Almost ten years ago, the Lord blessed me with a beautiful baby girl, my first and only daughter. People always say, “Kids change your life,” but change barely scratches the surface. Transform, that’s the word. She transformed my life. Everything I do and every decision I make is about her and my family's future. That’s where the idea of pursuing my dreams and switching careers came into place.
You see, I haven’t exactly had it easy in life, but that’s in the past and we’ll leave that story for another time. Let’s talk about a decade ago. Before she came into my world, I was already doing well, newlywed and happily married, full of dreams, and excited about the future. But here I am at the start of 2025, realizing that in the blink of an eye, she’ll be turning ten. A decade. And as I reflect on this, you might be wondering why this matters and why I am sharing this.
The Weight of Time and Goals can have a heavy impact. When I first set out on my journey to become a software engineer, I gave myself a strict deadline, a time frame to make it happen. But here’s the honest truth. I have blown past that deadline! I am officially a year overdue. And I am not saying this with regret or disappointment. I am saying it because I want my future self and anyone who stumbles upon this to use it as proof that the journey is not about if you will reach your goal, but when.
Life has a way of throwing you off course. It certainly did for me. The past year and a half have been some of the hardest I have ever faced. The year 2023, in particular, was brutal and took a heavy emotional toll on me. But through all of it, that little girl I mentioned at the start is the reason I kept going. She does not even know it, but she has been my anchor, my motivation, and the force that keeps me pushing forward.
Even if it doesn't sound like much I've been making significant progress, one step at a time despite the setbacks, especially after enrolling in a new software engineering bootcamp at the end of 2023. This is actually my second bootcamp, but in hindsight, it is the only one I should have joined from the start. It has sharpened my programming skills, built my confidence, and reassured me that the finish line is near.
Now, I want to highlight one part of this journey that I have found to be the most difficult, something I never truly anticipated. The job hunt.
Yes, I am officially in that phase, applying, networking, and building connections wherever I go. And let me tell you, if you have ever been lured into tech by podcasts, YouTube ads, or stories that made it seem easy, take it with a grain of salt. I do not say this to discourage you. I say it to be real.
For someone like me, transitioning from a non-programming background, with no prior industry connections or tech experience, the job search is an uphill battle. In many fields, people naturally connect with those who have walked the same career path. But in my case, I have yet to meet someone who made the leap from being an automotive technician with fourteen years of experience to software engineering.
I may not fit the typical mold of a software engineer, but I refuse to see that as a disadvantage. Instead, I see it as proof that there is more than one way into this field. If no clear path exists for someone like me, then I will create one because at the end of the day, persistence and adaptability matter just as much as technical skill.
"From Automotive to Software Engineering." It is and will continue to be a rare transition or at least one you do not hear about often. But that only fuels my determination to make it happen.
With that said, I will keep pushing forward. And if you are on this journey too, keep your passion alive. Keep growing, keep learning, and do not let the challenges discourage you. Your timeline may shift, obstacles may arise, but as long as you refuse to quit, you will get there.
For me, it is no longer a question of if I become a software engineer. It is only a matter of when. And when that day comes, I will look back on this moment and remind myself why I never gave up.
To anyone else chasing their dreams, stay the course. Keep going. Just as my little girl transformed me, your transformation is coming too!
I'll start out by saying that almost ten years ago the Lord blessed me with a beautiful baby girl, my first and only daughter. When they say kids change your life, let me tell you change its close to explain it. I'm use the word "Transform". Yes! She transformed my life, I was already doing good prior to her coming into my life, happily married with a new wife and excited for my upcoming future...many ideas and goals to meet... But let me tell you that as I'm writing this post it's still the beginning of the 2025 year and before I realize it she will be 10 years young! Why do these details of my life even matter now? why am I writing about this? how does this concern you, you may be wondering?
Well it has to do with time and goals. When I first starting my journey to becoming a software engineer I gave myself a "deadline" or "time-frame" to meet that goal, and to be honest I way well past that. I am a year past that to be exact, and I say this with complete sincerity because I want the future version of me and others that will stumble upon this, to use this as an inspiration to themselves, to use this as proof that you can meet your goals as long as keep pushing yourself and giving it all you got! It is NOT if I become a software engineer, is WHEN I become a software engineer I will do this, that, more of this and that... I think you get my point. Life has it's way to throw off course but it is up to you to steer yourself towards the end of the course to accomplish your journey, and life has made no exception with me because I haven't exactly had it easy in the past year and half and I won't bore you with the details but let's just say that the 2023 year was a very bad year that brought a lot of emotional damage to me and that little person who I started to talk about in this post is the one that kept me going, she doesn't know it but she is the reason why I am still going and growing strong and I'm still in journey to becoming a software engineer. With all that said and aside, I've made a lot of progress thanks to a new Software Engineering Bootcamp that I joined in the of the 2023 year, this is actually my second coding bootcamp but to be fair it is the only one I should've ever joined because it has help my knowledge about programming skills grow, it gives me the confidence that the end of this journey is near.
I do want to emphasize one thing or actually the one step that I find it to be very hard and this entire journey, or perhaps it may be because I never had to go through this, and that is the "Job Hunt"! Yes, I'm officially in the job hunt process and also been building connections wherever I go and with whoever I meet. Now I don't know how you particularly got interested in tech but it is not as easy as it sounded from whatever podcasts episode, commercial, video ad, your favorite youtuber or whereever else got this idea fueling in you. Keep your interest alive, keep growing your knowledge and absorb everything about the actual technologies you are learning, but when it comes to landing a job perhaps take it with a grain of salt. I don't mean to discourage you, I just want to be open and honest that from someone like me with a non-programming background, not having any connections, nor previous employer experience it is not very easy. I'm even going to tell you that sometimes we tend to connect a lot easier with peers that have done or been in the same line of work we have in the past but not in my situation, in fact I've never even met anyone who has migrated from the same line of work which was automotive technician that I did for the past fourteen years to this field kinda rare to believe but it is.
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