I’m a software engineer working at a startup. This was my first job that I got 3 years after I dropped out of college and I have been working here for three and a half years. I like the work and I am excellent at it. But I have learnt everything that I know about programming on the job and that has been stagnant for a while now. I tried looking for a new job and in the last 6 months I’ve applied for a hundred jobs but haven’t gotten one interview call. The best I’ve gotten is a link to an online leetcode-style test and I suck at those too. How do I make my skills visible? Some info about me. I’m 27 years old, from India and I don’t have a bachelor degree (had to drop out due to health issues). The lack of bachelor’s degree is the biggest blocker I’m dealing with. Even the few contacts that I have right now say that my CV will not even be considered for even an entry level role at their companies because of that. My manager at my current job has been becoming more and more toxic. Calling me to ask why I’m taking a paid leave, pinging me multiple times a day for updates and expecting me to be on call outside of work hours (someone was fired recently and this was one of the reasons). I just need some advice from people who hire developers. What can I do that would make you look past my lack of educational qualifications?
There is a discussion on Hacker News, but feel free to comment here as well.
I also do not have a bachelor’s degree, and here are the things that have helped me:
Certifications. I have CompTIA Security+ and Scrum Alliance Certified Scrum Master. Both can be had for a couple hundred dollars, both tests can be passed after a couple weeks of studying. YMMV on how much recruiters care about that kind of thing, but I think it helps show you know what you’re talking about when it comes to tech stuff.
List non-work projects on your resume. I have one of my projects from college (before I dropped out), an open-source video game mod I contributed to, and a helper GUI I wrote for a tabletop game all on my resume. A couple hours spent writing an automated D&D character sheet & fixing a bug in a Rimworld mod have landed me a few interviews.
Exaggerate. I count time spent using Java in highschool / college as years of Java experience, even though it wasn’t super rigorous or in-depth. Look, companies are gonna exaggerate their benefits while trying to get the most value out of you for the least salary. AFAIC, it’s fair game to, uh, “advertise” yourself to them.