Where are the experts?

It started with an ad on LinkedIn.
I hardly click on ads but this one was different. It was captioned "We're JavaScript experts". I think it was catchy probably because I love JavaScript and I wanted to know these experts.

So, where are they?

I have been a software engineer for 6 years. Prior to that I was a programmer for 4 years. Most of what I learnt before working professionally were self taught. I started out of passion to find out how to bypass the Windows xp login page. And when I could not I started developing small tools to make my PC more secured. I once developed a small 'autorun malware remover'. A very interesting piece of app that removed the autorun virus from Windows based systems. I can remember this got my classmates wondering whether I created the virus. Well I did not.

I have designed and developed several applications on the Windows desktop platform, web and mobile. I use a lot of Microsoft technologies. My current focus is on mobile apps using Cordova. I won't say I have a favourite programming language. Considering that Visual Basic was my core language at at a time, my present core languages (C# and JavaScript) are subject to change with time and technology. I have learnt that software engineering is not all about coding. 
A software engineer follows a systematic process of understanding requirements, working with stakeholders and developing a solution that fulfills their needs. A programmer basically knows how to code and may have the technical skills needed to build meaningful products. Understanding Software Development Life Cycles will help make the transition from programmer to software engineer much easier.


I have experience coding when the internet offered very little help unlike it can now. I have watched communications evolved with technology. The internet age has brought a lot. Newbies can play around a lot with several online code snippets. The internet has opened doors for freelancing sites and also creating a means of communicating and collaborating . I have worked on a lot of these freelancing sites. They are all cool but it is always a challenge to secure a project on these sites. The bidding and whole process of trying to convince an employer can be tedious. You can not live on freelancing when you hope to get your projects from the likes of Freelancer.com and Upwork etc. To be noticed and get known for what you do, you need to be on a platform that exposes you. And that was why I was on LinkedIn when I found the advert that led me to the Toptal site.


The experts I asked for above can be found on Toptal.  
Toptal is a  large and rapidly growing network of thousands of top software engineers and designers, spread across 93+ countries.
I am just into the preliminary stage of the recruitment and I am so excited about this. Toptal as a name implies Top Talent. From online reviews it is a place where you can put the best of your skills into use; a great place for employees, freelancers, and clients. On Glassdoor TopTal is highly rated. Glassdoor has been my trusted source of several employer reviews.
I am looking forward to the opportunities that will come through Toptal. They claim 3% of applicants scale through the recruitment process. 

Still I am excited.