Jobs and Career Opportunities

Lately there has been a great demand for specialists in the field of AJAX / Client-Side programming. Since I deal a lot with recruiters and companies directly in this field I decided to give people that come to my site for answers, an opportunity to find a job. Below you will find a basic shopping list / requirements that most recruiters and companies are looking for (including mine - MLB). If you feel that you satisfy most of the topics, then contact me and I will further test you and direct your resume to people / companies I work with. Benefits of doing it this way is that you will hit HR or Recruiters desk directly and as a credible, proven and recommended resource, and if you don't know it already - it means a lot more then just being selected out of a pile. So here is the list:

• Experience - Mid to Senior level developer (3+ to 7+ years)
• Field of Expertise - Front-End, with firm knowledge of server-side technologies
• HTML
  • Must know how to code correct HTML
  • Search Engine Optimization (SEO) techniques
  • Size optimization
  • Table-less layouts, layers, div's, definition lists
• JavaScript
  • Core capabilities of the language, must be familiar with language specifications starting JavaScript 1.2
  • DOM object model and ability to work with elements
  • XHR - knowledge of how XMLHTTP requests are made both synchronously and asynchronously, JSON
  • XML / XSL processing, XMLDocument object model
  • OOP - You must know how to create and extend objects in JavaScript
  • Some programming patterns knowledge such as Singleton, Factory, Adapter, Interface, etc. is a great plus
  • Browser specific issues, hacks and workarounds
  • Must know how to debug code with means other then alerts
• CSS
  • BOX model
  • Cascade precedence order
  • Cross-browser compatibility
  • Table-less layouts
• Graphic Design
  • Photoshop
  • Fireworks
  • Illustrator
• Third-Party frameworks
  • If you know how to work with any third-party packages such as jQuery, prototype, dojo, Yahoo, etc. its a plus, but you must know how the same functionality can be achieved without them.
• Server-Side technologies - Any knowledge of how application servers work is always important
  • If you know what SOA and REST is, it's a great plus
• Java - JSP, JSTL, Struts, etc.
• .NET - ASP, VB.NET, C#
• PHP

Well this should give you an idea of what a good Front-end developer should know to land a decent job, and when I say decent I mean starting 65k. Remember, not everything in this list is an absolute must to know, but if you know roughly 85% of everything I listed here, you're in a good standing. If you feel you're missing something from this topic, then brush up on it and send me a short e-mail at st777@msn.com with subject "Terracoder Job" and we'll go from there.

Good Luck