Training / Upskilling

[davidbieder]

Hi Ted,

I am Senior Java Developer and Trainer for Full-stack Software Engineering. As a contractor I managed to double my day rate over the past two years. Yes, it's about skills but it's also a lot about selling and positioning yourself. One principle I follow is similar to the advice: "Dress yourself for the job you want!". I do that with for instance with my CV. And when it comes to talking to recruiters.

Cheers,
David

[SueEllen]

If you are looking for jobs using agencies then you are wasting your time doing certificates as they are looking for experience. You will be asked in what role you used the skill you have a certificate for.

The only way you can get the experience other than in a role is by being involved in an open source project that uses those required skills.

If you want to by-pass agencies then you are going to have to network. That way you will advertise what you are doing and your skills, and attract interested parties to you. By networking you also by-pass lots of HR tulip as you are more likely to secure an interview as you may find you have been talking to a senior manager or company owner. Do NOT say you are looking for a job unless asked and you will probably be asked.

[northernladuk]

Be careful getting too many gigs. Employers will look at you with an eye of suspicion. They may think you are just there for the short term to skill up and leave again. I wonder why they think that

[Ted]

Best option is to suck it up and go permie.

Going permie is my medium term goal. I'm really only contracting as I was getting overlooked for perm jobs as my CV did not have the skills/qualifications/experience in what would be considered mainstream software tools/languages/etc.

My previous job whilst rewarding and allowed me to develop a unique set of skills, did not utilise many commercial tools, languages etc. With the abundance of people with the required skillset applying for the same jobs, I wasn't even getting into a position to argue my case at an interview. I did get a couple of interviews, but got blown out of the water during the questions and at times during the practicals.

I am happy to avail of any learning activity in order to get a foot in the door at interviews. My reason for looking at online courses etc was that in my situation I had neglected my CPD for too long and it may give me the structured learning that I require at least initially. Especially as I think I'd lose focus too easily if I was just going to sit and code at home with no real end goal. Plus, if there was a qualification or certificate at the end of it, it might impress the recruiter enough to put me through to the next stage.

I'm really not sure if contracting is for me and I'm trying to make the most of the opportunities to expand my knowledge now before it is too late - i.e. when the contract ends. This should may give me the chance to get back into perm employment which I think is a better fit for me and my lifestyle.

So, hopefully that has clarified my position.

I've been looking on places like Pluralsight, Coursera, Lynda etc - but I'm not sure what the best approach is. I know there is the opportunity to take online courses from universities online, but which ones are the best and what platform to go for is up for debate. Maybe just taking some modules in my own time online would be sufficient - I don't know.

Many courses can be done for free, but for a few extra quid I can get a certificate, which might mean nothing to someone with 10+yrs experience - but for someone in my shoes might be beneficial.

[northernladuk]

There will be a lot more of those in the PS in a couple of months...

Sadly they will probably want the same level of skills as before though.

[SlipTheJab]

There is upskilling and there is have demonstrable experience. You can get gigs with good experience and little qualifications but the converse isn't true. A client wants specialists for the money they pay and can bring value to the table. A few qualifications isn't that I'm afraid.

You've made a classic mistake we see time and time again. You can't even pitch yourself lower to make yourself look attractive. You've got to look for badly paying gigs no one wants and sadly that isn't the case. There is often a reason a skilled guy might take a low gig.

Sorry to be negative. There is a chance it could work but that's a bug gamble for you income.

There will be a lot more of those in the PS in a couple of months...

[jmo21]

With only 18 months post-uni experience you need to go permanent.

OP said years, not months, but your advice is bang on.

[LondonManc]

I reckon the perm route for you right now. Failing that and you live at home or can support yourself get involved in open source projects or start your own (though you will need money to do that). Get some experience by doing.

Or indeed as well as the perm role.

Perm roles will give you a better progression plan and a better selection of paid-for training courses for you. Yes, you'll partly be doing the courses that they want you to do, but that's to make you a better professional longer term. Get as much training in as you can before you're 30 but given you've been out of uni 18 years, that's probably not an option.

[woohoo]

I reckon the perm route for you right now. Failing that and you live at home or can support yourself get involved in open source projects or start your own (though you will need money to do that). Get some experience by doing.

[SueEllen]

With only 18 months post-uni experience you need to go permanent.

The reason to go permanent is to get the company to pay for the training for you even if it is on the job training, and so you can go up as high as possible in an organisation. (You can change your permanent job every 12-24 months to get where you want. )

That way in 5 years time you will be earning a lot whether in a permanent post or as a contractor.

Certificates in the area you are interested in aren't very useful particularly if you have a degree in a relevant subject, this is because lots of off-shore developers have them but don't have good creative and other skills that are required to be a good developer.

[ladymuck]

I know nothing (about the specific technology being discussed) but I see no harm in keeping your skills current through one or two well chosen courses. I have often done courses where I've touched on the topic in a gig in order to add to my bulltulip bingo card.

There is always scope for upskilling. A lot of the effort in getting a gig is about marketing yourself well. If a course is going to help that and you can demonstrate some use of whatever technology you've trained in then, while you might not get immediate ROI, I reckon it's still worth doing.

You're a salesman now, don't forget. Good luck!

[LondonManc]

Hi,

I've been working just under 1 yr as a contractor - basically a job I managed to get by fluke as I was struggling to get an interview in most places do to my previous experience being in a niche section of development which has left me out of touch with most modern techniques.

I've managed to keep myself above water in this contract - it's at the lower end of contracting and I want to progress myself into a better contract in future or into a suitable perm role. However, for me to do this I need to broaden my CV and get some attractive skills on my CPD record - which I'm ashamed to say has been rather overlooked in recent years.

I'm working in Java development at present but alongside this, I'd like to get into embedded work. My main goal though is to broaden my talents in order to give myself more opportunities without spreading myself too thin.

What is the best way to go about this? I'm aware that I can get my company to pay for my training - also happy to pay for it outside of company if it is suitable for my needs. This is pretty much irrelevant to me

Ideally, I'd want something that provides a qualification or a certificate, but content is king - accreditation is second on the list. I've been out of university for approx 18 years now so my main learning in the OOP is quite dated, although I'm comfortable with it in my new role.

I'm not sure how to progress myself here. Essentially I've got little experience if mainstream software development and looking for a way to get the right knowledge to be able to confidently put down things on the CV without spoofing!

What is the best way for me to go about upskilling as a contractor? I'm more looking for resources and distant learning suggestions as opposed to financing it as a contractor (although this info would be appreciated too).

I've started by writing some small programs by myself at home in the evenings, but I'm attracted to the structure and focus of a course (with possible bonus of accreditation).



Many thanks.

Blind luck.

You get a gig with your main skill as their main requirement and the project has a lot more involvement of your secondary skill than originally anticipated. You build on this, get a new gig or extension at current client with primary focus on the secondary skill. A similar chance to finding rocking horse tulip on your lawn.

Best option is to suck it up and go permie.

[northernladuk]

There is upskilling and there is have demonstrable experience. You can get gigs with good experience and little qualifications but the converse isn't true. A client wants specialists for the money they pay and can bring value to the table. A few qualifications isn't that I'm afraid.

You've made a classic mistake we see time and time again. You can't even pitch yourself lower to make yourself look attractive. You've got to look for badly paying gigs no one wants and sadly that isn't the case. There is often a reason a skilled guy might take a low gig.

Sorry to be negative. There is a chance it could work but that's a bug gamble for you income.

[Ted]

Hi,

I've been working just under 1 yr as a contractor - basically a job I managed to get by fluke as I was struggling to get an interview in most places do to my previous experience being in a niche section of development which has left me out of touch with most modern techniques.

I've managed to keep myself above water in this contract - it's at the lower end of contracting and I want to progress myself into a better contract in future or into a suitable perm role. However, for me to do this I need to broaden my CV and get some attractive skills on my CPD record - which I'm ashamed to say has been rather overlooked in recent years.

I'm working in Java development at present but alongside this, I'd like to get into embedded work. My main goal though is to broaden my talents in order to give myself more opportunities without spreading myself too thin.

What is the best way to go about this? I'm aware that I can get my company to pay for my training - also happy to pay for it outside of company if it is suitable for my needs. This is pretty much irrelevant to me

Ideally, I'd want something that provides a qualification or a certificate, but content is king - accreditation is second on the list. I've been out of university for approx 18 years now so my main learning in the OOP is quite dated, although I'm comfortable with it in my new role.

I'm not sure how to progress myself here. Essentially I've got little experience if mainstream software development and looking for a way to get the right knowledge to be able to confidently put down things on the CV without spoofing!

What is the best way for me to go about upskilling as a contractor? I'm more looking for resources and distant learning suggestions as opposed to financing it as a contractor (although this info would be appreciated too).

I've started by writing some small programs by myself at home in the evenings, but I'm attracted to the structure and focus of a course (with possible bonus of accreditation).



Many thanks.