Seeing a lot of posts on 'how I got my first engineering job' and they are REALLY oversimplified. You don't just build a project, network, and suddenly land a job. It's not that easy. What they fail to mention is all of the other stuff that happens, like: - A lot of self-study - Rejection and ghosting after applying and interviewing at jobs - Self-doubt and feeling burnt out - Getting an interview and being absolutely lost on how to solve it - Nearly giving up - Thinking you did great in an interview only to get rejected again and again - Loneliness - Pressure - More self-study There's a lot that goes into landing your first software engineering role, especially if you're coming from a non-traditional background. Don't believe the hype and convince yourself that you're doing it wrong. It is hard. It can absolutely be done, but let's be realistic about what it takes to get there.
Danny Reina
2y
And the weight gain!
Nicolette H.
2y
I feel like I either read experiences where someone lands a job out of the gate OR sends out 200-300 applications for a year, and not much in between 😅
I think it's pretty quantitative and relatively easy to set the expectation and demand. - Code for 6 hours a day for 6 months - Alternatively, code for 4 hours a day for a year - Engage with a coding community twice a month at minumum - Apply to 150-300 roles with a portfolio/projects that would be rated above average in quality - Accept job offer There is all of that other stuff you mentioned in there (blood, sweat, tears), but I can practically guarantee that anybody that does the above with a genuine effort will succeed in landing a role. Every "failure" in software engineering is a lesson to learn. The burnt out requires you to learn a reasonable long term mitigation strategy (which coding daily and having a break pattern helps with). Pomodoro timers are popular. Googling after the interview and analyzing the problem in hindsight on how you could better approach a similar problem in the future helps you look forward at the solution instead of back at the problem. It is hard. It is not complicated. It only takes one time. Voice your frustrations. Ask for advice. Get a mentor and/or accountabilitbuddy. But no matter what, keep moving towards the future. It's right in front of you whether you see it or not.
Elena Weber
2y
That's what I'm going through now, coming from a different background and trying to break into Tech. So challenging and stressful!
my journey: - unpaid internship offer - $96k offer from startup - bandwidth rejection - startup rejection - amazon offer
Henning Seip
2y
Kristal S., what I see frequently on bootcamp resumes is that students coming from previous non-tech jobs remove or diminish their past work experience and believe if they instead load their resume with bootcamp projects and tech keywords they become an attractive candidate. That makes their resume bland because they look the same as other candidates hence their job search becomes more difficult. With that they miss their real opportunity: Going back to. the industry they came from showing their work experience (business and culture fit) now upgraded with relevant technology skills. It is this combination employers are looking for. It also turns them into unique candidates standing out from those who only have tech skills on their resume.
Truth! I took a bad job that I knew was a bad job…but I needed it. It was frustrating, long hours, and broken promises. Not ideal but I got some valuable projects and experience I’m grateful for!
Dan E.
2y
Exactly what I am finding as I search for my first role as a software engineer! It is not easy and many places do not want to take a chance on someone without proven coding experience. I know there are places that will take that chance because they understand the value of building talent and helping people be successful!
Honestly, I think the ones that sorta get on my nerves, a little are the ones whose partners or some family members are software engineers who have been in the industry for so long and say things like "oh it wasn't a bad process, after my Bootcamp, I just cleaned up my portfolio and did xyz and now I have my first 6 figure job" ... like common Becky, we went to the same Bootcamp, how did you bypass those DS& A questions? or the system design questions 😂. Please stop it. 😅