I can think of the following

If I am missing anything you are welcome to add

- Become proficiently familiar with well known IDEs such as PyCharm, VS Code and Jupyter
- Have a GitHub repository
- Gain sufficient experiences with well known frameworks such as Django and Flask

I have to be honest, I've never had success cherry picking for a specific job. By this term I mean to be highly selective and focused on a very specific category.

My recommendation is to absolutely continue pursuing this opportunity direction, but also to not limit yourself to one specific area.

You earlier had a thread, For getting a programming job in 2020 what would you recommend? as a start to this topic, and thus far it has led you here.

Not trying to insult or discourage, just trying to share some background experience and perspectives.

Historically, the reasons why I'd target something and be highly selective, was because my perception was that it was the direction to one, or both of two things: (1) salary, and (2) continuation of, and continued growth of #1.

The problems and realities were: (a) if you're good enough at programming in general, you'll get a salary, and (b) there are no guarantees that having "a" talent raises your likelihood of continued growth.

This is why I recommend getting "a" programming job, learning from it things you can, and if it limits your growth, then do your best to see if there are internal growth opportunities, or if you need to use the talents you've acquired in your list of jobs, towards a new position where you can attain better growth.

Learning "how to develop" effectively within companies, for customers, in some manner which results in effective results that grows you as a person, are all worthwhile talents. Being very good at one programming language, one technical topic, will only get you so far.

Be adaptive.

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To expand a little on rtmistler's excellent response...the only times in my experience that marketing my "expertise" in a specific language or tool has paid off was when there were a very limited number of individuals with experience in that language/tool.
In the case of one such, my first hire was by an employer who opted to train me in the language because I had demonstrated programming skills and experience -- and he couldn't find anyone who already knew the language...I worked there for three years, then moved to another company that paid better and worked there for another three years. I then took a six-month contract with a third company and worked that for 10 years. There I worked with many of the same people I'd worked with in the other two positions...the pool of "experts" was relatively small. It was not my skill with the language that fed my success, but my ability to "program computers."

When that contract was over, my next position was not related to that language at all, but was about my experience with the kind of programs to be written, and that employer had to train me to use the tool they were using which, again had a limited number of "experts" available.

My point is the same as rtmistler's...success because of expertise only in a specific language or tool is very rare, and will seldom happen if that language is in common use. Learn how to solve problems, no matter what the language is. Understand how to translate requirements into processes.

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++!

Everything else is just words...

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SyntaxError: invalid syntax.




(Gotta use var += 1 in python. )

I have a B.A. in BS. Sometimes I just can't help myself

Not Python, so I go:Like scasey, I've literally gotten jobs where the definition of it was to learn some new thing and "fix it!!!" because they recognized that I was good.

That's why I say be adaptable.

My first SW engineering manager was a Marine Biologist, he became a programmer because they needed that in their research lab and he took on the task. Gave him a new career direction. And where we were had absolutely ZERO to do with marine anything, it was a modem company.

I myself am an EE and always preferred RF/Microwave design. I've NEVER done that, always software and rarely for RF comms, I now do audio equipment, having done medical equipment, industrial controllers, consumer products like toys, household electronics, etc, and various test and measurement equipment.