How long should it take to land your first software developer role?
Hands down my most common question asked are how long should it take to land your first software developer/engineer role and how long my coding journey was until I landed my first role.
Trust me I get it, when I was learning how to code, I was eager to land a full-time role and became hooked on reading all about various people's journeys and how they landed their first role. I was probably on No CS Degree every other day reading about their stories to keep me going while on my journey.
Let's be frank
I'm probably not the best person to ask about how long it took me in particular because I was applying in the midst of the global pandemic! In 2020, so many graduate schemes went on a hiring freeze and the job market was looking so bleak.
I remember applying for roles and places were being flooded with applicants - it was a very competitive time. Now that the market is looking so much better *hopefully* you may not have to deal with having such high competition.
Plus, I started my journey in 2018 and landed my first role in 2021, no one seems to want to hear it took around 3 years from start to finish. I didn't want to hear it either - I wanted to know how to land my role in 3 months, not years!
The answer you don't want to hear
The real answer is that it depends. I have met people who have landed their first roles after 3 months, some like me, it took years.
It depends on so many factors:
- How much time are you able to put into learning how to code?
- What pathway are you taking to learn how to code: self-taught, bootcamp, degree, apprenticeship
- Are you practicing, building projects and learning from your mistakes?
- Do you have a plan when it comes to the job application process?
- Have you been practicing doing some technical tests/ coding challenges?
Great learning pathways to speed up the process
If you want to learn how to code AND have a job by the end, these are some FREE schemes that I've heard great things from:
- Makers apprenticeships - this is an 18 month apprenticeship for those without a Computer Science degree and they pay you while they train you. Last time I checked, if you land a place, you are paid £25,000 during the 3 month bootcamp and then at least £30,000 for the role
- Code First Girls Nanodegree - a 13 week part-time course Monday-Thursday for women looking to land their first role in tech. There is the data, software and full-stack pathways and you apply through their partner companies. Below is a success story of going through the nanodegree with Code First Girls!
- Generation UK - they have various different free bootcamps in Data Engineering, Software Engineer, and AWS re/Start. All of the bootcamps vary in length, and they are typically full-time bootcamps running from 9am-5pm.
Make the most out of your interviews
I have a whole blog post on this where I share 6 tips on how to land the most out of your interviews and would highly recommend reading it here.
Final thoughts
This was a long-winded way of saying - it takes as long as it takes. Stay coding, stay curious, take breaks and you'll land the role in time, even if it's later than you wanted!
