Finally, I got a job...
As those close to me would know, my interest in software has been going on since around March 2020. Initially, my intention wasn't to reach a software career. I just wanted to learn coding to do something for my stillborn project Lilyum, and then I became enthusiastic about it. Around November 2021, when I realized that a career in Psychology was almost impossible, or even if possible, wouldn't give me what I wanted, I started thinking about a career in software. Of course, before this, I had started applying to Ruby job postings since September, but my intention wasn't serious—I could only understand two months later that software would be my only way out in this unemployment environment. Because the only job I could find in psychology was bizarre internships where I worked like a donkey and paid money on top of it. If I'm paying money to work at a job, then being a customer there is rewarded, not working. By wanting to work in this field, I'm creating demand, not supply. In short, what this strange situation is trying to say is "There are too many psychologists."
Now, telling it this way makes it sound like I chose software purely for money. It's true to some extent, but to be honest, as someone with equal weight scores, there weren't many options that would both make money and interest me. I've been observing people for a very long time and making what I consider deep interpretations, but I'm more of a sociology person. So I had chosen psychology for money from the very beginning. I'm not unhappy that I studied psychology; I had quite an enjoyable and mind-opening four years, to be honest.
My interest in software was more dominant than my interest in psychology from the core. But since I never looked at it as a serious job, all the technologies I was interested in were more intriguing, enjoyable-to-use technologies, but finding jobs with them was somewhat difficult, especially in Turkey. I didn't care about finding a job; I just thought about having fun. Along with this, I turned to languages I found interesting like Ruby, Rust, Crystal. I'm sure a significant portion of those reading this have never heard of these languages.
Naturally, when I started looking for jobs, I fell into a very strange situation. Despite its popularity abroad, when I look at Ruby job postings in Turkey, there's nothing except a few postings from companies described as "Headhunters." I keep applying and applying, but nobody responds. Meanwhile, there are tons of C#, Java, Node.js, Go postings, but I can't bring myself to these topics at all. I look a bit, try to understand, because I have no hope from Ruby. Meanwhile, one or two companies that quite excited me come up. Especially with one, it seemed like it would work out, but it didn't happen at the last minute. It's such a situation that nobody is to blame, but it was still very demoralizing.
And of course, there's my application to bootcamps. I apply to every bootcamp that the organization called Patika.dev publishes, trying to get something. What interesting bootcamps they are too. For the C# bootcamp organized for A101, they ask silly questions like "Why do you want to work with this company?", "What aspects of this company interest you?" How should I know, maybe the snacks sold at A101 are better than those at Bim.
Just when I was at the stage of going crazy thinking "Why won't they hire me," I got hired. And from a company where I would say "They definitely won't hire me." Ruby's eccentric position in Turkey worked in my favor this time, because there weren't many Ruby programmers applying to the company. After proving myself in interviews and delivering a decent project, I started working at a company called Puki. There's quite a friendly atmosphere for now, let's see how it goes.
Thus, my Ruby On Rails adventure that started on June 11, 2021, at Lemon Tree in Antalya Kaleiçi, finally turned into a career on March 16, 2022, at Starbucks on Kıbrıs Şehitleri Street in İzmir.
I feel strange. But having acquired a job, earning a not-bad salary has really restored my self-confidence. I mean, being able to drink a coffee with peace of mind without thinking "There go the pennies again" is truly a great blessing.