It has been a long, and I mean LONG nine months since I first started going down the long career change that is being a JR. Software Engineer. I like to emphasize the first little part of the title because after speaking with several SWEs that are in the field now (or were previously in the field), completing the basic 4 year degree or even a Bootcamp gives you the Junior title and it will take about a year or more to get just the standard "Software Engineer" title. Now, do I agree with this after going through the nine month long course? Eh, not really but that's mainly because I see a college degree in a higher light so even those who complete their CS degree definitely have the full title in my mind even if they still don't know that googling is completely fine in the actual job. I'm fairly new to the platform so before I continue to ramble about what I learned and what I've gained (which is a literal mountain of knowledge), allow me to introduce myself.
My name is Diego, and for the last three-ish years (going on four now), I have been taking the time out of my days to learn the basic concepts in order to transition my career to software engineering. I'm somewhat self-taught and I say somewhat because the Bootcamp gave me a lot of structure that I needed to get my career change going full swing. I started first with Python and completed Colt Steele's Python course (link here) which took me a bit because it was my first language and I thought that googling questions for the assignments I was doing was forbidden which looking back at now still makes me cringe. Even before I go to sleep sometimes.
After I finished the Python course, I made my way to Colt's Web Development Udemy course which was realistically where I consider the start of my long journey to get the base knowledge to make the career change. The course was about 60 hours long with several assignments in HTML, CSS, and Javascript. The course featured several small assignments along with some larger assignments being static pages that show or change data depending on the user interaction. The end of that online course focused primarily on using MongoDB to build a No-SQL database instead of building a traditional SQL database and connecting the frontend templates based on the user inputs. I didn't know it then, but both the Udemy course would play a factor in my ability to interact with both No-SQL and SQL databases. The final project of the Udemy course also featured full CRUD along with user authentication and authorization using Bcrypt to hash user passwords. While the project was more of a code-along, we were also walked through deploying the final version to Heroku (RIP) for other users to access and use. Unfortunately, I removed that project from my Heroku for reasons pointed previously (RIP X2). Once I completed the course on Udemy, I felt a bit empty, like I learned a lot but had no way of actually taking the knowledge I've gained and making the first move to change my career path.
It was around November of 2021 and I was sitting in my apartment on a nice chilly night where I was just staring at the completion certification from Udemy thinking to myself, Now what? While the obvious answer to me now is: Build more stuff! Do the things! I had no idea that's one route I could take. The second alternative, was a thought that I had for a while and had grown louder with each day that I got closer to completing the Udemy course and that was enroll in a bootcamp but there was an issue, WHICH bootcamp? and how can I ensure that paying a hefty amount for this fast paced education will maximize my success into the field? I spent several days researching one bootcamp after another and even having phone conversations with some of the admissions people which was very pleasant for the most part! After spending a solid week debating internally, I opened a past live stream from Colt Steele's Youtube channel where he hosted a Q&A livestream which was focused on his recent partnership with Springboard. If you haven't heard of them, you can find their website info here but in short, they are an online education platform for technology careers where you are self-paced and paired with a mentor from that field who will help guide you on your studies and any other questions you might have. The cool part about the Software Engineering course that Colt was discussing is that his course was promoting a Job-Guarantee which means what the name is implying, you're going to get a job with our help which is exactly what I needed!
After watching the live stream, I went to Springboard's website and began the application process at which point I was asked to take a per-assessment to see if I can join the main cohort or if I had to brush up on my skills further with Javascript. I didn't pass the assessment but that's actually a good thing because it helped ensure that I understood the basics before moving on to the actual course which took just the basics to another level. I spent about three weeks studying the course material and once I took the assessment again, the questions that once took me two full hours, now took me about 45 minutes! I joined the main cohort in December of 2021 and have been undergoing the course since then with the help of my mentors preparing for my second, and final capstone project before I am allowed to apply for graduation.
I haven't reached the complete end yet, but I feel as though I've reached the point where I can give input to those that are considering going through a similar route. I've left some bullet points below to help guide those who spent time reading this long post and while there are parts that I have left out for the sake of time, I may come back and add other parts based on whatever feedback or questions I get. In the meantime, If you want to follow/connect on social media, I've left links to those sites below too so feel free to ping me if you ever have questions or want to learn more! Happy coding everyone!
PS: Google if you're reading, my inbox is always open ;)
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TLDR:
If you're on the fence between going through a four year degree program or a Bootcamp, I heavily lean towards the degree because colleges/universities provide a level of exposure that Bootcamps don't in terms of seeing your peers day to day. Also consult your finances. No, seriously, if you feel strong about one option but your finances don't, maybe it isn't time for that route yet or you can consider some other alternatives in the meantime such as Udemy or a cheaper education route.
In my experience and through conversations, I've learned that there are technologies that Bootcamps teach that Universities/Colleges don't have time for and vice versa. Some of these include (but are not limited to): using
Git, knowing how to useGitHub, knowing how topull,push, and createbranchesfor your project, basic Data Structure and Algorithms. The list goes on and on but remember this: there are trade offs for either option and it all depends on what YOU are comfortable with learning on your own time besides the studies.The Job market is a bit rough at the moment of writing this post but for the most part good Bootcamps and Universities will do all they can to ensure you succeed. The key to this is that you pull your weight too. Don't just sit back and expect the job to magically land on your lap. Trust me, I've learned that lesson the hard way. Ask your peers how they did it or your advisors so that you have a game plan because these institutions WANT to see you do well, it looks both for everyone!
What will I learn? So many things! My website has just SOME of the technologies that I learned to use while going through my course and I will be adding more soon! This really varies per program and of course, what you're willing to learn on your own time.
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