from Hacker News

Ask HN: How Do I Advance in My Career?

by OulaX on 4/3/23, 11:49 PM with 1 comments

Hello!

I'm an Iraqi citizen, working remotely for a US-based pre-seed startup, I found the job through my connections and it was my second ever job after getting my BSc in CS degree. My first job was a tutoring job not software engineering.

My current CV is not really interesting, I have 2 jobs under the experience section, one is not even related to software development! I don't have much side projects to being with, I lately started doing FrontendMentor challenges and sharing them on my GitHub account.

My long term goal is to get a job abroad in the EU, and I want to start building experience but I don't really know what to do!

Are certifications useful for software engineers? Should I get certified?

I am open for ideas.

Thanks!

  • by surprisetalk on 4/4/23, 1:45 AM

    > My long term goal is to get a job abroad in the EU, and I want to start building experience but I don't really know what to do!

    For general career advice, I highly recommend reading So Good They Can't Ignore You.

    Email me at hello@taylor.town and I'll mail you a copy.

    > Are certifications useful for software engineers? Should I get certified?

    From what I've seen, certifications seem to get people stuck in a trap of lower-paid IT/DevOps positions.

    > I don't have much side projects

    My side-projects are generally what caused my career to get better. For example, I got a job at an aerospace facility because I built a gardening robot.

    Side-projects shouldn't be your Plan A, but if you're looking to improve your career, you should definitely tinker if you have time and energy!