Software Developer Entry Level 10 Easy Steps for Working Abroad in 2025

OK, real talk time, the job hunt is rough out there. There is many people who’ve sent out their resume to what feels like every tech company on the planet and still haven’t heard back from anyone. It’s like being stuck outside the world’s most exclusive nightclub while everyone else seems to have VIP passes.

You know what’s wild though? Companies are literally begging for good junior developers right now. They want fresh blood, people who aren’t gonna roll their eyes when someone suggests trying a new framework or approach. The problem isn’t that there aren’t enough jobs – it’s that most people don’t know how to make themselves stand out.

So what is software developer entry level success actually about? Spoiler alert: it’s not just about being able to code (though yeah, that’s kinda important). It’s more like learning the unwritten rules of this whole game we’re playing.

Look, I’ve been where you are, and I’ve helped a bunch of people land their first developer jobs. In this guide, I’m gonna share the stuff that actually works – not the generic advice you’ll find everywhere else. We’re talking resume tricks that’ll get you past those annoying automated filters, skills that make hiring managers actually excited, portfolio projects that don’t suck, networking that doesn’t feel like you’re selling your soul, and job search strategies for landing that first job software developer role you’ve been stressing about.

Ready to stop being invisible and start getting interviews? Let’s figure this out together.

1. Making a Resume That Doesn’t Suck (for Software Developer Entry Level)

Listen, your resume is basically your Tinder profile for jobs – you’ve got like 10 seconds to make someone swipe right on you. The good news? Most people’s resumes are absolutely awful, so you don’t need to be perfect, just better than terrible.

Make It Look Like a Human Made It

Let’s start with the basics, making sure your resume doesn’t look like it was thrown together by a drunk intern:

Keep everything the same – I mean everything. Same spacing, same bullet points, same fonts. I know it sounds super nitpicky, but trust me, when a recruiter sees inconsistent formatting, their brain immediately thinks “this person doesn’t care about details” – and details matter in coding.

One page is your best friend – Look, I get it. You want to list every single project you’ve ever breathed on. But here’s the brutal truth: recruiters literally spend about 6 seconds looking at your resume the first time. Six! Make those seconds count by keeping it short and sweet.

Boring is beautiful – Save those fancy graphics and creative layouts for your personal website. Your resume needs to play nice with those robot screening systems (ATS) that companies use. Pretty colors and graphics just confuse the robots, and confused robots don’t pass your resume along to humans.

PDF or bust – Seriously, don’t send Word docs. They look different on everyone’s computer, and nobody wants to deal with formatting issues. PDFs keep everything looking exactly how you want it.

Actually Writing Stuff That Matters

Now for the fun part – what you actually put on this thing:

Customize everything – Yeah, I know it’s a pain in the butt. But sending the same resume for a Python job and a JavaScript job is like showing up to a metal concert in a tuxedo. Take 10 minutes to pull keywords from the job posting and sprinkle them into your resume naturally.

Ditch the boring job descriptions – Instead of “Responsible for writing code” (which tells me absolutely nothing), try “Built a web app that cut data entry time by 40%.” See how much better that sounds? Numbers are magic – use them everywhere you can.

Put your tech skills up front – Don’t make recruiters hunt for this stuff. List your programming languages, frameworks, tools, and databases near the top. It helps the screening robots and gives humans a quick snapshot of what you can do.

Write a summary that doesn’t suck – This is your elevator pitch in 2-3 lines. Tell people who you are and what you want. Skip the fluff about being a “motivated self-starter” – everyone says that.

Cut the random stuff – Nobody cares that you were student council treasurer or that you’re proficient in Microsoft Word. It’s 2025 – we assume you can use basic software. Focus on what’s actually relevant to coding.

2. Building Skills and Projects That Actually Impress People

This is where you can really blow everyone else out of the water. While half your graduating class is still building their tenth calculator app, you’re gonna create stuff that makes people stop and say “damn, how’d they figure that out?”

Don’t Try to Learn Everything (Please)

The software world is massive, and trying to be decent at everything is basically guaranteeing you’ll be mediocre at everything. Pick your battles:

The hot stuff right now: AI and machine learning are obviously huge (everyone’s talking about it), blockchain is still pretty lucrative, AR/VR is finally getting interesting, cybersecurity pays really well, and gaming is always fun if you’re into that. These areas are growing faster than companies can hire people.

Languages that actually matter: Python is literally everywhere , data science, web backends, automation scripts, you name it. JavaScript runs the entire internet at this point. Java keeps the business world running. And Go is becoming the cool kid for building scalable backend stuff. Pick one or two and get really good at them instead of being kinda-sorta-maybe familiar with fifteen languages.

Make Your Online Presence Not Suck

Your GitHub is basically your professional portfolio now, so let’s make it look like you actually know what you’re doing:

GitHub isn’t just for storing code – Pin your best stuff, write README files that actually explain what your project does and how to run it, and commit code regularly. Future employers will definitely stalk your GitHub, so make it worth looking at.

Branch out a bit – If you’re into data stuff, get on Kaggle and participate in competitions. Build a personal website with live demos if you can. The goal is making it super easy for people to see your work and maybe even try it out.

Real projects beat homework every time – That freelance website you built for your cousin’s food truck? Way more impressive than your database class final project. Hackathon projects, open-source contributions, anything that wasn’t assigned to you is gold.

Show you can play well with others – Did you organize any coding events? Win a hackathon with a team? Contribute to someone else’s open source project? This stuff proves you’re not just a solo coding hermit.

Code every day, seriously – Even if it’s just 30 minutes. The magic number people throw around is 1,300+ hours to get competent enough for entry-level jobs. GitHub’s contribution graph becomes weirdly addictive once you get into the habit.

3. Actually Getting Better at This Stuff (And Finding a Job)

Getting that first developer job isn’t just about what you know – it’s about proving you know it and being persistent enough to actually get hired.

Certificates That Don’t Feel Like a Waste of Time

OK, certificates aren’t gonna magically get you hired, but they can definitely help you stand out when you’re competing with 200 other new grads:

AWS Certified Developer – Cloud stuff is huge right now, and AWS basically runs half the internet. This shows you can actually deploy things, not just build them on your laptop.

Microsoft Azure certs – The other half of the cloud world. If you want to work at big corporations, Azure knowledge is like having a golden ticket.

Oracle Java Certification – If you’re going the Java route, this carries some serious weight in the business world. It’s not easy, but it’s worth it.

Scrum Alliance CSD – This shows you understand how modern dev teams actually work. Most companies use agile something-or-other, so this knowledge is immediately useful.

Job Hunting That Actually Works

Here’s the harsh reality: you’re probably gonna apply to 500+ jobs. Yeah, it sucks. But here’s how to make it suck less:

Hit the specialized job boards – LinkedIn and Indeed are fine, but also check out GitHub Jobs, AngelList (startup heaven), Stack Overflow Jobs, and go straight to company websites. Way less competition than the big generic job boards.

Network without being weird about it – Go to meetups, join Slack communities, hit up hackathons. Getting a referral from someone inside the company can basically skip you to the front of the line. Most jobs get filled through connections, not applications.

Do coding challenges – HackerRank, LeetCode, MountBlue – these aren’t just practice, they’re also ways companies find people to hire. Plus they’ll make you way better at technical interviews.

Practice interviews like your life depends on it – Technical questions, system design, behavioral stuff – practice all of it. Use Pramp for mock interviews and get that “Cracking the Coding Interview” book. It’s boring but it works.

4. What the Job Market Actually Looks Like Right Now

Let’s talk about reality for a minute – where the jobs actually are and what you can expect to get paid.

It’s Not Just Silicon Valley Anymore

The demand for developers is nuts right now – we’re talking 22% growth by 2030, which is way faster than pretty much any other job. But here’s what’s cool: it’s not just Google and Facebook hiring anymore.

Hospitals need developers for telehealth apps and patient systems. Banks are going all-in on digital and need people who can build secure apps that don’t fall over when everyone tries to check their balance at once. Even retail companies need developers for their apps and websites. Heck, manufacturing companies are digitizing everything and need people who can code.

Entry-Level Jobs That Don’t Completely Suck

Not all junior developer jobs are created equal. Here are some that are actually pretty good for beginners:

Test Developer – You write automated tests to make sure software doesn’t break. Pays around $70k on average, and you learn tons about how different systems work. Plus, testing skills are valuable everywhere.

QA Tester – Finding bugs might sound boring, but it’s actually pretty satisfying (like being a detective), pays around $47k, and teaches you to think like a user instead of just a developer.

Web Developer – Building websites and web apps. Average salary is about $68k, and there’s huge variety in what you’ll work on. Plus, every company needs a website.

Let’s Talk Money

The numbers everyone actually wants to know:

Average in the US is around $73,508 for entry-level, but location makes a massive difference. San Francisco will pay you $94k+ but your rent will eat most of that. NYC can hit $150k for the right role. Smaller cities might start you at $50-60k, but your money goes way further.

International options are worth considering too. Toronto is around C$57k-65k, London is £28k-40k. Just remember to factor in cost of living and visa stuff.

Specialized skills = more money – Machine learning knowledge, UI/UX skills, or being really good with Go can bump your salary up by 50% or more. This is why picking the right specialization is so important.

Wrapping This Up

Alright, let’s be honest about this whole thing: getting your first developer job is gonna be tough. But it’s also totally doable if you’re smart about it.

Here’s what actually matters for landing that first software developer position: having a resume that doesn’t immediately get thrown in the trash, learning skills that companies actually need (not just whatever seemed cool in college), building projects that solve real problems instead of just following tutorials, getting some certificates that prove you know your stuff, and treating your job search like a strategy instead of just throwing resumes at the wall and hoping something sticks.

The mindset thing is huge here – getting that first job is absolutely the hardest part. Once you’ve got some real experience under your belt, opportunities start popping up everywhere. The grind at the beginning sucks, but it’s temporary.

So here’s your homework: pick one thing from this guide and actually do it. Maybe clean up that messy resume, maybe start that side project you’ve been putting off, or maybe finally apply to those companies you’ve been bookmarking but never actually contacted. Stop overthinking it and start doing something.

The software developer entry level market is competitive, sure, but it’s also packed with opportunities for people who know how to make themselves stand out. You’ve got all the info you need – now go make something happen!