Just how hard is it to get a programming job?
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Now, it is probably not too hard, especially here in the U.S. Back between 2000 to 2004 it was hard for me being junior level to get a decent job. The .Com bubble burst, the 9/11 attacks occurred, and the U.S. was in a recessionary period. I imagine between 2008 and 2011 it was the same story. So good for him getting his first job.
Software development is project work, like building a skyscraper. During a recession, nobody is starting new projects. If you're standing up when the music stops, you may wait out the recession unemployed. Doesn't matter how good you are if no one is hiring.
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I have 35 years of experience and find it difficult to get a job, but mostly because I'm much less inclined to suffer the "testing phase" of the interview process. IMHO, problems don't arise because someone doesn't know the answer - they arise because someone doesn't know how/where to FIND the answer and move on. I also don't appreciate being told that I have to be willing to socialize with my co-workers. I actually got laid off once for that - it was viewed as not being a "team player". The main problem is that I have a very narrow and specific list of interests, and none of them are an interest in being interested in other people's interests unless they closely align with mine. I was also laid off once because I refused to work overtime for the sake of working overtime. My view is that if my work is behind, or if someone specifically asks me for help, I'll put in the extra hours. I'm 60 years old with a wife and a life, and long ago learned that loyalty to the company isn't necessarily (and more often than not, is most definitely not) reciprocated.
".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
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You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
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When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013I'm 58, 35 years programming experience. I'm between jobs. I'm not sure I'll ever work again. Oh, I can get a job, all right. I can get a job if I want to work for half my previous salary. I can get a job if I want a 60-hour-a-week death march. I can get a job for a lowball salary and a promise of options that may never actually materialize, and I also have to be a contractor for the first six months before my first year of options and my health care begins (at which point they lay me off). I've actually had each of these jobs in the last five years. A combination of shame and legal agreements forbids me saying the names of these companies. I'm not a curmudgeon, like some of the responders to this thread. At least I don't think I am. But with my years of experience, I can see bad management decisions coming ten miles off. I try not to grimace in meetings. Seeing the future is a curse. You can't tell anyone because they won't believe you. They think they're so smart, and they're in charge goddammit. And you can't say "I told you so" either, because the perpetrators leave before the turds hit the turbine, or they're the founder. So, gentle readers, how do you find a job that won't be a disappointment, when you know what you're doing?
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Two important criteria: What you know. Who you know. Not necessarily in that order. Not just for programming, either. In parallel to one of your observations, I've concluded that most development shops want someone under 25 with 30 years experience.
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein
"As far as we know, our computer has never had an undetected error." - Weisert
"If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010
They also want you to do the job as a volunteer, and make weekly monetary donations.
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My son got his first programming job before he had his hands on his associates degree. The pay was just sub $30k. He started looking after he had a year at that shop and it took a months, but then he got double and then some what he was making at his first job. The big problem was that everyone wanted complicated skill combinations that were very odd to say the least. One shop wanted Objective-C but admitted they would have to rewrite the project in Swift just as soon as they got the project deployed. My favorite job ad ever required 5+ years experience with Visual Studio 2010 in 2010. BTW he had several agents getting him interviews, but the CIO of his new company spotted him on LinkedIn.
I would say, the more senior and older you become the harder it is to find a new job. Location can be key too, in the UK. Technical tests are a subjective nightmare. I'm fairly sure, after god knows how many interviews, a decision has been made on you, in the foyer, before you've even answered the first question. You've just got to keep plugging away at it and don't ever let the interview process undermine your confidence as developer. On that note, confidence in your own skills, knowledge and experience is a crucial factor in being a successful developer. Also note that every job will fundamentally change in some way within the first six months. For example, in my current role, my original line manager retired within two months.
