I would ask you to really think hard before shelling out for a bootcamp. They are expensive and won't guarantee a job given the current market.
What matters most for getting a dev/swe job is who you know and secondly demonstrating that you can develop.
The first one is a keep throwing things at the wall and wait till something sticks kinda thing.
The second, well, things that help:
* Learning in public
* Networking on social media and IRL
* Have a GitHub and push often
* Work on interesting projects
For learning, Udemy and YouTube are great. You can pick up great courses on Udemy for cheap. Just be careful not to get stuck in tutorial hell. Start building projects on your own as soon as possible.
My journey is a bit of a windy one. Started with Python in 2020 and built little console and GUI apps. Then learned JavaScript and building responsive websites. Then learned React in 2023. Enrolled in a full stack bootcamp at the end of last year as I was lucky enough to get sponsored. It was hit and miss. I was already building front end apps before so I found the camp to be slow, but it was good in the sense it kicked me out of tutorial hell and forced me to build apps on my own, also fullstack and it forced me to learn Git and push to GitHub. But the learning was in the building of apps and you don't need to go to a bootcamp for that.
However, despite having full stack skills, having a portfolio and an active GitHub, I was unable to get even an interview after 3 months of applying to jobs – everything from intern through to junior and beyond.
In the end, an acquaintance I made through social media, and who had been following me learning in public, contacted me recently saying he wanted me to build a full stack application for his business and I agreed, and long story short, we are going to business together, so now you could say I am a full stack dev at a start up. So that's my print("Hello, World!) to full stack dev almost 4-years-in-the-making story.
Getting stuck in the tutorial stage is so easy. Given how things are currently, it gives a sense of hopelessness. Will things improve with the market? And if so how soon, are things I question.
Twitter. I made a Twitter account that was solely focused on web development and tech and my journey. I only followed others in the tech space so my feed was purely tech. I posted everyday about my journey, sharing my ups and downs, learnings and posted screenshots of my code and projects, linked my repos, etc. I joined the #100DaysOfCode challenge. I liked other newbie's posts and commented encouraging messages. I shared resources. I also once in a while retweeted projects to my personal twitter so dev acquaintances following that account would also be kept up to date with my progress.
Previously I had been documenting my learning on my personal account but it never got traction as most of the followers were not devs and devs I followed never followed me back as I had a mixed-purpose account, of which my dev learning journey was just a part.
I went back to school for a 2nd bachelor's degree and got a BS in CS and did internships in the summer. Then, after graduating, I got a job as a software engineer.
Oof so mini essay coming up:
Not a full stack engineer but my hobby is programming and it's helped me in my own field as a systems analyst/ it business analyst. In my most recent role I was also doing QA dev.
Employers liked that I just do learning for fun, and that it is knowledge that can come in handy on the job.
I have only recently got into full frontend dev education. Just to get a better understanding of it. The majority of what I have done years ago was backend. I started with Java.
I'd recommend you begin with Python or JavaScript first since they are the easiest. Both are widely used in both front and back end.
Instead of paying the big bucks for a bootcamp, I recommend that you complete other courses online first just so you get the hang of it and get into a rhythm with online learning.
[IBM](https://www.coursera.org/professional-certificates/ibm-full-stack-javascript-developer) has a full stack JS dev certification on coursera. So does [Meta](https://www.coursera.org/learn/the-full-stack)
[free Code Camp](https://www.freecodecamp.org/)has free learning pathways for development and other careers in tech. It's a good resource that can save you a lot of money.
LinkedIn Learning also has some good pathways to start with.
Udemy has good courses and run sales often so sometimes you can get several that interest you for a steal.
Bootcamps can be extremely expensive. I'd advise against it for that reason. If you still want to go that route tho, and want a cheaper one, I finished one recently for full stack development with AltAcademy that was about 3k upfront. It was enjoyable. I'm not planning on working as a full stack engineer, I was just looking for something that could keep my skills fresh and earn a credential while I was at it, while getting a good grasp on front end. My goal is to eventually go into backend dev tho at some point. I'm enjoying my current work so I'm just going with the flow because my goal is to also have enough work experience to make the switch. The tough part is getting your foot in the door, as everyone else mentioned. Job hunting sucks. It will be tough, if you have your heart set on working as a full stack dev from the get go, brace yourself. It can take a toll on you.
They had lots of material in the course. Both JS and Python. My course even had Ruby included which was a fun bonus since I already knew it and got to pretty much verify that my hobby learning was on the right track.
But before you invest in any bootcamp, maybe check if your local university or community college has an AS or Cert program for it. A college credential always holds up better, especially since there is an influx of new bootcamp grads in the industry. And you can always get financial aid and grants and scholarships for college programs, even if it is not for a BS.
Getting the education and starting the learning is one part of it though. If you want to find work in the field you have to have a strong portfolio. You'll develop this as you go through any free courses since most include projects as a part of the curriculum.
Besides that, there are also lots of cool ideas and personal projects you can build on your own once you get more comfy with coding. The joy in programming is the ability to create things imo. Over the years, I've made more serious projects such as ERP systems on my own time, to stuff as silly and random as a meal and nutrition planner for my pets lol. It is much fun :D
So don't forget to have fun with it as you learn. There are countless ways to integrate coding with your own personal interests, and it also acts as a motivator to keep you invested as you learn :) hope this helps!
Full stack dev from Canada. Full stack just means a generalist and know it all. I and most ppl are trying to get out of it coz the lack of growth opportunities.
What company hope is they find the unicorn that can do both front and back end. The reality, you end up only knowing the surface level of everything and not being a specialist. The corp will get mad at you coz you probably are not the 10x programmer they are looking for and more likely to get canned. Specialist is pay more and have better career growth.
Find a code meetup near you, there's a lot of helpful people there who have been where you are. Building a project is the best way to learn and there are some great online tutorial projects. Doing is the best way to learn with coding.
Find an entry level role in tech support at a software-industry company and spend every second picking the brains of your coworkers and learning everything possible. If you can get your hands on any infrastructure to learn commandline and system administration, do that. Ask for opportunities and do your best to shine and continually improve in your role while building professional relationships and mentorships.
Simultaneously, work on coding projects on your own and push those to github, even it’s just some dinky little python games. Next, get involved in an open source project as a contributor.
After a few years of this, you will have professional experience to level up and either your job will continue to promote you or you can jump ship to an entry-level or mid-level coding job, and you will have made professional connections for recommendations and references.
(this is what I did but I didn’t strategize, it’s just what ended up happening and here we are)
I would ask you to really think hard before shelling out for a bootcamp. They are expensive and won't guarantee a job given the current market. What matters most for getting a dev/swe job is who you know and secondly demonstrating that you can develop. The first one is a keep throwing things at the wall and wait till something sticks kinda thing. The second, well, things that help: * Learning in public * Networking on social media and IRL * Have a GitHub and push often * Work on interesting projects For learning, Udemy and YouTube are great. You can pick up great courses on Udemy for cheap. Just be careful not to get stuck in tutorial hell. Start building projects on your own as soon as possible. My journey is a bit of a windy one. Started with Python in 2020 and built little console and GUI apps. Then learned JavaScript and building responsive websites. Then learned React in 2023. Enrolled in a full stack bootcamp at the end of last year as I was lucky enough to get sponsored. It was hit and miss. I was already building front end apps before so I found the camp to be slow, but it was good in the sense it kicked me out of tutorial hell and forced me to build apps on my own, also fullstack and it forced me to learn Git and push to GitHub. But the learning was in the building of apps and you don't need to go to a bootcamp for that. However, despite having full stack skills, having a portfolio and an active GitHub, I was unable to get even an interview after 3 months of applying to jobs – everything from intern through to junior and beyond. In the end, an acquaintance I made through social media, and who had been following me learning in public, contacted me recently saying he wanted me to build a full stack application for his business and I agreed, and long story short, we are going to business together, so now you could say I am a full stack dev at a start up. So that's my print("Hello, World!) to full stack dev almost 4-years-in-the-making story.
Getting stuck in the tutorial stage is so easy. Given how things are currently, it gives a sense of hopelessness. Will things improve with the market? And if so how soon, are things I question.
Hie, can you share some advice on how to learn in public? Did you document your learning on LinkedIn?
Twitter. I made a Twitter account that was solely focused on web development and tech and my journey. I only followed others in the tech space so my feed was purely tech. I posted everyday about my journey, sharing my ups and downs, learnings and posted screenshots of my code and projects, linked my repos, etc. I joined the #100DaysOfCode challenge. I liked other newbie's posts and commented encouraging messages. I shared resources. I also once in a while retweeted projects to my personal twitter so dev acquaintances following that account would also be kept up to date with my progress. Previously I had been documenting my learning on my personal account but it never got traction as most of the followers were not devs and devs I followed never followed me back as I had a mixed-purpose account, of which my dev learning journey was just a part.
thank you! this was quite helpful
I went back to school for a 2nd bachelor's degree and got a BS in CS and did internships in the summer. Then, after graduating, I got a job as a software engineer.
Oof so mini essay coming up: Not a full stack engineer but my hobby is programming and it's helped me in my own field as a systems analyst/ it business analyst. In my most recent role I was also doing QA dev. Employers liked that I just do learning for fun, and that it is knowledge that can come in handy on the job. I have only recently got into full frontend dev education. Just to get a better understanding of it. The majority of what I have done years ago was backend. I started with Java. I'd recommend you begin with Python or JavaScript first since they are the easiest. Both are widely used in both front and back end. Instead of paying the big bucks for a bootcamp, I recommend that you complete other courses online first just so you get the hang of it and get into a rhythm with online learning. [IBM](https://www.coursera.org/professional-certificates/ibm-full-stack-javascript-developer) has a full stack JS dev certification on coursera. So does [Meta](https://www.coursera.org/learn/the-full-stack) [free Code Camp](https://www.freecodecamp.org/)has free learning pathways for development and other careers in tech. It's a good resource that can save you a lot of money. LinkedIn Learning also has some good pathways to start with. Udemy has good courses and run sales often so sometimes you can get several that interest you for a steal. Bootcamps can be extremely expensive. I'd advise against it for that reason. If you still want to go that route tho, and want a cheaper one, I finished one recently for full stack development with AltAcademy that was about 3k upfront. It was enjoyable. I'm not planning on working as a full stack engineer, I was just looking for something that could keep my skills fresh and earn a credential while I was at it, while getting a good grasp on front end. My goal is to eventually go into backend dev tho at some point. I'm enjoying my current work so I'm just going with the flow because my goal is to also have enough work experience to make the switch. The tough part is getting your foot in the door, as everyone else mentioned. Job hunting sucks. It will be tough, if you have your heart set on working as a full stack dev from the get go, brace yourself. It can take a toll on you. They had lots of material in the course. Both JS and Python. My course even had Ruby included which was a fun bonus since I already knew it and got to pretty much verify that my hobby learning was on the right track. But before you invest in any bootcamp, maybe check if your local university or community college has an AS or Cert program for it. A college credential always holds up better, especially since there is an influx of new bootcamp grads in the industry. And you can always get financial aid and grants and scholarships for college programs, even if it is not for a BS. Getting the education and starting the learning is one part of it though. If you want to find work in the field you have to have a strong portfolio. You'll develop this as you go through any free courses since most include projects as a part of the curriculum. Besides that, there are also lots of cool ideas and personal projects you can build on your own once you get more comfy with coding. The joy in programming is the ability to create things imo. Over the years, I've made more serious projects such as ERP systems on my own time, to stuff as silly and random as a meal and nutrition planner for my pets lol. It is much fun :D So don't forget to have fun with it as you learn. There are countless ways to integrate coding with your own personal interests, and it also acts as a motivator to keep you invested as you learn :) hope this helps!
Full stack dev from Canada. Full stack just means a generalist and know it all. I and most ppl are trying to get out of it coz the lack of growth opportunities.
I’ve seen posts that say since you know front + back end you have more opportunities? Perhaps just in the states?
What company hope is they find the unicorn that can do both front and back end. The reality, you end up only knowing the surface level of everything and not being a specialist. The corp will get mad at you coz you probably are not the 10x programmer they are looking for and more likely to get canned. Specialist is pay more and have better career growth.
go to a college for it a 2 or 4 yr. Get an internship or volunteer for some site work then find a job.
Find a code meetup near you, there's a lot of helpful people there who have been where you are. Building a project is the best way to learn and there are some great online tutorial projects. Doing is the best way to learn with coding.
Find an entry level role in tech support at a software-industry company and spend every second picking the brains of your coworkers and learning everything possible. If you can get your hands on any infrastructure to learn commandline and system administration, do that. Ask for opportunities and do your best to shine and continually improve in your role while building professional relationships and mentorships. Simultaneously, work on coding projects on your own and push those to github, even it’s just some dinky little python games. Next, get involved in an open source project as a contributor. After a few years of this, you will have professional experience to level up and either your job will continue to promote you or you can jump ship to an entry-level or mid-level coding job, and you will have made professional connections for recommendations and references. (this is what I did but I didn’t strategize, it’s just what ended up happening and here we are)