6 answers
Jhoselin
Student
Dalton, Massachusetts
3
Questions
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Is finding work in the coding field competitive?
#computer #computer #computer-science #technology
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6 answers
Jay Hurst
Product Manager
55
Answers
San Francisco, California
Updated
Jay’s Answer
Jhoselin,
Finding jobs that involve coding can definitely be competitive, but I will echo that it does depend.
Many jobs today have some form of coding or offer the opportunity to get into coding. Some examples are software/tech support, sales enablement, UX research and design. So while explicit software development roles can be competitive, other avenues into the field do exist that are less competitive.
I would recommend that you focus on the area that you would like to work in. and look for opportunities to work your way into a coding job from there.
Best of luck
Finding jobs that involve coding can definitely be competitive, but I will echo that it does depend.
Many jobs today have some form of coding or offer the opportunity to get into coding. Some examples are software/tech support, sales enablement, UX research and design. So while explicit software development roles can be competitive, other avenues into the field do exist that are less competitive.
I would recommend that you focus on the area that you would like to work in. and look for opportunities to work your way into a coding job from there.
Best of luck
Aravinth Subramanian
Technical Program Management
2
Answers
Mountain View, California
Updated
Aravinth’s Answer
Hi Jhoselin - Coding interviews can be competitive but the good news is that there is no shortage of opportunities and depending on the location/industry/job level, the interview complexity varies. So I'd suggest that you focus on the fundamentals (as outlined by Mickael) and work on putting them into practice with some personal/pro-bono projects (as suggested by Vinodh) and that should help you get some close to real-world experience and will also allow you to share something tangible when you're applying for jobs.
In addition, spend some time thinking about the areas you want to focus on. While Data Structure, Algorithms, and stuff like that can be foundational, beyond that you will need to narrow down on what you want to be putting your efforts on. E.g. you don't need to be a pro in every programming language. As long as you are comfortable in one (preferably the one that's adopted the most in recent times), that should do. So spend some time planning upfront and make sure to timebox the foundational prep.
In addition, spend some time thinking about the areas you want to focus on. While Data Structure, Algorithms, and stuff like that can be foundational, beyond that you will need to narrow down on what you want to be putting your efforts on. E.g. you don't need to be a pro in every programming language. As long as you are comfortable in one (preferably the one that's adopted the most in recent times), that should do. So spend some time planning upfront and make sure to timebox the foundational prep.
George Hart
Product Manager
19
Answers
San Francisco, California
Updated
George’s Answer
All good answers. One thing I'll add is that I find that a lot of college students focus on the Big consumer Tech companies like Facebook, Google, Amazon etc and completely neglect massively successful and large enterprise software companies like Salesforce, Slack, AWS and Workday. Companies like these are dying to have good young talent. Broaden your horizons and look out for these great companies. Make sure you do your research and apply
Nicole Baillie
Data Analyst
483
Answers
Atlanta, Georgia
Updated
Nicole’s Answer
Hi Jhoselin A. Thanks for this awesome question.
A couple of things I will share in answering your question. It has been my experience that having coding experience is a skill that never goes out of style :) Said another way, I have found that having coding experience provides me with an asset that I can and have used for all the jobs I have ever held and has been a great lead in to all of the awesome jobs I have ever gotten.
I think another way to frame your question could be to consider that having coding skills generally can make YOU more competitive...versus thinking about the competitiveness of the coding field. I share this because of the speed and efficiency that comes with being able to code in such a way that you can reproduce and sustain important outcomes without necessary doubling or tripling your efforts. I suggest to you that knowing when to apply your coding skills can make a huge difference in your ability to make significant contributions to a team or a project.
Sometimes, the biggest challenge with coding is know what languages to learn. Some have already been suggested. The good news is many coding languages build on each other so taking the time to learn and practice one language can be a great stepping stone to learning and practicing other similar languages.
I hope you find this answer useful. Best of luck to you!
A couple of things I will share in answering your question. It has been my experience that having coding experience is a skill that never goes out of style :) Said another way, I have found that having coding experience provides me with an asset that I can and have used for all the jobs I have ever held and has been a great lead in to all of the awesome jobs I have ever gotten.
I think another way to frame your question could be to consider that having coding skills generally can make YOU more competitive...versus thinking about the competitiveness of the coding field. I share this because of the speed and efficiency that comes with being able to code in such a way that you can reproduce and sustain important outcomes without necessary doubling or tripling your efforts. I suggest to you that knowing when to apply your coding skills can make a huge difference in your ability to make significant contributions to a team or a project.
Sometimes, the biggest challenge with coding is know what languages to learn. Some have already been suggested. The good news is many coding languages build on each other so taking the time to learn and practice one language can be a great stepping stone to learning and practicing other similar languages.
I hope you find this answer useful. Best of luck to you!
Mickael Rosenberg
Software Engineer
261
Answers
Bellevue, Washington
Updated
Mickael’s Answer
Hi Jhoselin,
I am not sure how I should read your question
Is finding work in the coding field competitive?
I can understand it in different ways:
- Is there a lot of competitions in finding a job in this field?
- Is there a lot of job offers that compete together?
I will answer the first since the second is a good thing for all people that want to make coding their career,
There are definitely more and more persons in the coding field but there are also more and more demand in this field. The software engineering/coding field is expanding as all companies all over the world are getting more digitalized, all with different needs. Therefore, many universities are proposing computer science courses so the number of potential candidates for companies is increasing as well.
It is a competitive area, for sure but not that much. Like I said, you have a lot of positions available out there. In order to be competitive, take and be good at the basics in computer science:
- algorithms
- data structures
- Object Oriented approach vs. procedural approach
- hardware architecture
- possibly parallelism
are domains that will help you broader your applications. There are many high level languages and technologies available that makes everybody able to write a line of code. So you need to show that you know more than just that. Then of course, you need a language, at least one. C++/Java/Python are quite demanded, especially Python with all Machine Learning libraries that go with it.
Domains in computer engineering in high demand right now are:
- Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence
- Cyber Security
- Paralellism/Fast Computing
So any experience you may get in those during your courses will give you advantages in finding a job.
I do hope that helped
I am not sure how I should read your question
Is finding work in the coding field competitive?
I can understand it in different ways:
- Is there a lot of competitions in finding a job in this field?
- Is there a lot of job offers that compete together?
I will answer the first since the second is a good thing for all people that want to make coding their career,
There are definitely more and more persons in the coding field but there are also more and more demand in this field. The software engineering/coding field is expanding as all companies all over the world are getting more digitalized, all with different needs. Therefore, many universities are proposing computer science courses so the number of potential candidates for companies is increasing as well.
It is a competitive area, for sure but not that much. Like I said, you have a lot of positions available out there. In order to be competitive, take and be good at the basics in computer science:
- algorithms
- data structures
- Object Oriented approach vs. procedural approach
- hardware architecture
- possibly parallelism
are domains that will help you broader your applications. There are many high level languages and technologies available that makes everybody able to write a line of code. So you need to show that you know more than just that. Then of course, you need a language, at least one. C++/Java/Python are quite demanded, especially Python with all Machine Learning libraries that go with it.
Domains in computer engineering in high demand right now are:
- Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence
- Cyber Security
- Paralellism/Fast Computing
So any experience you may get in those during your courses will give you advantages in finding a job.
I do hope that helped
Vinodh K
Technologist
5
Answers
Boston, Massachusetts
Updated
Vinodh’s Answer
Hi Jhoselin - My answer is, it depends. Coding as a field is pretty exhaustive with lot of programming languages and tools available. There are some coding skills which may have a huge talent pool available [Ex:Java] and there are some which are niche skills[Ex: R Programming] with a smaller talent pool but may also have relatively lower demand.
The best option is to build your core coding and programming skills by concentrating on the basics [like object oriented concepts]. This will help you to gain flexibility and ability to learn more programming languages in a short period of time. Adding good hands-on experience to the skill sets will make your search easier.
Obtain technical certifications across programming languages
Do some pro bono/volunteering work to gain hands-on experience in solving real life problems
The best option is to build your core coding and programming skills by concentrating on the basics [like object oriented concepts]. This will help you to gain flexibility and ability to learn more programming languages in a short period of time. Adding good hands-on experience to the skill sets will make your search easier.
Vinodh recommends the following next steps: