Many software engineers today took the “traditional” route into the field: studied Computer Science/STEM in college, completed a software engineering internship before graduation, then landed a job before or shortly after graduation. The rest of us are either: self-taught, code school graduates, or late bloomers to the “traditional” route. Of these options, I took the code school/coding bootcamp route and eventually landed a job after completion of the 5-month program. Having been in the field for over 5 years now, I wanted to share some of my experiences and advice for anyone considering making a career switch or in the process of doing so.
Journey to Code School
After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in English, I realized writing and editing were things I wasn’t particularly interested or confident enough in to pursue as a career. I jumped at the first office job I could find and planned to figure it out once I got there. About a year into that job, I was assigned my first big project to manage: a website redesign.
The project took much longer than expected and because we were working with freelancers, turnaround times on requests like font color changes and content spacing could take days. Out of frustration, I did some digging around in WordPress and found a way to edit the website template’s HTML and CSS. In a matter of seconds I was able to fulfill requests that were holding up the project. It was so satisfying to publish changes with the click of a button and see those changes live on our site.
The web developer for the project noticed the changes I made and was impressed with the amount of HTML and CSS I knew at the time and encouraged me to continue contributing as I felt comfortable. I spent my lunch breaks on MDN and W3Schools reading about tables, flexbox, and text alignment. After badgering the developer with many coding-related questions it became clear I enjoyed coding. She suggested I enroll in a coding bootcamp and sent along info for a bootcamp based in Seattle that just so happened to have a location in Portland, OR. I was already thinking about moving to Portland so I went ahead and applied.
I was accepted into the program and offered a scholarship which covered 80% of tuition, or $16,000. I took the leap and quit my job and moved to Portland.
It’s Called a “Bootcamp” For a Reason
The 5-month bootcamp was tough. I spent some long nights in those classrooms, getting home around 10pm most days. I struggled to keep up and doubted whether I was capable of becoming a software engineer, whether I was smart enough. The program was full-time, starting at 9am and ending at 5pm. Most students remained after-hours to wrap up assignments and review the material, which seemed to cover several weeks’ worth of college course material in 8 hours.
The program was a full-stack JavaScript development program divided into three courses: an introduction to HTML, CSS, and JavaScript fundamentals; an introduction to web development; and full-stack software development. The courses focused on individual growth and teamwork.
The first half of each day focused on lectures and individual skills development. The second half of the day included a lab assignment that would usually be divided by teams. For each course, final projects were team assignments as well. Every course has at least two teaching assistants, typically students who have just completed the program. I relied heavily on the TAs and because the class was relatively small (about 20 students), I was afforded a lot of one-on-one time with them.
Despite all of the help available, I spent a lot of nights at the school reading documentation and reviewing notes from class just to keep up. A large part of code school is learning how to learn.
It’s not just about understanding the syntax and logic of a particular programming language or framework, but also about developing the skills necessary to troubleshoot and problem-solve on your own. The ability to learn quickly and efficiently is essential.
The Job Search
After graduating from the bootcamp, I was excited but also scared about finding a job. The program had a dedicated career services team that assisted with resume and cover letter building, practice interviews, and networking opportunities. I spent a lot of time networking and reaching out to alumni who had recently landed jobs. I also applied to over 50 jobs and had several interviews.
After a few months of job searching, I landed an entry-level software developer role at a small tech company. I was responsible for building and maintaining internal web applications, as well as working on client projects. I was able to apply what I learned in the bootcamp, but I also had to learn a lot on the job. I was given the opportunity to work with more experienced developers, who taught me new skills and helped me improve my existing ones.
In conclusion, the code school route may not be for everyone, but it was the right choice for me. It allowed me to change careers and pursue something I was passionate about. It was challenging, but the sense of accomplishment upon completion and the satisfaction of finding a job in the field made it all worth it. If you’re considering a career switch and are interested in software development, I highly recommend exploring the code school route and seeing if it’s the right fit for you.
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