Comment by jklein11 | Hacker News Reader

Comment by jklein11 | Hacker News Reader

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To me, this seems like it is either an issue of confidence or passion.

What makes you say that you have junior level skill and wisdom? If companies have employed you for 10 years you are bound to have learned a bunch of things in that period of time. A lot of blue flamers[1] fresh out of college may have a fancy buzz words for describing things, but nothing tops experience.

If you truly have gone 10 years without picking up any experience that would differentiate you from someone fresh out of college its pretty evident that this is not where your passion lies. Would you be reigniting your passion, or would you be trying to improve by sheer force of will. If its the latter, I would consider making a career change. Writing code isn't the only way to make money. You'll do a much better job and get more satisfaction out of doing something you enjoy.

Obviously this is just my $.02 and I would definitely recommend against blindly taking advice from strangers on the internet.

1.https://www.reddit.com/r/blankies/comments/765fk4/blue_flame...

I think the issue is more complex. Take an average college grad, put them in a "good enough" company with a shitty manager and less than interesting work and I think there's 10-20% of those grads who get comfortable and enjoy the paycheck and low stress. At some point, they start to think about the future or compare themselves to their peers, but turns out they don't have the skills to get a new job, let alone match the paycheck Dave's getting. There's tons of companies out there trying to maintain OLD OLD stuff. They're hiring too.

There's also a category of people who prefer work where they can come in, do their thing, and leave at the end of the day. They're not looking for more responsibility and there's nothing wrong with that, but they too are left with a skills gap.

It's probably more of an issue of confidence than passion, because I still enjoy coding. That's what I'd want to continue doing for a living for the foreseeable future. I have also worked on personal projects, some on Github that caught the attention of some decent companies.

But I'm very frank about my shortcomings, and possibly too realist, when it comes to interviews. No one wants bad surprises, after all. I have years of delivering as promised, launching many websites and SaaS products. A lot of companies big and small seem OK with my resume.

But after the interview, companies felt that I was an entry-level candidate to them. That's what some of them flat out told me. Also, they sometimes were not satisfied with the way I explain technical concepts. Companies do not delegate my hiring process to a more appropriate junior role, or for something simpler like QA.

Regarding taking advice from strangers online: online is the most I have interacted with other developers. I have no friends in the industry and my colleagues rarely talk back to me, when I ask the some questions about work or about looking for work. Offering them a favor is not an easy option either, because I feel too broke and unemployed to be of use to anyone. My financial situation is making it hard for me to be a giver first.

After looking at your github it looks like you certainly have some technical chops. I don't think this is a competency issue but really just a lack of interview skills.

Obviously nobody wants surprises in the interview process, and I believe that showing future employers that you are cognizant of your short comings is a good thing and shows self awareness. That said, you need to be sure you aren't disqualifying yourself with the information you are sharing.

To be blunt, it seems to me like you need to take ownership of this situation. Rather than asking "Why won't companies offer me the junior role ?" you should be asking "How can I take the risk out of hiring me for the senior role"

If you're interested in chatting, maybe a quick convo would help? Not sure that I could directly connect you with a job but it never hurts to talk.

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