As my Oregon State University’s Computer Science Post-Baccalaureate journey is slowly reaching it’s end, I thought it would be a good idea to reflect on these past one and a half years.
Back in 2020, soon after I decided to make a career change, I started to actively search for computer science programs that matched a series of criteria. The program would need to 1) culminate with bachelor degree from a good university 2) be taught completely online and 3) be doable within a timeframe of 2 years. After some research, OSU’s CS Post Bacc program fit perfectly with what I had in mind.
Now, after spending around 30,000 dollars and thousands of hours coding/studying, was this all worth it? Yes, it totally was. I believe the program not only did a great job preparing me for a career working as a software engineer, but also gave me the right training and tools to make me a strong applicant during my job search. I can confidently say that getting an offer from my dream company can be largely attributed to this program.
Although I learned a ton through the courses (some more than others…), I would say the greatest benefits I received from OSU actually came from the connections I made throughout this journey. For example, after reaching out to different TAs in different classes for career advice, one of them eventually ended up becoming my mentor. Following his guidance, I was able to built a great resume/portfolio and prepared myself well for interviews. In addition, through the referrals from OSU alums on LinkedIn, my chances of interviewing at several companies also increased exponentially.
In summary, I honestly would not have been able to make these connections and received the guidance that I needed so much if it wasn’t for this program. There are definitely so many different ways and paths one can take to become a software engineer, but I am glad I chose OSU’s CS Post Bacc Program as it has gotten me to where I am today.
