I was in an interview recently and asked a question that I commonly do to the interviewer: ‘What do you find bootcamp graduates are lacking in most?” I’ve received a lot of good pointers from this question with answers such as “computer science fundamentals,” “they don’t ask enough questions,” and “experience with an existing code base.”
However, it was the answer that I got in this interview that I found most interesting: “too many bootcamp graduates made this career change because they saw software engineering high-paying salaries or heard about a computer geek that sold their self-built application.” I found this very interesting, but also very truthful. I’ve read about and even witnessed students that seemed like they hated their previous job, and thought that they could make a lot of money in software engineering instead. They often find that the bootcamp process is much more difficult than they expected, and are even more frustrated to find that they have a TON still to learn after bootcamp. The truth is, in a constantly changing industry, you’re always going to have more to learn.
In the 9 years I spent in sales or sales management, I was always in software sales. loved learning the ins and outs of the software application that I was selling so I could provide my clients with the best solution. It was this curiosity and passion for the software applications that pushed me to make the jump into software engineering after speaking with several colleagues and friends in this industry.
Going back even further, I still remember walking by the Indiana University School of Informatics towards the end of my sophomore year, and thinking ‘Oh, why didn’t I think about computer science and software engineering sooner?” I had always loved figuring out how programs work on my family’s desktop growing up, but coding and computer science were never talked about in my small Cincinnati suburb.
At the time, I was too scared to make the jump and change majors because I was already halfway done with my two majors - Telecommunications and Spanish. ‘I can’t take out more loans to stay in school even longer’ I thought…I was scared.
I was also scared (and excited) when I told my manager that I would be leaving at the end of the year to change careers, but I knew I needed to fulfill a passion. I also know that I’m lucky to have the financial means to change careers and to have a natural curiosity to figure out how things work.
As the title says, whatever you do, don’t just do it for the money. You are most likely far behind most Computer Science graduates that have had internships practicing their code as well. What you probably do have is a track record of working hard consistently in a professional environment, an entrepreneurial spirit (if you’ve worked in startups or in sales-type roles), and a lot of experience improving your communication skills in a professional environment.
However, if you don’t have a passion/curiosity for software engineering, you’re going to remain far behind. I am excited to know that I have a lot more to learn, and I plan to catch up very quickly.
Always be coding, and always be learning!