Entry Level Python Jobs

[Nitebirdz]

On Wed, Sep 02, 2009 at 08:31:20AM -0700, JonathanB wrote:
>
> I am a self-taught Python programmer with a liberal arts degree (Cross-
> cultural studies). I have been programming for several years now and
> would like to get a job as a python programmer. Unfortunately most of
> the job posts I have seen are for CS Majors or people with experience.
> 
> Is there a place I can look for job posts for entry level positions
> requiring no experience? For the hiring managers, if the job post said
> "CS Major" in the requirements, would you consider a liberal arts
> major at all?
> 

I have a liberal arts degree and have been working in the field for
years now, not as a programmer but as a high-level technical support
engineer (doing core dump analysis and the like).  While I opted for not
working as a programmer, other co-workers without a CompSci degree have
managed to do so without major problems.

It seems to me that most managers are willing to hire someone based on
his/her experience and proven knowledge, and not so much on the actual
degree you have.  Obviously, this means you will need to get some
experience before moving into actual programming.  

So, what would I recommend?  

First of all, make sure you get your foot in the door.  Apply for an
entry-level position at a company that works in the technology field,
even if it's doing technical support or writing documentation.  Once you
are in, work hard, show an interest in learning programming skills, talk
to the developers in the company, survey people around and try to figure
out where there is a need that can be met with a not-yet-written
application and put it together yourself, then show it to your manager
and try to convince him/her to deploy it as an official tool for your
team.  I've seen this work many times.  

Second, search around for open source projects that may look interesting
to you, download the source code, study it, subscribe to their
development mailing list, check out standing bugs and see if you can fix
them.  This is something you can definitely add to your resume.