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Is there such a thing as READY for a first job?

Pachi 🪐 (she/her/ela)
🙋🏽‍♀️ I am your friendly developer relations person🦕 #DevRel @newrelic; Moça de DevRel e co-fundadora da @feminis_tech 💌 Streamer, writer, EN && pt-BR🌟
・1 min read

Good day, it is me again.
The girl that posts random stuff and asks random questions.
I am back to the "your First dev job"

So, today my question is ...
When did you knoe you were ready for a first job?

I have been applying for web dev/front end jobs in NYC, but only half-hearted, because I don't believe I know enough.

What is enough?
What is ready?
Am I ready?

Wait, what? Do you wanna hire me? Lol ok, now I shall stop.
Answer with whatever you feel like makes any sense.

Love you all ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Discussion (17)

flrichar profile image
Fred Richards

I've been in technology for a long time. You're never "ready". I think there's a better question to ask. What is your unique contribution? Each job, each opportunity is not created equal. There's one out there that suits you, or your personality, work ethic and style.

I think front-end devs are in a great position to showcase this ... many times their work is one part code, one part art. If a hiring manager looks at 1000 resumes, 1000 names, 1000 candidates ... what stands out that they'll remember yours?

That's not a hard question to answer. We all have unique views and bring something special to the world. Wear yours like a badge of honor.

pachicodes profile image
Pachi 🪐 (she/her/ela) Author

Wow Fred! Thank you for this. It makes so much sense and it such a helpful way of seeing this.

ben profile image
Ben Halpern

I think you're ready for your first job when you have a mindset that will allow you to improve after day 1 on the job.

Anyone who comes in with a willingness to learn from the team, contribute where they can, admit when they don't know, and make improvements without needing to be told, is ready.

Having this attitude doesn't take a lot of skill, but it is scary!

chrispardy profile image

Forget being ready for your first job, as long as your willing and able to learn you're going to be ready for any job. Especially in front end software there will always be more to learn, and every job will require some new skill you don't have.

Start applying and if you're getting "no"s ask why and use it as an opportunity to learn.

pachicodes profile image
Pachi 🪐 (she/her/ela) Author

Thank you !! I am more than willing to learn so I guess I will start applying with more enthusiasm!!

juliusdelta profile image
JD Gonzales

I didn’t feel ready when I started my first job. That is a very normal feeling and I don’t think it’s a feeling exclusive to our field. What’s important to remember is that you have unique contributions that you bring with you. You’re background and story are unique which gives you a special perspective. That perspective may impact process, clients, sales, marketing, or code, but the point is it makes you able to contribute in a meaningful way no matter your technical ability at the time.

All that being said, feeling ready on the technical side is something I still struggle with 3 years in. There’s projects and things I work on that I don’t feel ready for. I think that’s normal as well. We’re not doing repetitive work we’re building things in whatever technology stack so there’s always unknowns going into something. Staying humble and asking peers questions will always help you to progress on whatever it is.

To answer the real question of:

When do you know you’re ready for your first job?

I started applying mid-way through my boot camp and would generally recommend the same if you’re able too given your situation and can answer a trivial amount of common interview questions. The interview practice is really important and is a skill all on it’s own. Constantly applying, interviewing, studying, & getting feedback from wherever you can will up your interviewing skills grow. Sooner or later one of those interviews will lead to an offer.

Good luck!

pachicodes profile image
Pachi 🪐 (she/her/ela) Author

Thank you for the praticai advice.
I will look into some common interview questions and practice!

achimoraites profile image
Achilles Moraites

I think that being 'ready' for your first Dev job is kind of an abstract concept.

In general:

  • You can understand the basics of JavaScript.
  • You can Build a relatively complex application using modern tools: React or Angular or Vue.
  • Style an application using CSS and to know at least one CSS framework for example: Bootstrap.
  • Understand REST APIs and be able to use them in your application.
  • Have knowledge of git, this is important because you will work with other people.


Also having knowledge of common algorithms and Data structures is helpful.

Make sure your CV is well written!

Having a nice Portfolio website and GitHub account with your projects will help you a lot!

pachicodes profile image
Pachi 🪐 (she/her/ela) Author

Thank you!
You have me a nice nap to see my gaps and where to work, o really appreciate it!

martinhaeusler profile image
Martin Häusler

There's no such thing as "being ready" for anything in software development; at least not in my experience. It's literally all about learning by doing. Nobody in an at least halfway decent software company will blame you for making mistakes, especially early on. Ask questions, be active, communicate clearly, approach people if you hit a wall, be an eager learner and try not to make the same mistake twice if you can. That's what matters.

pachicodes profile image
Pachi 🪐 (she/her/ela) Author

Thank you !!!

tomasmor42 profile image

I didn't know I was ready. And frankly speaking, I wasn't. But I made this leap of faith and applied for a job then passed the interview. And after you're already working you don't have an option not to be ready anymore. So I learned a lot during this first year. It was intense but very interesting.

pachicodes profile image
Pachi 🪐 (she/her/ela) Author

That is good to read, I don't feel ready either but I want to get started!
Thanks for sharing!

thenakedthunder profile image

Hi, the answer depends on WHO thinks you are ready.

If you want to have that "I'm ready" feeling... bad news is you will probably never have that. At least that was the case with me and many others I know. There is always things you want to (and in this field, should) know more of.

With that said, it's likely more important if the world thinks you are ready. In my opinion, you get there when you get your first offer to join a company as a dev. So I would suggest you better go to interviews as early as you can. Maybe a good point to start is when you start asking yourself the question you posted. If you don't get the job, at least you get feedback and pretty clear information about what skills you should improve. And if you get one... Heck, that's a great feeling, it says the job market validated your efforts and thinks you are ready.

2 extra things I would like to add: 1) Just don't take ANY job. If you have a gut feeling that a job won't do you any good, you can pass on it, don't ruin this fantastic journey. 2) Also, never forget that getting a job is just a start. It means you are ready to begin this career, but this one is about constant learning. I never met anyone in software, no matter how experienced, who felt they knew enough.

aniketsmk profile image
Aniket Kadam

I was ready when I decided I wanted one, looked through the job listings to see what the most popular software engineering job was at the time, Android. Studied it for a week and started applying. That was 8 years ago and Android is working out well!

pachicodes profile image
Pachi 🪐 (she/her/ela) Author

That is really great Aniket! And inspiring!!!

itenev profile image
Ивелин Тенев

At 19, when my parents cut me off. It was my second year at the university.