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"What advice would you give to someone looking to pivot to being a Software Engineer?"
I'm asked variations of this question almost weekly so I'm going to publicly give my thoughts. If other folks have opinions, I'd love to hear them!
I'm asked variations of this question almost weekly so I'm going to publicly give my thoughts. If other folks have opinions, I'd love to hear them!
First, I received a Computer Science degree from @UVA (wahoowa!). Therefore, my opinions have been from having many conversations with folks who chose to blaze their own paths to tech.
Most important piece of advice to folks looking to pivot to software engineering: don't let these bootcamps lie to you. You will learn a lot, but it's also a TON of work. Work that will need to be done outside of that bootcamp.
Once you have the general information from a bootcamp, you will have to work to strengthen your skills. It can take YEARS to land a Jr Dev job after graduating from your bootcamp.
With the boom of bootcamps, there's market saturation for Jr Dev roles and companies can be hesitant to hire Jr Devs. You'll have to make yourself standout. That can be through networking or building side projects to showcase your skills.
Outside of bootcamps, some folks opt to teach themselves and I truly love this. I know teaching yourself doesn't have the amount of accountability a bootcamp gives you, but teaching yourself also doesn't cost you thousands of dollars either.
There's so much content on the web that you can start your tech journey by buying a few courses from Coursera or Udemy, and working at your own speed.
For additional accountability in your tech journey, look for community tech groups to join. You can find other folks that are getting their start in tech to partner with and more senior folks that may be willing to answer any questions you have.
A caveat for going to more senior folks to ask questions: make sure you have done your due diligence when you come to them with a question. Be able to state exactly what you're asking them for and what you've tried before coming to them. They'll be more likely to help you.
Lastly, don't get discouraged when you encounter a problem you can't seem to solve. Even the most senior engineers get stumped for days or even weeks. Keep trying potential solutions, and you'll eventually get it. Those struggles are what makes an amazing engineer.
