NewStats: 3,261,242 , 8,173,482 topics. Date: Wednesday, 28 May 2025 at 04:14 PM 663a19

I've been trying to break into the tech industry for a while now, focusing on frontend development. So far, the journey has been anything but easy. I managed to land an internship with a startup at some point, but it was short-lived due to financial challenges the company faced.

Every day, I scour LinkedIn and Nigerian job platforms, but tech jobs are scarce. Most openings I find were posted weeks ago, and for the few fresh ones, the number of applicants skyrockets almost immediately, making it nearly impossible to stand out.

Frustrated, I decided to explore foreign opportunities, especially remote roles. But that path seems even tougher—most employers prioritize candidates who are domiciled in their countries. The competition is simply on another level.

Now, as 2025 approaches, I find myself at a crossroads. I want to ask experienced tech professionals and those who've navigated similar struggles:

Is it worth pushing forward and improving my skills to stay in the frontend path?
Are there specific strategies or skills that can help me stand out in such a competitive space?
Or, should I consider pivoting to another field entirely?
Your insights would mean a lot to me. For those who've been in my shoes, how did you break through? What advice can you share for someone trying to find their footing in tech?
cc gtguru cc tensazagetsu cc sheriman

It’s like that as a beginner. You just need to be more patient and more intensive with your job search. I when I got into the field back in 2020 it wasn’t also easy to get a job. I was applying everyday. I would set LinkedIn to worldwide and apply to any job I come across. I ed forums like Reddit too and would chip in on discussions and that’s how I found my first gig.

I would advise that you keep on learning. Learn more advanced front end stuff and get good at them like web animations and stuff like that then continue to apply. Also work on your interview skills so you don’t blow up any little opportunity you have.

Companies now day do shakara for third worlders except you're good af like George hotz


Better start freelance work now before men go too am like sardine


Or


Build something and profit mustn't be a startup

2019 - I built a site for pirating Korean movies
No ads , nothing hosted on my home server


2022 - I sold the site for unknown amount of BTC

Most of my work na volunteer based, work for free, na fellow progeammera day refer me to their bosses for contract work

tensazangetsu20:
It’s like that as a beginner. You just need to be more patient and more intensive with your job search. I when I got into the field back in 2020 it wasn’t also easy to get a job. I was applying everyday. I would set LinkedIn to worldwide and apply to any job I come across. I ed forums like Reddit too and would chip in on discussions and that’s how I found my first gig.

I would advise that you keep on learning. Learn more advanced front end stuff and get good at them like web animations and stuff like that then continue to apply. Also work on your interview skills so you don’t blow up any little opportunity you have.

Aside animations which other things, I'm well aware of TS, nextJS, shadCN thinking of picking up graphQL too so many on my mind tho.

Suicideboy:


Companies now day do shakara for third worlders except you're good af like George hotz


Better start freelance work now before men go too am like sardine


Or


Build something and profit mustn't be a startup

2019 - I built a site for pirating Korean movies
No ads , nothing hosted on my home server


2022 - I sold the site for unknown amount of BTC

Most of my work na volunteer based, work for free, na fellow progeammera day refer me to their bosses for contract work

Freelance is a different story compared to even applying to jobs, a lot of folks on those freelance websites. As for volunteering I am considering that too. It's just a way to myself. Thanks

Adonisty:

Aside animations which other things, I'm well aware of TS, nextJS, shadCN thinking of picking up graphQL too so many on my mind tho.

Since you already in front end I will focus on getting very good at advanced animations. Like very good at those. Learn to build beautiful creative websites and maybe I will go further and learn stuff like web assembly. A lot of web3 companies are looking for creative frontend developers and it’s not something that’s readily available. I will also focus on making my interview skills sharp. Start practicing data structures and algorithms now. Don’t wait until the next interview to do so.

Check out console.algora.io

It's a bounty platform where devs are paid contributing to open source projects - mostly startup using the opensource business model

You can get some pay there while still looking for full-time job if you don't want to be a full-time freelancer/bounty hunter

Anytime I hear stories of dev looking for jobs what comes to my mind is how has the dev been financing himself/herself

tensazangetsu20:


Since you already in front end I will focus on getting very good at advanced animations. Like very good at those. Learn to build beautiful creative websites and maybe I will go further and learn stuff like web assembly. A lot of web3 companies are looking for creative frontend developers and it’s not something that’s readily available. I will also focus on making my interview skills sharp. Start practicing data structures and algorithms now. Don’t wait until the next interview to do so.

For someone focused on backend what advice do have

RonuMiscreant:

For someone focused on backend what advice do have

No idea to be honest. I have never been a backend developer.

RonuMiscreant:

For someone focused on backend what advice do have

API and Building Middlewares for Integration to 3rd Party platform.

tensazangetsu20:


No idea to be honest. I have never been a backend developer.

[qyuote author=qtguru post=133338386]

API and Building Middlewares for Integration to 3rd Party platform. [/quote]
Grazie

RonuMiscreant:

For someone focused on backend what advice do have

There are lots of terminologies in backend they might scare you but when you understand that the most important thing in backend is 'problem solving' , then you'd see it's not as hard as it seem.

Think of backend as word problem we did in secondary school but rather than converting words to mathematics, you are converting them to code.

Imagine you have to share N100k between 5 people. How would they receive it? they all probably need an . Database. How would they access the funds in the database? Authentication. How would others not get into those s? Authorizations. How would you share the money? APIs.

Pick a language, learn it, learn SQL too. Understand how to create tables, do s, foreign, primary and owner keys etc. Then learn the most popular framework of that language. Framework will speed up your knowledge and productivity, they also make you very employable.

Knowing backend takes times. But one way to cut corners that I recommend is to do leetcode easy problems. See all those if/else logics that may mesmerize others, you'd write those on a fly.

Lastly, read books. You may not even understand the content at first but don't give up, just keep at it. It will make sense in the future.

tensazangetsu20:


Since you already in front end I will focus on getting very good at advanced animations. Like very good at those. Learn to build beautiful creative websites and maybe I will go further and learn stuff like web assembly. A lot of web3 companies are looking for creative frontend developers and it’s not something that’s readily available. I will also focus on making my interview skills sharp. Start practicing data structures and algorithms now. Don’t wait until the next interview to do so.

This information is also helpful to me

Karleb:


There are lots of terminologies in backend they might scare you but when you understand that the most important thing in backend is 'problem solving' , then you'd see it's not as hard as it seem.

Think of backend as word problem we did in secondary school but rather than converting words to mathematics, you are converting them to code.

Imagine you have to share N100k between 5 people. How would they receive it? they all probably need an . Database. How would they access the funds in the database? Authentication. How would others not get into those s? Authorizations. How would you share the money? APIs.

Pick a language, learn it, learn SQL too. Understand how to create tables, do s, foreign, primary and owner keys etc. Then learn the most popular framework of that language. Framework will speed up your knowledge and productivity, they also make you very employable.

Knowing backend takes times. But one way to cut corners that I recommend is to do leetcode easy problems. See all those if/else logics that may mesmerize others, you'd write those on a fly.

Lastly, read books. You may not even understand the content at first but don't give up, just keep at it. It will make sense in the future.

preciouswoman66:
Check out console.algora.io

It's a bounty platform where devs are paid contributing to open source projects - mostly startup using the opensource business model

You can get some pay there while still looking for full-time job if you don't want to be a full-time freelancer/bounty hunter

Anytime I hear stories of dev looking for jobs what comes to my mind is how has the dev been financing himself/herself

Would you mind showing me around this site?

Profwriter:



Would you mind showing me around this site?

Hi, I haven't been on nairaland for some time now. I don't really think there's much to show around

Just watch youtube video about the platform to understand how it works and that's it. The rest needed to know are technical skilsl like git and github, attention to details concerning the github issue you want to work on, ability to understand and jump into an unknown codebase at fast pace, and others

Adonisty:
I've been trying to break into the tech industry for a while now, focusing on frontend development. So far, the journey has been anything but easy. I managed to land an internship with a startup at some point, but it was short-lived due to financial challenges the company faced.

Every day, I scour LinkedIn and Nigerian job platforms, but tech jobs are scarce. Most openings I find were posted weeks ago, and for the few fresh ones, the number of applicants skyrockets almost immediately, making it nearly impossible to stand out.

Frustrated, I decided to explore foreign opportunities, especially remote roles. But that path seems even tougher—most employers prioritize candidates who are domiciled in their countries. The competition is simply on another level.

Now, as 2025 approaches, I find myself at a crossroads. I want to ask experienced tech professionals and those who've navigated similar struggles:

Is it worth pushing forward and improving my skills to stay in the frontend path?
Are there specific strategies or skills that can help me stand out in such a competitive space?
Or, should I consider pivoting to another field entirely?
Your insights would mean a lot to me. For those who've been in my shoes, how did you break through? What advice can you share for someone trying to find their footing in tech?
cc gtguru cc tensazagetsu cc sheriman

Learn MERN. You will be in demand

Kotlin

I've been trying to break into the tech industry for a while now, focusing on frontend development. So far, the journey has been anything but easy. I managed to land an internship with a startup at some point, but it was short-lived due to financial challenges the company faced.

Every day, I scour LinkedIn and Nigerian job platforms, but tech jobs are scarce. Most openings I find were posted weeks ago, and for the few fresh ones, the number of applicants skyrockets almost immediately, making it nearly impossible to stand out.

Frustrated, I decided to explore foreign opportunities, especially remote roles. But that path seems even tougher—most employers prioritize candidates who are domiciled in their countries. The competition is simply on another level.

Now, as 2025 approaches, I find myself at a crossroads. I want to ask experienced tech professionals and those who've navigated similar struggles:

Is it worth pushing forward and improving my skills to stay in the frontend path?
Are there specific strategies or skills that can help me stand out in such a competitive space?
Or, should I consider pivoting to another field entirely?
Your insights would mean a lot to me. For those who've been in my shoes, how did you break through? What advice can you share for someone trying to find their footing in tech?

Sheriman:
I've been trying to break into the tech industry for a while now, focusing on frontend development. So far, the journey has been anything but easy. I managed to land an internship with a startup at some point, but it was short-lived due to financial challenges the company faced.

Every day, I scour LinkedIn and Nigerian job platforms, but tech jobs are scarce. Most openings I find were posted weeks ago, and for the few fresh ones, the number of applicants skyrockets almost immediately, making it nearly impossible to stand out.

Frustrated, I decided to explore foreign opportunities, especially remote roles. But that path seems even tougher—most employers prioritize candidates who are domiciled in their countries. The competition is simply on another level.

Now, as 2025 approaches, I find myself at a crossroads. I want to ask experienced tech professionals and those who've navigated similar struggles:

Is it worth pushing forward and improving my skills to stay in the frontend path?
Are there specific strategies or skills that can help me stand out in such a competitive space?
Or, should I consider pivoting to another field entirely?
Your insights would mean a lot to me. For those who've been in my shoes, how did you break through? What advice can you share for someone trying to find their footing in tech?

Are you mocking me?

Sheriman:
Kotlin

Android development, what of cross platform with reactnative