Five Tips to Help You Nab That Coding Job After Study

This post is presented in partnership with TrackMySubs.

Studying to become a computer programmer, but not sure how to get a job after graduation?

Maybe you’re wondering how long you need to wait before you begin work on your game-changing app idea.

They say patience is a virtue. Turns out, in this case, it isn’t.

“I think if you get a little bit of experience in any kind of programming, you’re miles ahead of anyone coming out of uni without it.”

That’s according to Tim Cochrane, a fourth-year Software Engineering student at Curtin University. And he should know. At just 21, and without having finished his studies, he’s already the main programmer on TrackMySubs (an app that alerts users when their free trials are about to expire). To top it off, he was hired at the start of his third year of uni. So, we asked him to share his tips on how to make yourself attractive to prospective employers in the programming field.

1. Uni is a great starting point, but don’t simply settle for a degree.

“The thing with computer science,” Tim said, “is if you go through uni and you don’t have any experience outside of what’s taught in the course, you’re not going to be competitive enough to get a job.” He told Student Edge that, as his course comes to a close, he’s discovering much of what he’s been taught is simply theory.

“Really, you’re not taught everything you’d need to get started in the work force,” he added. That’s why he used his time at uni to seek our other potential opportunities that would help him gain experience.

2. Find kindred spirits for side projects, or start volunteering.

“Doing a little bit of work on your own or some kind of side project is very important if you want to actually be able to get up to speed quicker than everyone else and get a job,” Tim insisted.

He met some like-minded programmers while volunteering at uni on weekends, leading to a number of pet projects that he was able to assist with, including one that involved putting smart watches on the parents of child burn victims, to get data on their physical activity.

3. Don’t feel pressured to take every opportunity. (You’ve still got school, after all.) Prioritise the paid ones.

“When you start doing a little bit of volunteer work, there’ll be tons more flooding in the door; as in, there’s plenty more opportunities and everyone’s always wanting you to do a little bit more for this cause, or a little bit more for this project,” Tim explained.

“And that’s something that I’ve really realised: You can’t just say ‘yes’ to most things because you’re just not going to have any time to do anything for yourself.”

He advises aspiring programmers to begin with volunteer work but eventually seek out paid opportunities, “not just because of the money, but [because] generally you get better experience from a company that’s willing to pay you, [compared to] a volunteer one.”

4. Network!

Making friends at university with similar passions and then volunteering for their projects is just the beginning. To get a paid gig on a larger scale, as Tim did, you’ll need to sniff around for opportunities, even among family and friends. (Tim met the person with the idea for TrackMySubs through his dad.)

“There are a lot of people who have app ideas, and they don’t really have the technical background or know-how of where to go and find people to make it happen,” Tim said.

“If you don’t have someone or a connection, then volunteering is really the best way to find people."

5. Be open to any additional experience outside of university.

“Everything you do, you will be learning something that you have not learnt at uni,” Tim said.

“Really, in the scheme of things, uni teaches you the foundation… you don’t learn tools and frameworks, and most of what I would be doing in any kind of volunteer or paid stuff is learning these tools and applying them to the problem.”

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Photo: HBO