Ask HN: I Need Some Career Advice (Please Help) | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: I Need Some Career Advice (Please Help)

8 pointspythonb3sss10 comments

I apologize in advance if I make a mistake here, because I'm new. I need some career advice. I am 24 years old. I have been working for more than a year as a Python developer in a small startup. The problem that I face is that the startup's future is uncertain and I don't know if anyone else will hire me, because I don't have a bachelor's degree. Due to several mental disorders and circumstances, I had to drop out of college twice and I can't get a degree no matter how hard I try. My question is can I survive without a bachelor's degree? I consider myself to be a skilled developer and my bosses agree as I was hired after only a month of working there as an intern and promoted twice after that, all within 9 months. But would the companies consider hiring me based on just experience? My high school score is not good either.

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You have to tell us the country you’re working in so we can be more helpful but in general once you have some experience you have a much much better chance of remaining in the Industry.

I'm in India. In my experience with the companies, they don't even shortlist candidates that don't have a bachelor's degree (atleast that's what I've been told since I was 10)

Even if you are in India, you are not limited to India, are you? There are lot of companies hiring for remote python developers. If your manager thinks you are good then why not talk to him/her about the state of the startup you are working in? If s/he says that the situation at the startup is bad, then ask for reference and recommendation to support your future career path.

In my experience a bachelors degree is not required for most development positions.

What is required for a non-intern position is experience in development work, and even that has to be in the same technology and language as the job you’re applying for.

Most companies will quiz you on your experience, and want specific details on what you can do. Some will give you a coding exercise to complete, I’ve seen many that don’t care how you completed it, they want you to intelligently describe your design, strategy and execution. Writing a unit test or two is usually impressive.

In old-school companies and government contracts you might get weeded out for not having a degree. Most startups and smaller companies are looking for experience, not academic success.

I can handle interviews easily. Even non-technical ones. More often than not, I am able to come up with a rough architecture for the program while my boss is still describing it and adjust it as he adds more and more constraints or conditions. So I have that part covered. But what should I do if I want to change my technology (not that I want to, Python has plenty of openings for now)? I live in India where companies generally don't even shortlist candidates of interviews if they don't have a degree but I have never applied for jobs after gett6some experience

> in India where companies generally don't even shortlist candidates of interviews if they don't have a degree...

That happens because there are so many applicants! The companies then decide to set initial filtering criteria to reduce their workload by setting arbitrary constraints for e.g. whether you have a degree, whether you have distinction etc. The same happens with larger US companies who get so many applicants that they try to set automated filter in the form of online coding tests to reduce their workload. You will get this everywhere. It is not specific to one country or company.

speaking as an undergrad, also mid 20s: you're all good, man. there will always be companies hiring you as long as you're someone who can write code that moves them towards their business goals.

highly enterprise corporate companies? maybe not, hr's require bachelors degrees as it makes rational sense to do so in order for them to secure their jobs.

smaller companies who work in smaller teams? better chances there. you want people who can see you as you are based on your proven track record and expertise. coding is not like being a doctor / pursuing law where there is a really high bar for entry.

and there are other avenues too. your network is one. widen it, and you may get referrals. working on side projects, side gigs, and other sources of cash flows might work too.

there are other skills you can work on too aside from your technical skills. e.g. your soft skills such as your communication skills, your sales skills (life is sales, after all), your negotiation skills, etc etc.

Corporate doesn’t care about degrees amongst tech workers either, so he’s fine there too.

You need to grow your network via Linkedin. Ask your bosses for referrals or folks they can connect you with. With each passing year, your Education counts less. It will be challenging for now. Also, look out for remote jobs. It is not easy but they are out there.

You might also try your question at workplace.stackexchange.com

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