Ask HN: How Do I Advance in My Career?

Hello!

I'm an Iraqi citizen, working remotely for a US-based pre-seed startup, I found the job through my connections and it was my second ever job after getting my BSc in CS degree. My first job was a tutoring job not software engineering.

My current CV is not really interesting, I have 2 jobs under the experience section, one is not even related to software development! I don't have much side projects to being with, I lately started doing FrontendMentor challenges and sharing them on my GitHub account.

My long term goal is to get a job abroad in the EU, and I want to start building experience but I don't really know what to do!

Are certifications useful for software engineers? Should I get certified?

I am open for ideas.

Thanks!