Getting back in after 10 years of absence

Huawei
DVrW86

Go to company page Huawei

DVrW86
Jun 10, 2019 7 Comments

I have a friend who, 10 years ago, had a successful career writing Windows drivers for some periphery hardware by a small company. He has a CS degree from an okay university. After the death of a very close family member, he quit his job because he couldn't focus and needed a break. That break turned into 10 years of living his surviving family helping them around the house. In that time he's done some website programming in Typescript and Javascript. Long story short, he wants to make a change and get back in...

I'm not looking for sympathy for him. I'm telling his story to gauge how acceptable it would be to explain his long hiatus, and how prospective employers might feel about it. 10 years is a long time.

Furthermore, I'm getting him set up with HackerRank and Leetcode to work on his interviewing skills early, and I advised him to learn Java and Python as those are the most popular languages, but he's willing to pick up anything that's in demand and willing to pay for online courses. Does anyone have any further advice on something in high demand that he can get back in relatively quickly?

Thank you in advance.

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TOP 7 Comments
  • LinkedIn
    fatLdySngs

    Go to company page LinkedIn

    fatLdySngs
    Linkedin offers an apprenticeship program for ppl w non-traditional backgrounds. Maybe worth looking into.
    Jun 15, 2019 0
  • IBM
    ut3d4

    Go to company page IBM

    ut3d4
    How old is he? I know people that started their cs career in their 30s and early 40s. Shouldn’t be too hard to shake the dust off and jump back in. The gap might scare recruiters away though but with enough persistence I think he’ll be fine.
    Jun 10, 2019 1
    • Huawei
      DVrW86

      Go to company page Huawei

      DVrW86
      OP
      He's early mid 40's. I didn't consider his age being an issue - thanks for bringing that up. Good to know all the data points.
      Jun 10, 2019
  • Uber
    bаg

    Go to company page Uber

    bаg
    Biggest hurdle will be systems design. When he last interviewed there were no systems design interviews. So he will need to understand how to code for a SaaS
    Jun 10, 2019 0
  • Amazon
    SeekingHLP

    Go to company page Amazon

    SeekingHLP
    Yep, consulting will help getting the grove back. Trying for FAANG might not be fruitful
    Jun 10, 2019 0
  • Perhaps start with consultant jobs or start ups that need anybody first.
    Jun 10, 2019 0