The one major factor in me becoming a developer was simply my love of computers and understanding them. The second factor was in all truth money, the wages we earn are quite good compared to many other sectors and professions. I remember quite vividly the day I passed my exams, the moment it hit me and I thought the new car and house was just around the corner.
I bounced up the road spending the money in my head, telling my then-wife I could quit my night time job and start moving ahead. Then it dawned on me! I knew the basics, had zero commercial experience and there were 3 to 4 developers going for every job I was. Git was something I called down the pub on a Friday after I lost at a game of pool, Scrum was a move in the game of rugby and waterfall I had never visited.
Imagine me strutting around on phone interviews discussing my basic javascript skills and then a potential employer asking me about DRY and SOLID, how did I work in teams, did I have source control experience? I guess my point in this post is on this next choice I made. I worked for FREE! 3 months for nothing, 9 until 5 every day in a company, working my socks off, making the tea, doing coffee runs.
My point is this! And especially today and in this climate, Don't be afraid to work that extra bit harder, and if you are struggling as a junior to find work think outside the box. But most of all show you are keen to learn, keen to progress and that you really want this career! Sometimes you have to work for free to show what you can really do...
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