The Plight of the Junior Software Developer
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Junior developers entering the job market are running headlong into the harsh reality that it can be very difficult to get hired in this field if you lack practical experience. Any junior developer who has spent time on the job hunt fresh out of a boot-camp or university program has experienced the paradoxical mindset of companies hiring developers. Some will hire juniors, but only if they have 2+ years experience (how do they get it?). Others only have openings for mid to senior level developers, and don’t hire juniors at all on principle. Still others require 4+ years experience with Gatsby.js, along with 2+ years experience with Angular 8 (these companies are frustrating for all of us).
What’s causing companies to shy away from hiring new developers? There are several reasons I see for this trend, and I will spend some time unpacking them in this post. I’ll also give my thoughts on how juniors can improve their prospects during the job hunt.
