> Many places I apply to want people who have experience in software development or they want to hire a junior for some super low pay. I can't put the words "software developer" on my resume but I have written a lot of programs for my classes and in hobby projects.
Truth of the matter is that you're going to have to do the junior role for a year or two. However much you think you've learnt, you're going to have holes in your knowledge if you've not done it professionally. For example around reliability and handling edge cases, making things work when the underlying platform is buggy, etc. Good news is, if you're good at it you'll progress up the ladder quickly.
I'm self-taught, and I'm pretty good at what I do: at my first job I was already teaching my boss things he didn't know (I'd been programming for about 5 years as a hobby at that point). BUT I also made a ton of stupid mistakes. 3 years of professional experience on (broken up over a few different jobs, with breaks and Maths & Philosophy degree in between), and I'm leading a small team. But I definitely needed particularly the first year to fill in the gaps in my knowledge before I was ready for a senior role.
Truth of the matter is that you're going to have to do the junior role for a year or two. However much you think you've learnt, you're going to have holes in your knowledge if you've not done it professionally. For example around reliability and handling edge cases, making things work when the underlying platform is buggy, etc. Good news is, if you're good at it you'll progress up the ladder quickly.
I'm self-taught, and I'm pretty good at what I do: at my first job I was already teaching my boss things he didn't know (I'd been programming for about 5 years as a hobby at that point). BUT I also made a ton of stupid mistakes. 3 years of professional experience on (broken up over a few different jobs, with breaks and Maths & Philosophy degree in between), and I'm leading a small team. But I definitely needed particularly the first year to fill in the gaps in my knowledge before I was ready for a senior role.