Ask HN: What Technologies Should I Learn to Quickly Secure a Remote Position
Say you have three months to learn something so good that you get the job right away after applying. Which technologies would it be?
PS: You already have a solid foundation in computer science and software engineering
I think you ask the wrong question. No technology you can pick up in three months will get you a job right away, much less a remote job. Coding bootcamps -- which have little credibility with hiring managers already -- last longer than that. You don't say what work experience you have or what you already know how to do. The only realistic answer: To get any job you need to leverage the skills you can demonstrate, with experience to back it up. In this market you also need good professional contacts, persistence, and luck.
Any technology you can pick up in three months that would secure a job "right away" would already have hundreds of thousands of people doing the same thing, competing for the same jobs. You won't find any shortcut or one weird trick no one else knows about to get a job.
You may have noticed the short supply of tech jobs right now, and lots of people looking for jobs because of waves of layoffs. And you may have read about many major employers, especially in the tech sector, reining in remote workers and enforcing return to office policies. Finding any job right now presents big challenges, and finding a remote job now will prove even more challenging.
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Suppose you already have a solid foundation so it shouldn't take you a long time to learn these technologies. You already know some programming languages, algorithms and DSs, SOLID, OOP, databases, Web dev, etc.
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I'm less looking for a trick and more about I just want to make money asap with the least overhead possible
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So wouldn't learning something like AI be a viable option since most layoffs have something to do with AI?
I think I gave the best answer I can with the information you offered. You won’t find any shortcut. If you have marketable skills already then you look for a job. If not I doubt three months trying to learn anything will help much. Not enough time to get real expertise, certainly not enough to impress an employer.
AI has almost nothing to do with the recent layoffs. Interest rates, past over-hiring, and propping up stock prices drive the layoffs.
You can try to jump on the AI bandwagon and ride that bubble out but without experience in the field I think you have a better chance of winning the lottery than getting a job in AI.
Prepare for leetcode and system design interviews. Thats going to be the key factor for breaking through to a tech job.
I'm kind of lacking in the leetcode department. Isn't leetcode used only in FAANG?
This is probably the most actionable advice here. Nothing guarantees getting a job and getting interviews without much experience in current environment is going to be very challenging, but at least you can be well-prepared when an opportunity knocks.
If you only have 3 months then forget learning technologies or padding a resume. Real skills are only measured in years of experience and often require some form of demonstration.
Instead seek entry level certifications. I recommend Security+ and what ever the entry level AWS cert is.
If you want to ignore all this advise and absolutely have to focus on a technology skill then master everything there is to know about data transmission. Learn the OSI model, HTTP, WebSockets, gRPC, certificates, and so on. Read the RFCs several times. In order to really attain mastery you should plan on studying 45-50 hours per week minimum with that time being intense dedicated focus.
Transmission mastery is what got me my current job, but in all fairness I was at it for more than 3 months. I had written an original WebSocket library a few years earlier and improved upon it over time. Despite the current industries most esteemed experts telling me one thing regarding the relationship between HTTP and WS I was able to prove them wrong, with working code, by demonstrating that HTTP could be served over WS and that WS does not have to be served over HTTP as many claim. Insights like that takes longer than 3 months to realize.
Go to LinkedIn > Search Jobs:
Filters: Worldwide
Remote
Experience Level: <Entry Job> / Associate
Date: Last Week
Go through the results and look for jobs that you like. Read the requirements and try to target those skills. Also search for "certification" or "skill you have".
React, Node.js, TypeScript
Something along these lines. Something with Javascript underneath. Probably React front-end.
Someone else had the right idea at looking at Linkedin and seeing what people are hiring for, but it would be difficult to become an FTE at a large company. You want somewhere willing to hire you from three months of study. One good bet is a startup that has not gotten angel/seed, but not VC funding yet, as they can't afford to pay market rates even for an SWE of average skill. Another is to work for a company that does consulting, as it is low commitment all around - they already have a place they can bill you for three months, and the billed company is getting you and a few others for three months, and at the end of that will keep whoever worked out and bounce whoever didn't. The bigger the "consulting" company you get into the better, it might be surprising how easy it can sometimes be to get in them after three months of study (although maybe not in 2022).
As others said, you have better options than these if your timeline is longer than three months.
The consulting/contracting is the optimal way for this guy. I can confirm it works.
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Maybe Cobol?
You should already know this.
I have seen many guys like you, spending 3, 4 years looking for 3-months hacks to get rich quick. I know none that succeeded.
think haskell companies hired remotely also before it was popular.