I got a job as a remote fullstack developer!

Career Advice
22

Hi, how’s are you and your job?
I’m just curious about you because like you, I also want a private life and i’m an introvert person. I want to ask related to learning programming and the process before you got the fullstack developer.
e.g.

  • when did you start programming and how long to you it took to feel that you’re ready to get the fullstack dev job?
  • what languages or technology you most studied or playing with?
  • how you handle frustrations, anxiety and motivation in the process of learning?
  • what are your tips or guides for aspiring fullstack developer or in other words how to be a fullstack developer?
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Started computer science studies roughly around 2014. Started web development studies only this year, specifically to get a job. Before 2017 i didn’t know a lot about webdev so i wouldn’t be able to get a job as a fullstack dev, as soon as i finished freecodecamp i started to look for work, computer science experience surely helped though.

I’m not really sure how to answer that. I don’t have any main languages, it depends on what i’m studying. For example, for small scripts i always prefer Python, because someone probably did what i’m trying to do, or got close to it, so I’ll have a lot more support, for systems programming i prefer Rust, because it’s easier than C and just as robust, for web development i prefer Ruby on Rails, because i’m used to it, for desktop applications i prefer C++ because of QT framework, for computer vision i also use C++ because of openCV, for studies i mostly use Lisp, because a lot of courses end up using Lisp.

Keep in mind i’m not an expert in any of these languages, i know enough to do whatever i’m trying to do at the time, if i lack the knowledge to do something, i study just until i know enough but no more than that.

Frustrations: Take a break. If you’re frustrated, tired or sleepy, it’s a waste of time to continue working.
anxiety: I’m not sure how to say this, but my work is more of a way to escape from my other sources of anxiety, not the other way around. So i don’t feel this type of frustration related to work or studies, if anything it’s a good way to forget about worse aspects of life. Each person feels these things differently though, the way to deal with that is very personal, so i’m not sure anyone can help you with that. Just try stuff until something works.
Motivation: Have clear purposes for whatever is it that you’re learning, preferably goals that you care about. Currently i’m learning information security, because i want to join at least one CTF this year. I’m also learning to draw, because i want to join next year’s inktober. That pretty much sums it up, the goal is never “to study”, it’s always “to do stuff”, and for you to be able to do stuff sometimes you need to study, but having “studies” as a priority usually turns you into someone with a lot of knowledge but very little practice. You also have to take into account how much you care about this, you don’t really need to study 12 hours a day if you’re in it just as a hobbie, if you’re forcing yourself to do something based on an ideal of what a programmer looks like, you’re probably going to fail. Set your expectations according to how much you feel like learning, basically be honest with yourself. Also remember that discipline is something you learn, if you’re feeling burned out too quickly, your methods are probably not right for yourself, but if you feel like you’re doing the best you can already, just keep doing it, after a while “the best you can” becomes a little better.

I never aimed to be a fullstack developer, so i’m not sure i’m the best to give advice on that. I enjoyed computer science and i needed to get a job, i researched what jobs were available, clearly web related jobs were more common, so i had to do something with the web, the only area that interested me was back end development, sadly i couldn’t find a back end only job, so i got a fullstack job. It wasn’t a deliberate choice, stuff just happened.

The only advice i can think of is to just do stuff. For example, if you have a friend with a physical store, try to create a website for him/her and automatize all of his/her tasks, taking care of stocks, price variations, etc…
If you don’t know how to create that right now, study until you do. Whenever you’re able to create a real products, you’re probably able to get a job.

In retrospect, i’m not sure i would recommend freecodecamp for the back end area, i was just lucky i already had that background. FCC is great for the front end, but as for the back end i highly recommend doing practical projects for people close to you, or even mock projects, as long as they’re “real”, as in, useful for someone. If you have the money, a fullstack course in any platform will probably do good for you, i can’t recommend any specific platform though, maybe the odin project(which is free) is better for the back end, but i’ve never tried myself so i can’t say for sure.

Good luck.

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24

Thanks for your great response!
I never thought that you have that wide range of knowledge and skills. :open_mouth:

This should be Noted :+1:

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Congradulations in your job! I’m also looking for my first full-time remote developer job and I know how frustrating it is. Your experience is motivating, thank you for sharing it!

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Thanks a lot !
It was very helpful.
Could you please give more comment about Slack channels?

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as fullstack developers are expected to have more experience than i had and any type of far off task generally calls for you to have some years of professional experience or open source contributions. now not having public profiles is also a red flag when you consider that humans can’t infer plenty about your personality or google you. I knew this stuff however i wasn’t willing to just accept any other sort of job, so i needed to paintings round them, find a manner to prove i might be an excellent match for the task. Google Hangouts Omegle

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Can we get an update? How is everything going?

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Hey, sure! I’m still working as a fullstack developer but for a bigger company. Still remote.
No longer using Rails, but working across different technologies, mostly JS + Drupal. Aside from that, not much has changed professionally.

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Very good story, I also work online. I am very motivated by your story.

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awesome to hear it’s possible to find a remote role.

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I updated the post with information regarding my new job, also fixed a lot of spelling mistakes and tried to make my points clearer.

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34

Nice. I really like what you put out there. Thanks for sharing.

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Hi there @Selhar1,

Thank you for the update and for sharing helpful and motivating information.

You said you started CS studies roughly around 2014 which helped you with fCC. So it seems that you study CS 2-3 years prior to fCC…

Do your experiences with CS was via OSSU or some other institution? And could you tell more about your overall experience with OSSU? I am asking because I am planning on starting OSSU at some point…

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By the way, it seems that CS people are more inclined to work on the back-end side.

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I started in information security, doing wargames, CTFs, and that naturally led to CS studies.

I never had much of a direction and in retrospect would not recommend OSSU. Learn the minimum necessary to execute a task well, then do projects. The idea that first you must become proficient in theory and only then you can feel confident in practice is extremely flawed. OSSU takes a very formal approach that adds nothing to your experience as a programmer and only a handful of courses are actually worth the effort, most of them felt like clutter for me and i wish i had used my time contributing to open source projects or creating my own projects at the time.

Most of my time reading CS books, doing MOOCs and watching conferences was essentially time wasted. Which is not to say that this material doesn’t have it’s value, but for theory to make sense, first you must get things wrong, get perspective on that technology or subject and this perspective allows you to understand theory in a less abstract manner. Otherwise you end up with lots of trivia knowledge but unable to do a simple project. OSSU focuses far too much in covering all possible grounds and this is not a style of learning i would recommend anyone for any reason.

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Can´t agree more. Very well put. I can definetely always see some interesting value in theory, BUT it can only be really useful after having some solid practice already, not the other way around.

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Why don’t you want to use LinkedIn?

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Wow. This line from the article is interesting:

“To most educators, the goal of a CS program isn’t necessarily to accommodate industry demands; instead, the goal is to give students the foundational knowledge they need to understand programming theory.”

The article also mentions this interesting caveat: “When we look at students by major, we see another interesting pattern: students pursuing degrees outside of CS and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) are more likely to know JavaScript. The “Other” category includes all student developers pursuing degrees in Business, Music, Psychology, and more—basically, anything major that isn’t CS or STEM related.”

The article is spot on, in my case. This year, I am graduating with a Bachelor of Music in Clarinet Performance, and I just started FreeCodeCamp to learn how to code. I am actively pursuing my Music career, but I got inspired from an article on LinkedIn to learn to code. Basically, it was an article about a woman who is a Model and Actress who also develops apps. She was a Double Major in Theatre and Computer Science. So I read that LinkedIn interview, and I got inspired. Here is this artist (actress/model) who also codes, and she actively pursues her artistic path. I think software development can be a form of art.

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I searched for one-year experience jobs on Jobads site and attended the interview. I am waiting for the joining confirmation. Did Wipro will take more time to confirm joining.

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@Selhar1
your information you have shared is really great. thanks so much for sharing these tips. and best wishes.
I have a question please
I think your native language is Spanish, so the companies you worked for asked you any English certificates or perfect English is a must?
and many thanks in advance

1 Like