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Ask HN: Job Advice/Suggestions

3 pointsaarongough2 comments

Unfortunately it appears that I have outgrown the company I currently work for. They are wanting to focus mainly on simple, static, 'marketing' websites whereas I want to focus on more sophisticated and large scale projects. I have been hesitant to move away because the company has treated me well over the last 2 years, but it's become clear that I am earning less than I should, I no longer enjoy the work and there's no real upward path (very small company).

I have been looking for opportunities for a while but I haven't found any that match my skills. I'm by no stretch of the imagination a 'junior developer' but I don't have the experience with deploying/maintaining large applications that would get me entrance to the 'senior developer' positions.

Has anyone else found themselves in this position? How did you approach the problem?

FYI: My web-development experience 4(ish) years, general programming experience 8+ years.

Have you just been looking passively, or have companies told you that you're unqualified for postings? I went through a similar situation at work, and decided to interview for a few positions. The "senior" position listings were definitely willing to speak with me, interview me, most of the time. A few said they wanted somebody with the experience, but by and large, they were willing to talk.

The great companies, i.e. the ones you seem to want to work for, will actually appreciate this attitude. Desire for challenge is probably one of the more significant factors startups look for in early stages -- they want you to overextend yourself and learn from it. So it can be a plus, as long as you frame your responses properly (not, "I'm a hobbyist looking to get a little better," but, "I'm a professional who wants to become a guru."

And lots of times the folks writing the job descriptions don't know the programming industry -- they just write what got them their last hire in that position.

I think you should pick out a few jobs that seem ideal to you, and try to interview for them. You'll learn a lot about yourself in the process.

As for me, I stuck in my current job, because I found that it was easier to speak with my supervisor about finding different work areas to keep me challenged, as opposed to changing jobs. That's always another option you should look at as well.

I've been just looking passively. There are a couple of issues that I have to overcome. One is that my resume really doesn't reflect my experience or knowledge. I tend to do a lot of side-projects, many of which may never end up being viable products, but ones that I gain a lot of great experience from. The problem is that in many cases I know I can do the job, but I can't back that up with material proof (except by maybe interviewing with someone that can quiz me on the technical issues).

I totally get where you're coming from about shooting for the interview. I think that's a very good point.

As for moving around within my current company: unfortunately that is not really an options. The company I work for is very small (6 people) and to change the type of work I aim for the whole company would basically have to shift it's focus...

Insightful though! Thank-you!

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