A Story of Becoming A Software Engineer Without a C.S. Degree
Over 230 job applications and five on-site interviews later, I’ve finally become a software engineer! Here’s my story that led up to one of most important milestones in my life.
Reaching your dreams is binary — you either do what’s necessary to reach it or you don’t. — me
Teach Myself or Pursue a C.S. Degree?
In the fall of 2011, I moved to San Jose to finish my Kinesiology degree at SJSU. A few months after graduating in the spring of 2014, I started my own fitness business. I soon realized my passion was somewhere else.
When I was young I grew up building stuff. I transformed garages to bedrooms with my grandfather. I helped my brother build cars that had no engines. I produced digital music.
I was drawn to engineering. My passion for software didn’t arise until later in my life. What sold me about software was the impact a single person can have on the world. I loved that one person on one computer can build an entire application. Then present it to millions of people with no downtime.
I started to think about my life. Should I have pursued computer science?
I was one year into managing my fitness business I started a few months after graduating SJSU. I had to make a huge decision. Do I kill this business and pursue a computer science degree? Or do I continue my business and teach myself on my free time?
I couldn’t go back to college. I’ve already spent a total of six years in school across two colleges. I had already accumulated student debt.
It was clear so I chose the latter.
To learn I used many free online and physical resources. I followed Stanford’s CS curriculum and MIT’s online OpenCourseWare. I read books and took online courses.
I learned a ton, built a few projects here and there, and built some small software for my business. Yet it was self-directed and I was managing a business at the same time. My growth was all over the place.
Coding was exhilarating. The more I coded the more I wanted to transition to becoming a software engineer. Yet I knew there was so much more I needed to learn and I wasn’t ready to start my job search.
I decided to look for other options to help me with this. Going back to school still wasn’t one. I needed mentorship.
Attend a Software Engineering Program?
Before deciding to learn programming I’ve heard of these “coding bootcamps”. I’ve always been a self-motivated and inquisitive person. So I decided to save my money and teach myself first. I figured, “what could I lose?”
Fast forward to the end of 2016. My growth was okay but not where I wanted it to be. I decided to attend a software engineering program in February the next year. To commit to this program I had to stop my business in a few months.
In May 2017 I graduated. Yet it wasn’t over. It was time for the dreadful job search. After three months of:
- no income
- studying over six hours a day, five to six days a week
- submitting over 230 job applications
- getting rejected from companies left and right
- having five on-site interviews
I’ve finally found the company that fit me best.
From 0 to 100
2017 has been a crazy, stressful, risky year for me.
- I’ve discontinued a working business
- For three months I put myself through hell. I coded 11 hours a day and commuted to and from San Jose and San Francisco
- I experienced the struggle of convincing employers I was a competent software engineer despite not having a C.S. degree
Even though it was challenge I’m glad I made the decision to pursue a career in software engineering. Here’s what I learned — if you’re passionate about something, pursue it. Make mistakes and take risks while you’re young. You’ll end up living the rest of your life with regret if fear kept you from doing what you wanted to do.
There’s No Better Industry To Work In
I am so fortunate to be in an industry of innovative and inquisitive thinkers. I love working with software engineers who are passionate about changing the world. I’m excited about open source software, entrepreneurship, start-up cultures, and free snacks.
