There isn’t just one way to become an engineer anymore. These days you can attend a bootcamp, teach yourself, get a degree, or get an internship. I attended a bootcamp but I still had to teach myself during it and just figure things out. My first company hired me as an apprentice on a trial basis. After I proved myself, they hired me as a full-time engineer. I’m now a published author with one of the biggest engineering publishing companies in the world. Meanwhile, my sister offered to work for free at a company for the first few weeks, just to prove she could do the work. There are so many paths open to anyone willing to work hard and learn.
If you didn’t get a CS degree, that’s fine! There are so many other paths to becoming a software engineer.
Bootcamps
A legitimate bootcamp is a great investment in your career. When I graduated from college, I felt a little lost on what I wanted to do next. I’d always loved coding but had never really pursued it. My aunt knew that I was trying to figure out what I should do for my first real career steps, besides internships and part-time jobs in college, and sent me an email about coding bootcamps. This absolutely saved me. I had never even heard of a coding bootcamp before. I immediately started doing a ton of research. It just seemed too good to be true. I read blog posts from every single student that had been to the bootcamp that I could find online. I read any review I could find. I started emailing students that attended the bootcamp and begging them to answer a few questions.
After I did my research, I decided to apply to Dev Bootcamp. I was so nervous when I got in. I didn’t have the money at the time so I had to take a loan from my parents. I couldn’t even find a reasonably priced apartment in San Francisco, so I was sleeping on a bunk bed with a roommate in a crowded house that had the vibe of Ron Weasley’s house but without the magic.
It was the best thing I had ever done.
Fast forward five years and I’m a senior software engineer. I speak at conferences all the time, I’ve worked at big public companies such as Eventbrite and Pandora. I’ve been interviewed for newspapers and on television several times. I’ve been paid to consult at cutting edge companies, and I’m a published author with the biggest engineering publisher in the world. A coding bootcamp completely changed my life.
But it didn’t work out for everyone that attended with me. I started out with 50–60 students in my cohort. By the time we graduated, about ten graduated with us. Some had stayed behind a cohort to learn a little more. Some dropped out early, while they still got a significant refund. Others decided that engineering wasn’t for them partway through the program when the financial loss was high. Others were asked to leave because they couldn’t keep up.
A coding bootcamp is one of the largest purchases you’ll make in your life. Do your research. Many horror stories exist online of people who paid $10–20k only to find out the bootcamp was a scam or the teachers were inadequate.
A good bootcamp will start with an online phase first, where you’ll learn from your home. It will teach you the basic concepts of programming so that when you get to the onsite portion of the program, you can focus on the tougher engineering concepts with teachers around to answer your questions.
Make sure that you find a program that also has a phase focused on interviewing prep and that supplies you with a career team. This was one of the most beneficial parts of my bootcamp. I got my first engineering job because the bootcamp helped me write out my LinkedIn and make my profile stand out. My first company actually found me on LinkedIn — I didn’t even have to apply.
If you do decide to research coding bootcamps, I recommend you start with the following: HackReactor, App Academy, and Hackbright.
Self-learning
If you have the time and can manage your own time well, this option might be a great fit. It’s definitely the toughest choice because you will need to keep to a schedule and stay motivated. But there are so many great online resources that you could teach yourself for free, build a portfolio, and get a job.
Apprenticeships/Internships
My sister taught herself and then told a company she liked that she would work for free for a few weeks to prove herself. They liked her determination in reaching out and they ended up hiring her as an engineer full time. Most apprenticeships and internships are paid and offer mentorship/support. You’ll most likely need to look for programs from larger companies because startups generally don’t have the resources to do these kinds of programs yet. A larger company will also have a more formalized process which will mean you’ll probably have a dedicated mentor, time to onboard, and more resources.
However, although these are internships/apprenticeships, generally, the people that do these programs have already graduated with a CS degree or attended a bootcamp, or are generally are able to hit the ground running. These openings are still highly competitive.
Transitioning to Engineering at Your Current Company
At one of my previous companies, many individuals were able to transfer from different careers to engineering. Some worked in customer support or in QA. It wasn’t easy and they still had to teach themselves a lot, but they’re all now working full-time as engineers. This requires you to be able to get your current work done and have the ability to take on extra work in your own time.
Anyone Who Can Learn to Code Can Get a Job
I didn’t pursue engineering in college because I thought I wasn’t smart enough. I thought engineering was a field for men and I would be ostracized. Now I have recruiters from Facebook, Google, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Apple reaching out constantly. If you can stay determined, you can get a job in engineering.
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