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Where to start. Career, Life, Everything.

Deleted user
11 months ago

There are going to be a lot of questions here so sorry in advance if these questions are already answered elsewhere. If you could point me to them that would be really help you thanks. 

So some background. I have just graduated from university with a degree in Maths where I got a really good grade. I thought that if I focused on doing my degree well then that would be enough people would hire me because of that but it appears that my degree really didn't matter what I should have been doing is focusing getting internships, work experience and doing projects. It wasn't till after I had completed my degree that I realised I could be autistic there some red flags like the fact that I hadn't talked to anyone in my final two years of uni but it didn't click until after I have graduated. I am in the process of getting diagnosis but I have read that takes a long time to actually do. My strengths are I am very good at completing clear written assignments I have been given, I got 100% in the majority of my university assignments. I am very good at solving problems similar to ones that I have seen before, I ended up with getting at or above 70% in all of my university modules. If I am given a deadline to learn something I can. I enjoy learning things especially how to learn, which is probably one of the main reasons I did so well in uni, I created a structure for myself so I could do well. I also have the weird ability to sometimes understand there is a mistake in my work if I understand what is going on. Everything is interesting to me, I could become a software developer, data analyst or go into cyber security but I have trouble with talking to people so I think software development would probably be the best but I will still need to talk to people in it. The problem is what I want to do is constantly switching every five minutes so it is hard to just pick one and learn the skills I need to get a job because it seems employers want you to already be able to do the job before they hire you which I understand but also that does not help me much. I am also having trouble with figuring out the requirements to actually get the job because it hard to know what I need to be learning. I am also worried about ChatGPT and that will take away most of the entry level programming jobs given enough time so is it even worth still learning programming or should I focus on learning something else. I am not really bothered by what job I get, I like the book "So good they can't ignore you" by Cal Newport which says you should focus on doing things well rather then following your passion. At the end of the day if you can do something well you will eventually enjoy it given enough time but companies seem to think differently they want you to be passionate about the job rather then saying I will do it well anyway.

Sorry for the long ramble, as you can imagine I haven't really talked to people in a while and I don't really like asking for help but I figure if I want to live a good life then I am going to need to ask for help. So some questions for you. 

How do I become a software developer? - I know I need to learn a programming language, I know Python and I would say I am a competent beginner I am able to complete tasks I have been given as I look up what I don't know but I don't know how to bridge the gap to intermediate programming which I think I need to use projects for but the problem is I have trouble coming up with project ideas and then actually finishing the project. I probably just need to find ways to trick myself into doing it. I think I also need to learn Data Structures and algorithms but I am not exactly sure what I need to learn and how. I also need to have experience with git and github, so I can host my projects and showcase them. What sort of level should my projects be at before I start applying because I have a tendency to I either over do something or under do something there is no middle ground. Should I focus just on development or should I focus on development in a specific area? E.g Embedded software development seems extremely interesting to me but I have a maths degree not an electrical engineering degree so I am not sure how I would get started learning what I needed to learn. How much time should I expect it to take to learn what I need to learn? I read somewhere that in order to get a job being a developer you need to already see yourself as a software developer. Does that make sense? Is it also even possible to become an embedded software engineer with a maths degree and how do I showcase my skills? Should I focus on learning the skills and look for jobs where they ask for those skills and can showcase in projects that I actually have those skills. I have trouble getting started doing things and not getting distracted when I am doing it. I imagine breaking a problem down into solvable parts is helpful but the problem is actually doing them.

How do I get a part-time job whilst I upskill? I don't have any work experience as I kept putting it off and off until eventually my degree finished and I have no work experience. I don't really have much to put on my CV as the only thing I have really done is worked on my degree and done nothing else. Does it matter? How do I even do an interview? Why do you want this job? Because I want a job not really the best answer. What sort of part-time work should I look into doing, as I imagine customer service is just going to go badly? I honestly have no idea. 

Most of the resources out there seem tailored to people with a diagnosis, which I understand why, but are there any resources tailored to undiagnosed people?

How do I get social skills, as currently my social skills are at 0 and I don't know how to move the marker? How do I actually make friends? There is a lot of general information out there but not much specific information. 

Sorry for all of the questions, there are probably answers out there already to all of them, the problem is I just don't where and what exactly is relevant to me. There is both too much information and not enough information. So I figured I should just ask them all in one place. There are probably more questions that I just haven't though of yet but these should be the main ones. Sorry, if anything I say is rude, I tend to either get stuck in my own head for days overthinking problems or just blurt out a response where I come across as rude but I don't know how to fix this. I am new to all of this and am trying to figure everything out.

Thank you to anyone who answers. Thank you for your time and I hope you have a great day.

Parents
  • 11 months ago

    Hi, Autonomistic has given you a great answer so I’ll just concentrate on a couple of your points.

    I’m older than you, but like you did well at university academically but didn’t speak to anyone. But I have had a very successful career in IT.

    So, firstly have you applied for any graduate schemes at big and medium sized companies? They will take on people from a wide range of backgrounds and train them in the necessary IT skills. The company I work for takes on graduates and apprentices and exposes them to a range of different jobs so they can find what works for them - software development, cyber, infrastructure, data even project management or sales - and gives them the appropriate training.

    This is how I got my first proper job. I missed the deadline the year I left uni and applied for a huge number of jobs (~150). But I managed to get a graduate position for the following year’s intake, so it’s never too late.

    So I would start applying to as many companies as I can if I were you. While you’re doing that there are lots of online resources, many free, which you can use to skill up or figure out if you’re interested in specific roles. I’m happy to discuss those further if you want.

    As for social skills, I’m still not brilliant in that regard but I am massively better than when I left university. Working with other people is great training to bring you out of your shell and develop strategies and scripts for common social situations. 

    I struggled with interviews but managed to get reasonably good at them through practice - another side effect of applying for lots of jobs. This is probably true of neurotypicals too - it’s just a skill you need to practice.

    You’re at a great point in your life with so much potential and possibility ahead of you. If there’s anything else we can you with please just ask.

  • 11 months ago in reply to Amerantin (former member)

    Hi thank you for your help, how do you deal with rejection? What should I upskill in? Should I create software projects or should I do certifications? Did you get a part-time job while you were looking? What did you put on your CV? Did you take social skills courses? What companies should I look at, all of them even if I am not really interested in them? Is it just a numbers game? Is there something I should focus on specifically that will have the most impact with getting a job? Have you got any tips for preparing for interviews in the meantime? Did you have any work experience? Should I emphasize my academics in my CV saying that I am good at learning? Sorry for all of the questions, I will probably think of much much more. You are amazing.

Reply
  • 11 months ago in reply to Amerantin (former member)

    Hi thank you for your help, how do you deal with rejection? What should I upskill in? Should I create software projects or should I do certifications? Did you get a part-time job while you were looking? What did you put on your CV? Did you take social skills courses? What companies should I look at, all of them even if I am not really interested in them? Is it just a numbers game? Is there something I should focus on specifically that will have the most impact with getting a job? Have you got any tips for preparing for interviews in the meantime? Did you have any work experience? Should I emphasize my academics in my CV saying that I am good at learning? Sorry for all of the questions, I will probably think of much much more. You are amazing.

Children
  • 11 months ago in reply to Deleted user

    Dealing with rejection:

    • I had my ups and downs to be honest. Sometimes it’s particularly hard when a job you really want falls through. Over time I began to approach it as a project, seek feedback when I was rejected and try to learn from it and improve my CV, interview approach and other communications.

    Upskilling/certifications:

    • You’ll need to decide for yourself what interests you, you can be good at and that you can be happy doing. In IT the hot skills just now are cloud infrastructure, AI, data science and cyber. Software development is always a staple skill that earns good money, especially if you can get specific domain experience eg financial services. There are lots of free high quality trainings on YouTube and Coursera. Perhaps you could investigate these and see which interest you? With your background you may find AI or data science a good match

    Part-time jobs:

    • I had a part time job in retail while I was at university. I hated it but it did mean I could demonstrate willingness to work and experience of working environment on my CV.

    What did you put on your CV?

    • My original CV focussed on my academic experience - school and university. I didn’t feel any embarrassment about that, what else would you expect from someone looking for their first “proper” job? It sounds like you can make a really strong story around your academic experience - particularly if you go into a more mathematical job such as data science.

    Did you take social skills courses?

    • No, but I really wish I’d had the opportunity to. I had a horrible time at university - I went to lectures, tutorials and labs alone. I ate my lunch alone. I studied alone. I was like an invisible ghost amongst the “real” people. I really needed help then but just didn’t know what to do.

    What companies should I look at, all of them even if I am not really interested in them?

    • My university careers service provided loads of information about companies that employ graduates. So many companies I would never have heard of otherwise. My first job was on the graduate scheme of a well known financial company. It wasn’t really what I wanted but it got me good experience in the field I had studied for and their training included things like presentation skills and team working. I found that stressful but it was invaluable to my personal development.  But I moved on to a better job after less than two years. It’s so much easier once you have real experience on your CV.

    Is it just a numbers game?

    • It probably was for me. I did leave university in the middle of a deep recession though.

    Prepping for interviews:

    • Does your university careers service provide any interview training? Mine did. My local job centre also had a scheme for graduates which included giving us dummy interviews as practice. In my case I think I just needed to do enough interviews to relax a bit. I was very anxious at first.

    Should I emphasize my academics in my CV saying that I am good at learning?

    • Absolutely.  This is the main experience and evidence you have and that’s absolutely fine at this stage of your career. You could also tailor the CV to the roles you apply for. For example if data science is an interest there should be lots of good relevant stuff from your maths degree. If you’re going for a software development job then highlight any work you did that involved programming.