Ask HN: How do I get a job in software? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: How do I get a job in software?

5 pointshakann6 comments

I have a PhD in Electrical Engineering and I spent 2 more years as a postdoc working on optical imaging and microscopy. I was fairly successful but I was never really engaged which I attributed to being in academy. So I switched to industry and realize that the jobs in this field are not what I want to do. Now looking back to find out what I like doing, I realize that the times I was having fun was when I was writing code, doing computation and solving problems related to that.

Most of my coding is in Matlab which is not used in software industry. I have been doing some side projects on Python and I got fairly good at it. I can also find my way around in Javascript, SQL, noSQL (redis). I used Java as an undergrad.

How can I accelerate the process of getting a job as a software guy aside from doing side projects and showcasing it? I would like to get a job ASAP as I can learn much faster if I do it full time.

PS. I am in SF Bay Area FWIW

Matlab could be really good to get into research or 'data science' roles, I don't think it's a particularly common skill, but can be very good for more mathematical research oriented coding. Given your background you might want to focus much more on the mathematical side of development, perhaps look at machine learning roles as I'm sure you'll find machine learning easier to pick up than many people.

I agree that ML or data science would be feasible. I am working on data science/machine learning as well, I have taken classes from coursera and trying to work on it on the side. As I mentioned above, my progress is slow as most of my time is spent on my day job. It is hard to tell if I am on the right track without working in the field. Thank you for your suggestions.

You can probably find something if you are flexible on salary. It's unlikely a solid shop will hire you for anything above junior level. I have a MS in Engineering and can relate. As a suggestion, don't jump into SE just yet. Use your still-fresh STEM skills to make a lateral jump within Academia. In the 10 years since school, I have lost many of my skills in Math and Statistics. I traded them in for applied engineering skills. In retrospect, my Math and Stats background, when combined with programming (different from Software Engineering) would have been much more interesting work. The field of big-data and analytics is growing and your PhD equips you well for it. Consider looking for a short-term opportunity (1-2years), where you can keep your math sharp. It should be something where you are proximal to good developers and expected to be learning SE practices while working as a subject matter expert (SME) to developers. In a position like this, depending on location, you might even enjoy a higher standard of living, than you would as a junior engineer. Do that for a few years, and when you're ready, you can jump from there.

If you or anyone knows: What's a rough starting salary range for "junior level" (what? programmer, I guess?) in the high cost U.S. cities (like SF, Boston, NY) and the lower cost rest of the country?

Thank you for your input. A situation "where I am proximal to good developers and expected to be learning SE practices while working as a subject matter expert (SME) to developers" would be the perfect solution for me. It is just difficult to find.

I am flexible on salary besides junior devs are already making same or more than me as a hardware guy.

I would also recommend to be careful where you take a job: do you want to use your quick mind to build APIs or SQL queries, or do you want to be doing something more innovative like machine learning, or building codecs, crytography or working with data streams. There are some great companies out there (like Matasano for example), who will train you on the job in some pretty awesome areas.

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