OulaX

During my teen years, I was crazy interested in programming. I got interested because I used to script mods for a game, it helped me create things I was dreaming of, and oh boy, it was a pleasure to write code!

Forward to my university years, I got into computer science because I thought writing code for the rest of my life would be as cool as it was in my teen years. For a moment, during my university years, it was! I aced my classes and was happily writing code for projects and coming up with unique little tools and ideas to build.

After graduation, I hit a brick wall. I found out there are very few jobs for programmers in my country, and almost none in my city. I searched for months, but in the end, I settled for a tutoring role. I worked as a tutor for two years, and then, just with sheer luck, I found a paid internship, applied, and was offered the position. I think I got offered the internship because the pay was low—it was basically slave labor—but it was decent by my country’s standards. I believed that building my reputation, network, and experience working with a US-based startup was worth more than the pay.

I worked as an intern for 6 months, then moved to a Jr. Role, doing full-stack work. I worked as a Jr for 8 more months, then the startup failed to secure funding. So, again, I was unemployed.

I got referred to a different startup by my old employer, started working there as the only frontend developer, the pay was good, and the work was good, but that startup also failed to secure funding, and I was let go.

Now, I am unemployed. I applied to hundreds, if not thousands, of openings on LinkedIn, HackerNews’ monthly “Who is Hiring” threads, but got nothing.

I am now in an existential crisis, local work where I live is almost non-existent, and even if I do come across an opening, the pay is not even decent by my standards; it simply is not worth the effort. So, my goal is to find contract roles and fully remote roles abroad, and honestly, I don’t know how viable that goal is now.

I am even thinking of shifting my focus away from software development due to the market saturation worldwide.

What would you do if you were me? I’m looking for real, honest, and thoughtful feedback.

When I was a teenager, I developed an interest in programming. I spent countless hours following tutorials and building small projects. Naturally, I decided to major in Computer Science, hoping it would lead to a great job someday.

But I didn’t realize how difficult that would be—mainly because I live in Iraq, where there’s very little demand for software developers. And when a job does open up, the competition is fierce.

After graduating in 2020, I couldn’t find a job for about six months. Eventually, I took a job as a trainer instead of a developer just to pay the bills. During that time, I kept applying to every local and remote opportunity I could find.

After two years as a trainer, and out of sheer luck, I landed a paid internship as a full-stack developer. It was borderline slave labor, but I needed the experience. The pay wasn’t bad considering the living costs here. The role was fully remote and contract-based for a U.S. startup.

When the internship ended, they offered me a junior full-stack role—again contract-based for six months. But then the startup failed to secure funding, and I was let go.

I was unemployed again for six months until someone I used to work with reached out. They were starting a new company and offered me a frontend position. I worked as the only frontend engineer for eight months. It was another contract gig since they couldn’t legally hire someone from Iraq. The workload was heavy, but I delivered.

Then, once again, the startup failed to get funding and I was let go.

Now I’m working part-time in a government job that has nothing to do with coding. I can’t seem to find any local developer roles or remote contracts anymore. I’ve started to question whether I’m even cut out for a career in software development.

Should I keep looking for a job? Pursue a master’s degree? Switch to a different field entirely? What would you do if you were in my shoes? What does your career path look like?

I have a CS degree, and 3 years of experience, the spark of coding seems to have gone, I can't enjoy even small toy projects, I end up focusing too much on writing perfect code, I tried writing meh code, but I couldn't succeed.

Living in a country with no prospects or job oppurtunities for software developers doesn't help as well.

I want to learn from your past experiences if any.

Thanks

Hello,

A Little Background About Me:

I'm a software developer from Iraq, after getting my BSc in CS, I started looking for local jobs, but failed to find any developer jobs in my current city. I applied to openings in other cities, but the the number of openings were so little compared to the number of applicants so the competition was crazy, I couldn't get a job for about a year.

Afterwards, I found a role as a teacher, so, I started teaching programming fundamentals and web development, I kept this job for 2 years, during which I tried applying to as much software development jobs as possible on LinkedIn and everywhere else, mainly looking for fully remote roles in the US or elsewhere.

Then, I found a role at a startup as a paid intern, gotten through the interview and started work as a contractor.

My initial contract was for 6 months, after that was over I signed a different contract for another 6 months, this time as a Jr. Software Developer. After this contract ended, they renewed it again as a Jr. Software Developer, but this time for 4 months, because the startup was failing. So, in total I worked as fully remote contractor for 1 year and 4 months.

Then, I was jobless, I started looking for jobs again for about 6 months, then out of nowhere, the same employer from before got in touch with me and recommended me to a different startup looking for contractors. I happily accepted the offer and started work, the problem is, I wasn't even assigned a title in this new startup, I was a software developer, but I didn't know whether Jr, Mid? However, based on my own evaluation I still considered myself Jr.

I was the only developer on the frontend team for this new startup, I was responsible of taking a full Figma design from scratch and implement it with React, I have to be honest I had to use a component library to get the job done, because the deadline was very close and everything was fast paced, there was no room for code refactoring, code quality, TBF I didn't even write tests! But, I ended up delivering in time, and after a couple of rounds of bug fixing, the client was happy.

However, after about 8 months, I lost this job because the startup failed to secure funding again.

Now, I feel a bit lost on where to move on from here. Getting a job for a US-based employer is very difficult, especially once they learn that I am based in Iraq.

I have a couple of questions:

1. Am I a dead cause? Is there still hope? I mean I am still a Jr.

2. How should I structure my resume? I have no past projects other than the work I've put for my past 2 employers?

I have a degree in Computer Science and currently work as a frontend web developer.

I live in a developing country where there’s no shortage of software developers who build systems for both personal and governmental use. However, many of these systems have serious gaps when it comes to security.

What’s really missing here are skilled cybersecurity specialists. From a career perspective, I see this as an opportunity to grow locally and contribute where there’s a real need.

That said, I’m not sure how or where to begin. I’ve done some research, but getting started in cybersecurity doesn’t seem as straightforward as in other fields.

I’d really appreciate any advice or tips on how to get started and move in the right direction!

Hello,

I'm an Iraqi software engineer, working as an independent contractor for a US-based startup. I've been with the same company for 2 years, and I've faced lots of difficulties receiving my salary. My employer has been very patient and flexible with the whole situation, however, I'm out of alternative solutions, and I was looking for your help.

Things I've tried so far: * My employer used Plane (Formerly Pilot) as an EOR and payroll solution, I added in my local bank and transfers were being made there. Plane stopped sending payments to Iraqi accounts.

* I started using MoneyGram and WesternUnion and after a while both got sanctioned locally.

* I started using my cousin's Turkish bank account, and once he was receiving the payment he was forwarding it to me using a middle man, however, the process was cumbersome for my cousin to do and eventually his bank asked him where the money is coming from, which put us in a difficult spot.

At the moment I'm fully stuck, we thought about crypto, but I have no idea how that works! I can sell crypto p2p on OKX and Binance, but my employer can't make a payment there he can make a payment to Coinbase though which I can transfer to Binance or OKX and use a p2p trade.

But, I'm sure there's a better alternative and that's why I am here! I would REALLY appreciate it if you provide me guidance.

DISCLAIMER: I live in Iraq, local software engineering jobs are rare around here, same goes with other IT specialties not just software engineers.

I'm 28, and I'm working as a fully-remote software engineer contractor for a US-based startup. This was my first ever software engineering job, and I started out as an intern, and now I'm a mid-level frontend engineer.

Work has been slow, and being a startup, I'm pretty sure funding will soon end, and I will have to find a different job. Getting a US-company to hire you is really difficult if you are from Iraq, I got my current employer through referals, and I am really grateful for that, but, I am not sure I can do it again.

However, given the prospective job availabilities in my country, and the high number of unemployed software developers, I'd say even finding a local job would be difficult.

So, I was wondering, would a pivot to Cybersecurity be worthwhile? Or should I instead focus on improving my frontend skills and marketing myself?

I've always been passionate about coding. I earned my BSc in Computer Science, thrived in university, but struggled to find software engineering opportunities in my developing country. Freelancing kept me afloat for a while (mostly website development), but the pay and project flow were terrible.

To make ends meet, I became a programming tutor. It wasn't my dream, but I was good at it. After two years, I finally landed a remote software engineering role at a US startup. It was challenging, well-paid, and a fantastic growth experience... until the startup failed, and I was laid off.

Now, finding another job feels impossible. The market's brutal, especially for someone like me – aiming for remote work from a developing country. Plus, all the buzz is about AI. I'm at a crossroads:

- Pivot to AI? Web development feels saturated, but is an AI shift the answer?

- Get my Master's? But what's the plan after the degree? The competition is fierce.

Honestly, I'm lost. Any guidance from you would be hugely appreciated.

As a Computer Science graduate with over a year of experience in Full Stack development, I recently faced an unexpected career transition. My previous employer, facing financial challenges, made the difficult decision to reduce their workforce, leading to my departure. With a background in both frontend and backend web development, I find myself navigating a job market that is increasingly competitive, particularly for remote positions which are my primary focus due to the scarcity of local development opportunities in my home country.

Given these circumstances, I'm contemplating a strategic pivot in my career path. Considering the saturation in the web development sector, I'm evaluating the potential benefits of diversifying my skill set into areas such as Android or iOS development. My goal is to enhance my employability in the remote job market. I'm seeking advice on whether such a shift would likely improve my chances of securing a remote position, and if so, which platform might offer the best prospects.

Thank you

I'm a solo freelance software engineer, and it's my 3'rd year working.

I am constantly improving my coding and testing skills and I can feel the improvements day after day.

However, one part that I am still facing trouble with, is project planning and actually executing that plan.

I can't decide whether I should start with a DB schema or jump right in to experimenting. I can't decide whether I should develop the frontend first or the backend. I can't decide what steps to take after I have an MVP.

I want to learn how other developers approach these tasks in their projects, maybe I could learn something new from everyone!

I recently started going to the office, I have an M1 Macbook Air 13" that I'm using and I started to notice that my eyes hurt when using dark themes, so, I'm now using light themes and bumping up the scaling of every app.

Even at home while working late at night, I still get eye problems on dark themes, and I still have to bump up the scaling a lot on a 31" 4K monitor, to the point of losing screen real estate.

Is it just me getting older, or am I just using a bad setup.

I'm a Software Engineer graduated in 2020 and worked as a tutor for 2 years and an actual software engineer for a 1 year 8 months.

My software engineering role was a frontend role, I was responsible for building out a startup's website from scratch following a Figma design, it was difficult as it was the first time I'm doing such a thing, but I pulled it off quite nicely. However, I was laid off soon after because the startup failed to get funding.

I am now looking to dabble in a different field, not web development, but, I can't decide between one of the below fields:

• iOS development

• Android development

• Game development

• anything else ...

My primary focus is to get a fully remote job as a software engineer. PS: I also love fields / technologies that are nice to solo devs

I've spent most of my teenage years tinkering around with programming, afterwards I spent 4 years pursuing my CS degree.

I worked as a tutor for 2 years, and a software engineer for 2 years.

Now, I got a job in a field that's not related to software engineering, let alone computer science, getting this job instead of a software engineering one has a lot of reasons and is not worth getting into to be honest.

Recently, I started to feel bad, really bad, because I was feeling like I've been slowly drifting away from software engineering, and all of the hard work I've made and the time I spent learning it is going to waste.

I want to start working on a side project but I no idea comes to mind!

Any tips to cope with this, what would of you done if you were in my place?

Offer 1: A 3 year government contract at fairly a low stress job, on-site, with a salary of $187.5

Pros: * After the 3 year contract comes to an end, I might get a 37 year contract, with a substantial salary increase. * After 40 years, I can safely retire. This is the only way to retire in my country.

Cons: - Terrible salary for the first 3 years even by my country's standards this is a joke, but, people choose this option for the years of experience not the salary.

Offer 2: A 2 year contract at a foreign Software Development agency, working as a frontend developer, fully remote, with a salary of $1200 (Monthly).

Pros: * Great salary!

Cons: * Stressful * No retirement option

I just heard my employer is laying me off in the upcoming month due to financial issues the company is going through.

I was expecting this, but I was not really expecting it this soon!

Now, I'm completely freaking out, because getting a job in my situation is difficult.

1. I'm from Iraq, and I currently live there. This is a deal breaker for almost 70%-80% of companies, because they don't want to work with an Iraqi for lots of reasons.

2. I have 3 years experience in the field, 2 of those years are in training not software engineering, 6 months paid internship, and 5 months as a Junior Software Engineer.

3. My current employers was US-based, and I was enjoying working with them. The work was fully remote ofcourse.

4. Software Engineering jobs are almost nonexistant in Iraq, even if I find one, the salaries here are barely enough to get by unfortunately.

5. I can't afford moving to a different country at the moment, and without a job I'll slowly eat into my savings.

6. Applying to jobs that give out Visa sponsorships also won't work, I don't think companies are going to go through the hassle to hire someone who is still a junior / mid-level engineer.

If you were in my position, what would you do? How would you approach this situation?