From Foreign Language to Programming Languages: How I hacked my career and became a Software Developer

Photo by Jase Bloor on Unsplash

Making a Pivot

There I was, lying in bed one night restlessly racking my brain trying to decide a major career pivot with two options. Two years had passed since I graduated from The Ohio State University with a BA in Japanese Language and Literature. I had a blast learning the language, studying culture, and even visiting the country for a six-week internship. But, after graduation, my professional career started quickly became unfulfilling and stagnant. Right out of college I worked for a couple of months part-time as a busser at a restaurant. It was barely even a blip on my resume but it paid the bills until I was able to find a more stable job. From there I got a job working with Honda on the automotive assembly line for about six months of some of the toughest work of my life. It wasn’t for me but it got me closer to a job that was. I ended up working at the R&D facility not far from the assembly plant as a bilingual office assistant. There I was finally able to put my degree to use and worked there for around a year and a half until I realized something was still missing.

I needed challenges and growth to feel like I was on a path to something I could imagine doing for the rest of my life. Unfortunately, I couldn’t imagine feeling fulfilled as a bilingual office assistant for another year, let alone for the rest of my career. It was time to think about what I wanted to do professionally and consider what my ideal day-to-day would look like. I had narrowed it down to Accounting and Software Development as my two most interesting options. Both would have allowed me to use my brain to solve problems and both would allow me to continually level up my skills to stay relevant in the field. Something that my career had been sorely lacking up to that point.

If the title of this post and my place of employment doesn’t give it away, I went with Software Development and the career switch was a success. Accounting would have been an equally challenging and fulfilling career. But I had always had an obsession with computers and technology so Software Development seemed the obvious choice. I hope sharing my story will let someone in a similar position know that it’s never too late to switch to a fulfilling career. And if it’s Software Development you want to get into, it’s a much easier path than you think.

Back to School

Once I chose to pursue Software Development, the next tough choice I had to make was how to go about it. It came down to get a second degree, enroll in a Bootcamp, or buy books and learn it all on my own. All were and still are equally valid options but in the end, I went with getting a second degree. Granted, this wasn’t the cheapest decision. I had to re-apply for student aid and start thinking about the financial consequences of course. Knowing myself and what motivates me, I knew the best way for this to be successful was to have money and a grade on the line. Thankfully, I discovered a private university headquartered not far from me in downtown Columbus, Ohio that had what they call Subsequent Bachelor’s programs. This meant that all the prerequisites I had taken with my previous degree counted and would transfer over. This was a major factor in deciding that I was comfortable going back to college. I wasn’t necessarily looking for a complete redo so starting from scratch would have been a dealbreaker. On the money front, students at this University had access to the Choose Ohio First Scholarship. This is a statewide scholarship that intends to empower Ohioans to be successful in STEM fields and to give Ohio an edge in STEM disciplines. This aligned with my personal passions so I applied and was awarded the scholarship for the duration of my time there. The university also had a reputation for being friendly to non-traditional students. So most, if not all, classes could be taken virtually or in-person with schedules that work for people who work.

First Steps Into a New World

After a year or so into the program, I found a job working as a Systems Analyst. I was responsible for analyzing business feature requests and translating them into software requirements for the Developers to code against. While many Software Development teams don’t work that way today, the experience I gained in that role was valuable because it gave me a chance to learn how to break down problems and propose solutions: a skill that all Software Developers need and have to hone throughout their careers. It was fairly enjoyable work at the time. I was finally able to get real experience working with a software development team and get a feel for the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC). And, as luck would have it, soon after I started working there the team started an Agile Transformation which gave me my first taste of agile software development practices. Most importantly, however, the job proved to me that I was on the right track. Up to this point, a career in software development was still theoretical in my mind. This was my first opportunity to experience the type of environment and rigor that comes with being on a software development team. Even though I wasn’t writing code yet myself I could certainly see myself enjoying a career in software development. So much so that this is also when I started checking out programming conferences. In the end, the job ended up being a motivation multiplier just as much as it did a stepping stone.

I did that job for two years while I went to school for my degree. I learned that I wasn’t a good fit for a corporate structure and that way of doing things. I wanted to move fast and work for a technology-driven company. Like a lot of people, I dreamed of being a part of the often romanticized software development cultures of companies like Google, Apple, etc. The issue I had was that a number of responsibilities and proximity to friends and family were keeping me from wanting to move too far from Central Ohio. I hadn’t heard much about the existence of a booming software startup scene in Central Ohio like I had heard about in places like California and New York. But, it turns out, there were a handful of software companies in Ohio doing cool and innovative things with software. I just wasn’t looking hard enough or in the right places.

Taking a Chance

One evening I decided to step out of my comfort zone and attend a networking event that one of the companies I was researching was having at their office. The way I saw it, I had a couple more years until I finished my CS degree but it’s never too early to reach out and get to know people locally who may be able to help me get a job later. Things went a little differently than I had expected though. I had a great time and met some great people who encouraged me to go ahead and apply and see what happens. It turns out, contrary to my understanding prior, a lot of software companies don’t care about how you got the skills to do that job as long as you have them. Sure, I hadn’t yet finished my CS degree, but if I could get through the application process that’s all that mattered. So I decided to give it a go. I applied, did their coding exercise, and was invited to take the next step. For a few days, I allowed myself to believe that I could finally be getting my first Software Engineering job. After a nerve-racking paired coding exercise and a bit of a waiting game, that’s exactly what happened. I had done it. Finally, after 3 long years of being a part-time student by night and full-time employee by day, I had reached my goal and was able to step into a new and exciting career. To make a long story short, I spent four great years at an amazing company as a software consultant. While I was there I learned a lot working on various projects and in many different industries. I even met some very cool people who I still consider to be friends to this day. During the spring of 2020 (at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic) I decided it was time to move on and continue my professional development here with Beam Dental, helping the company with its goals and vision for simplifying and improving access to Dental Care and Insurance. At this point, I’ve been with Beam for one year and continue to gain new skills and deepen my knowledge of how to develop quality software. While, at the same time, sharing with whoever will listen that anyone who wants to can get into tech. It just takes grit and determination.

Lessons Learned

If I had to distill all this down into four lessons I learned during the change, they would be:

1. Know yourself — You have to know where you want to go and what motivates and drives you to be successful. Becoming a Software Engineer is not a one size fits all path. I’ve met just as many people who got into the field after completing a Bootcamp as I have who completed a CS degree. I’ve even met self-taught people whose only training came from books, YouTube, and other easily accessible learning materials.
2. Know what resources are available — Whether it’s scholarships, degree programs, or the hottest Bootcamp, there is power in knowing what’s all out there and how to plot the course to make it happen. If you’re just curious and want to gauge your interest before diving into a paid course of study, I would recommend taking a look at freeCodeCamp or codecademy.
3. Don’t give up — For me, going to school while working full time was a challenge and an exercise in willpower. The benefits of getting into the career I wanted were a good carrot to keep me motivated. I also kept myself motivated by visiting programming language conferences every few years to remind me what I was working towards
4. Don’t be afraid to take chances — At every point in my journey where I had to make a decision, I was also taking a chance that it could be the wrong decision or not work out. And that’s okay because, as they say, you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. Not only that, If I didn’t attend that networking event I may have never met the people I did. And if I didn’t dare to apply for a job there before finishing my degree, who knows where I would be now.

So, if you’re like I was back then (or know someone who is) and wondering if it’s even possible to change your career trajectory and get into Software Development, I hope my story shows that it is and that it’s worth it to try. And, if you’re going to work for several decades, you owe it to yourself to be in a career that you find fun and rewarding.