| Hi all, I will try to make a long story short. I'm currently working as a software developer in the financial sector of an European Nordic Country for 2 years (I am a foreigner, but still an EU citizen). I have both a bachelor and a master (finished in 2008) in computer science, but the problem is that I use pretty old technologies at work, which have some bad consequences: - It is difficult to see software houses (and even financial institutions) that uses technologies from the 60s/70s;
- I actually don't want to work with those technologies - damn, they even hire people with no IT background for the same job. I don't want to be disrespectful for those persons, but I am not not learning anything technical since the first 6 months on the job... I don't think that is normal for a graduate/junior position... and furthermore, there is a reason why I studied for 5 years computer science and mathematics, and this job is not the reason why!
- The third big issue is that after 2 years, I don't have commercial experience with recent stuff like Java/C/C++/Python etc etc etc. Yes, sure, you can definitely ask "so why did you take the job??". Unfortunately I was not aware of these problems before, I lacked experience and perhaps maturity. They also never mentioned that I would work only with old technologies, so I feel a little deceived as well. Once I was inside I tried to move to other departments where I could use recent stuff, however, I didn't succeed. Now, I am seriously afraid I have "doomed" my career with my decision of taking the job. I am trying to find another job for quite some time. Since this is a small country, during the recession there were not many open positions) and the same happens now, so I am trying to move to London where there are more possibilities (and competition of course), but I am struggling with the following: - As I said, I don't have professional experience in recent stuff - this reduces my search almost to graduate positions (and some junior);
- I have worked for 3 years in an open source project (mainly with Java technologies), but according to the recruiters "that is not commercial experience"!!;
- I have a website where I post some technical stuff that I do during my free time in order to keep active with recent stuff, but again that is not important for a recruiter/company;
- I already have 2 years of experience, so I am not really a graduate and I am a junior of something not really interesting for the majority of the companies;
- I have worked in part-time for a software company during my studies with web technologies, but it was only for 6 months (I needed money to help paying my expenses), so not much experience either from here. So, I finally get down to my questions: - How can I get a/any job using recent stuff?
- Would you hire me (figure of speech) as a graduate, even though I have professional experience in something else (no salary demands of course), or would you prefer a graduate coming from the university?
- Is it really realistic to change area? Thanks in advance for your help. |
In terms of finding a position I think you've got two real options. 1. Hope that there is someone that is willing to spot your potential and train you up. I think this is a risky strategy because the majority of recruitment goes through recruitment agencies and/or HR departments - unless your CV says 2 years doing C++ development they aren't even going to look at you for C++ development. Personally I always think skills can be learnt, it is the candidates fit for the team/environment that is important - sadly a lot of people like to check boxes.
Your second option is to basically take the hit and try and go in as a grad - as you suggest. You wont get paid much, but you can be honest on your CV and say you got stuck in the wrong job, didn't learn new skills etc. If you get into a good company you can then start building your career. I think you'd be surprised just how much you have learnt in the past few years, coding is only a small part of a job, so you'll be miles ahead of other grads in other areas. A small step backwards can often result in a big step forwards. Obviously some companies will be hesitant as you are not a recent grad, but really they are getting more for their money because of your other experience.
Alternatively of course you could try your hand at your own startup (or try interning at another - depends if you can afford to live in London without a real income)!