Ask HN: How do I get in touch with US/EU developers? (attempting to network)

Social media for developers? Ummm you're pretty much on it right now :P

Asking this question here is probably the best thing to do.

Though it sounds like you're still learning. Don't expect to make great money until you've proven yourself. In any country. Of course other countries you'll be paid according to local standards but still crap. And consultancy companies always exploit their employees. When I consulted the company charged 10x as much for my services as they paid me. And still managed to make a loss due to all the useless management layers and overpaying the sales suits that were so stupid they sold stuff we couldn't possibly make.

But be aware a company looking for remote developers from Madagascar is probably doing this so they can pay you a pittance as well and think you'll be happy with it. If they're going to pay you their country's local wages for a starter job, they'll rather get someone actually local I guess. Makes the whole tax thing a lot easier too, they can keep an eye on you (like sick leave etc) and for moving you over the immigration process will be prohibitive for them. The problem is they're not going to go to this kind of effort for a starter position unless they have no choice.

I think the best thing you can do is become a known expert in your specific niche. Make sure you're on all the fora and slack/discords whatever for the stacks and frameworks you use. Help people there when they have questions. Soon you'll become a known and this may lead to things.

PS I have lived and worked in 4 countries. Though all Western well off ones.

I'm not in rush for money, I just want to maximise my chance to land a good job later on. And if a dev job is like any other job, networking is worth more than skill to get in. I was told to only brand me a remote dev and only specifying later where I'm from/where I live/my age to try avoiding location based paying and ageism. And yes, they will probably pay a pittance, but that will always be better than local wage. Imagine getting paid $1000/month for a dev job, scammed might you say, but that's 5 times the average income.

> "I think the best thing you can do is become a known expert in your specific niche."

Any niche you could suggest? I really have no idea what's wanted and what's not out there. Now I'm learning python in an introductory course from Berkeley, after that data structure from Berkeley again, in java. Also can you link me to those slack discord channel please? Thanks a lot.

> Any niche you could suggest?

I think it's not question of learning a fancy programming language or web framework. It's about being able to solve problems for companies so it varies a lot with your interlocutor and time.

So without work experience it is difficult to gain any expertise. Yet there are a lot of open source projects that deal with real life problems.

If you have a provable experience with one of those project (simply running one with a large audience is enough, no need for contributing patches), it may count for a recruiter.

Depending on your interest it could be something technical (storage, workflow, API) or something transversal like payment, accounting, human ressources, learning.

> as I'd like to get a remote job there

Maybe I am naive, but why not try to answer a remote job ad?

If you know only English, you should search jobs in countries where it's not a problem to speak English at work. I know this is possible in Germany and Scandinavian countries. Madagascar is nearly on the same longitude as Finland...

> "freelance companies"

I am curious about that, why not finding customers by yourself? What is the main roadblock that makes it difficult?

I will definitely try but when I feel ready. Thanks for the advice. Well, the freelance companies give a sense of trust I guess, if you get what I mean. It's easier for clients to trust established companies than individuals. They'd rather pay a little more for that reassurance. Secondly, reaching out for clients with 0 work experience is not easy stuff.

In country I’m living in (Czechia), there are two major “social hubs” right now:

- Backend developers are pretty active on Slack [1] - Frontend developers on the other hand are active in Facebook group [2]

Most of the discussion is held in czech and slovak languages, but if you start conversation in english, everybody will happily write you back.

There is also another, not that easy to get into, but more global hub - Toptal’s Slack. To get into Slack, you must be part of Toptal platform, which is itself a remote job platform (you find jobs there). There is channel for every country in Toptal’s Slack. I share my referal link to Toptal onboarding [3]

    [1] https://pehapkari.cz/
    [2] https://www.facebook.com/groups/frontendisti/
    [3] https://www.toptal.com/Xwxv7N/worlds-top-talent

Thanks. I will try Toptal, but when I can meet the requirements, which means in a few years.

One thing you might try is to apply to grad school for an (online) master's in CS, if you can make that work in your situation w/rt admission and cost. The degrees and coursework from the reputable universities in the US are identical to the on-campus versions, and you will get an opportunity to network / bond with the folks in your classes, many of whom are already in the industry.

A few to check out:

- Georgia Tech, commonly referred to as OMSCS https://omscs.gatech.edu/

- University of Texas https://www.cs.utexas.edu/graduate-program/masters-program/m...

- UIUC https://cs.illinois.edu/academics/graduate/professional-mcs/...

I would caution this.

Used my life savings to get a degree from a Nordic country (one in a lifetime opportunity)

Although closer to data science than CS.

Last year I had 3 EU hiring managers heavily hint it was the school that cost me the position. One from Sweden stating that it was a death knell to my career. On the plus side I was getting interviews.

No networks were lasting, just people asking for answers on the assignments. Maybe it works better in the US? I cannot speak to this.

> it was the school that cost me the position

Can you elaborate on this?

I don't think any of those are affordable to someone working at a bit above minimum wage in a country that's "really really really poor" (in the OP's words).

Literally any other country in the world makes more sense from a cost/credential perspective. US universities are a crazy bubble market.

This. My country's average income is arround $200 /month. I would definitely go to Univesity if I could afford it. I could do it here, but they all suck, the only good schools are for business/management. I'd love to study in a Nordic country though, Finland, Sweden and Norway are my top priority for immigration in the next 10 years.

Yes, but money is the issue. If I get a full scholarship, yes, otherwise not worth it IMO.

> I'd like to get in touch with developers, from US or EU as I'd like to get a remote job there and maybe in the long run move out.

> If someone is looking for a mentee also, I would love to have someone more experienced guide me through this journey

You maybe want to network with devs from your country first, as they would be the ones to know who’s hiring and what are the local businesses in the tech scene. And they would know how to get visas to the countries you are interested in (some of them might have immigrated there as well).

I already do, but none of them, at least the ones I know for now has contact abroad. Local market for dev is, excuse me for saying, kind of shit. I used to work for a non profit organization that had 2 devs working for them, and that was paid ok. It's them that led me to this path.

To speak with other developers I use IRC. IRC is an old open chat protocol.

https://libera.chat/

Bridging the gaps of networking toward jobs, I would entertain LinkedIn for a "sense of whats out there" and to potentially take on a contract with a recruiter. Many of the LI-type recruiters are going to be a fair place to try out your skillset fit and get a foot in the community in a real way, albeit with a strange middleman, just instead of paying Madagascar-starting-wages they pay US-starting-wages.

Already on my to do list, learning how to maximize LinkedIn on youtube for now. Thanks for the input.

Hey e-pelaza, maybe add some contact info to your profile. I'd love to chat a bit and offer some tips. Contact info is in my profile, can I pick your brain sometime? Suggestion: Take some time and set up your own site and add it to your about section. Tell us about yourself, how long you have been studying English, development, dreams, etc.

Hope to chat soon!

Hey, I emailed you. The website is on the way, already on my to do list.

> Is there such a thing as a social media for developers?

I guess you're looking at it :)

I don't really have much advice to give, but feel free to add me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/till-schroeder

Since you're learning programming, I'd recommend doing some little projects, and try to find some fun in it. That will make it easier. Best of luck!

Thanks, I'll definitely take you up on that, later this week, probably when my profile is ready. Can we have a chat? I see you're from Sweden and it's in my top 3 for immigration goal. You can literally say no if you don't want to, and it would be totally okay, I don't want to bother in any way.

Of course, we can chat on LinkedIn :) Don't hesitate to ask, I don't know everything but I'm happy to help you out.

I highly suggest starting a blog / YouTube channel / TikTok. Call it something like "Programming from Madagascar" or "Learning to Code in Africa." It's a unique idea and building a following online is a fantastic way to network.

I thought about this a lot, but is there really value in it? It's a huge time commitment, working on this kind of stuff is a lot of work. So if the return is low I better just use that time to study.

I wouldn’t underestimate the importance of marketing, especially marketing yourself. If your goal is to network with Western engineers, the best way to do it is via a blog/video/etc.

Even a one minute video twice a week is enough to build an audience, especially on a platform like TikTok.

Hey e-pelaza, hit me up via email if you'd like to talk about how to approach this. You can click my username here which will take you to my profile. Once there you'll find a link to my personal website - my email is listed there.

Build something cool and write a blog post about it. Then do a Show HN

Mastodon has been very active, and a great way to network.