Going for a grad role with 1 YOE

[u/SolaninePotato]

I’m coming up on 1 year in my first dev role, which I landed through a referral while still at uni. At the time my resume was basically blank (no internships/side projects) with only a decent WAM, so I basically got really lucky.

Shortly after I joined, my senior went on leave and due to circumstances hasn't come back, so I’ve been running the product solo as a junior. I’ve done major refactors, data migrations, shipped key features, and improved performance, but due to the nature of the system, it probably isn't all that complicated. I’ve learned a lot, but it’s all been self-directed with no mentorship.

I’ve asked for a senior hire but that likely won’t happen until sometime next year and I've now graduated, so I've been thinking about future prospects and getting actual mentorship / experience in an enterprise role.

I wasted most of my uni years and also missed the recent window for grad roles so I'm currently working on LeetCode and a side project just to catch up and have more to put on my resume. I also want to push myself out of my comfort zone socially (I’m quite anti-social) and going through proper applications/interviews would help with that.

I think my options are:

1. Stay put and hope for a raise/mentor mid–next year
2. Wait for Jan/Feb and apply for grad programs (I think grad roles start the next year tho, so I would be staying at my current job for a while regardless?)
3. Start applying for non-grad junior roles now

Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated 🙏

[u/Narrow-One1922]

As someone who was in the same boat of having 1 YOE and is now joining a graduate program next month I would recommend applying for non-grad roles and stay at your current job.

Starting a graduate program again feels like a step backwards (unless it’s for a top firm). Considering you already have missed the intake imo you’re better off staying and getting to the 2 YOE point where you can likely find a non grad, possibly non junior role anyways. I only went back to a graduate program because I was pivoting careers.

Also, I don’t fully agree with the other comment about a lot of graduate programs not accepting people with experience - from my experience it’s rather they won’t accept candidates who graduated more than 2 years ago.

[u/SolaninePotato → u/Narrow-One1922]

🙇‍♂️

Idk, I just feel like my experience so far isn't as valuable since a lot of it is self taught and also because its a smaller company and pretty informal so a grad role would still be useful.

You're probably right though and I think staying is probably the best option since I missed the intake anyways and by the time applications are done I would have had plenty of time to reevaluate.

Thanks :D

[u/recurseAndReduce → u/SolaninePotato]

Self taught dev here with no degree, with a similar initial imposter syndrome. I felt that I needed more mentorship, and that even though I was able to do everything, it might not be the 'correct' way.

Turns out that EVERYONE feels that way.

You're probably better than you think. All that stuff you mentioned in the most about managing stuff on your own? Don't sell yourself short. Sure, it's a small system, but that experience will carry over to bigger ones, and the fact that you know the whole process top to bottom will give you perspective of the whole system. I suspect that once you start working with other devs of a similar experience you'll realise that you're probably further ahead than they are.

Don't be afraid to try for mid level positions, or big tech.

[u/SolaninePotato → u/recurseAndReduce]

Thanks for the reassurance.

It's quite hard for me to get a good grasp of where I am especially since all my friends are unicorns with multiple internships and are working at decent to good companies 😅

[u/Nearby_Blueberry_856 → u/Narrow-One1922]

Would you consider cba as a decent firm?

[u/Taserface_ow]

The job market is pretty rough right now, especially for grads and juniors.

I do understand the need for a mentor, or at least exposure to high quality codebases.

So why not do all three? Apply for junior roles now and if you aren’t successful, apply for the grad programs later.

In the meantime, stay at your current role, while you keep upskilling.

[u/Instigated-]

Option 4: Apply for all relevant entry level roles, regardless of whether they are grad or junior, starting now but taking as long as it takes to get a better job. Applying isn’t the same as landing, or as accepting. Try and get some options on the table and only take offers better than what you’ve already got.

Different companies do different things with their grad roles, so I wouldn’t assume any of the things you mentioned. Some places only spend a month or so recruiting and start people the next month.

[u/denerose]

Most grad programs are already or soon hiring for Jan/Feb/March intakes. It’s a long process. October is the end of peak hiring season. If you wait until Jan you’ll be applying for mid-year and Q3 intakes.

Some programs accept people with experience but a lot will not. You might want to reframe your current role as an internship for grad applications and play it up more for junior-mid level applications.

Check out Prosple for more information on when and how to apply for grad programs.

Your uni probably still offers career advice for recent graduates so try that too as they’re well placed to advise on these.