

[@bubbasanches4591]

These days there are so many "devs" who don't even know how a computer works. NodeJS and Python noobies who have never touched low level languages such as assembler and don't even know what a .text section is, should simply not be in this field.

[@JohnSmith-gu9gl]

@@sodapopjam I see it a bit different. Because a new framework still does the same music. Sometimes it gives you good abstractions sometimes not. But the basics are always the same. If we want to stay in the analogy. If you can play a cheap guitar, you can also play a fancy one :) But I agree that we are overfilled with new tools, but you do not have to follow the hype. I mean there are still people who are killing with PHP and can outcode you with that.

[@Jelvix]

No, it's not easy.. Thank you for this video and for sharing your experience! Many people are trying to get into tech, but the competition is also very strong. We also find the career topic quite important. In our latest video we uncover What's The Difference between Mid and Senior Developers. Might be inspirational!

[@williamikennanwosu]

This is really enlightening Theo. Thanks for sharing!

[@lavendercode]

Wow! This is the best video about getting a dev job. I am going to start blogging and writing down solutions. Also, will help persons online. thanks Theo!

[@bubbasanches4591]

These days there are so many "devs" who don't even know how a computer works. NodeJS and Python noobies who have never touched low level languages such as assembler and don't even know what a .text section is, should simply not be in this field.

[@clololown]

although it's important to understand how things work on the low level, there's nothing wrong with high level abstractions. lot's of AI tools and libraries are actually built with python and node is great for web

[@centripetal6157]

This seems like gatekeeping tbh. There are different type of programmers - not everyone needs to know how to write operating systems or assembly.

[@FedhzAquino]

Hi Theo. I am not a dev (my husband is) but your advice is useful to everyone. 😊 My client has a program called Future Proof and she teaches these core lessons (although not mentioned or labeled precisely). Here are my key takeaways: -Build your brand (show what you can do using online portfolio) -Strategic Networking (share value posts to communities) - see what I did here Anyway, we've been freelancing in the digital space since 2005. Sometimes we have clients, sometimes we don't. But we never stop building and creating so we're always working (paid or free). I don't usually comment but your storytelling compelled me to share. 😅😊

[@augustus4832]

Honestly, all of these just reads that SWE now is just like any other career rather than the instant college/school -> company post in terms of entry.

[@AbdulsalamOlaide]

Very very helpful brother Thank you so much for all the tips and advices

[@Avlec1000]

Theo gives some great advice, especially if your goal is to make a living by writing code. If you are less committed this as a way of earning a living and you are interested in people and processes and business then there are roles out there for you that are related to tech minus the coding part. There are lots of bricks and mortar businesses trying to use technology to improve how they do things and they could probably use your help. It can be very rewarding to deliver a project and save the client a ton of money by stopping them from making bad choices, so I would say keep an open mind to what your next role will look like.

[@KentCDodds-vids]

Waiting for a "go to / speak at conferences and meetup with people IRL" as a specific recommendation