- Why did you get into the field? What did you focus on at first?
Although I really enjoy it now, I originally got into software work for the job. After graduating with a degree in physics and French and having a tough time finding a satisfying job, I gave software a shot after seeing some friends and family enjoying the field. I started with JavaScript and frontend engineering, as it seemed to have the lowest barrier to entry at the time.
- What are you doing at your job? Is it everything you dreamed of and more?
Currently a software engineer at Google, and I started at my current role doing front end work. I've since transitioned to working all around the stack. It's definitely more than I dreamed of, and I don't think I'll ever stop learning!
- How did you break that first-job barrier?
I think I broke the barrier by a) getting my first real tech job at a startup, b) doing some very basic development work for my non-tech company job right before moving to the startup, c) building a portfolio to show off things that I had built, and d) continuing to learn after getting my first job with some CS classes.
- What were you doing before this?
I was working as a tutor for high school students while also doing some customer support work. Fielding customer support phone calls definitely helped motivate me to study in my off-work hours!
- Any tips for the rest of us?
I always hesitate to give advice because there's so much randomness and luck involved, but one thing I always recommend are CS classes. Though I started self-taught, I've since taken a number of tremendous online classes (quick shout out to CS50 if you've never taken it) that I've found to be very enriching.
Although I really enjoy it now, I originally got into software work for the job. After graduating with a degree in physics and French and having a tough time finding a satisfying job, I gave software a shot after seeing some friends and family enjoying the field. I started with JavaScript and frontend engineering, as it seemed to have the lowest barrier to entry at the time.
- What are you doing at your job? Is it everything you dreamed of and more?
Currently a software engineer at Google, and I started at my current role doing front end work. I've since transitioned to working all around the stack. It's definitely more than I dreamed of, and I don't think I'll ever stop learning!
- How did you break that first-job barrier?
I think I broke the barrier by a) getting my first real tech job at a startup, b) doing some very basic development work for my non-tech company job right before moving to the startup, c) building a portfolio to show off things that I had built, and d) continuing to learn after getting my first job with some CS classes.
- What were you doing before this?
I was working as a tutor for high school students while also doing some customer support work. Fielding customer support phone calls definitely helped motivate me to study in my off-work hours!
- Any tips for the rest of us?
I always hesitate to give advice because there's so much randomness and luck involved, but one thing I always recommend are CS classes. Though I started self-taught, I've since taken a number of tremendous online classes (quick shout out to CS50 if you've never taken it) that I've found to be very enriching.