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I actually got an unofficial offer two Fridays ago, so this isn't exactly hot off the presses, but I am just now getting around to posting about it. It's a C# .NET developer job in north Raleigh. They develop software for hospitals and biotech companies. I can give more info via inbox, I just don't want to post the name on here.
The job is ideal on paper because it involves the same languages and tech I learned at the coding school, so it's perfect for experience and the resume bullet point. I note this because a couple of other job prospects I had through recruiters were front-end page design and DBA, for example. Which I would do if needed, but I wasn't too hot on.
Although most of my job hunt involved recruiters and staffing agencies, I got this job simply by applying online and getting a call back. They were impressed with my portfolio and Github profile to get me right in for an in-person interview, and I got the unofficial offer later that day. Solid pay with benefits. It's also a casual, jeans and t-shirts type of office, which will be a welcome experience after four years in a fancy, corporate, three-story office building.
And when it rains, it pours. I had to turn down an in-person interview for another company that I'd had two phone interviews with prior to getting the job offer from this company.
My experience with recruiters was an extremely mixed bag. The coding school also acts as a recruiter, and they were probably the best recruiter I worked with. They got me one official in-person interview, and tech demo that was a precursor to an interview (although the interview didn't materialize), and a handful of phone interviews. On the other hand, another recruiter was supposedly getting me a couple of interviews, but both were canceled day-of in the morning before the interview, which was really upsetting. They did get me one in-person interview at AT&T in the research triangle, but there were major communication issues post-interview, and the place was basically a sweat shop and I didn't want to work there, anyhow. The recruiter's response when I said I wasn't too hot on working there was that it was better than having to get a job as a Walmart greeter or barista. Lmao. That recruiting company was pretty bush league with me. I think they're actually a major national staffing service, though.
But anyhow, only positive vibes here. Time-wise, it was two months on the dot from completing the coding camp to getting the offer. I was actually the last person in my class of eleven to get a job (we all got jobs), so the average time was much sooner, with a couple guys getting jobs before class was done. But as I mentioned before, me taking longer was mainly a geographic issue because I wanted a job in Raleigh, which is a much more competitive market to crack. The other folks were mostly placed in Greensboro. One other guy in our class managed to get a job in Raleigh, maybe about a month ago.
So if you're considering any kind of leap like this, I recommend going for it. I had way more programming experience than most of the class, and everyone was able to get employment. The first guy in my clique in class to get a job had never written a line of code before coming to class (very smart guy, though -- masters in finance or accounting, I forget which). So you certainly don't need much experience. Just some logic, math, and diligence.
If you have any questions, please shoot.
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