But I didn’t realize how difficult that would be—mainly because I live in Iraq, where there’s very little demand for software developers. And when a job does open up, the competition is fierce.
After graduating in 2020, I couldn’t find a job for about six months. Eventually, I took a job as a trainer instead of a developer just to pay the bills. During that time, I kept applying to every local and remote opportunity I could find.
After two years as a trainer, and out of sheer luck, I landed a paid internship as a full-stack developer. It was borderline slave labor, but I needed the experience. The pay wasn’t bad considering the living costs here. The role was fully remote and contract-based for a U.S. startup.
When the internship ended, they offered me a junior full-stack role—again contract-based for six months. But then the startup failed to secure funding, and I was let go.
I was unemployed again for six months until someone I used to work with reached out. They were starting a new company and offered me a frontend position. I worked as the only frontend engineer for eight months. It was another contract gig since they couldn’t legally hire someone from Iraq. The workload was heavy, but I delivered.
Then, once again, the startup failed to get funding and I was let go.
Now I’m working part-time in a government job that has nothing to do with coding. I can’t seem to find any local developer roles or remote contracts anymore. I’ve started to question whether I’m even cut out for a career in software development.
Should I keep looking for a job? Pursue a master’s degree? Switch to a different field entirely? What would you do if you were in my shoes? What does your career path look like?
bravesoul2•6mo ago
OulaX•6mo ago