So you just graduated bootcamp and you have no idea what to do next, right? I mean, you probably have an idea, but if you’re anything like me, you’ll need more than an idea to keep your head in the game.
After a few months of experimenting and finding out what doesn't work, I found a couple of methods and strategies that do. This list might not be your cuppa, and it certainly isn't exhaustive, but it comes from my personal experience and I love making blog posts about things that can't be found from just a simple Google search.
I'll also give a few tips on what I think should be avoided, because often times knowing what NOT to do is more helpful than vague bullshit about what TO do.
From my experience, there are 5 things that you need to focus on after bootcamp in order to survive in the wild, and they are:
- Structure
- Motivation
- Education
- Connection
- Patience
Let’s break these down, and I’ll show you what I mean.
Structure
This one might seem like a no-brainer, but I had to get suuuper granular about this. I found out within the first 2 weeks that, first and foremost, I needed a routine. I know there are scores of scheduling apps out there -- I'm partial to good ol' Google Calendar -- but if you already have one that works, then you're a step ahead of where I was, so keep that shit up.
But for me, I needed specificity, I was a lost child in a busy shopping mall and I needed an adult. So I broke out the good ol' pen-and-paper and wrote down everything I was going to do for every hour throughout the day. If I was going to research something, I wrote down specifically what I was going to research and did nothing else. If I was going to take a break, I wrote down specifically what I was going to do during that break and nothing else. If I was going to eat, I wrote down specifically what I was going to eat and nothing else. The way I figured, making decisions takes time, so I wanted to take as much of my brain out of the decisions as I could. If I made all my daily decisions when I was writing my schedule, I wouldn't get overwhelmed by decision fatigue from the little things.
Unfortunately, I found out quickly that this technique wasn't enough, that I needed to get EVEN MORE specific, and I found ultimate clarity from the book The 2-Hour Job Search. Y'all...I really can't recommend this book enough. Instead of regurgitating vague tips from some shitty blog post(!), this book gave me step-by-step action items to focus my job search and prioritize my time effectively. Stop right now, get yourself a copy, and read it. Your whole life will thank you for it and you'll stop wasting time on satisficing strategies.
TIME is the most valuable resource we have, especially as job seekers. So in that regard, I also gotta give a shoutout to the Pomodoro Technique for managing time (this method is particularly effective for those of us with more of a deficit in our attention). Basically you set a timer for 25 minutes and during those 25 minutes you DO A THING. Once the timer is up, you take a break for 5 minutes to DO NOT DO THE THING. I typically spend this break stretching, filling water bottles, getting snacky, or doing small chores. The trick is to stick to the timer as best as you can without turning into your own Drill Sargent. You gotta give yourself grace ALWAYS, which brings me to the next point...
Motivation
This is a big one, and it's potentially the most fragile. When motivation isn't there, the job search just becomes like a form of self-terrorism, and we don't negotiate with terrorists folks. So I try to find motivation anywhere and everywhere, but I find it most useful to have something concrete to draw on when I'm feeling like a frump-a-dump and don't wanna do anything.
Podcasts are usually my first source. Shows like CodeNewbie and Develop Yourself both offer a really great perspective on how to approach the tech industry as a career changer, and are specifically geared toward us recent bootcamp grads and tech n00bz. I have to add a personal disclaimer though; podcasts are great, and they're a fantastic way to get tips and tricks for tackling the job search, but just like watching code tutorials on YouTube, they are by no means a substitution for actually doing the thing yourself. Take that as a word of warning, Future Self. Because I love podcasts.
My second source is social media influencers, which feels lame to admit, but I don't have time for feeling lame if it works. One of my favorites is Mark Thompson, who is the Senior Developer Relations Engineer at Google, so he literally does this for a living. He's energizing and insightful, and I really look forward to his #GoodMorningWithMark motivation posts on LinkedIn.
Another great source is a Twitch Streamer & YouTuber, his name is Michael Paulson, but he's better known as ThePrimeagen. His approach is a little more off-the-cuff and is definitely not for the feint of heart, but I appreciate his blunt honesty and "non-traditional" style. He's also got a fantastic DS&A course on Frontend Masters, which is a great segue to the next point...
Education
This one is a lot more open-ended, and the pool of available resources is a goddamn ocean. From AlgoExpert to Wilco, there is no shortage of platforms to choose from. EdTech is a huge industry (and one that I would be very interested in joining 😅), but no matter what route you choose, you gotta keep those skills sharp. The top three that I've used most-often and continue to go back to are:
Udemy - The whole catalog is great and super expansive, but any class by Colt Steele is a winner in my book. He's got a witty and fresh approach to learning and is great at translating abstract concepts into human-speak. He's got a cat named Blue and he regularly talks shit about himself. He gets it.
BONUS! If you're a Colorado resident, you can get FREE ACCESS to ALL UDEMY COURSES with a Denver Public Library Card.Scrimba - This is 100% front-end material, but any and every course is awesome because their interface is awesome. You can pause the screencasts and futz with the instructor's code right in your browser. They even have a little in-cast browser that you can test your code on. You can save your code snippets in the screencast, and it’s just a really fabulous platform to get your hands dirty with no environment setup. I went for the full subscription and I use it more often than I use my Crunchyroll account.
edX - This is a great platform for literally hundreds of different courses, but Harvard's CS50 is a great place to start. It's an Intro to Computer Science class and gives you a more in-depth understanding of how all this crazy computer stuff works, altogether. You can sign up for the course to get access to the full materials and labs and stuff, but alternatively all the videos are on YouTube if you just want to passively observe. They also have a Discord channel where you can connect to the full community of CS50 students, which is yet another fabulous segue to the next point...
Connection
With all the tools I've already listed, I still find it reeeeally easy to slip into my head and let the imposter syndrome take hold. With the amount of rejection letters I'm getting and level of information that I should be learning, it's an easy trap to fall into. Fortunately, I found the cure for this in positive human interaction.
I started by integrating this concept slowly. I was applying anywhere and everywhere and getting nothing but rejection emails from robots, which just murdered my motivation. So instead of counting the number of applications I was sending in week-over-week, I started tracking the number of people that I was interacting with and reaching out to. I quickly got comfortable with virtual meetings and awkward informational interviews, and it got easier and easier each time. What's more is that I would get a huge boost in confidence from talking to people, regardless of whether they had a job opportunity for me or not. Before long, I was ready to attend in-person tech events, alone.
As awkward and terrifying as most of them seem at first, I really can't recommend in-person events enough. Attending online events is one thing, but awkwardly stumbling through an introductory conversation with a stranger in-person is very, very rewarding. It helps break down those social anxiety barriers and gets me better acquainted with the awkwardness of talking to strangers. It’s weird, and it’s hard to get used to, but it's had a genuine positive net effect on my networking skills. I still hate it, and it still makes me anxious to go out to random meetups by myself, but each time it gets a little easier and even if the meetup isn’t what I'd hoped, I still put in the effort and got myself out there, and even that alone is progress.
Also, as a bootcamp grad, it really helps me to touch base with my cohort. I really like keeping those contacts fresh because they’re going through the same things that I am, and can offer a helpful dose of perspective.
Keep in mind that another person’s success does not inherently diminish your own! Rather it builds momentum and gives energy to the overall process that helps everyone to grow. And what's that? Another segue!
Patience
The Great Mark Thompson recently had a post where he talks about what he calls The Formula. Essentially, the path to achievement is discipline + grace = success and it has been tremendously helpful for me. I have to stay disciplined and make sure that I'm keeping my eyes on the prize, but if I have an off day, or I miss an opportunity, I have to be able to take that in stride and learn from it. I can't be 100% perfect, 100% of the time, but consistency is much more valuable than perfection.
Job hunting SUCKS! And with all the added distractions and negative news stories and layoffs and recessions and AI bots falling in love with us, it's easy to get overwhelmed and lose hope. But if I remember to take it easy on myself and remember that even if today didn't go so well, I still have tomorrow to learn and grow and move forward towards my goal of becoming a software engineer.
Honestly, I've made plenty of mistakes and I've gotten a lot wrong on my job search so far, but I know that learning happens by making errors. Also, being a beginner in this space is liberating because nobody cares! One of my career coaches told me early on that being overly considerate and excessively gracious doesn't do me any favors. I can fuck everything up on purpose and come out better for it if I keep a growth mindset.
Give. Yourself. Grace.
Do's & Don'ts
Fresh-faced devs are prime targets for predators. I learned early on to watch out for things like places that guarantee job placement, but only after an extended period of minimum-wage "paid training," or that have a weird catch boiled in like a relocation requirement or a percentage cut from your future salary. I won't mention these places by name because I'm certain that some people find success through them, but in my experience, I quickly discovered that if I needed to sign a contract that I have to pay to get out of, then it's not for me.
Long story short, do your research, Google every. single. company. that sends you an offer. Read the reviews, and talk to other devs to get their perspective. Most of the time, if it seems too good to be true, or they're making an unsolicited offer, then there's probably a huge catch.
Finally, do whatever you can to optimize your physical health. Learn from my mistakes. Don't smoke cigarettes. Don't fuck around with your sleep schedule. Don't stay inside all day long. Develop a solid morning routine and stick to it.
Meditate. Drink water. Get sunlight.
Closing Thoughts
Life after bootcamp is tough, and it’s not easy to stay focused after all the structure falls away. Thankfully, there are plenty of resources out there to help you.
Also, here’s a link to Life After Lisa by Bowling for Soup, which was in my head the entire time I was writing this blog post and is apparently turning 23-years-old this year. Shout out to Butch Walker for making all the catchy tunes of my misbegotten youth.
And that's that! Thank you so much for making it this far. I know this is kind of a beefy post, but I've learned a lot in the last few months and I think it's definitely worth sharing.
As always, if you have any questions or recommendations for edits, feel free to reach out. I welcome any and all feedback.
Keep fightin' the good fight! ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ
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