How do I find a job? (CS Major about to get degree) - General

Hey guys! I'm going to graduate with a Bachelor's in CS this Fall and I have no idea what I'm going to do after that. Everyone tells me that it is really easy to find a job in CS and employers are always looking for a CS major or graduate, but I can't find any jobs at all. Anywhere! I don't want to be working part time for the rest of my life. How do I find a job? I have experience with many programming languages and I have a lot of independent projects under my belt. Thanks!

What regional area are you open to finding a job in? Are you okay with relocating or would you rather stay local? I usually just use Indeed since that seems like the best job search engine right now.

[QUOTE=Pascall;52419692]What regional area are you open to finding a job in? Are you okay with relocating or would you rather stay local? I usually just use Indeed since that seems like the best job search engine right now.[/QUOTE] I'm located in the Southeast, in Birmingham, AL, np funds to relocate. Never heard of Indeed, I'll check it out. Is it good for part-time stuff too while I finish up school?

[QUOTE=NixNax123;52419716]I'm located in the Southeast, in Birmingham, AL, np funds to relocate. Never heard of Indeed, I'll check it out. Is it good for part-time stuff too while I finish up school?[/QUOTE] Yup! [t]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/47zse6alnbv0d4f/sai_2017-06-30_19-20-24.png[/t] Just type your field, the location (or zip code works even better). [t]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/lt125j2qmg3m6n9/sai_2017-06-30_19-20-50.png[/t] Then filter as you need to by salary, full-time/part-time, entry level/mid level/senior level, location, and company. You can also filter the results by date so you can see the latest jobs posted or you can sort by relevance. I also recommend uploading your resume because every so often a company will reach out to you through Indeed. If you need any help, lemme know, I'm pretty familiar with job searches with how frequently I do it lol. And make sure you always research a potential company on [URL="https://www.glassdoor.com/index.htm"]Glassdoor[/URL]. You can get reviews from current or previous employees about how they do business and whether or not it's a good place to work for, plus salaries for certain positions within the company and any other open jobs with the company, too. [editline]30th June 2017[/editline] If you're looking for jobs to do from home, these are good websites for those, too. [url]https://remote.co/[/url] [url]http://ratracerebellion.com/[/url] [url]https://weworkremotely.com/[/url] The most frequent jobs you'll find for remote work are things like software or web development/engineering. No shortage of STEM computer-based jobs overall, tbh.

[QUOTE=Pascall;52419692]What regional area are you open to finding a job in? Are you okay with relocating or would you rather stay local? I usually just use Indeed since that seems like the best job search engine right now.[/QUOTE] Indeed is pretty neat, I got a job without much effort right after I graduated. They called me before I even got around to applying to this particular company just because they saw my resume floating out there and it had what they wanted, as did several other firms.

Can confirm indeed is great. Had 15 interviews in my first 8 business days of moving to Denver from it alone.

Thanks so much everyone (especially Pascall), I really appreciate it. Just applied for a job on Indeed, and made an account / uploaded a resume there. Fingers crossed!

I just got offered an internship and I'm not even close to graduating yet. What set me apart was my portfolio of personal programming projects I've done or participated in. That stuff counts, big time. Also, I recommend Indeed as well. Apply everywhere, not just one place. I got this internship and my job prior through Indeed. Make sure you fill out your information and relevant skills in Indeed. Sometimes employers will go scouting for people via what skills they've listed; for my job prior I was contacted by the employer unsolicited.

Also keep in contact with some of your peers. This is one industry where nepotism gets people a ton of really good jobs and it might get you a big leg up in the future for a very neat opening.

I have no peers, or friends here :v: that's what I have you guys for

[QUOTE=NixNax123;52420392]I have no peers, or friends here :v: that's what I have you guys for[/QUOTE] I'm from that area too. Don't put any preference into location, imo you're most likely going to have to leave to do CS. Seriously. Anything marginally related nearby tends to be "the one tech guy who fixes our stuff". Sometimes employers will assist with relocation, don't be afraid to say yes in a phone interview if they ask, or to bring up the issue if they want you. That, and save up some funds if you can.

[QUOTE=PyromanDan;52421496]I'm from that area too. Don't put any preference into location, imo you're most likely going to have to leave to do CS. Seriously. Anything marginally related nearby tends to be "the one tech guy who fixes our stuff". Sometimes employers will assist with relocation, don't be afraid to say yes in a phone interview if they ask, or to bring up the issue if they want you. That, and save up some funds if you can.[/QUOTE] How much should I save up? I'm in the same boat as the other guy but graduated six months ago.

Depends on where you're looking to move. Check housing costs in areas you wouldn't mind relocating to. Check the average apartment rent and go from there.

In addition to Indeed, I would highly recommend setting up a LinkedIn profile and filling that out as much as possible. LinkedIn is [I]heavily[/I] used now, as well as having a free 30-day trial for LinkedIn Premium which gets you access to the top of application lists so companies & recruiters see your application as one of the top 10 or so out of hundreds (and unlike other sites you can legit just stop the charge from renewing so no cost to you lol) Glassdoor was already mentioned but yeah it's super helpful. You can view company ratings and salary estimates globally and based in your nearest major city / metro area. Also check out [B][URL="http://www.dice.com/"]Dice[/URL][/B] which is starting to be used heavily for IT & Computer Science. I have actually been reached out to now from my Dice resume profile.

as someone in the CS field also graduating next semester how the FUCK did you not make any connections to get things. i've got research with an instructor, a backchannel job that basically was me emailing the president of a company on the recommendation of another professor, getting hired immediately because "whenever [I]x[/I] sends me someone, they're usually a good fit" CS is 95% networking during college and if you don't do it you're competing against people who did exactly as well as you, but know a guy.

[QUOTE=nerdster409;52421553]How much should I save up? I'm in the same boat as the other guy but graduated six months ago.[/QUOTE] If you only take with you the basics, and its not a just contract job (therefore potentially years of stay), then you should attempt to save up at least enough for 3 months of rent, transport, food, utilities, etc. A safety net. It therefore varies on where you are heading. If you were heading to Atlanta, that would probably be somewhere around $4000. Of course, it is entirely possible to do it by with much less; start off in an extended stay or something that would be less than that months rent + the security deposit of a lease for the first two weeks, and youll take off some upfront cost if you cant manage. That is more expensive in the long run, but it can make it possible. Even a studio is $800-900, with something like a $300 security deposit. Physical utilities will sometimes also have a small $50-100 deposit. You can spend as little as $100-$175 a month eating in, while still eating well. [URL="https://www.reddit.com/r/Frugal/comments/1neq74/how_to_survive_on_100_a_month_for_food/"]You won't starve or hate what you're eating.[/URL] Dont underestimate hidden costs, but with just a little foresight you can easily make any situation work.

[QUOTE=LordCrypto;52421751]as someone in the CS field also graduating next semester how the FUCK did you not make any connections to get things. i've got research with an instructor, a backchannel job that basically was me emailing the president of a company on the recommendation of another professor, getting hired immediately because "whenever [I]x[/I] sends me someone, they're usually a good fit" CS is 95% networking during college and if you don't do it you're competing against people who did exactly as well as you, but know a guy.[/QUOTE] I worked on a lot of independent projects before college, and did very well in all my classes. I never had to study because I knew a lot of programming languages and paradigms beforehand, and did all of the assigned group project by myself, so I didn't make any friends. I emailed my professors some of my work explaining that I'd like them to see it, but they all ignored it. My professors just didn't care that I had experience in the field, none of them even cared enough about me to ask.

[QUOTE=NixNax123;52422134]I worked on a lot of independent projects before college, and did very well in all my classes. I never had to study because I knew a lot of programming languages and paradigms beforehand, and did all of the assigned group project by myself, so I didn't make any friends. I emailed my professors some of my work explaining that I'd like them to see it, but they all ignored it. My professors just didn't care that I had experience in the field, none of them even cared enough about me to ask.[/QUOTE] alright that's great and all, but there's a reason why working in groups is a thing CS is not a field that you will do your real job in a vacuum. you go to office hours, you spend time with other students, you make connections, interact with faculty, and then you'll know about things [editline]2nd July 2017[/editline] [QUOTE=NixNax123;52422134]I worked on a lot of independent projects before college, and did very well in all my classes. I never had to study because I knew a lot of programming languages and paradigms beforehand, and did all of the assigned group project by myself, so I didn't make any friends. I emailed my professors some of my work explaining that I'd like them to see it, but they all ignored it. [B]My professors just didn't care that I had experience in the field, none of them even cared enough about me to ask.[/B][/QUOTE] how big were class sizes? did you ever interact with the professor in person before emailing them your prior work? it's shitty how this works, but professors only want to interact with the people they know in person. there's only so many things they can keep track of, and if someone who their only knowledge of is a couple hours per week due to class emails them, they don't have the time to care.

Professional internships are invaluable. If you remain home with your parents/caretakers while you work in an internship it greatly helps your chances of finding a job. It helps build skills and networking opportunities, which are nearly more important.

[QUOTE=LordCrypto;52425185]alright that's great and all, but there's a reason why working in groups is a thing CS is not a field that you will do your real job in a vacuum. you go to office hours, you spend time with other students, you make connections, interact with faculty, and then you'll know about things [editline]2nd July 2017[/editline] how big were class sizes? did you ever interact with the professor in person before emailing them your prior work? it's shitty how this works, but professors only want to interact with the people they know in person. there's only so many things they can keep track of, and if someone who their only knowledge of is a couple hours per week due to class emails them, they don't have the time to care.[/QUOTE] Sorry, I didn't know that I would need to network. Mistake on my part

Networking is key. It is how I got my first part time job in the tech field, and how I am part time at a steady company finishing school. Did you have any internships or programming work experience during your schooling?

[QUOTE=Combin0wnage;52426590]Networking is key. It is how I got my first part time job in the tech field, and how I am part time at a steady company finishing school. Did you have any internships or programming work experience during your schooling?[/QUOTE] No but I made projects on my own I've only had two jobs in my life. Both were customer service jobs unrelated to tech / CS at all

You're definitely at a disadvantage having not networked with people, but you're not dead in the water. Start applying for internships and get your foot in the door wherever you can. Once you have your foot in the door, network with people this time. And for the record, yeah, you talk about that stuff with your professor in-person during idle time, not over email. All of my professors were generally happy to hear about previous projects and stuff I'd worked on, but I never bothered them via email about that stuff because that's not what they have that email for.

[QUOTE=Dr. Evilcop;52426677]You're definitely at a disadvantage having not networked with people, but you're not dead in the water. Start applying for internships and get your foot in the door wherever you can. Once you have your foot in the door, network with people this time. And for the record, yeah, you talk about that stuff with your professor in-person during idle time, not over email. All of my professors were generally happy to hear about previous projects and stuff I'd worked on, but I never bothered them via email about that stuff because that's not what they have that email for.[/QUOTE] I couldn't really network as the closest campus was 4 hours away (more accurately, the local one didn't do IT) and it sure makes it harder. Ended up landing a level 2 support / developer role 600km away which wasn't exactly what I wanted but it's chill as fuck most of the time, ymmv however. I also applied to both local IT businesses, really just get as many resumes out as you can but be sure to research and make cover letters tailored to each company.

does your school offer any career fairs or their own job board? if so i'd start there. had better luck there than job search sites.

Wolters kluwer is an international tax accounting software developer that while it doesn't pay the best, its a good entry level job that looks great on a resume. I'm currently considering a job there after I get an associates. Apply for complex product manufacturers by the way: cars, airplanes, Caterpillar inc., KUKA, etc... These companies generally have shit legacy intranets and PLC's that need CS and automation engineers to keep them working.