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Message
re: Computer Science graduate find first full time job.
Posted on 3/31/22 at 9:48 am to FuzzyBearE
Posted on 3/31/22 at 9:48 am to FuzzyBearE
quote:
Unfortunately, a lot of companies prefer to hire contract workers when a project ramps up and then dump people when the projects wrap up.
This is the truth of it. You know how to code and they have to pay you a 80-100k salary. India knows how to code at $32 an hour.
Learn SQL, and be prepared to truly understand data. That's how you survive in IT these days.
1
Posted on 3/31/22 at 9:53 am to tdme
Have him check the Dallas, Fayetteville and Atlanta areas. Lots of big companies that are usually looking to hire a combination of experienced and inexperienced people.
Tell him to stay away from help desk jobs unless he doesn’t mind nights and weekends.
Tell him to stay away from help desk jobs unless he doesn’t mind nights and weekends.
Posted on 3/31/22 at 9:53 am to tdme
Find a helpdesk job somewhere…
Posted on 3/31/22 at 9:56 am to tdme
quote:A degree in Computer Science is far, far less important that a list of certifications in the field he wants to work in.
He needs some guidance.
Here is some guidance for him: Don't stop looking for work, but stop wasting time and spend the next three years (even if he gets hired somewhere) studying and getting more and more advanced certifications to put on a resume.
Recruiters and companies DO NOT CARE about his CS degree. They care about experience and certifications, period.
Posted on 3/31/22 at 9:57 am to tdme
There are other options....one good one could be to start looking for an integration developer job for a cloud ERP.
I was a .NET developer (mid level not senior yet) in 2016 and a company contacted me that was looking for a person that knew XML, SOAP, web services, etc. to help them implement a cloud ERP called Workday. It was closer to my house and they offered about 20K/yr more than I was making so I jumped on it.
I basically wrote all the integrations and pushed the implementation project to completion. After that I got trained up in Workday and actually enjoyed it. 5-6 years later I'm an HRIT Systems Manager for a different company on Workday and I'm making over double what I was making at that original .NET developer gig I mentioned.
It's a little harder to get into today because it is very competitive now due to earnings potential, but if you look at companies that contract out Workday resources to clients like Alight, Collaborative Solutions, or even bigger boys (IBM, KPMG, Accenture, etc)...I'm sure they are always looking for entry level developers that they can teach to develop Workday integrations. If he knows Java, JSON, XML, and XSLT he will already have 75% of the knowledge he needs to be successful.
Once you get 3-4 years of hands on experience at one of those companies you can get directly hired by a Workday client that will be clamoring to pay you 160K+ per year.
I was a .NET developer (mid level not senior yet) in 2016 and a company contacted me that was looking for a person that knew XML, SOAP, web services, etc. to help them implement a cloud ERP called Workday. It was closer to my house and they offered about 20K/yr more than I was making so I jumped on it.
I basically wrote all the integrations and pushed the implementation project to completion. After that I got trained up in Workday and actually enjoyed it. 5-6 years later I'm an HRIT Systems Manager for a different company on Workday and I'm making over double what I was making at that original .NET developer gig I mentioned.
It's a little harder to get into today because it is very competitive now due to earnings potential, but if you look at companies that contract out Workday resources to clients like Alight, Collaborative Solutions, or even bigger boys (IBM, KPMG, Accenture, etc)...I'm sure they are always looking for entry level developers that they can teach to develop Workday integrations. If he knows Java, JSON, XML, and XSLT he will already have 75% of the knowledge he needs to be successful.
Once you get 3-4 years of hands on experience at one of those companies you can get directly hired by a Workday client that will be clamoring to pay you 160K+ per year.
Posted on 3/31/22 at 10:00 am to LSU316
Tell him to become a journalist so that when he inevitably gets fired we can all tell him to learn to code. Full circle. Seriously though, get on linkedin and find some headhunters and be prepared to move out of Louisiana.
Posted on 3/31/22 at 10:03 am to ThermoDynamicTiger
Has he done any internships?
Posted on 3/31/22 at 10:06 am to tdme
I was a Corporate Recruiter for CapGemini for 5.5 years in Austin so my advice will be centered around that experience. What is actually looking to get into? Software Dev? If so, he needs to learn OOP. If he can learn that, then switching between Java, .NET, etc. is just syntax. Think of it like building a house -- OOP is the foundation. If he likes front-end Angular was extremely popular (there were new versions coming out all the time, there may be a new flavor of the month now).
He also needs to know if he likes front-end or back-end. I bet I've been told a million times by applicants that they're "full-stack". Maybe one of them actually was. We worked primarily with Fortune 500 companies (Dell, Schwab, GM, Whole Foods) and they were all OOP shops. I'm sure some of this has changed since I've been out of IT but that was my experience.
My best advice would be to echo what a few others have said. His best bet is to try to get on with a consulting company (Accenture, Sogeti, CapGemini, etc) because he's going to get a ton of different exposure. They will train him to be a jack-of-all trades, in essence, until he's found his niche.
He also needs to know if he likes front-end or back-end. I bet I've been told a million times by applicants that they're "full-stack". Maybe one of them actually was. We worked primarily with Fortune 500 companies (Dell, Schwab, GM, Whole Foods) and they were all OOP shops. I'm sure some of this has changed since I've been out of IT but that was my experience.
My best advice would be to echo what a few others have said. His best bet is to try to get on with a consulting company (Accenture, Sogeti, CapGemini, etc) because he's going to get a ton of different exposure. They will train him to be a jack-of-all trades, in essence, until he's found his niche.
Posted on 3/31/22 at 10:06 am to UncleLester
quote:
Has he done any internships?
His work the summer between Junior and senior year was canceled. As was his internship his Senior year.
Both canceled due to covid.
Posted on 3/31/22 at 10:06 am to KTShoe
quote:
Tell him to stay away from help desk jobs unless he doesn't mind nights and weekends.
Eh, if he's a recent grad trying to get his foot in the door, I disagree with this advice. Sometimes all it takes is showing a company you're trustworthy and reliable. I'm sure the kid is just looking for a chance. Being picky right out of college is a mistake I see many people make. Your career isn't going to be derailed if you're doing something out of your focus in your early twenties.
Posted on 3/31/22 at 10:08 am to tdme
Sounds like me when I was first starting out. It took me almost 2 years to get my first SysAdmin job.
Tell him to work on certs and keep looking. Like every day submit resumes, get a LinkedIn profile out and start networking. Eventually he will get offers.
Keep in mind that it can be really hard starting out. He may have a degree in CS, but he's competing with other job seekers that have more on the job experience and 5+ certs. An employer (and those god forsaken automatic resume sorters online) is naturally going to gravitate towards those guys.
That's why he might have to take a lower ladder position to build up his skills. If he's got them he wont be there very long.
Tell him to work on certs and keep looking. Like every day submit resumes, get a LinkedIn profile out and start networking. Eventually he will get offers.
Keep in mind that it can be really hard starting out. He may have a degree in CS, but he's competing with other job seekers that have more on the job experience and 5+ certs. An employer (and those god forsaken automatic resume sorters online) is naturally going to gravitate towards those guys.
That's why he might have to take a lower ladder position to build up his skills. If he's got them he wont be there very long.
This post was edited on 3/31/22 at 10:14 am
Posted on 3/31/22 at 10:13 am to tdme
I have a CS degree and there are definitely jobs out there. Is he on Indeed and LinkedIn? He needs to get that out there. I get hit up by recruiters several times a week for interviews. There should be tons of entry level jobs out there.
I would personally aim for an in-person job to start. There’s a lot out there that the school doesn’t teach plus not all software is the same. It’s easier to learn (for me) face-to-face.
Start studying for certs. A+, Linux+, Security+ and the like.
I would personally aim for an in-person job to start. There’s a lot out there that the school doesn’t teach plus not all software is the same. It’s easier to learn (for me) face-to-face.
Start studying for certs. A+, Linux+, Security+ and the like.
Posted on 3/31/22 at 10:14 am to skullhawk
yeah, gotta pay your dues in the beginning
Posted on 3/31/22 at 10:15 am to skullhawk
Agreed. Help desk jobs are a good way to learn the overall infrastructure plus when he moves on he can keep those skills that us older dudes forgot.
Posted on 3/31/22 at 10:16 am to LewDawg
The unemployment rate in cybersecurity is hovering right around 0%. Tons of entry level positions as a SOC analyst or in architecture where he could move up quickly.
Posted on 3/31/22 at 10:18 am to tdme
Find a help desk gig.
Get people to like you.
Move up.
Profit.
Get people to like you.
Move up.
Profit.
Posted on 3/31/22 at 10:18 am to tdme
quote:
My son graduated last year with a degree in computer science and is having a hard time finding a full time job
1. A college degree is pretty much worthless. People we hire from India/Asia all have bachelor's, with some having masters or even phds. We do not even look at that, as it does indicate any worth of the individual. Some of our best employees degrees in English or former Airline Mechanic, while some of the worst have a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Bangladesh or China.
2. Industry Focus (Systems, Network, AppDev, Security, Database, Architect, etc.) and/or tech languages, first item we look at. We are hiring someone for a specific role.
3. Experience. Your son will lack this.
4. Certifications - Much more important than college degree and helps with lack of experience. Proves some actual knowledge in a subject matter.
If your son can move to a tech hub (this is not SELA), it will not matter who he knows. DFW/Austin/Houston are rocking and the next state over.
Posted on 3/31/22 at 10:20 am to BoogaBear
quote:
Learn SQL, and be prepared to truly understand data. That's how you survive in IT these days.
Exactly. What's truly valuable is an IT person that can communicate and understand what various departments, customers, etc. are asking for. Understanding the data is important.
Posted on 3/31/22 at 10:21 am to usc6158
quote:
The unemployment rate in cybersecurity is hovering right around 0%
Undervalued statement.
AWS and Azure certs are hot as well.
Salesforce development can pretty lucrative in the right market.
Posted on 3/31/22 at 10:21 am to skullhawk
quote:
Eh, if he's a recent grad trying to get his foot in the door, I disagree with this advice. Sometimes all it takes is showing a company you're trustworthy and reliable. I'm sure the kid is just looking for a chance. Being picky right out of college is a mistake I see many people make. Your career isn't going to be derailed if you're doing something out of your focus in your early twenties.
I tell this to college kids all the time. Of course it's wonderful to see on a resume that a kids graduated in May and started a job in June. But it doesn't work out like that for everybody. If you apply to my entry-level Dev role and your only working experience is Help Desk, yeah it's not terrific. But atleast I have something to go off. At least you have someone who can vouch that you're a reliable employee. Hell, that's half the battle when recruiting is finding someone who will show up and is willing to learn.
If you're someone who graduated in May, applies for an entry-level job in December, and your response for that gap is "I just haven't really found what I'm looking for". In my head, I'm thinking "so, no one else has made you an offer in 7 months."
ETA: He needs to create a LinkedIn profile if he doesn't already have one and set it to "Open to New Opportunities". When recruiters search, those that have chosen that option pop up first.
This post was edited on 3/31/22 at 10:24 am
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