5 years ago, I made the decision to become a software engineer. It wasn’t an obvious choice. I had been flailing around until that point, exploring different careers - sales, financial analyst, financial advisor, bookkeeper, and quantity surveyor.
Odd bunch, eh? Well, I couldn’t stick to any of them.
What I did consistently do, throughout all that time, was write code. I created little scripts in Python to automate personal tasks. I built websites in Django to test out startup ideas. I read the Python Crash Course and Automating the Boring Stuff with Python. It felt fun!
The media was hyping up the software engineering career path at the time, too. It was the start of the unprecedented spike in hiring. So, I figured I should give it a go.
Job postings in the US, 2020-2021. Will only go up, right? :)
I started off with freeCodeCamp, which enabled me to grow more confident in my programming skills. But I soon realised that there were too many training wheels. I didn’t want to solve JavaScript challenges inside their IDE; I wanted to launch a website that I can open from anywhere, ASAP!
I reached out for help to a friend of mine, who was also re-training as a software developer. He recommended me The Odin Project.
I liked that website. It was less of a course; more of a rough guide on where to look for what in order to publish a React site. I got turned off when I reached the backend (phrasing!) though. They covered Express, which made perfect sense in the curriculum, but not for me. As you probably guessed, I wanted to use my good ol’ pal, Django!
So, after plenty of Googling, I managed to publish my first proper web app - a React/Django beauty that calculated the positivity of any news site it was given.
Sorry for the small image size, this is the only demo of the app I still have
In the meantime, I had also started networking for job opportunities. I reached out to a few people I knew who were hiring developers; none bit the bullet on me. Then, I posted in a local Facebook group asking if any developers are open to grabbing a drink. A couple replied. By luck, one of them was working at a tiny startup which was hiring. He introduced me to the CTO, who ran a very basic FizzBuzz test by me. I passed it, and got offered the job!
The pay was very poor, even by UK standards. But experience is king, so I took it without any hesitation.
Now that I wrote this post, I have to admit I feel proud of what I was able to accomplish. Within 4 months, I went from a hobbyist programmer to a software engineering professional, without paying a single dime. This means something to me, as someone who tends to put himself down too often.