Career change - Do I have what it takes?

Sianizzle

Hi all,

Hope this is the most appropriate place to post this, thought people working in the industry might have the best insight.

I'm currently living the in the UK and want to move back to Ireland in the next couple of years. I'm currently working as a computer science teacher (in my 4th year now), but I know that's not really going to be a possibility in Ireland with the state of the job market.

I have a BA in psychology and sociology, a HDip in Software Design and Development, and a PGCE in Computing Education. I'm currently working towards completing an MSc in STEM Education.

I've always wanted to work in industry, but teaching has always been the easiest option for me. I am good a programming (got a 1st in the HDip), but I've always felt like I'm lacking the technical skills required to get a job in industry.

I've been researching a lot online about how to make the career transition, and what I've read is to try and build a portfolio of work. My problem with this is where to start?!

Does anyone have any insight/advice about what you would do in my situation? What skills do you think are most important for me to revisit/learn? Are there any specific areas in industry or roles that you think would be most suitable?

And is it possible to get a developer job in anywhere other than Dublin? Looking at jobs advertised online is not filling me with hope!

Thanks in advance for any responses!

M256

Technology wise learn JavaScript or Python, they are mainstream. What you need to be aware of is that recruitment in this industry is messed up. Recruiters are looking to deliver perfect candidates, which means beyond technical skills they will be looking for experiences in certain areas. For example, if you have been a developer in the travel industry and you are applying for a job in fin tech they will be reluctant to put you forward. It may look like a boom time, but there are more candidates than jobs.

Don’t go for small companies - you will learn very little and will add no value to your resume. Go for big companies that hire lots of developers, they normally need to hire quickly so they might be more forgiving.

Sianizzle

M256 wrote: »

Go for big companies that hire lots of developers, they normally need to hire quickly so they might be more forgiving.

Interesting! I would have thought bigger companies would be a lot pickier. I don't have any experience in industry - do you have any suggestions for how to get over this hurdle? Any ideas on where to find ideas for projects to work on etc?

I'm currently teaching Python, I have experience of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, C#, and Java from the HDip.

Thanks for your advice!

M256

Smaller companies overcompensate for their inferiority. I can think about a couple of ways to get started. Register your own consultancy and look for contracting. Another tactic would be to go for big companies outside of City Centre like Unum in Carlow. Also, try jobs in presales or professional services.

John_C

Take the importance of domain knowledge into account during your job hunt. Because you have teaching experience, companies making educational software will see you as a valuable candidate.

smacl

John_C wrote: »

Take the importance of domain knowledge into account during your job hunt. Because you have teaching experience, companies making educational software will see you as a valuable candidate.

Agreed. Many software houses also run training courses in their applications and tool chains, so again the hybrid of teaching and programming could be an advantage.

spaceHopper

I think you are way overthing it, talk to some recuiters here, during the UK holidays line up some interviews and see what happens.

Recuiters adverties for unicorns candicates that don't exist, if you tick a couple of the boxes apply anywhay.

In the mean time start writing code and uploading it to github even lesson....

Sianizzle

Thanks all! I probably am overthinking it, but it's hard not to when leaving a permanent job to move back to potentially nothing!

I'll get in touch with recruiters and see how it goes

L.Jenkins

M256 wrote: »

Smaller companies overcompensate for their inferiority. I can think about a couple of ways to get started. Register your own consultancy and look for contracting. Another tactic would be to go for big companies outside of City Centre like Unum in Carlow. Also, try jobs in presales or professional services.

What would be the benefit of registering a Company? Beside some obvious things.

dazftw

Coding boot camps popping up all over the country now. You could try some of those for teaching positions?

Generally having a portfolio of work will do wonders for you to show potential employers your ability. However, I would reccomend finding an area to focus on, software, web, data science etc.

high_king

Sianizzle wrote: »

Thanks all! I probably am overthinking it, but it's hard not to when leaving a permanent job to move back to potentially nothing!

yep, large IT firms are a lot more diverse in rolls and requirements than you might realise.

Send a CV into their HR departments and do be put off applying for jobs where you don't tick all the exact boxes, particaly any rolls that only require 0-2 years experience.

You should have no probs picking up a graduate / entry level dev IT roll to tide you over and get your foot into the private sector.
Focus on getting that, and after a mere couple of years, you are good to go down other avenues.