Truth be told, there's a lot of scare tactics, even say, during the interview

That is actually true.
In both of the 2 interviews for my current company I was tested via trick questions or deceitful implications.

In the first interview, the CEO sat down and immediately bludgeoned me with questions about working in America rather than Japan. “Wouldn’t you rather work in America? Better working conditions, better salary, etc.”
I actually almost lost my patience with him after insisting many times that I am in Japan for life, but later in the interview I found out why he was asking these things: During the earthquakes of last year every foreigner left the company but one, and he wanted to see if I would follow suit in the next big earthquakes scheduled to hit Tokyo directly within the next few years.

In the second interview the CFO said, “Actually it is perfectly fine if you want to start here and then later transfer to company X. We have good relationships with them and many of our employees transfer there.”
I later discovered that it was just a trap. Once again, several foreigners had joined my company and then transferred to company X, one of whom apparently only joined specifically to get into company X. Had I showed any interest in that option, I would probably not have gotten the job.


The on-topic thing to say is that you are ready for a job no later than the time at which you actually get a job.
That seems stupid, but think of it this way: Employers have a chance to look at your background and decide if you are ready. If they hire you, it is because they decided you are ready.
It is really pointless to ask us when you are ready. Companies hire people of all levels. My previous company hired a guy who had only 6 or so months of Java experience, before which he was a psychologist. And the company that previously hired that guy hired him with 0 experience in Java; he learned on-the-job.

Just start applying. Your best bets are small companies, but if you have bad luck even there you can explore start-up companies. Start-ups can’t be very picky about the first few programmers they hire, and they usually can’t offer a salary attractive enough for the better programmers anyway. They also offer the best growth potential.


Just remember not to fall for traps during the interview.


L. Spiro

Jump in and start getting more experience. Take what you can get and work your way up. That will build your resume.

Learn the business side of things as well. It will prove to be very valuable to you. It's a free world to do business so do business.

Employers have three main questions they're trying to answer about you:

1. Can you do the work required of you?
2. Would you be a good fit for the company and organizational culture?
3. Will you cause problems for the company?

Pretty much all relevant interview questions are trying to answer these three over-arching questions.

At the same time, remember that interviews are a two way street! you're also interviewing the company to see if its a place worth spending your time at. Here are the overarching questions I try to get answered as an interviewee:

1. What are working conditions like (environment, org culture, equipment, bosses, etc)?
2. Is the company stable? Does it have its shit together? (You want to get paid in full, on time and you don't want to get jerked around)
3. If I agree to work here, what are my costs going to be? (Time, money, energy, mental sanity, expertise, costs to quality of life, IP rights, freedoms etc.)
4. If I agree to work here, what can I expect to gain? (money, experience, perks, etc) Do the costs outweight the gains?
5. Why should I work here?

Note that you are an economic resource and the principle of supply and demand applies to you. The more rare and exceptional you are, the more leverage you have in negotiating to get what you want. I suspect that the biggest mistake entry level people make is undervaluing themselves.