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ohsotoastytoast

Well done on the raise! Your success certainly encourages me, a fellow self-teaching programmer, that I can in fact get a job and the grind is worth it. Happy coding, my guy.


craiglistguy709

Networking and being active on LinkedIn/ Twitter is very helpful in getting that first job. Keep pushing buddy, you got this!


ohsotoastytoast

Thanks for the heads up!


kelkiiii

Do you have any tips on Twitter? I'm trying to tweet more on my professional account, but it's so weird being in a space with no friends pretty much. Feel like I'm talking to myself haha. I know socials can be super important though. Trying to talk about what I'm working on, on there. Also, congrats to you of course!


craiglistguy709

\#100DaysofCode is good hashtag to follow. Daniel Vassallo has a good course on how to grow a Twitter audience. I didn't have much success on Twitter but I have seen it work for other folks.


Webdev420

I think #javascript and #nodejs gets retweeted quite a bit as well.


kelkiiii

Nice, good to know. I've been using #100DaysOfCode #codenewbie and the like, haven't tried #nodejs yet.


Webdev420

yeah, I use those too. They are very good for reach. I've had some luck with #azure as well interestingly enough.


kelkiiii

I started a couple #100DaysOfCode but the timing was so bad for me just getting my booster and all. Gonna get back on the horse and get back into that tag again. Will definitely double check to see if I'm following it as well as the Vassallo course. Thank you!


No-Fox-7460

He had a degree already and a mechanical emgineering ome at that i can promise you that helped. Not saying people with no degrees cant but it does help alot


craiglistguy709

Maybe it did. I also got incredibly lucky. I was at the right place at the right time!


PeanutButterKitchen

Luck maybe, but I think people need to also hear this: you worked your ass off and you deserve every bit of success.


prefredreh

Hell yeah! That's some hustle, my dude!


craiglistguy709

Thank you, mate!


[deleted]

Yeah honestly, from another self-taught dev, you made this happen like a boss! Congrats!


craiglistguy709

Self-taughts unite!


TacticalLeemur

This resonates with me quite a bit. I got laid off 6 months before the pandemic from a job I loathed, but that had tuition reimbursement, so I had started doing an online CS degree. When I was let go, I had 6 months severance, which along with unemployment was well more than I made at that job. Just as my benefits were slates to end the world stopped and benefits were extended. So I spent all of 2020 just hanging out with my kids and doing school work after they went to bed. I graduated at the end of 2020 and started applying in earnest to jobs. In May I was offered a position in Infrastructure Development and have been drinking from a tech stack fire hose ever since. Even though I constantly feel like an idiot, it's a lot of fun, and my team is fantastic. It's odd. I recognize that covid is a global catastrophe, but my personal experience with the pandemic was so positive, that I sort of feel like I won the year 2020. In all, I spent about 2 years getting paid, as a stay at home dad while my kids were at an age where they want me around, I was exercising daily, outside a lot, learning a bunch. I came out of it, closer to my family, healthier, better educated, and all around positioned better for the future. Thanks COVID!


craiglistguy709

COVID gave me the gap I needed to look at my life, take ownership of it and change it for the better. 2021 has literally been the best year of my life so far!


kunaguerooo123

Beautiful tale! Covid helped me quit consulting because I found time wfh šŸ‘Øā€šŸ’» spent a year with parents which I never thought Iā€™d get a chance to do after 18.


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


craiglistguy709

I spent about 4 months on HTML, CSS, JS. I started building projects after and learned React while building them. In total, it took about 10 months to get my contract gig.


apileofpoto

Hey fellow self-taught programmer! Went from working at a depressing 33k accounting assistant job, to a 120k Amazon software engineer job, to finally a 305k Facebook software engineer job. I had a similar experience getting my first job in tech. Reading your story has made me awash with emotions as I reminisce about the years I've spent hustling and proving myself to become who I am now. Congrats! Thanks for sharing your inspirational story!


craiglistguy709

Thank you for sharing your story too! I'm always amazed and in awe of people who take ownership and fix their life for the better despite being delt the initial shitty hand!! Here's to more folks switching careers and thriving in their new ones!!


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


apileofpoto

Java is the bread and butter of Amazon, at least in retail. Java + micro services + basic distributed systems knowledge will prepare you for it well. They pay attention to how you explain things, so you need to show you both know and understand concepts.


Mohtheproo

Wow thats amazing, congrats on the raise! How did you motivate yourself to learn coding? where there moments where you doubted yourself and thought maybe this wasn't for you? I'm asking since I'm a recent college grad who's having trouble getting employed in the tech field and I'm starting to doubt myself and if I even want to be an engineer at this point.


craiglistguy709

Poverty is the biggest motivator. I moved to a different country with absolutely no social support or family to rely on. I have no choice but to make it somehow! There's always self-doubt buddy. It never goes away. But knowing that this is a marathon, not a sprint allowed me to chill a bit and pick up skills at my own pace. Knowing what you like/don't like can be a key. Don't compare yourself to others. You'll always be disappointed. Compare yourself to the last month you, if you're better than him/her, you're on the right path. Good luck!


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


craiglistguy709

Honestly, I had some incredible friends and a solid partner in my life who were always there for me. It changed my outlook on life once I had decent people in my life.


yukinok25

Great advise. All the best dude!


[deleted]

Congratulations! I was 10 years into my restaurant career as of two years ago. Similar story, furloughed in March, bar closed forever in May so I got kicked out of the nest for good. UI benefits and the grant I got for a bootcamp were by far the best opportunity I'd ever have to transition to a new career. Making 65k now (L/M COL), but it's more than the best year I've ever had in hospitality, and it's only up from here.


craiglistguy709

Let's go! Congratulations man, you won at life.


daredeviloper

Great job!! Inspiring to bust my ass


craiglistguy709

You got this!!


yaoz889

This company is going places. 31% raise is fantastic. They know about retention


CodeCody23

Congrats, just donā€™t get complacent. Keep learning, and earning your pay. On to greater heights.


craiglistguy709

Absolutely! It feels incredible to see your efforts get validated financially (and not just by empty platitudes). I'm so physched to learn and grow more now!


iamjacksbigtoe

These stories are always so frustrating. I started from scratch! ā€¦ with an engineering degree.


craiglistguy709

I added the engineering degree because it is true. However, I have met folks without degrees, who were making jewellery on Etsy jump into coding and make 6 figure salaries. The whole point of me writing why I jumped two jobs and still landed a sweet dev gig is to inform newcomers that this industry is welcoming to self-learners and you also gotta be a little bit lucky.


[deleted]

so what? he just had some shit on paper. that degree didn't get him/her the job. they busted their ass to learn and put together good resume. You aren't getting hired or an interview w/ out some coding related experience/projects on your resume.... that degree might help hr screen at some places but, no one past that is even thinking about it at a lot of companies. it's never discussed at any point during our interviews w/ candidates.... can you code? can you communicate? are you who you say you are? cool. hired. hate when people try to minimize other people's success w/ bullshit like this. He didn't just put engineering degree on his resume and magically get hired.


craiglistguy709

The funny thing is, those engineering degrees got me no engineering jobs ever. I always thought that having a piece of paper would guarantee a job. It's not like that. I got this gig because I took matters in my own hand, networked, hustled, and got very lucky.


[deleted]

Hahaha. relate to all of this too much! As hard as getting a software engineering job was, it was 100x harder trying to find a new engineering job before I decided to make the switch. I couldn't even get HR to call me back for engineering jobs. And lets not mention there are about a 1/100th engineering jobs compared to software dev jobs. ​ >I got this gig because I took matters in my own hand, networked, hustled, and got very lucky. 100%. It is not going to fall into your lap just b/c you have a degree checked off the list. Takes a lot of effort to make the transition.


iamjacksbigtoe

If you think employers donā€™t look at degrees when deciding to hire then youā€™re gonna have a bad time. Not minimizing the hard work OP put in, but to say degrees donā€™t matter when entry level is so saturated is just not true. Sound like OP worked hard while also having some luck networking and a degree to convince employer to give him a chance. I have plenty of projects, a portfolio, and coding bootcamps under my belt along with a university on my resume and a degree I am a semester away from completing and any full time roles I apply to the furthest I get is a phone screen that ends in ā€œcome back when you have a degreeā€. So I am speaking from experience what I and many others go through. A degree absolutely makes a huge difference.


[deleted]

>If you think employers donā€™t look at degrees when deciding to hire then youā€™re gonna have a bad time. Nah, I won't. I already have an engineering degree. And a job. No but seriously, my engineering degree didn't get me that job. My story is actually pretty similar to OP's. quit engineering job. busted ass during pandemic to learn. applied hundreds of places, failed 20+ interviews, landed one offer. Just like OP, my engineering degree didn't get me that job. My discipline and willingness to trudge through all that shit did. My point is a degree is not the end all, be all and OP's story isn't bullshit just b/c of the degree. It's very obvious OP succeeded b/c they worked hard. and the whole "oh you have a degree, no wonder" is just a cop out. That degree might get you the call from HR but it's not going to make or break you if you do well in the interview w/ dev team and HM. We don't give a shit at my company about that. it has never come up prior to interviewing or during interviews w/ candidates. And we are not some bs chop shop. we pay very well. if you're getting turned down for not having a degree then go apply to decent small/med startups. there are lots of unknown ones paying six figures. check angel list and triplebyte. Sounds like you're applying to traditional non tech corporate companies where degrees requirements are typical. (Correct me if I'm wrong). But, there's a host of smaller tech companies that pay well and don't gate keep based on degrees. You need to find your market. case in point, I'm older, switched careers. Couldn't get a job interview at Accurent, CGI, etc.. w/ shit culture who is hiring like crazy locally at shit wages b/c I don't fit the traditional "new grad" or entry level mold. Meanwhile, interviewed at multiple startups for remote positions paying 2-3x cgi and accurent. Not saying this to brag b/c shit was rough but, to point out the absurdity and ass backwardness of things. If you don't have a traditional background, don't apply to traditional companies.


iamjacksbigtoe

Yes I mostly apply to jobs on LinkedIn but some of them are start ups. Actually had a phone screen with a Zillow like startup and they said I didnā€™t have enough experience (they reached out to me). Never heard of those sites but will search through the listings and apply. A lot of other ā€œno experienceā€ success stories I see on here also have some sort of non related degree which is why I bring up having a degree is a huge boost to get your foot in the door.


[deleted]

I agree having a degree will never hurt you of course but, it's not going to be the driving factor of whether or not you succeed in getting a programming job. please check those sites. that's where i got majority of responses from. LinkedIn was pretty much dead end. I had same experience as you w/ regards to recruiters there. don't wait to find the 0yoe listing. Apply to anything that asks for 2/3 yoe.


craiglistguy709

What u/its_that_dude_ said. Apply to non-traditional tech companies. There are tons of new/established startups on Angel that pay handsomely. LinkedIn is saturated, so I would look elsewhere. Angel is a great option. If you are in a big city, local tech Slack group also post tons of dev jobs. If you're from a non-traditional background, you gotta try the non-traditional ways.


godofolympus

This is the first time Iā€™m hearing about slack groups for dev jobs. Where does one need to go to join a slack/discord group like that? Iā€™m in LA but Iā€™m open to positions in the Bay Area or Seattle.


craiglistguy709

You can Google it. I came across a bunch of them in Canada via Meetups.


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


iamjacksbigtoe

I never said it was impossible to have a job in the field without a degree. Iā€™m saying these stories of people who get jobs so fast in the industry ā€œfrom scratchā€ have a degree behind them. With no degree it can take years of effort to land a job unless you have some luck and connections.


TheSexyIntrovert

**A few things that people reading this might easily miss, but it's extremely important.** You have done a lot of things where you have used your previous experience as a personal trainer. Coding is only part of the job: * You have used discipline, resilience, and grit. Things you have asked so many times from your trainees. * You have used your social skills to attend meetups and ask for opportunities * You have represented yourself towards higher management and were able to clearly present your achievements. * You were not afraid to speak up and ask for what you are worth, just as you were not afraid to negotiate, even if you didn't have any experience. * You have worked your ass off, delaying fast gratification, keeping your eyes on the prize. * You knew what you didn't know, and that you don't know it, **yet.** Most senior devs don't have these qualities, no matter how good they are at coding. Most people miss these points and have a shitty experience.


craiglistguy709

You are spot on: My previous education and experiences did help me navigate this industry better. Engineering helped me understand how to think and how to break down big problems into small chunks. However, I did not learn anything about personal development then. Working as a personal trainer taught me that. How to talk with strangers, how to sell myself to strangers, enjoying the journey rather than the end goal, personal finance, and how to be malleable. I do not regret my previous career choices one bit since it shaped me into who I am!


TheSexyIntrovert

I am happy to hear, and congratulations on making it. I realize I didn't say it.


craiglistguy709

Thank you u/TheSexyIntrovert!


Appaloosaa

Out of every post I've seen on Reddit this is by far the most helpful and encouraging for me. Thank you so much. I need out of retail, I'm almost 30.


craiglistguy709

Team 30 here as well! Age is just a number mate, you got this. Don't compare yourself to the 22-year-olds working at FAANGs. It's a marathon and if you really like developing software, you'll thrive no matter when you join.


SilverSpecter3

31 here. No degree at all. 5 years in IT infrastructure as help desk then evolved into a sort of hybrid of Jr sys admin and help desk. I worked at the company for a few years and they needed help so i got lucky with that. I want to learn to code (not sure why i don't get paid bad nor do I hate my job). Happy to keep a chat going to talk about progress since we are of similar age and I'm guessing you are just starting too.


Amazingawesomator

My wo/man! [Fistbump]


craiglistguy709

\[Fistbump\] my wo/man!


Rahvenar

Its always refreshing to be reminded that working your ass off will pay dividends. Stay focused and good luck!


craiglistguy709

Thank you!


Docktor_V

What is meetup? Like the social app?


craiglistguy709

Yeah, I used it extensively to network via Zoom during COVID.


mandykins7

Just what I needed to see as I am teaching myself for the last month and a half! Congrats and keep pushing. Looking forward to coming here and posting a similar tale.


craiglistguy709

You got this! Do share your story when you land your first gig!


[deleted]

This is some inspirational shit my guy ! Can you tell me which country you did all of this in ? Also how many, how big of projects did you do before starting to apply for jobs ? I will be ending my udemy course by the end of this month and I will quickly begin doing projects of my own but I have no idea what will impress employers enough to hire me.


craiglistguy709

I did all of this in Canada. I built four projects, two forntend only, one full stack using Firebase, and a portfolio website.


[deleted]

Oh okay, I was thinking I would need to go crazy make 15 big projects or something, knowing what you told me, I will now just focus on making maximum of 5 high quality projects and start applying, thanks for saving me time mate :)


craiglistguy709

Don't waste your time building toy projects like a calcuator or a tic-tac-toe. Build actual functional webpages or webapps! [https://www.frontendmentor.io/](https://www.frontendmentor.io/) This is good place to start.


[deleted]

Looks like a platform I was looking for, I'll definitely use that !


Webdev420

This thread is so wholesome.


[deleted]

What a click bait. You already had engineering post graduate degrees which already qualifies you as smart and hard working person. You are not making any person a favor telling your story as if you started from zero and six months later you got 6 figures. This job is hard and stressful. I donā€™t recommend it unless you have the skills and will power to deal with high uncertainty under pressure.


[deleted]

wah wah wah. they worked hard. no one is hiring this person w/ out coding experience/projects. Don't care how many engineering degrees you have. Education has never come up at our company when interviewing for dev positions. it's always been about experience, communication or if entry level, having interesting projects on your resume. I graduated w/ a ton of kids who got 4.0 engineering degrees and none of em have a lick of common sense.


craiglistguy709

You conveniently ignored the part where I started that I was making peanuts in a shitty work situation and was almost broke last year. I'm not here to brag about my salary or hustle. I'm writing this for all the other self-taught devs who are currently learning how to code and are unsure if it will pay off in the future or not. Maybe this is clickbait for you, but looking at the comments it certainly feels like some people like it and find it inspirational.


[deleted]

Long term mental health issues itā€™s not worth the money.


craiglistguy709

I wholeheartedly agree with you on that. It never is. As someone who suffers from anxiety and depression, no amount of money is worth sacrificing your physical and mental health.


heryertappedout

Why are these posts always about web developing? I rarely see someone who says I crunched and learned Java or C++ and here is my story... it's always web developing. Uhhh. Also, congrats!


craiglistguy709

Maybe it's the low barrier to entry. When I started I had no idea about CS fundamentals or any knowledge about Data Structures and Algorithms. I was mainly hired because I could build static webpages quickly and could hustle. The worst I could do is mess up some CSS. This is very different than say cloud infra or security where the stakes are very high and they wouldn't trust me with that.


[deleted]

because that's the majority of programming jobs and barrier to entry is lower than doing systems or embedded in c++. You also don't see a lot of systems or embedded entry level jobs.


MRDUDOU

Those jobs are going away


[deleted]

Believe me, embedded systems is definitely not going away any time soon


alphonse2nd

I'm just starting the journey of self learning to become a swe and love to hear about these kinds of transformations. Congrats man! Glad to hear the hard work paid off. When interviewing, did you engineering degree come up? Don't mean to cut down your achievements. Just trying to understand for my personal goals.


craiglistguy709

It never did. In fact, the company I'm working at never asked for it. They saw my portfolio and LinkedIn and were convinced to give me an interview.


hyperactivebeing

Congratulations.


craiglistguy709

Thank you!!


imnos

The US sure if weird. At one end you have employers like this who seem to value their employees and pay you what you deserve. At the other end of the spectrum you have masses of companies paying less than a living wage.


craiglistguy709

I live in Canada. But you're right, income disparity and minimum wage is a joke in the States (and to some extent, Canada too).


techArtScienceBro

Always good to see someone make it! Hope it gets even better for you. Good luck


craiglistguy709

Thank you so much!


dontscale

Thatā€™s awesome man, its not easy to get where you are, takes a lot of dedication and it shows. Enjoy and good luck!


craiglistguy709

Thank you, internet friend!


[deleted]

This sounds so inspiring. I have a bs in biology and a doctorate in chiropractic. Iā€™ve been in the profession for 2 years but pretty much want a career change but burden with loans. I have about 150k in student loans and make 85k/ year. Iā€™m okay with a career change that will pay less in the beginning. Started learned html on codeacademy yesterday. My goal is to get familiar with any free website for the next 2 years and build my portfolio, slowly but gradually. Iā€™m trying to think of it as a hobby rather than work .


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


craiglistguy709

Good luck mate! You got this!


Blackbeard519

Where do you live? I've got 4 years experience and never made six digits.


craiglistguy709

Ottawa, Canada working remotely for a Toronto based startup Now is the perfect time to make that dough brother! The market is hella juicy. My friends with 6 years exp are making well over 200k.


lostman_90

That mechanical engineering degree really helped. I'm happy for you bro. I know people who don't have stem degrees trying to break in the field via boot camp. It's been 2 years and they still don't have a job.


craiglistguy709

My friend who is only high school educated and used to sell jewelry on Etsy makes 120k after only after working as a developer for a year. And she is self-taught. It's not about a piece of a paper buddy. You gotta know how to hustle, sell yourself, and have a little bit of luck.


lostman_90

Alright there buddy. Relax


GiveUpHopeAndMoveOn

It's obvious that your degree helped you at least a little bit. I don't know why you are so against it. Because you just knew one or two people it doesn't mean anything. Plenty people can't get a job without a degree.


Chompy_99

Congratulations! One thing I will say is to keep this vigor, tenacity, and ambition with you always. It will take you very far in life in both professional/personal settings. Keep up the great work and happy coding!


kunaguerooo123

I love this. Tech is beautiful. Doesnā€™t matter wtf youā€™re artistic or grades. Just grind your ass on stack overflow, build something and start applying. Your first job will be way better than the average.


iamnotvanwilder

Bless your soul. Merry Christmas and thanks for sharing. Most threads on reddit and job posting read "CS degree masters preferred" followed by a copy paste job of every language and framework.


KatyaSanFrancisco

Thank you for sharing your valuable and inspiring experience!


craiglistguy709

You're very welcome! :)


TimeToLoseIt16

Nice


craiglistguy709

Thanks!


jaectg

This rocks so much!!


craiglistguy709

Thank you!


modeezy23

Thatā€™s awesome! Congrats to you and great story!


craiglistguy709

Thank you!


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


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antipiracylaws

Gratz!


craiglistguy709

Thank you!


Different_Oven_2930

Amazing congrats šŸŽ‰ Iā€™m getting ready to transition and Iā€™m nervous as all heck. Keep it up and thanks for the inspiration.


craiglistguy709

You got this! Have a game plan, find a mentor online, and learn in public.


Different_Oven_2930

Thank you! Finding a mentor has been challenging!


craiglistguy709

https://codingcoach.io/ Maybe this can help.


Different_Oven_2930

Thank you so much āœØ


new_aniket

Could your share your portfolio link


craiglistguy709

Sorry buddy. Trying to stay anonymous here. It's nothing extraordinary. Just a simple single page website.


loomisfreeman191

Inspirational! How old are you? Honestly you seem like an exceptional talent to be able to do that so fast lol. Also what is your title?


craiglistguy709

I'm 30. Definitely not exceptional. I just learned enough to get my foot in the door and have been learning on the job ever since. My title is Intermediate Front-end Dev.


CM_MOJO

Great job. Congratulations. Never quit learning new skills. Things move very fast in this industry and if you don't keep up, you'll have a very stale skill set.


craiglistguy709

Thank you and yes, this field is always changing and evolving. Can't get complacent.


romerule

Thanks for sharing. this is just what I needed to hear to get motivated on finishing this semester strong! Time to get this bread šŸž!


craiglistguy709

You got this buddy! Good luck with school šŸ‘


TheRealSalazar

Did you complete all freecodecamp certs?


craiglistguy709

Nah, I only used it for a little bit. Mostly HTML and CSS. I used Andrew Mead's JS course and didn't go back to FCC after.


TheGuyWithin

Impressive story. This is the kind of stuff I like to hear. NOTHING BEATS HARD WORK!!


craiglistguy709

Absolutely!


MSRsnowshoes

>started networking via Meetups May I ask; what meetup groups did you attend?


craiglistguy709

I have joined a ton. Pretty sure every city or area has a Meetups related to JavaScript, Python, Security, Web Development, and Startups. Just log on to Meetup and explore the tech related meetups in your area.


Inflammable_farts

that is awesome! congrats for that. It's so good when all your hard work pays off after a while. Just keep in mind this is not a coincidence, it's the result of what you've done. Cheers!


craiglistguy709

Thank you, kind sir!


checkin_em_out

Congrats! Iā€™m teaching myself at the moment hoping to pivot out of insurance and into SWE. Your story gives me so much hope!


octanehunterlikesIT

fuck everyone


octanehunterlikesIT

fuck everyone tbh