Web Developer - career change advice needed
Discussion
As the above, 25k is a bit light for the skils set.
I reckon you've got 3 choices:
1) Go and do something else entirely
2) Team leader then in to junior management and onward.
3) Change specialism - more enterprisey back end stuff. Consider some of the sites you've written - lets say a typical shop, when an order is taken what happens after that ? how is the order passed to the warehouse, the items picked, packaged and dispatched ? how are new products ordered from suppliers ? what marketing can be pushed at the customer ? how are accountancy/stock etc systems updated ?
How can you deal with a big influx in custom (scale) ?
This is just one example vaguely related to what you currently do. Think of the website as a small window on to much bigger systems.
The above is leading to a design/architect type of role. It'd be a change to what you are used to and may well keep you interested
I reckon you've got 3 choices:
1) Go and do something else entirely
2) Team leader then in to junior management and onward.
3) Change specialism - more enterprisey back end stuff. Consider some of the sites you've written - lets say a typical shop, when an order is taken what happens after that ? how is the order passed to the warehouse, the items picked, packaged and dispatched ? how are new products ordered from suppliers ? what marketing can be pushed at the customer ? how are accountancy/stock etc systems updated ?
How can you deal with a big influx in custom (scale) ?
This is just one example vaguely related to what you currently do. Think of the website as a small window on to much bigger systems.
The above is leading to a design/architect type of role. It'd be a change to what you are used to and may well keep you interested
Your problem at 10 months tenure seems exacerbated by your lack of stickability. To progress in the area you 're already expert in (stick to the knitting!) you're going to need to suck it up and learn to manage teams of people like you. This involves being able to see the bigger picture - and how your current role fits into the overall IT/Digital delivery plan.
There's a real shortage of people in management roles who actually "get" what it's like at he coalface. Being one can be an incredible asset, but you'll need to find an employer you like/believe in/can stomach that wants to develop you too. After that it's down to you to begin step out of your day-to-day role and see things in line with your boss's objectives, and how to achieve more from the sausage factory you're currently part of.
Or you could abandon the knitting and become a train driver. Good money, I believe. Higher splatter factor than coding though.
There's a real shortage of people in management roles who actually "get" what it's like at he coalface. Being one can be an incredible asset, but you'll need to find an employer you like/believe in/can stomach that wants to develop you too. After that it's down to you to begin step out of your day-to-day role and see things in line with your boss's objectives, and how to achieve more from the sausage factory you're currently part of.
Or you could abandon the knitting and become a train driver. Good money, I believe. Higher splatter factor than coding though.
If you are seriously saying that you fail to stay in one role for a year then you have a problem, any CV that shows that would be straight in the bin if it came to us, particularly for a more senior role. It's OK to make the odd mistake but if it is repeated it's a sign of someone with a big problem.
Siscar said:
If you are seriously saying that you fail to stay in one role for a year then you have a problem, any CV that shows that would be straight in the bin if it came to us, particularly for a more senior role. It's OK to make the odd mistake but if it is repeated it's a sign of someone with a big problem.
^^^ WOT E SED ^^^how many roles have you lasted less than a year at? if it's three or four since leaving uni, then you really do need a career change simply because it takes about a year to get a young developer up to speed enough to be worthwhile to a business.
Plenty of cash in IT if you have the right skill set and you should be able to pull in 40/50 even outside of London.
As others have said, lots of permy roles for less than a year or two does raise a red flag, I've done IT recruitment and have hired in my previous team lead role and would worry there was an issue with lots of short stints.
Sounds like you've got a well rounded skill set which is a great base but to get good money you want to focus on a stack. .NET roles tend to pay more because of a scarcity of good people and the kind of companies using it tend to be large corporates and financial sector which pay allot more than PHP agency roles.
If I was in your situation I'd try the following.
1) Use your current role to get experience in MVC / nHibernate / Entity Framework / Web API / SOLID principles / Raven / IOC.
2) Look at the kind of jobs paying what you want, learn them.
3) Spend time on your CV.
4) Look at learning a framework which pays well and where there is a demand for highly paid consultants / contractors. Sharepoint / dynamics etc..
5) Get involved in the dev community. Should be a .NET user group near by. Go and make contacts and hear about the latest trends. Been offered plenty of jobs through my local one. Goes down a treat when you mention it in interviews too.
6) Start a project at home, it will give you a chance to try out the latest tech and gain experience. In an interview if you don't have any commercial experience then working on a technology at home shows interest and is better than nothing.
I recognize all of your moans and it sounds like you've been working for web agencies. Nearly killed myself with stress for f
k all cash doing that for years. Look into larger corporate companies / government - less hours, less stress and more pay.
How old are you and what have you mainly be focusing on so far - is it more PHP or .NET?
As others have said, lots of permy roles for less than a year or two does raise a red flag, I've done IT recruitment and have hired in my previous team lead role and would worry there was an issue with lots of short stints.
Sounds like you've got a well rounded skill set which is a great base but to get good money you want to focus on a stack. .NET roles tend to pay more because of a scarcity of good people and the kind of companies using it tend to be large corporates and financial sector which pay allot more than PHP agency roles.
If I was in your situation I'd try the following.
1) Use your current role to get experience in MVC / nHibernate / Entity Framework / Web API / SOLID principles / Raven / IOC.
2) Look at the kind of jobs paying what you want, learn them.
3) Spend time on your CV.
4) Look at learning a framework which pays well and where there is a demand for highly paid consultants / contractors. Sharepoint / dynamics etc..
5) Get involved in the dev community. Should be a .NET user group near by. Go and make contacts and hear about the latest trends. Been offered plenty of jobs through my local one. Goes down a treat when you mention it in interviews too.
6) Start a project at home, it will give you a chance to try out the latest tech and gain experience. In an interview if you don't have any commercial experience then working on a technology at home shows interest and is better than nothing.
I recognize all of your moans and it sounds like you've been working for web agencies. Nearly killed myself with stress for f
k all cash doing that for years. Look into larger corporate companies / government - less hours, less stress and more pay. How old are you and what have you mainly be focusing on so far - is it more PHP or .NET?
The pay is quite a bit under what I'd expect from a coder with your experience and skillset to be honest, especially in the MK area. I had similar thoughts on my job, VB.NET, ASP.NET developer with years of experience. I'm very good in teams and good with people so started to volunteer to help out on none IT related teams and projects. If you want to go more into management and get less involved with the detail, you may have to do a spot of self promotion to get your profile raised within the company, if you still want to work for the same company that is. I did this and you end up taking on a lot more work, responsibility and don't get the reward or recognition (at first) but it's a long term plan.
I did a lean 6 sigma yellow belt project which I was chosen to lead and put myself forward to lead a manufacturing excellence award team (where we managed to walk away with some awards). I generally put my name around the company and became known for being helpful and useful.
As a result, I was put on a talent management scheme and given management training and a promotion. This all depends on a bit of luck and the company you work for however. I've been to previous companies and never been given the chance to shine. Now I do very little coding although I still get involved with some projects. The money hasn't inflated in line with the extra duties and responsibiities but I'm not on bad pay and I get a lot of other perks so I'm not rocking the boat and moaning for more.
I did a lean 6 sigma yellow belt project which I was chosen to lead and put myself forward to lead a manufacturing excellence award team (where we managed to walk away with some awards). I generally put my name around the company and became known for being helpful and useful.
As a result, I was put on a talent management scheme and given management training and a promotion. This all depends on a bit of luck and the company you work for however. I've been to previous companies and never been given the chance to shine. Now I do very little coding although I still get involved with some projects. The money hasn't inflated in line with the extra duties and responsibiities but I'm not on bad pay and I get a lot of other perks so I'm not rocking the boat and moaning for more.
If you were paid something appropriate, do you actually want away from coding?
I'm a software engineer in my 8th year of post-graduation employment, outside London, and I get almost double what you do, although it's about the peak of what I can get as a generalist engineer. I like my career as it's mostly about solving difficult problems with patterns and analytical skill.
Get away from pure web development, IMO, as it puts you in the category of 'web designer', which most places consider to be a role worthy of an unpaid intern. C# is the key I think, or picking up something like Java Enterprise.
I'm a software engineer in my 8th year of post-graduation employment, outside London, and I get almost double what you do, although it's about the peak of what I can get as a generalist engineer. I like my career as it's mostly about solving difficult problems with patterns and analytical skill.
Get away from pure web development, IMO, as it puts you in the category of 'web designer', which most places consider to be a role worthy of an unpaid intern. C# is the key I think, or picking up something like Java Enterprise.
Have a look at DevOps roles. Most seem to want a good grounding in coding and backend stuff. I also think that these roles are way more interesting than most of the standard IT stuff.
If you are any good at coding maybe take a different tack and look at doing pentesting. Check out the OSCP course or start off with something simple like the CEH certificate. You will constantly be challenged and there is a lot of personal satisifaction and reward in this type of career. Plenty of money in that field too if your good at it.
If you are any good at coding maybe take a different tack and look at doing pentesting. Check out the OSCP course or start off with something simple like the CEH certificate. You will constantly be challenged and there is a lot of personal satisifaction and reward in this type of career. Plenty of money in that field too if your good at it.
OP, i'm a PHP/MySQL dev in the MK area.
I moved down for a senior role in Aylesbury 3 years ago, starting on 50k + share options, with 6 years experience at the time. I've since moved onto pastures new.
The roles are out there, lots of them, but you need to be skilled across the entire stack, enthusiastic and demonstrate commitment. It's a very competitive market. If you've got the first 2, you need to work on the commitment side of thing although i suspect your lack of is due to the relatively low-salary you've had.
In this arena you move onwards to move upwards.
It's what i'm doing having a background in development and infrastructure
I moved down for a senior role in Aylesbury 3 years ago, starting on 50k + share options, with 6 years experience at the time. I've since moved onto pastures new.
The roles are out there, lots of them, but you need to be skilled across the entire stack, enthusiastic and demonstrate commitment. It's a very competitive market. If you've got the first 2, you need to work on the commitment side of thing although i suspect your lack of is due to the relatively low-salary you've had.
In this arena you move onwards to move upwards.
Sexual Chocolate said:
Have a look at DevOps roles. Most seem to want a good grounding in coding and backend stuff. I also think that these roles are way more interesting than most of the standard IT stuff.
Indeed, big bucks in this market at the moment. Get playing with Chef and/or Puppet.It's what i'm doing having a background in development and infrastructure
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