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Ask HN: What skill set qualifies an entry level developer?
2 points by jamilv on July 25, 2014 | hide | past | favorite | 5 comments
Hi everyone,

I'm sorry in advance for creating yet another question about entry level developer positions.

That being said, I am heading into 2 back to back dev bootcamps to learn a wide breadth of languages and solidify the basis of further programming learning.

I wanted to hear from experienced devs if the following skill set is of use and would be enough to land be an entry level job at a good company.

Languages I know already: HTML/CSS

Skills already known: Linux server administration, website optimization (more server side and load impact optimization)

I will cover off the basics of the following programming pieces: RoR, proper Bootstrap usage, jQuery, AJAX, JSON, Node.js, MongoDB, Express, RESTful API, Angular, MySQL, jQuery mobile, Appgyver

Skills that I will learn: Git deployment, testing, TDD

I will learn all of this over a 3 month and 2 month period of 16 hour days, 7 days a week. In that time I will probably also produce around 3 good sized projects to show what I have learned on Git.

Basically my question, will the above skill set set me up well enough for an entry dev position at a good company?



If you understand all of the above technologies and skills enough to talk about them intelligently, and have real work to show that uses them, you should be able to get interviews. That said, 16 hours a day, 7 days a week is crazy. You need time to process new information. You should always end the day with something left for tomorrow. Once you're done with the 3-month sprint, narrow your focus and explore some of those technologies in greater depth.

Also, most companies don't want to have to babysit someone that's new. Get to the point that you are comfortable working on something new by reading the documentation, and you'll be in good shape.


Honestly even if you're only about 10-20% in some of those categories you mentioned, and maybe 20-30% on your basic programming skills (data-types, algo's, design patterns) you're probably at the right level to start looking for entry-level positions. I've seen 4-year degree-holders who are less proficient at how everything ties together across a basic web stack.

Just take risks and go for it. Have some decent code examples ready for your interview, be confident in yourself and go for it!


Thanks for the encouragement. Thanks for also giving me a heads up on the skill set.

I have been told I will end up with an approximate 20 - 35% understanding of the languages as they relate to building web apps. In the end hopefully it works out, only 5.5 more months till I know :D


I think this would put you ahead of even some CS graduates. Especially if you have a good demo project to show in the interview.


Thanks for the info!

I hope my demo projects end up being noteworthy but now I really can't wait until I'm done to see how it ends up (:




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