Programming jobs in NYC

Spawnbroker

Hey everyone, so I just graduated with a bachelor's degree in Computer Science. I had a very nice job lined up in Maryland, but it ended up falling through for whatever reason. So I'd like to focus my search primarily in the New York City area again, mainly because my girlfriend loves her job. I've been using Dice and Monster, and I'm probably going to call a recruiter or two tomorrow. Does anyone have any experience looking for entry level programming positions in NYC, or common websites I should definitely take a look at? I live about an hour North of the city, so travel to the city is not out of the question, it just gets a bit expensive. Not sure if it matters, but my experience is mainly with Java and MySQL backend development, and I'm teaching myself HTML and Javascript from a book I recently bought.

Thanks for the help!

Deebaser

Talk to Robert Half (your paycheck)

They can set you up with devjobs to fill out that entry level ressie.

admanb

Stack Overflow Job Board
Joel on Software Job Board (this may be a copy of Stack Overflow's board but I can't tell)
37 Signals Job Board
Y Comb Jobs

Not sure what's big in tech out east, but you might also poke at learning some .NET, Ruby on Rails/Django, or iPhone/Android dev (iPhone is better, money wise, but if you're not invested in iOS it's tough to get into.)

supabeast

Programming gigs are abundant in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and New Jersey. If you can learn to do app/game development work on iOS or Android there’s plenty of money to be made working with design and marketing firms. If you can code back end stuff that financial institutions need you can do quite well, especially if you can work your way into a hedge fund. If you don’t have the funds to hang around in the city then get in touch with every recruiter you can and get them to find work for you.

Spawnbroker

Deebaser wrote: »

Talk to Robert Half (your paycheck)

They can set you up with devjobs to fill out that entry level ressie.

I've heard a lot of negative things about Robert Half, I'm not sure if I want to contact them.

I'm willing to do app development on iOS or Android, but my main problem is I just have no experience in those areas. I haven't seen any companies willing to hire entry level for those positions, and all of my internships were focused on Java / MySQL. I think I'll just stick with what I'm good at unless I run into someone willing to train me on those.

Deebaser

Spawnbroker wrote: »

Deebaser wrote: »

Talk to Robert Half (your paycheck)

They can set you up with devjobs to fill out that entry level ressie.

I've heard a lot of negative things about Robert Half, I'm not sure if I want to contact them.

They're mostly true. You should still contact them. As shitty as they are, you're limiting your opportunities if you don't deal with one of the biggest recruiters in the area.

Dude on my team came over from RH as a temp-2-perm right out of college.

Mike Danger

Tumblr, Meetup, and Foursquare are all big names who have offices in NYC that are hiring (and never seem to turn up in job boards for whatever reason)

minirhyder

There's TONS of startups in NYC that are usually looking for developers of some sort.
Check out some here: http://nycstartupjobfair.com/jobs/

Bowen

Deebaser wrote: »

Spawnbroker wrote: »

Deebaser wrote: »

Talk to Robert Half (your paycheck)

They can set you up with devjobs to fill out that entry level ressie.

I've heard a lot of negative things about Robert Half, I'm not sure if I want to contact them.

They're mostly true. You should still contact them. As shitty as they are, you're limiting your opportunities if you don't deal with one of the biggest recruiters in the area.

Dude on my team came over from RH as a temp-2-perm right out of college.

If you use them you better learn to network yourself because you don't want to rely on them longer than a 3 month period.

That's how people who should be earning $50 an hour earn $20.

supabeast

Spawnbroker wrote: »

I think I'll just stick with what I'm good at unless I run into someone willing to train me on those.

Very few NYC employers will train you in much of anything. New York employers still tend to treat employees as serfs and don’t want to waste money training someone who will then need a raise to be retained.

If you need to connect with recruiters, post your resume on Dice.com. That’s where the tech recruiters look for people.

(and never seem to turn up in job boards for whatever reason)

Many tech employers stopped bothering with job boards because 999 of every 1,000 resumes they get are garbage.

Spawnbroker

It's very frustrating that most places require 3+ years of experience in what I want to do, entry level just doesn't seem to exist. I either have to lie outright, or hope that my four (!) internships are good enough and that they are willing to take a chance on me. I can't imagine what someone with no work experience has to deal with.

Edit: I don't mean to be a downer, there's a lot of great advice in this thread. I plan on sending applications for at least 5-6 hours every workday until I land a job, so hopefully I'll have one before I have to start paying loans.

lunchbox12682

I'll throw out the you should keep your linkedin profile up to date as well. There is a lot of crap there, but I have also gotten some interviews and I know that some good size companies recruit through there. Given my specialty is embedded programming, so I cannot vouch for other programming.

supabeast

Apply anyway. Corporate jobs are often posted by HR staff who write all job postings using templates made for non-computer jobs. It’s common to see job postings requiring more years of experience with a platform than the platform has existed. In the meanwhile you need to build yourself a portfolio of self-initiated projects. This shows that you have a strong work ethic, like learning (and self teaching), and are interested in programming as more than just a way to pay the bills.

ceres

Robert Half is not only huge, they have about a hundred companies that if you go to their website you'll see "A Robert Half Company" in smaller print under the logo. I've applied for jobs in 3 completely different fields over the past 10 years, and they've shown up in all three. They are quite difficult to avoid, and yes, if you do take a short-term contract through them be prepared to do all the footwork all over again at the end of it to find a new job, because they won't lift a finger to place you again. They're pretty miserable to work with as a job-seeker, but they're very pervasive and it's hard to avoid them and still see everything that's out there.

Bowen

Also, keep in mind, programming. A great way to get experience (3 years worth) is to contribute to open source projects in your free time. Find something you think you could contribute to or improve on, and improve on it. Or start your own.

Deebaser

ceres wrote: »

Robert Half is not only huge, they have about a hundred companies that if you go to their website you'll see "A Robert Half Company" in smaller print under the logo. I've applied for jobs in 3 completely different fields over the past 10 years, and they've shown up in all three. They are quite difficult to avoid, and yes, if you do take a short-term contract through them be prepared to do all the footwork all over again at the end of it to find a new job, because they won't lift a finger to place you again. They're pretty miserable to work with as a job-seeker, but they're very pervasive and it's hard to avoid them and still see everything that's out there.

Yeah, I can't speak to their short-term contract work, but they placed me at my last IS job and three of the people on my team currently. I get a 10 minute phone call every quarter or so from my recruiter catching up and asking about my general happiness level.

If I could sum up the pro-advice

1. Apply everywhere. If you don't have the experience required apply anyway. It's not like they're going to call you up to tell you you're a dick for wasting their time.

2. Talk to tech recruiters. Recruiters are shitheels, but a lot of companies have lazy HR departments that lean heavily on them.

3. I'd apply to the jobs on the boards listed, but I wouldn't actually go to the start up job fair. They had it a few times at my building and those fuckers lined up outside ruined my cigarette breaks with their sad looks of desperation and hopelessness.

Spawnbroker

Yeah, I'm taking the "apply everywhere" advice, definitely. I almost feel like I'm spamming with my yahoo account, sending out so many emails a day that pretty much say the same thing.

Edit: I found a great website, Made in NYC. A few of the companies are outdated, but it's a pretty huge list. I've been working my way down it the past day or so, it has a lot of tech jobs scattered in there.

Jimmy King

NYC is awesome for dev jobs. Your Java background should be good just about anywhere. I know there are a lot of Django and RoR jobs up there because that's what I'm searching for an 90% of the jobs I find are in NYC or SF.

Spawnbroker

Hey everyone, thanks for the advice. After a few days of applying to jobs pretty much 9-5, I have four phone interviews and two face-to-face interviews for junior developer positions in the next few days. Things are looking up, wooo!